Year one of Toonami also included segments featuring "extreme" athletes, not unlike the sports-oriented spots recently reintroduced to the block.

For your perusal, the class of 1997 by the order of appearance:

Thundercats

Tobias "Ted" Wolf's sci-fi classic that's part-Star Wars and part-Masters of the Universe about feral humanoid survivors of a lost world, including the future Lord of the Thundercats, a young hero named Lion-O. After the survivors, frozen in time (except for Lion-O, who actually ages to adulthood), are revived, the Thundercats make a home on Third Earth, a world filled with numerous unique beings, both friend and foe, and find themselves in constant struggle against the Mutants and Mumm-Ra the Everliving.

Cartoon Roulette

The cornerstone of any good action block is a collection of shows that helped paved the way, so it shouldn't come as no surprise that Toonami would bring Cartoon Network's collection of action shorts to the block. The very first short shown on Toonami was the very first action short ever made, the Fleischer Bros.' Academy Award-nominated Superman (aka The Mad Scientist), based on DC Comics' iconic superhero. Hanna-Barbera's classic action shorts also made an appearance on Toonami, including the Galaxy Trio (a Fantastic Four-esque group of interstellar heroes), Birdman (a Hawkman-like hero), The Impossibles (a rock-band that only plays guitars that also become a trio of superpowered heroes), Shazzan (a genie who assists a pair of American kids and a flying camel), The Herculoids (a human family and their incredible creatures), Mightor (a masked caveman hero with phenominal powers), Teen Force (a Galaxy Trio-like team of young heroes), and Space Ghost (an intergalactic protector and guardian of space).

Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Before there was Power Rangers was another Toei-made sentai series, only this was an animated series. Voltron: Defender of the Universe was the first animated series from Japan to air on Toonami. This legendary series was about five young rebels who, alongside a regal yet headstrong princess, rediscover the legendary warrior known as Voltron, a mecha unit who was created by the combination of five sleek Lionbots by the young heroes to defeat the monarchy of Zarkon.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Weeks prior to the premiere of Toonami, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest had cemented itself in the weekday afternoon and late-night slots on Cartoon Network, so it was no surprise that the series would be a linchpin series closing the block. A more mature version of the 60s classic, Jonny Quest and his family, which includes his father Dr. Benton Quest, his best friend Hadji Singh, his dog Bandit, his bodyguard "Race" Bannon, and Race's daughter Jessie Bannon, trek across the world and in a cyberworld environment where they take on global terrorists, otherworldly threats, and cyber criminals. This is probably one of the greatest Hanna-Barbera action series ever developed.