The Wonder Twins – the alien teen sidekicks of Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends animated series of the 1970s – remain one of the stranger outliers in the DC universe. They were created specifically for the show to replace the disastrous duo of Wendy and Marvin from the series' first season. They only went over marginally better, though time and Generation X affection have lent them some respectability. They even made their way to canon status in the comics and gained an updated look in a memorable episode of Smallville.
Despite that, the Wonder Twins remain on the goofier end of the DC pantheon, owing largely to their cheesy catchphrase and flat-out bizarre powers. According to one of their creators, however, those powers were a compromise. Had the characters’ original concepts gone forward as planned, they would have rendered every single one of the better-known Super Friends unnecessary.
In a 2011 interview with Noblemania, animator Darrell McNeil recounts how showrunner Norman Maurer created the twins. He needed to give them superpowers, which were distinctly lacking in Wendy and Marvin. Thus, Zan and Jayna – who began as Dick and Jane before morphing into a riff on Tarzan and Jane – became aliens from the planet Exxor who were with the Super Friends to learn to control their powers.
Unfortunately, those powers proved to be far too much even for the likes of Superman. When first envisioned, Zan’s powers were equivalent to those of Plastic Man – shifting and stretching his body into any shape – while Jayna could change into anything she wished, not just animals. That rendered the other Super Friends all but obsolete, and a decision was made to nerf them before the show reached the air.
That partially explains why their subsequent powers seemed so wonky. With the concepts established, the easiest way to dial back their comparative strength was to limit them to a single type or category. It made for some truly weird combinations. While Jayna could boast a reasonable amount of utility with her ability to transform into any animal, Zan – limited to ice and water forms – had to bend over backward to serve a useful purpose. This led to things like Zan preventing a fall by turning into a giant gelatin dessert, and Jayna carrying her brother from place to place in a bucket. Moreover, they had no thematic connection to each other, and beyond their ability to “activate” their powers by touching, their superpowers felt random and forced.
The show’s particular way of presenting them helped mitigate the worst of it. 1977’s The All-New Super Friends Hour was divided into four distinct segments: a lengthy one featuring the entire team and three shorter ones featuring smaller groups of heroes. The Wonder Twins had their own dedicated segment, where they dealt with comparatively minor “teen” issues, such as hitching rides and playing hooky. It helped their abilities seem comparatively minor while still giving them something to do during the group stories, a balance that Wendy and Marvin always struggled with.
Regardless, the goofiness of their powers arose from a swift attempt at course correction, which likely wasn’t carefully considered before it was made. The Super Friends gave little background for the Wonder Twins and no justification for their powers beyond their status as aliens, which let it define the two however it wished. Over time, their ridiculous sideshow became endearing, and eventually, they were able to legitimately enter the canon to knowing smiles from the fans rather than howls of protest.