You’ve seen the clip. It’s grainy, 4:3 aspect ratio, and looks like it was recorded on a VHS tape that survived a house fire. A group of the world's most dangerous supervillains—the Legion of Doom—is sitting around a table in their swamp base. Brainiac, a cold, calculating android with a literal computer for a brain, isn't talking about world domination or killing Superman.
He’s complaining about his lack of pants.
Then comes the line. The voice is deep, gravelly, and sounds like a mountain of mud trying to speak English. "Solomon Grundy want pants too!" It’s weirdly wholesome. It’s definitely absurd. And for a generation of kids who grew up watching Cartoon Network in the early 2000s, it's a core memory. But where did this actually come from? Honestly, it wasn't even a real episode of the show it was parodying.
The Origin Story Nobody Remembers Correcty
The phrase solomon grundy want pants too didn't actually originate in the 1970s Challenge of the Super Friends cartoon. If you go back and watch those old episodes, they’re definitely campy, but they aren't that self-aware.
The bit actually comes from a series of promotional spots created by Cartoon Network around 2000. They were part of a campaign called "Cartoon Network Shorties" or just general "branding" promos that mashed up different eras of animation. In this specific commercial, the Legion of Doom is having a meeting. Brainiac is frustrated because his "costume" is basically just a shirt and boots. He screams, "I just want some pants! A decent pair of pants!"
Grundy, being the simple-minded swamp zombie we all love, chimes in because he wants to fit in.
It was a brilliant bit of meta-humor. Cartoon Network knew their audience was starting to realize how ridiculous old-school superhero tropes were. Why did Brainiac go around without trousers? Why did the Legion of Doom hang out in a giant Darth Vader helmet in a swamp?
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The commercial was a hit because it humanized the monsters. Or, at least, it made them relatable in their pettiness.
Who Is Solomon Grundy, Anyway?
Before he was a meme about fashion choices, Solomon Grundy was a legitimate horror character in DC Comics. He first appeared in All-American Comics #61 back in 1944. His real name was Cyrus Gold, a wealthy man who was murdered and dumped in Slaughter Swamp.
He didn't just die. He changed.
The swamp matter and some vague mystical energy turned him into a "revenant"—basically a zombie that gets stronger every time he’s "killed." He’s a regular foe for Batman and the Green Lantern. The name comes from the old English nursery rhyme:
Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday...
In the comics, he’s usually a tragic figure. He has the mind of a toddler and the strength of a freight train. He often just wants to be left alone in his swamp, but he gets manipulated by smarter villains like Lex Luthor or The Joker.
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The Challenge of the Super Friends version (voiced by Jimmy Weldon) gave him that iconic Southern drawl. This is the version people are usually picturing when they quote the pants line. He’s big, he’s grey, and he’s wearing a tattered suit that—ironically—already includes pants.
Maybe that’s why he wanted more pants. Or better ones.
Why the Meme Survived for Decades
Internet culture is a strange beast. Some things disappear in a week, but solomon grundy want pants too has stayed relevant for over twenty years. Why?
Part of it is the voice. The delivery is perfect. It’s the ultimate non-sequitur. You can drop it into almost any conversation where someone is complaining about something trivial, and it works.
- It mocks the seriousness of "gritty" reboots.
- It captures the specific "weird" energy of early 2000s Adult Swim-adjacent humor.
- It’s fun to say in a gravelly voice.
In 2013, DC even gave a nod to the meme in the Earth 2 comic series. A version of the character actually mentions the desire for pants. When a billion-dollar comic book company acknowledges a twenty-year-old promo for a defunct cartoon block, you know the meme has reached legendary status.
The Animation Renaissance
The promo was produced during what many call the "Powerhouse Era" of Cartoon Network. This was when the network was transitioning from just showing old Hanna-Barbera reruns to creating original content like Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls.
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They had a very specific style of humor: slightly cynical, very fast-paced, and deeply aware of animation history. They took the "superhero" archetype and stripped away the dignity.
There was another promo in the same series where Aquaman complains that his powers are useless because he can only talk to fish, and Wonder Woman basically tells him to shut up. It was a precursor to shows like Robot Chicken or Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
Actionable Takeaways for Collectors and Fans
If you're a fan of this specific era of DC history or the "pants" meme itself, there are actually a few things you can do to dive deeper into the lore without just watching the 10-second YouTube clip on loop.
- Track down the "Shorties": Look for Cartoon Network's "The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special." It's a mouthful, but it contains many of these meta-humor shorts that defined the network's voice.
- Check out Batman: The Long Halloween: If you want to see the "serious" version of Grundy that makes the pants joke even funnier by contrast, this is the best version. He lives in the sewers and recites the nursery rhyme. It's spooky, not funny, which provides great context.
- Listen to the Voice: The late Jimmy Weldon, who voiced Grundy in the original Super Friends, also voiced Yakky Doodle. Knowing that the terrifying swamp monster shares a voice with a tiny, innocent duck makes the "want pants" line even more surreal.
- Physical Media: These promos are rarely included on official DVD releases due to licensing messiness between Hanna-Barbera, DC, and Cartoon Network. If you find an old "Cartoon Network: 20 Years" collection, guard it with your life.
Basically, the next time you feel like you're missing something essential in your life—whether it's a promotion at work or just a snack—just remember that even a 500-pound swamp zombie has unfulfilled desires. Sometimes, those desires are just for a decent pair of slacks.
To fully appreciate the absurdity of the "pants" line, you really have to watch the original Challenge of the Super Friends episodes from 1978. Seeing the Legion of Doom try to be "serious" villains makes the Cartoon Network parody 100 times more effective because you realize they were already kind of a joke to begin with. Seek out the episode "Monolith of Evil" for a prime example of Grundy’s "original" personality before the internet got ahold of him.