Wonder Twins

Wonder Twins
The Wonder Twins, from Super Friends.
Publication information
First appearance	"Joy Ride" The All-New Super Friends Hour (September 10, 1977)
In-story information
Alter ego	Zan and Jayna
Species	Exxorian
Place of origin	Exxor
Team affiliations	Super Friends Justice League Ten Elements of the Universe
Abilities	Zan can transform into any form of water Jayna can transform into any animal.

The Wonder Twins (Zan and Jayna) are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sister superhero duo who first appeared in Hanna-Barbera's American animated television series Super Friends. They subsequently appeared in comics based on the animated series, and were later introduced into the main DC Comics Universe. They have since appeared in other media, including animated series such as Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans Go!, and the live-action TV series Smallville.

The duo made their debut in The All-New Super Friends Hour and went on to appear in The World's Greatest Super Friends, Super Friends, and Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show. Zan (voiced by Michael Bell) and Jayna (voiced by Louise Williams) are siblings from the planet Exxor (also spelled Exor) who were being informally trained by the superheroes. Unlike their predecessors, Wendy Harris and Marvin White, this pair was able to participate in combat with abilities of their own.

Hanna Barbera animator Darrell McNeil recalls the twins were created by Norman Maurer, the Super Friends series developer/story editor. They were originally called Dick and Jane, and their sidekick was Mighty Monkey, before finally becoming Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. The names "Zan" and "Jayna" derived from the Edgar Rice Burroughs characters Tarzan and his romantic interest Jane. According to McNeil, "Originally Zan (Dick) had 'Plastic Man' powers and Jayna (Jane) could transform into anything, not just animals, but they were scaled back to their present powers as it made the other Super Friends (even Superman) seem almost superfluous." Jayna's distinctive hairdo was based on that of an animation checker at Hanna-Barbera, while the pointed ears were inspired by the character Spock from the Star Trek franchise. The twins' personalities were heavily based on Donny and Marie Osmond, who were extremely popular at the time and had their own show on ABC as well.