User:Iboughttoomanygames/Swayzak and Water Girl

'''NOTE: I know this isn't real. But I wonder how many people would like Swayzak if he was a Hanna-Barbera character.'''

Swayzak and Water Girl is an American animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on CBS on September 15, 1979, and ran on Saturday mornings until January 19, 1980. The program consists of two segments: Swayzak, depicting the adventures of a sentient computer virus (created by Alex Toth, creator of Space Ghost), and Water Girl, centered around the adventures of a female superhero who had the ability to manipulate water. Each segment was a complete independent story, and the characters of each segment did not interact with those of the other.

Alex Toth got the idea for Swayzak when he read When HARLIE Was One by David Gerrold and found its referral to a self-replicating computer program called a "virus" interesting. This was also a return to the three shorts format of Hanna-Barbera's action cartoons, and its last one to be made in this format until 2 Stupid Dogs in 1993.

Swayzak

 * Swayzak (voiced by Allan Lurie) – A sentient computer virus, Swayzak normally does things for fun and whether those things are evil or good varies per episode. Because of this, he has been commonly regarded as animation's first anti-hero. Nevertheless, the Earth mostly thinks of him as a hero and congratulates him on his many efforts. Swayzak's catchphrase is "You'll never defeat me!" The voice Allan Lurie used for Swayzak is also the voice he would later use as Mezmaron in Pac-Man, minus the effects (akin to what was done to Ted Cassidy as Black Manta in Challenge of the Super Friends.)
 * Byt (voiced by Don Messick) – Swayzak's faithful "data dog" and sidekick. Although Swayzak prefers to work alone, in the second episode "Swayzak vs. the Space Pirates," he adopted Byt and found him cute, which is why he chose to keep him around for further adventures, cementing his growth as a hero. The two of them share a dynamic similar to Blue Falcon and Dynomutt in Hanna-Barbera's other cartoon Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (Swayzak being annoyed at Byt's actions but secretly caring for him.) Don Messick re-used his Scooby-Doo voice for Byt.
 * Plasmus (voiced by John Stephenson) - Swayzak's greatest enemy, Plasmus is able to control plasma, the fourth state of matter. Since Swayzak is a computer virus, and computer programs are made up of electrons, Plasmus poses a great threat to him. However, Swayzak is always able to come out on top and save the day.

Minor villains

 * The Percolator (voiced by Keith Andes): A villain who is able to transform into liquid. Due to being voiced by Keith Andes, the Percolator sounds like an evil version of Birdman from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Andes' other Hanna-Barbera role.
 * Shadow Man (voiced by Vic Perrin): A villain who has the ability to blend in with the shadows. He is easily defeated by Swayzak's night vision ability.
 * Reflecto (voiced by Hal Smith): A villain who can reflect rays off him.

Water Girl

 * Water Girl (voiced by Janet Waldo) - A girl who has the ability to manipulate water, sort of like DC Comics' Aquaman. She is an expert swimmer and can put out fires.

In other media
Swayzak was mentioned in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Sequel."

Swayzak would later appear (without Byt) in the Toonami Total Immersion Event Trapped in Hyperspace, where he was the main antagonist, playing up his villainous tendencies. Here, he was voiced by Carl Lumbly.

Swayzak would show up at the end of the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Evolutionary War," complaining about his marriage to Water Girl and having to put Byt down. Here, he was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

In 2016, Swayzak appeared in the DC Comics series Future Quest, that also featured characters from various animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera such as Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, The Herculoids, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles and Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor. Here, Swayzak is a refugee from the future, hoping to escape the Intergalactic Federation, who have him on their "wanted" list. Eventually, he meets Space Ghost, who helps him reform and teaches him about life in a different time.

Home video
On October 16, 2009, Warner Home Video released Swayzak and Water Girl: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. This DVD set was re-released by the company's Warner Archive division as a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release on December 16, 2017.

In other languages

 * L'agent double Corrompu
 * Japanese: 電脳戦士スウェイザック/水娘 (Dennō Senshi Swayzak/Mizu Musume; "Computer Soldier Swayzak / Water Girl"
 * Swayzak y Chica Agua