During the monkey-manned spaceflights of the 1960s, one rocket veered off course, sending a chimp named Charlie off into the outer reaches of space. After many years, Charlie’s craft was discovered by the most intelligent race in the universe, The " " (pronounced by not saying anything. Then followed with the explanation that their race is so advanced that their name cannot be pronounced or written; only thought. The running joke then had the other space monkeys asking, “The who?”) Charlie was given enhanced intelligence, weapons, and futuristic technology, along with a charge to protect the universe from the evil Lord Nebula. One of the more unusual villains in cartoon history, Nebula was a half-human, half-black hole who hoped to become a complete black hole, swallow the universe in a “Big Crunch,” then remake it in his own image. His one problem was that, being half human, he was still susceptible to human ailments, such as the common cold and stomach aches. To aid Charlie (who was given the title "Captain Charlie Simian"), The " " allowed him to recruit a team of fellow earth monkeys: Shao Lin, a Chinese golden monkey with swift fighting skills and serene wisdom; Spydor, a wisecracking little spider monkey with a long prehensile tail; Dr. Splitz/Splitzy, an orangutan with a scientist/madman split-personality; and Gor, a big, strong gorilla who wrecked the intelligence-enhancing machine before he got a full helping. The group cruised the stars in their ship, the Primate Avenger, battling Nebula and his cyborg monkey henchman, Rhesus 2, and searching for the ever-elusive bananas. The monkeys mixed fast-talking humor with fast-paced action.