Defenders of the Earth is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician—opposing Ming the Merciless in the year 2015. Supporting characters include their children Rick Gordon, Jedda Walker, Kshin, Mandrake's assistant Lothar, and Lothar's son L.J. The show lasted for 65 episodes; there was also a short-lived comic book series published by Star Comics, created by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru and John Romita, Sr.. The closing credits credit Rob Walsh and Tony Pastor for the main title music, and Stan Lee for the lyrics. The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest.
When Ming the Merciless leaves Mongo to invade Earth, his old enemy Flash Gordon and the latter's son, Rick, join forces with six others - the youngest a pre-teenaged boy named Ks…
Aided by Flash's Krell allies, the Defenders begin building their base. But Ming has learned of their existence and resolved to put an end to them.
Some boys try to pick a fight with Kshin so, rather than break the Defenders' Code of Honour, he reads up on summoning spells - against Mandrake's orders - and calls forth a demon…
When Africa suffers a sudden and unexplained climate change, the Phantom and Jedda head there to investigate. In the process, the Phantom learns that his estranged brother, Kurt -…
When the Defenders receive an invitation to pit Dynak-X against a chess-playing computer, they little suspect that it is part of Ming's plot to implant an electronic maggot into D…
Dr. Whitestead's plant food formula goes haywire--spilling on him and turning him into a plant! Ming seizes the scientist, the fomula, and his daughter. Lothar and Mandrake use t…
Ming needs Rick Gordon's ring to complete a weather control machine, and having caught Flash in a battle, uses him as bait to lure the impulsive Rick to Ice Station Earth. It is …
Eaons ago, a giant robot crash landed on Earth. Ming learns of The Annihilator, which now sleeps beneath Central City, and distracts all but one of The Defenders long enough to ac…
The vengeful space princess Astra creates an army of clay soldiers. The daughter of Princess Aura, Astra is convinced by Ming that Flash Gordon was behind her mother's death. She …
The incredible Hall of Wisdom pays its-2000-year, 24-hour visit to the Galaxy. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Ming to get his hands on the dreaded Quasar Weapon, with which …
Ming lures Kshin to Ice Station Earth by kidnapping Zuffy, then probes the dark side of Kshin's imagination to create fearsome warriors capable of destroying the Defenders. While …
The Defenders add a new twist to the Battle Simulation Room--a Thought-Transference Cap. It transmits the wearer's imagination directly into the simulation; Kshin loves to use it …
Ming is seeking the Jewels of Power, but a female archeologist named Atuskedero is also after them and travels to Tibet with Lothar and Mandrake (the latter worked with her in his…
Mandrake's old enemy, Damian Dark, and the latter's Psychic Warrior cohorts escape from jail and join forces with Ming's troops to search for the legendary Well of Essence.
Ming enlists the aid of the ruthless Beastmaster to create an army of Crystal Soldiers, beings grown from diamonds and invulnerable to everything except an extremely rare mineral …
For Ming's plan to blanket the earth with a veneer of frost to be successful, the satellite requires the strength of a Starblue Crystal, of which only three exist. During a ceremo…
Ming's forces travel to the planet Grubor, where they use his freeze-ray weapon to capture six Cave Slugs- invincible alien creatures the size of semi-trucks who can and do eat an…
When the famous explorer Andrew Huxley encounters the wrath of Ming the Merciless while on expedition in Africa, he immediately calls in the Defenders. Ming kidnaps the Chief of t…
Ming's attack on an oil platform, to capture a main computer containing the earth's entire energy network, is foiled by the Defenders, but all is not lost as he spots oceanographe…
Ming captures the Phantom and Jedda as they return from the race against N'Dama (really the Phantom's brother Kurt Walker) for the Jewel of Zandoon. Once again his old self, Kurt …
The Defenders fly into space to investigate a mysterious comet and discover, too late to break from the tractor beams dragging them toward the comet, that in reality it is an Ilyr…
Ming's estranged daughter, Aura, crash lands her ship on Monitor and informs the Defenders of her father's latest scheme to enslave the population of earth with his Mind Neutraliz…
At the dedication ceremony for a new courthouse built in honor of our heroes, 13 year-old Earl Sump, bespectacled and dressed in a homemade superhero suit, captures two pick-pocke…
Deep in Africa Ming locates an anti-energy source enabling him to open the Nightgiant Doorway and unleash 7-story tall nightgiants to destroy the earth. Flash flies out to space t…
While captives in Ming's jail, Rick and Jedda overhear Octon and Garax's plans to revolt against Ming. In exchange for their freedom, the Defenders offer to help in the scheme. Wh…
After retrieving a vat of deadly mutant slime from Ming's laboratory, six of the Defenders (LJ and Kshin do not appear in this episode) are chased through a time warp and go back …
The household helper robot, designed by Ming the Merciless in another of his evil schemes, is the hottest selling item on the market, deployed in over one million homes worldwide-…
While transporting Starchild, a child-like alien who has landed on earth, through the woods around Monitor, the young Defenders encounter two alien scouts who attempt to destroy t…
When statues of ancient gods mysteriously come to life the Defenders are summoned to the Himalayas by Mandrake's old magic teacher, Theron. Our heroes learn that Ming and a mystic…
When industrial tycoon/hypochondriac Kent Madden's plan to buy a magic health elixer from Partha, son of Chief Ajuna of the of r ican Fallu tribe, goes awry, he makes a deal to ob…
When a two-hundred square mile area of Morocco mysteriously disappears, the Defenders investigate- sans Kshin, who is instructed to choose any book from Mandrake's library for a b…
While engaging Ming's roboships in battle over the North African Desert, Flash discovers the remains of an ancient pyramid, where he finds an obelisk that produces visions when to…
While on vacation in Jamaica with the Defenders, Kshin sees a ghost ship; however, no one believes him. Determined to get proof of the ship's existence, Kshin rows a dinghy out in…
Dr. Kalihari's carnival is in town and the Defenders are on hand to see the show. What they don't know is that Dr. Kalihari has taken over the carnival from its owners and populat…
Dynak X picks up a bizarre energy transmission from Stonehenge prompting the elder Defenders to investigate. Kshin consults the book of enigma which shows him a blueprint of the a…
Ming knows that Flash Gordon is the only man alive who could effectively fly his state-of-the-art warplane The Scorpion, so he lures our hero to Ice Station Earth, where he has cr…
Ming's forces kidnap LJ's girlfriend, Kate, turning her into a Frost Person, and have her trick LJ, Rick and Jedda into handing the Defenders' Space Station - now armed with a let…
Rick Gordon's new friend at Central City High ! Carlotta Vallejo- requires his help when Ming backs revolutionary forces to dethrone her father from the Presidency of the tropical…
While trying to prove their individual prowess during an obstacle course competition, Rick, Jedda and L.J. get a bit too serious, endangering themselves individually and as a flyi…
Ming's computer, Octon, has created the ultimate trap- Tycos, a machine designed by a machine, completely devoid of human flaws- which the evil leader will use to destroy the Defe…
When an ore transport ship in deep space is looted and notes are found announcing the RETURN OF THE SKY BAND, the Phantom is apprehensive. He recounts the story of his grandfather…
The Defenders set out for Transylvania to investigate the disappearance of John Harker, a young archeologist doing re-search in the area. Upon arrival, they are invited to the cas…
Rick and L.J. accompany Kshin's class, which includes Marty, a wheelchair-bound boy, on a field trip to the Amazon where they encounter hostile natives. When Kshin and Marty are s…
At school, Jedda is invited to a party by Eric, who freely admits that, "Everything looks better with a little vodka". At first a bit hesitant, Jedda eventually agrees- she thinks…
The Defenders attend an inter-galactic science convention in Monaco which coincides with a junior magician's competition that Kshin enters. Mandrake tells the boy the secret to op…
Prince Kro-Tan reduces his father to nothing more than a microbe and seizes control of his empire, determined to conquer earth and destroy the Defenders himself....
Pursuing Kro-Tan to a small kingdom in india, Flash and Rick are astonished to find that Kro-Tan is revered as a benevolant and trusting being, deemed worthy of ruling earth
Continuing his power play, Kro-Tan's next step is to secretly attach miniature, mind-controled explosives to the Defenders and take Jedda captive. They arrive in Mongo, where he a…
Locked in the prince's palace, Jedda uses her gift to communicate with animals as a means of escape before the wedding. In a subterranean area, Kshin discovers a race of small, pe…
The witch who's aided Kro-Tan from the start manages to revive the original King of Mongo, and is revealed to be his Queen while having her youth restored. They lock Kro-Tan away …
The Defenders accompany Lothar to his hometown in Jamaica, where the new children?s wing of a hospital will be dedicated in his honor. While there, Dr. Barbeau informs then that a…
While Rick and L.J. test out Rick's new invention- a wave interference device that scrambles any signal transmitted through the air- Rick is kidnapped by Ming, who then places an …
Ming sends a look-alike Defender ship to provoke the Beacon of the Eternals- a computer operated ship searching for a long lost benevolent society- which thereby releases its thre…
Ming sets out to rule the entire universe by stealing the first of the three shards of the Orb of Konos from the Yucatan rain forest. At Monitor, Mandrake picks up telepathic sign…
Rick feels the pressure that results from his efforts to live up to Flash's reputation, and all aspects of Rick's life are suffering- school, personal and Defender work. A "friend…
As part of Jedda's coming of age, the Phantom takes her to the Skull Cave to choose a gift from among the family treasures. She is drawn to the mysterious Necklace of Oros, but an…
The fabric of the universe is weak and stretching under the stress of Graviton's bridge, and the evil alien must have the Necklace of Oros if he is to survive. When the reptile/hu…
Flash receives a distress call from Prince Barin, summoning him to Mongo to save the planet from Ming's evil son Kro-Tan. Back at Monitor our heroes uncover Ming's plan- Kro-Tan h…
As Ming teams up with Queen Hadea of the Netherworld, elsewhere, Jedda suffers injury from an experiment intended to examine the Neckless of Oros. The Phantom takes her to a villa…
Graviton discovers that the neckless Jedda's wearing is a fake, and Ming vows to punish Hadea. The Phantom escapes from Hadea's palace with the real neckless and heads for Ming's …
The Defenders must fight a fanatic cult calling themselves the ""Leauge of Flesh and Blood"" who are opposed to the existence of robots, beleivng that they are crippling human ind…
Ming constructs a dam near the sea of Japan. This diverts the warm currents of the Japenease oceans towards the antartic, causing the polar Ice caps to melt, which results in majo…
During the court proceedings of Mandrake's adoption of Kshin, Hai, an old Asian man, enters with proof that he Is the boy's grandfather. Hai's return sparks Kshin's memory- he was…
In battle simulation with Jedda, L.J. refuses to take part- he thinks it is only "kid stuff". Flash transports Morlag, a lizard-like leader of the rebellion on Mongo to Monitor, w…
The Defenders fly to Alaska to inspect a dinosaur alert. While following dinosaur tracks, Rick and L.J. discover that a long-dormant volcano, with an artificial dome placed over i…