Wonder Twins: Origins, Powers, Abilities, & More

Two of the most popular characters in DC history are Jayna and Zan, who are twins called their superhero name the Wonder Twins. They are quite popular among the older generations because they were prominent in the Super Friends cartoons. That said, it has been announced that the Wonder Twins are going to get their own movie. So, for those who don’t know these characters, we are here to get to know them better.

Wonder Twins Origin

It is worthy to note who the Wonder Twins are because they are getting their own movie. On top of that, some of the younger kids today probably don’t recognize them due to the fact that it has been quite a long while since they made an appearance on any cartoon or series. That said, those who lived during the 80s and 90s would be familiar with them.

The reason why the Wonder Twins are quite popular among those who lived during the 80s and 90s is that they appeared in a popular TV show called The All-New Super Friends Hour, which is an animated series by Hanna-Barbera. So, unlike some of the other cartoon superheroes who first appeared in the comics, the Wonder Twins first appeared in the aforementioned animated series.

In The All-New Super Friends Hour, the Wonder Twins worked together with other DC superheroes, such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Robin, and Aquaman. Think of it as something similar to a rebranded version of the Justice League that included the Wonder Twins.

As the Wonder Twins grew up in popularity, they eventually got their own comic book series that was based on their animated series. From there, they were eventually introduced as canon DC characters, even though they were already working with DC superheroes prior to their introduction to the DC universe in the comics.

The Wonder Twins started out as metas that can trace their ancestry to the Exorian shapeshifters. However, a plague killed their parents when they were still young, and they were left orphaned and unadopted until a space circus owner took them in. But his purpose was to raise them as sideshows for his circus instead of raising them as his children. Thankfully, the circus clown was kind enough to raise the twins as his own children, and he even gave them the monkey named Gleek.

When the twins escaped the circus as teenagers, they went to hide on a planet where a villain called Grax built his headquarters. The twins spied on him and learned that he was planning to blow up the Earth using his bombs. That was when the twins decided to go to Earth to warn the Justice League.

The Justice League took the twins in as a member of their team. They took on the Earth names Johan and Joanna Fleming, who supposedly transferred from Sweden. The twins also went on to live with an old scientist named Professor Carter Nichols as they went to school in Gotham City High School.

Wonder Twins Names

While they took on the names Johan and Joanna Fleming while living on Earth, the Wonder Twins’ real names are actually Zan and Jayna, respectively. They hardly used their Earth names, as they only did so whenever they were in school.

Who Replaced The Original Wonder Twins?

Before the Wonder Twins were introduced to The All-New Super Friends Hour series, there was an original Super Friends animated show that featured two characters that the Wonder Twins eventually replaced on the Super Friends team.

The original characters are regular humans that go by the name Marvin and Wendy. Marvin was the son of Diana Prince, the very same person whose name Wonder Woman took when she left her island. Meanwhile, Wendy is the daughter of the detective who trained Batman. As such, there was a familial tie that allowed Marvin and Wendy to join up with the Justice League on their missions, as they were supposedly crimefighters in training.

Both Marvin and Wendy (and Marvin’s dog) didn’t have any powers or special abilities. They are regular humans who just happen to tag along with the Super Friends. And the reason why they were included in the series was for viewer identification so that the younger audience members could identify themselves with the non-superpowered youngsters tagging along with a group of superheroes.

Due to the fact that they didn’t have any superpowers and didn’t add much to the story, they were eventually dropped after one season and were replaced by the Wonder Twins. The in-universe reason why they left the team was that they were going to retire. As such, the Wonder Twins had a good reason to take their spot on the team. Meanwhile, the Wonder Twins became so much more popular than Marvin and Wendy because they actually contributed to the team. 

Wonder Twins Powers & Abilities

The Wonder Twins are a pair of shapeshifters that are capable of morphing their bodies into all sorts of different objects and creatures. However, each twin has a different power that is unique to them.

Zan can turn into any state of matter, as his powers allowed him to turn into solids, liquids, and gases. That means that he could turn himself into anything that isn’t a human or animal as long whatever he turns to belongs to the three main states of matter. Whenever he transforms, he has to shout “form of” before he states what he is going to transform into.

Meanwhile, Jayna has the ability to turn into any animal from any planet or legendary story. Her powers are much like Beast Boy in the sense that she can morph herself into different living creatures, such as birds, elephants, or aliens. When Jayna transforms, she must shout “shape of” before saying what she will be transforming into.

As useful as their powers may be, the Wonder Twins must be together so that they can use their powers. That’s because they have to make physical contact before their powers can activate. they usually do so by doing a fist bump while saying, “Wonder Twins powers, activate.”

On top of the powers that they already have, the Wonder Twins also have a host of other abilities that can be quite useful. They share a telepathic link that they use to communicate with one another and to alert the other twin when one of them is in danger. The twins are also capable of resisting mind control thanks to their telepathic powers.

The twins also have a monkey named Gleek, who may not have the same powers that they do but has proven useful. Whenever the twins cannot make physical contact under normal circumstances, Gleek usually assists, as he can help the Wonder Twins reach each other so that they can activate their own powers.

How Powerful Are The Wonder Twins?

When they activate their powers, the Wonder Twins can be as powerful as their imaginations can take them because there seems to be no limit to what they can transform into as long as the things or creatures are within the rules of their powers.

For instance, Jayna can transform into any living creature regardless of where it came from. In one instance, she transformed into a Kryptonian animal that she used to overwhelm Superman. So, if there’s an animal of alien origin that’s quite powerful, she can transform into it.

Meanwhile, Zan could change into anything as long as it is based on the three main forms of matter. For example, he can turn into a frost giant because this form is based on water that’s solidified into a solid state. He can even theoretically transform into Kryptonite to weaken Superman.

However, while they can be as powerful as they want to be, the fact that they first need to make physical contact with one another before they can transform is their biggest limit. So, if one of them is away from the other or if the other twin gets killed or becomes incapacitated, there is no way for the other twin to use their powers.