My '80s Cartoon Five

Cartoons have always been a big part of my life, in any decade. I'd be challenged in narrowing down my fives to my all-time favorite animated series, but I think I can break it down by decades. In my most formative years, the ‘80s, these were the shows I most enjoyed:

1) The Transformers (1984-1987):
Is anyone surprised by my #1 choice? On a world populated by robots lightyears away, a civil war divides the population into two warring factions. They eventually crash here, on Earth, and after four million years of dormancy beneath a volcano awaken to renew their conflict, assuming alternate modes as various vehicles, war machines, and beasts as disguises. If I were a little older than 10 when it premiered, I might have realized it was just a toy commercial in disguise. Maybe I knew that back then and just didn't care, since the toys were so damn cool as well. It was the show I'd race home from school to finish my homework in time to watch, and the one all the kids talked about on the playground the next day. Japanese toys acquired by an American company led to the series, and comics, and several follow-up shows and toylines in the decades since, including a new live-action film franchise.

2) G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983-1986):
Yoooo-Joe! Produced by Sunbow, who brought us Transformers and several other great ‘80s cartoons, it shared many music cues and voice actors with Transformers and was often paired with the other Hasbro extended toy commercial. An elite team of soldiers from every branch of the military imaginable, these specialists were practically superheroes as they battled Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. The universe was expanded upon and treated far more seriously in the comic book series written by Larry Hama, which dealt with complex political issues and ninja feuds and conspiracies. I can't wait for the upcoming movie.

3) Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984-1986):
The idea of a gestalt machine, one robot formed from several others, is fairly common these days. Transformers certainly had their share and I'm hoping the latest installment in the live-action fim series features one as I've heard rumored. But Voltron was the first of these, a Japanese import show about five pilots and their robot lions that merge to form a sword-wielding destroyer of giant monster aliens. There was also a vehicle version, made up of 15 components, and even a film in which both of these giant robots joined forces, tying up any loose ends from the series while nearly making my head explode.

4) Thundercats (1985-1990):
This was a pretty cool series, very well animated, about a group of cat-like people who survive the destruction of their home planet and must survive on a new world, pursued by evil mutants from their past while surviving new threats, such as an indigenous undead dark wizard mummy. Yes, that was exactly as cool as it sounded. It even had this hot blonde cheetah lady that jumpstarted most of my generation into puberty.

5) Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (1981-1983):
I loved this Saturday morning cartoon as a kid, and hated when I'd miss an episode because my dad needed me to hand him wrenches while he fixed our car or my parents made me join a soccer team for exercise or fresh air or something. Narrated by the inimitable Stan Lee, the series had Spidey sharing an apartment with the mutants Iceman(of X-Men fame) and Firestar(an original character created for the show who would later appear in various comics). It was campy at times, but boasted an impressive array of villains and guest heroes, and it was my first exposure to these characters before I started collecting comic books in high school.