| SilverHawks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
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| Developed by | Rankin/Bass |
| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Composer | Bernard Hoffer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 65(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 8 (1986-09-08) – December 5, 1986 (1986-12-05) |
SilverHawks is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986.[1] The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were made. It was created as a space-based equivalent of their previous series ThunderCats.[2]
As was the case with ThunderCats, there was also a SilverHawks comic book series published by Marvel Comics under the imprint Star Comics.
A bionic space enforcer called Commander Stargazer recruited the SilverHawks, heroes who are "partly metal, partly real", to fight the evil Mon*Star, an escaped alien crime boss who transforms into an enormous armor-plated creature with the help of Limbo's Moonstar. Joining Mon*Star in his villainy is an intergalactic mob consisting of Yes-Man, Buzz-Saw, Mumbo-Jumbo, Windhammer, Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Poker-Face, Hardware, and "the musical madness of" Melodia.
Quicksilver (formerly Jonathan Quick) leads the SilverHawks, with his metal bird companion Tally-Hawk at his side. Twins Emily and Will Hart became Steelheart and Steelwill, the SilverHawks's technician and strongman respectively. Country-singing Bluegrass piloted the team's ship, the Maraj (pronounced "mirage" on the series, but given that spelling on the Kenner toy). Rounding out the group is a youngster "from the planet of the mimes", named "The Copper Kidd" and usually called "Kidd" for short, a mathematical genius who spoke in whistles and computerized tones. Their bionic bodies are covered by a full-body close-fitting metal armor that only exposes the face and an arm, the armor is equipped with a retractile protective mask, retractable under-arm wings (except Bluegrass), thrusters on their heels, and laser-weapons in their shoulders.
The Fighting Hawks are hawk-like partners of the SilverHawks who have different abilities that help them in their fight against the Mob and other villains.
The Federal Interplanetary Force is an interplanetary organization that have their headquarters on Earth. They are responsible for the creation of the Silverhawks and have helped out whenever Stargazer contacts them for help.
The Mob is an organized crime group and the primary antagonists of the series that commits crimes throughout Limbo and operate from Brim*Star. They travel in three open-cab spacecraft called the Zoomer, Road Star, and Limbo Limo.
The Mob has Fighting Hawks of their own:
They appear in many episodes and are friendly to Melodia and Poker-Face, though the three are usually betrayed by the Mob. They are often seen playing cards at the Sini*Star Diner on the planet Fence:
Even though it is in outer space, Limbo has breathable air and characters are seen falling off their vehicles as if in a gravity field. During the series, various planets are shown:
Rankin/Bass followed up their successful ThunderCats series with this series about a team of heroes in the 29th century who were given metal bodies and wings to stop organized crime in the Galaxy of Limbo.[7] SilverHawks featured many of the same voice actors who had worked on ThunderCats, including Larry Kenney, Peter Newman, Earl Hammond, Doug Preis and Bob McFadden.
Lorimar-Telepictures was purchased by Warner Bros. in 1989, and the rights to SilverHawks are now held by Warner Bros. Television Distribution.
Reruns later aired on Cartoon Network from 2000 to 2001.
| No. | Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Origin Story" | Peter Lawrence | September 8, 1986 (1986-09-08) | |
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When the intergalactic crime boss Mon*Star breaks out of his prison during a Moon*Star eruption that the prison staff tries to keep from reaching the window of Mon*Star's cell, Earth sends a team of bio-mechanically enhanced humans to capture him.
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| 2 | "Journey to Limbo" | Leonard Starr | September 9, 1986 (1986-09-09) | |
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The SilverHawks arrive at Hawk Haven and have their first encounter with Mon*Star and his Mob.
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| 3 | "The Planet Eater" | William Overgard | September 10, 1986 (1986-09-10) | |
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Mon*Star employs the Sky Chomper to "eat" other spaceships and feed the debris to the Planet Eater, his biggest and most devastating weapon yet.
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| 4 | "Save The Sun" | Peter Lawrence | September 11, 1986 (1986-09-11) | |
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The Mob seize control of the massive Artificial Sun, the main source of power in the Galaxy of Limbo.
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| 5 | "Stop Timestopper" | Lee Schneider | September 12, 1986 (1986-09-12) | |
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A delinquent with the power to stop time joins Mon*Star's gang and helps them plunder the Crystal Mine of Automata.
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| 6 | "Darkbird" | Steve Perry | September 15, 1986 (1986-09-15) | |
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An evil clone of Quicksilver blasts his way into Dolar, the bank planet of Limbo Galaxy, and takes its banking boss Lord Cash hostage.
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| 7 | "The Backroom" | William Overgard | September 16, 1986 (1986-09-16) | |
|
Inside the Starship Casino, Poker-Face is hiding a new destructive weapon that Mon*Star is only too eager to make use of.
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| 8 | "The Threat of Dritt" | Bruce Smith | September 17, 1986 (1986-09-17) | |
|
After their ambassador is kidnapped by Mon*Star, the mighty Triangulons threaten to destroy Hawk Haven unless Quicksilver rescues their ambassador in eight hours.
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| 9 | "Sky-Shadow" | Kimberly Morris | September 18, 1986 (1986-09-18) | |
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Tally-Hawk is kidnapped by the Mob so that Hardware can create an evil version of the SilverHawks' companion for their leader Mon*Star.
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| 10 | "Magnetic Attraction" | Chris Trengove | September 19, 1986 (1986-09-19) | |
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While transporting the criminal Poker-Face to Penal Planet 10, Steelheart is attacked by Hardware and his new weapon the Super Magnetizer.
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| 11 | "Gold Shield" | Bruce Smith | September 22, 1986 (1986-09-22) | |
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The SilverHawks must work quickly to build a Gold Shield to protect Hawk Haven before it is disintegrated by Mon*Star's latest weapon.
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| 12 | "Zero The Memory Thief" | Jeri Craden | September 23, 1986 (1986-09-23) | |
|
Zero the Memory Thief wipes out Commander Stargazer's knowledge of the Mob's latest plan to destroy Earth using a Mega Missile.
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| 13 | "The Milk Run" | Lee Schneider | September 24, 1986 (1986-09-24) | |
|
The SilverHawks arrest Melodia. but Hardware's Pinball Beam blasts her free and traps Commander Stargazer inside Hawk Haven.
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| 14 | "The Hardware Trap – Part I" | Peter Lawrence | September 25, 1986 (1986-09-25) | |
|
The SilverHawks devise a plan through which Quicksilver is able to apprehend Hardware, but Mon*Star isn't going to give up on his weapons' expert without a fight.
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| 15 | "The Hardware Trap – Part II" | Lee Schneider | September 26, 1986 (1986-09-26) | |
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Buzz-Saw cuts his way into the Penal Planet to free Hardware who then exacts his revenge on Quicksilver by blasting him into space.
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| 16 | "Race Against Time" | Chris Trengove | September 29, 1986 (1986-09-29) | |
|
With the intention of destroying Hawk Haven, Mon*Star organizes "The Great Meteor Race". In order to officiate it, the Mob breaks Poker-Face out of prison.
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| 17 | "Operation Big Freeze" | Jeri Craden | September 30, 1986 (1986-09-30) | |
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Mon*Star orders Windhammer and Hardware to generate a galactic ice storm that is so powerful that it threatens to freeze the entire Galaxy of Limbo.
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| 18 | "The Ghost Ship" | Chris Trengove | October 1, 1986 (1986-10-01) | |
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In order to infiltrate Hawk Haven, a secret Mob attack force led by Hardware hide inside an abandoned spaceship.
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| 19 | "The Great Galaxy Race" | William Overgard | October 2, 1986 (1986-10-02) | |
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Mon*Star challenges the SilverHawks to a space race through the Galaxy of Limbo in which the Mob employ every cheat in the book to win.
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| 20 | "Fantascreen" | Steve Perry | October 3, 1986 (1986-10-03) | |
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Hardware's latest invention is a device that turns SilverHawks into mindless zombies and it is up to Steelheart to rescue her comrades.
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| 21 | "Hotwing Hits Limbo" | Peter Lawrence | October 6, 1986 (1986-10-06) | |
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When Mon*Star captures all the SilverHawks, Earth sends Hotwing, a former magician, squad commander, and the newest member of the SilverHawks to rescue them.
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| 22 | "The Bounty Hunter" | J.V.P. Mundy | October 7, 1986 (1986-10-07) | |
|
Mon*Star's Mob pulls off a daring jailbreak to free Stargazer's sworn enemy the Bounty Hunter, a villain who feeds on energy.
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| 23 | "Zeek's Fumble" | Peter Lawrence | October 8, 1986 (1986-10-08) | |
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The Mob chases Seymour and Zeek the Beak all over Limbo because they have a microfilm of all the SilverHawks’ secrets.
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| 24 | "The Fighting Hawks" | Kimberly Morris | October 9, 1986 (1986-10-09) | |
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When the Mob programs the machines of Automata to produce fearsome copies of Sky-Shadow, the Steel twins work frantically to produce a counter-weapon.
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| 25 | "The Renegade Hero" | Leonard Starr | October 10, 1986 (1986-10-10) | |
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The Mob replace the governor of Bedlama with Mo-Lec-U-Lar and then plan to use the planet's military might against the SilverHawks.
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| 26 | "One on One" | William Overgard | October 13, 1986 (1986-10-13) | |
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The Mob creates exact clones of the SilverHawks and sends them on a deadly mission against Commander Stargazer.
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| 27 | "No More Mr. Nice Guy" | Chris Trengove | October 14, 1986 (1986-10-14) | |
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Yes-Man joins Mon*Star in his transformation chamber and emerges with more power and intelligence before deciding to take control of the Mob himself.
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| 28 | "Music of the Spheres" | Lee Schneider | October 15, 1986 (1986-10-15) | |
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As Halley's Comet passes through Limbo Galaxy, the SilverHawks plan to steer it towards Mon*Star's base of operation Brim*Star.
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| 29 | "Limbo Gold Rush" | Stephen Perry | October 16, 1986 (1986-10-16) | |
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A space prospector strikes gold on Automata but three outlaws jump his claim and plan to steal all his gold for themselves.
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| 30 | "Countdown to Zero" | Chris Trengove | October 17, 1986 (1986-10-17) | |
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When the Copper Kidd goes to Automata to fix Monotone, he is ambushed by the Mo-Lec-U-Lar and Zero the Memory Thief who is there to drain all of the supercomputer's memory banks.
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| 31 | "Amber Amplifier" | Bill Ratner | October 20, 1986 (1986-10-20) | |
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Mo-Lec-U-Lar steals the Amber Amplifier, the Artificial Sun's energy magnifier, and Hardware then fits it to his energy gun to create the most formidable weapon that the SilverHawks have faced.
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| 32 | "The Saviour Stone" | Bob Haney | October 21, 1986 (1986-10-21) | |
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The Mob and the SilverHawks battle for possession of a rock which is the only item that can restore the Earth's decaying magnetic field.
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| 33 | "Smiley" | Bruce Shlain | October 22, 1986 (1986-10-22) | |
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The Mob activates Smiley, a super heavyweight robot champion of Limbo who Stargazer once defeated, and Mon*Star sends him to torch the SilverHawks with this powerful heat waves.
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| 34 | "Gotbucks" | Bob Haney | October 23, 1986 (1986-10-23) | |
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Lord Cash hires the security robot Gotbucks to act as Dollare's new security chief, but he gets abducted by the Mob.
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| 35 | "Melodia's Siren Song" | Lawrence DuKore | October 24, 1986 (1986-10-24) | |
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When Quicksilver and Tally-Hawk go to the aid of a gold freighter under attack, they are captured by Hardware and the Mob.
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| 36 | "Tally-Hawk Returns" | Stephanie Swafford | October 27, 1986 (1986-10-27) | |
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Mo-Lec-U-Lar steals the remote control of Tally-Hawk and Hardware then uses it to instruct Tally-Hawk to attack the SilverHawks.
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| 37 | "Undercover" | Danny Peary | October 28, 1986 (1986-10-28) | |
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Mon*Star and his Mob block the supply of oil to the Artificial Sun of Limbo Galaxy as they plan to create their own artificial sun on BrimStar.
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| 38 | "Eye of Infinity" | Kenneth Vose | October 29, 1986 (1986-10-29) | |
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Mon*Star gets his hands on the notorious Eye of Infinity, the most destructive force in the universe. Hotwing plans to retrieve the crystal before Hardware can figure out how to use its powers.
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| 39 | "A Piece of the Action" | Bruce W. Smith | October 30, 1986 (1986-10-30) | |
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Mon*Star threatens to flood the planet of Bedlama unless he is paid a hefty ransom.
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| 40 | "Flashback" | Kimberly Morris | October 31, 1986 (1986-10-31) | |
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A young SilverHawk named Flashback travels back in time to prevent the annihilation of the SilverHawks at the hands of the Mob.
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| 41 | "Super Birds" | Bruce Shlain | November 3, 1986 (1986-11-03) | |
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Under Mon*Star's orders, Hardware constructs a giant Sky-Shadow to destroy the SilverHawks.
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| 42 | "The Blue Door" | Cy Young | November 4, 1986 (1986-11-04) | |
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Disguising himself as Mon*Star, Mo-Lec-U-Lar leads the SilverHawks on a wild goose chase while the real Mon*Star attacks Hawk Haven.
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| 43 | "The Star of Bedlama" | Kimberly Morris | November 5, 1986 (1986-11-05) | |
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The SilverHawks and the Mob both have their eyes set on a valuable diamond.
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| 44 | "The Illusionist" | Jeri Craden | November 6, 1986 (1986-11-06) | |
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Mon*Star manages to put Hotwing under the spell of the Light Star and then sends him to attack Hawk Haven.
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| 45 | "The Bounty Hunter Returns" | Steve Perry | November 7, 1986 (1986-11-07) | |
|
The Bounty Hunter breaks out of Penal Planet 10 and sets up a new base in order to exact revenge on the SilverHawks.
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| 46 | "The Chase" | Bruce W. Smith | November 10, 1986 (1986-11-10) | |
|
Mo-Lec-U-Lar steals the new key to Dolar's main vault and leads Steelwill on a wild goose chase around the Galaxy of Limbo.
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| 47 | "Switch" | Beth Bornstein & J.V.P. Mundy | November 11, 1986 (1986-11-11) | |
|
A strange cosmic storm switches the personalities of everybody, turning the SilverHawks bad and the Mob good.
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| 48 | "Junkyard Dog" | Bob Haney | November 12, 1986 (1986-11-12) | |
|
By disguising himself as a waste collector, Mo-Lec-U-Lar steals a case containing vital mechanical parts without which Commander Stargazer will not be able to survive.
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| 49 | "Window in Time" | J.V.P. Mundy | November 13, 1986 (1986-11-13) | |
|
Hardware manages to travel back in time to Earth when the SilverHawks are just leaving for Limbo Galaxy and it is up to Flashback to stop him from sabotaging the Miraj.
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| 50 | "Gangwar – Part I" | William Overgard | November 14, 1986 (1986-11-14) | |
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Melodia and Poker-Face decide to overthrow Mon*Star and take control of the Mob themselves resulting in a civil war between both sides of the Mob.
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| 51 | "Gangwar – Part II" | William Overgard | November 17, 1986 (1986-11-17) | |
|
Using the Sky-Chomper, Mon*Star breaks out Hardware and Buzz-Saw from the Penal Planet 10 before turning the Sky-Chomper on Hawk Haven.
| ||||
| 52 | "Sneak Attack – Part I" | Cy Young | November 18, 1986 (1986-11-18) | |
|
Under Commander Stargazer's order, Quicksilver and Hotwing embark on a dangerous mission to BrimStar to arrest Mon*Star, but the Mob aren't going to let their leader be taken without a fight.
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| 53 | "Sneak Attack – Part II" | Cy Young | November 19, 1986 (1986-11-19) | |
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Hardware frees Mon*Star from the Penal Planet 10 using a box containing the Moon*Star's power and Mon*Star then launches a deadly attack on the SilverHawks.
| ||||
| 54 | "Moon*Star" | Alice Knox & Peter Larson | November 20, 1986 (1986-11-20) | |
|
Poker-Face hands Mon*Star a chunk of the Moon*Star which endows the villain with incredible new powers and the SilverHawks now have to stop this Super Mon*Star.
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| 55 | "Diamond Stick-Pin" | Peter Lawrence | November 21, 1986 (1986-11-21) | |
|
The Mob hires Zeek to be their limo driver and then hand him a diamond stick-pin bomb to annihilate the SilverHawks.
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| 56 | "Burnout" | Bill Ratner | November 24, 1986 (1986-11-24) | |
|
Zero steals Professor Power's memory and focuses all the energy of the Aritifcial Sun on Hawk Haven where Stargazer and the Steel twins are trapped.
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| 57 | "Battle Cruiser" | Lee Schneider | November 25, 1986 (1986-11-25) | |
|
Mon*Star plans to go to Earth and start a crime wave while Stargazer employs two new SilverHawks named MoonStryker and Condor to help him.
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| 58 | "Small World" | Kimberly Morris | November 26, 1986 (1986-11-26) | |
|
The Mob shrink and steal Automata, but are unaware the planet has a faulty valve which could cause it to explode and destroy the entire Galaxy of Limbo.
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| 59 | "Match-Up" | Bruce W. Smith | November 27, 1986 (1986-11-27) | |
|
After being imprisoned in Penal Planet 10, Windhammer organizes a spectacular boxing match inside the prison to create a diversion which would allow him to escape.
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| 60 | "Stargazer’s Refit" | William Overgard | November 28, 1986 (1986-11-28) | |
|
Under Mon*Star's orders and armed with deadly meltdown discs, Mo-Lec-U-Lar goes out to eliminate Commander Stargazer. Due to a detour to the Starship Casino, Mon*Star enlists Poker-Face to help finish the job. Now the SilverHawks must get to Stargazer before the meltdown discs go off.
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| 61 | "The Invisible Destroyer" | Dow Flint Kowalczyk | December 1, 1986 (1986-12-01) | |
|
Hardware's latest invention is an Invisible Laser Satellite which he intends to use to conquer Bedlama.
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| 62 | "The Harder They Fall" | Chris Trengove | December 2, 1986 (1986-12-02) | |
|
After rebuilding the giant Sky-Shadow, the Mob plan to use it to tow Penal Planet 10 to Brim*Star and enlist all the prisoners in the Mob.
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| 63 | "Uncle Rattler" | Beth Bornstein | December 3, 1986 (1986-12-03) | |
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Yes-Man’s uncle Rattler steals the SilverHawks payroll shipment before the Mob can get to it.
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| 64 | "Zeek’s Power" | Matthew Malach | December 4, 1986 (1986-12-04) | |
|
The Magical Orb sent from Earth to recharge Hotwing's powers is intercepted by Zeek who successfully convinces the Orb to endow him with Hotwing’s powers.
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| 65 | "Airshow" | Peter Lawrence | December 5, 1986 (1986-12-05) | |
|
Disguising himself as the Miraj, Mo-Lec-U-Lar wreaks havoc in the Air Show organized by the SilverHawks to celebrate the Independence Day in the Galaxy of Limbo.
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In October 2008, Warner Home Video released SilverHawks: Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.[8] The 4-disc set contains the first 32 episodes of the series.
In October 2011, Warner Bros. released SilverHawks: Volume 2 on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[9] The 4-disc set contains the remaining 33 episodes of the series.
The SilverHawks action figure collection based on the animated series was produced by Kenner and first released in 1987. LJN, the makers of the ThunderCats figures, originally were to produce the SilverHawks figures but decided to pass on the project at the last minute. Each figure was packaged with a companion bird and, similar to Kenner's Super Powers Collection toyline, had an action feature of some type. The second series of figures is harder to find than the first with Ultrasonic Quicksilver being the most difficult. The MonStar with Laser Lance, Copper Kidd with Laser Discs, and the Copper Racer vehicle were not produced but were shown in the 1988 Kenner toy catalog. The Hawk Haven Fortress was also never released, due to the high production costs it would incur. Many recurring characters were never made, including Yes-Man, Melodia and Poker-Face.
The weapon-birds are cyborg animal companions released with most of the action figures. While Tally-Hawk appeared in almost all of the episodes in the series, all other "weapon-birds" only appeared in a handful of episodes. In the episode "The Fighting Hawks", the weapon-birds for the Steel Twins were accidentally switched from the toy versions. The weapon-birds are listed below, with their toy partner's name in parentheses.
In 2021, a new line of Silverhawks action figures were announced.[10]
Several other pieces of SilverHawks merchandise were released in the 1980s, including a board game, puzzles, bed sheets, and a plastic pencil pouch with the main characters on one side. Pajamas were also produced, which included wing flaps under the arms to more resemble the characters.
Marvel Comics' kid-friendly imprint Star Comics (which also published ThunderCats) released a seven-issue series.[11] Writers included Steve Perry, who also wrote for the animated series.[12][13]
| Issue | Title | Cover Date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Origin Story | August 1987 | When Mon*Star escapes Penal Planet 10 and breaks out the rest of the Mob, Commander Stargazer calls Earth for reinforcements. Four human volunteers and one volunteer from the Planet of Mimes are transformed into Silverhawks and are soon on their way to the Limbo Galaxy and Hawk Haven, their home for the next few centuries, but Mon*Star organizes a welcome party. |
| 2 | Kidnapped | October 1987 | When Tallyhawk catches Mon*Star and Hardware planning on kidnapping Commander Stargazer, Stargazer decides it is his chance to get all of the Mob's secrets from their computer banks. |
| 3 | Clementine | December 1987 | The Space Bandit jumps a claim on Automata and his loud mouth brings Melodia to get the gold for Mon*star. Bluegrass goes to bring them in, but soon needs rescue himself. I turns out Automata has secrets no one but the prospector knew. |
| 4 | Copper Kidd Beats The Odds | February 1988 | The gambler Percunius Wadsworth Wellington shows up at Hawkhaven saying he's been robbed by the Mob. Poker-face has a new game at the Starship Casino and wasn't happy that Wellington won big before Poker-face rigged it. But the Silverhawks can't do anything to help him - the Starship Casino lies beyond the Lightyear Limit - the end of their jurisdiction. Copper Kidd volunteers to take him home but decides to help him win back his money instead. Stargazer orders the other Silverhawks to stop him because Earth would disband them if he beat the Mob and what the Mob would do to him isn't worth mentioning. |
| 5 | Fantascreen | April 1988 | Hardware builds a machine that'll show someone's greatest fantasy and make them a mindless slave. When Steelwill is enslaved by it, Steelheart and the other Silverhawks go to his rescue. |
| 6 | A Few Laughs With The Old Crowd | June 1988 | When Stargazer bungles the Silverhawks capture of the Mon*Star and the Mob, he decides to head back to Earth for upgrades. When Mon*Star conquers Hawkhaven and Copper, Kidd is the only one left to call for help. |
| 7 | Darkbird | August 1988 | Lord Cash of the Bankworld of Dolare calls help when Quicksilver appears to attack. But Tallyhawk has a report from Brim*Star - Hardware built a fake Silverhawk for Mon*Star. |
In the 2011 ThunderCats remake, Mon*Star briefly appears in a cameo in the episode "Legacy". He was seen on a monitor on the bridge of Mumm-Ra's ship.[14]
Solar Opposites features a lengthy subplot that parodies the IP called SilverCops.
As of July 2021, a reboot of Silverhawks is in development.[15]
