279 replies to this topic

[Lantern7]

In case you're not tuned in to Hollywood, Marvel Comics is making sure the next few years are covered by the Avengers. Iron Man already has two movies, Thor and Captain America will be following next year, and that will lead into an Avengers movie. Of course, with the franchise coming out in style, a beachhead needs to be established. The front: Disney XD. The army: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

For those new to the Avengers, here's the deal: back in the early 1960s, Marvel decided to team up some of their heroes to combat evil that would be too big for just one person to handle. The original roster included Iron Man, Thor, Hulk (no, really), Ant-Man and Wasp. In the fourth issue, Captain America was freed from an icy tomb to eventually become their greatest leader. Many incarnations later (including the Ultimates, which doesn't seem to play into the cartoon much), the Avengers have managed to remain relevant in comics.

As for the series? Happily, it doesn't resemble the crap cartoon of the 1990s, since the heaviest hitters are involved. The original roster seems to be intact, with Cap and stalwarts Hawkeye and Black Panther eventually joining the team. This trailer shows dozens of recognizable baddies, so geeks should feel right at home. And there appears to be a theme song . . . though in their defense, the song from Iron Man: Armored Adventures grew on fans. One good thing: unlike Cartoon Network, XD doesn't believe in killing one show to make room for another, since IM:AA will be out with another season in 2011.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is set to air in the fall. What do you guys think?

ETA: Duh. IM:AA is on Nicktoons. Totally screwed up on that. Sorry.

Edited by Lantern7, Jul 28, 2010 @ 1:26 PM.

[BaltimoreTom]

The trailer looks OK, although the animation style seems to be a little derivative of the Timmverse. I like how Hawkeye and Black Widow are presented separately from the rest of the team; perhaps they're going back to their original interpretation as anti-heroes.

If IM:AA is still going to be around, here's hoping it stays on Nicktoons -- keeping Pepper in that limbo is fine by me. Also hoping that this means the end of SHS.

[superboy]

IM:AA isn't going anywhere in terms of networks; it'll be staying on Nicktoons.

I'm kind of excited for this. I've been waiting for a proper Avengers cartoon since before that trainwreck in the 90s that FOX thought was fit to air. Ugh, that was awful.

I also read somewhere that they were already greenlit to produce a second season by Disney XD so we might actually have this show around for a while.

I'll definitely be checking it out.

[Twilight Man]

First off: I'm surprised that the old cartoon didn't already have a thread.
Sure, it sucked, but a lot of cartoons that sucked actually have threads on this board (you know who you are).

Second: movie stuff at Comic-Con.
I loved seeing the actors on stage. Can't wait for more stuff.

Third: new cartoon
Awesome! I really hope that they do this one right.
and I hope that with IM: AA still on, we're not going to have legal nightmares
(like we did with "Justice League" vs. "The Batman" or "Superfriends" vs. "The New Adventures of Batman".)

Meanwhile, back to the first cartoon,
C'mon, a cartoon about the Avengers, without Cap, Thor, and IM being the main stars.
That's like trying to make a show about the Justice League and not have Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in it.

[Lantern7]

New trailer is up. Once again, there's more commenter whining about the theme song. Look, if the rapping from One Piece didn't make my ears bleed, I don't know what will.

[Perfect Xero]

I'm not going to be downloading the .mp3 of the theme song or anything, but I don't really get all the hate for it ...

[Lantern7]

For those who haven't seen them . . . microepisodes featuring Iron Man and Hulk.

[hunterhunted]

Actually there are already18 micro episodes on Marvel's website featuring just about all of the players from the trailer: Iron Man, Hulk, Cap, Bucky, Nick Fury, Loki, Thor, Ant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Black Panther, and Kang.

Edited by hunterhunted, Oct 10, 2010 @ 12:36 PM.

[Twilight Man]

Tonight on Disney XD (check local listings):

at 8:30: Iron Man is Born

at 8:45: The Coming of The Hulk

at 9:00: The Man in the Ant Hill (Ant-Man)

at 9:15: HYDRA Lives

and more new episodes this whole week!!!!

[Lantern7]

Managed to shotgun all of the miniepisodes (150 minutes) thanks to Disney XD. Of course, I will be watching the show. Actually, I'll be recording it, since Survivor takes priority, but what I've seen has been intriguing . . . Hydra taking the place of the Nazis, Kang's timeline getting wiped out, Man-Ape killing T'Chaka (Klaw went from murderer to accomplice in the transition), a way-too-perky Wasp, Loki shenanigans, and all sorts of other stuff for Marvel Zombies to geek out on. Oh, and apparently Wolverine was a Howling Commando. Just as Stan Lee intended, I bet.

All eighteen minieps will be run on XD on Sunday at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday at 7 a.m., and Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.

[Twilight Man]

Disney just paid Paramount $115 million so now Disney will get to produce "The Avengers" movie (and Iron Man 3).

[Ravenwing263]

Distribute, not produce.

Whether or not this deal had happened, Marvel Studios (now a Disney subsidiary) would have produced the movie; Marvel Studios had a distribution deal with Paramount in place before Disney bought Marvel. Under the old deal, Disney would have essentially produced the films but Paramount would have distributed. Now, it's been streamlined.

[Captain Pike]

I watched every episode Saturday and I loved it. I was amazed how much the characters resemble their late 70's/early 80's versions I grew up on as a kid rather than the more recent stuff. Sure the animation style (sort of a hybrid between Timm/Dini DC and the Spectacular Spider Man) is more recent and the pace is modern, but I was pleasantly surprised how much of the classic versions of the characters shone through. I'll definitely be DVR'ing this. Been waiting a long time for this series.

Interesting that the designs of three of the prisons resemble major landmarks on the University of Michigan Campus. "The Cube" is a straight out reproduction of a statue in Ann Arbor by the same name, the Vault resembles the Bell tower, and "the Big House" is local slang for the football stadium, and the cartoon big house has elements of other UM buildings. I wonder if there are some Wolverines on the production staff.

[Lantern7]

Well, the first two episodes were stellar. Seriously, I reckon this is every Marvel Zombie's ultimate wet dream, having damn near every character related to the Avengers (and a few that aren't, like Red Ghost and his Super-Apes) jammed into a half-hour series. There were a few laughable moments, but it was mostly good stuff.

[Junkyard Dog]

I'm surprised there isn't more commentary on this show. The first ep aired on Teletoon last night, and I promptly watched part 2 on teh Intertoobs. I gotta admit, I was surpised by how enjoyable it was; Until fairly recently, most of the animated shows made about Marvel characters have been (as a general rule) shitty, cheap, tacky and ugly. This one wasn't, obviously, and I don't mind if it was somewhat derivative of Bruce Timm's style. They might as well pattern it after something good, right?

I haven't actually read a Marvel comic in something like 15 years, so it surprised me how many of the villains I recognized and remembered, particularly 3rd and 4th rate stringers like Whirlwind and the Griffin.

Hopefully, the quality will keep up. I can do without members of the various supporting casts popping in, like Jane Foster, Pepper Potts, et al, but it's ok if they're kept to a bare minimum. I'd much prfer to see the focus on the team members interacting. I'm curious to see who was behind the big prison break, and why.

[superboy]

Anyone else here catch the third episode this week?

I thought it was another success for the series. I like that, in their own way, they're staying true to the origins of the founding team. I like that the focus is on the original five, and then that the Hulk left almost immediately as the team was formed. It's a nice nudge to the actual continuity of the comic book.

I am looking forward to the introduction of Captain America, and into furthering the stories of Hawkeye, Black Widow and Black Panther. I really enjoy that the creative team can start laying the groundwork for bigger plots down the line now since they for sure have 52 episodes to make (and probably more once Disney XD decides whether or not to continue on past a second season). I truly feel like we will get some epic stories from this show once the subplots fully develop. And I'm looking forward to the eventual introduction to Kang, there's a reason he was involved in the webisodes and I'm really, really excited for this show to tackle him.

[Burgalicious]

I got a kick out of how they only had four silhouettes at the end of the opening theme this week. I wonder if they'll keep that up as they add and subtract team members.

Also, I'm not a reader of the comics... At what point did they replace the Nazis with Hydra? And why?

[Lantern7]

I didn't notice the silhouettes. And I have no clue why Hydra replaced the Nazis in this continuity. Those guys are more or less Cobra to SHIELD's G.I. Joe.

Good to see Cap and Black Panther in action, as well as the freakiness that is Armin Zola. I still can't see how Cap's shield can ricochet off walls, smack the hell out of bad guys . . . then Cap catches it as it goes, like, 200 mph.

[BaltimoreTom]

I still can't see how Cap's shield can ricochet off walls, smack the hell out of bad guys . . . then Cap catches it as it goes, like, 200 mph.

Because Cap-olatry is Marvel's version of the BatGod. It's one of the reasons watching Thanos smack the crap out of him was so worthwhile.

This was actually the first episode I liked - the theme song IS awful, just to touch that note -- but the way they handled Cap and T'Challa was good to see. I know Hank Pym has always been a blank slate for creators to project whatever they want onto, but this version of him is possibly the most annoying yet. And Thor is making a strong bid right now for Worf / J'onn status.

Hydra makes sense if you want to remove it from history -- so the guy doesn't spend 70 years in the ice -- but then they go and make a point of saying Cap disappeared in 1943. Which sort of defeats the whole purpose -- if you're gonna put him in World War II, then make Hydra neo-Nazis or something like that. People are ignorant of that sort of stuff enough these days -- next thing you know, major parties will be nominating Nazi re-enactors for Congress, or something insane like that.

[superboy]

I think a large part of replacing the Nazis with Hydra is that Disney likely plans to sell the show internationally and if they wanted to hit a major market like say Germany, the depiction of Nazis is illegal. This is just their way of sidestepping the issue.

It doesn't bother me to be honest, Hydra is a major threat in the Marvel Universe and the show has been handling them pretty well.

[JLoats]

I like how they're handling the Hulk. The episode with Graviton really brought that old "the madder he gets, the stronger he gets" schtick to life.

[Colonel Green]

The show's off to a good start so far, I think. I like the mix of old and recent comics stuff (no surprise, given how involved Yost has been in recent Marvel comics; Wolverine and the X-Men was the same).

[Lantern7]

I'll need to really sit down and watch the latest episode to get the full effect. For the record, Simon Williams (Wonder Man in Marvel continuity) died in his first appearance, as opposed to getting saved by Enchantress. The clear winner of a highlight was Thor's reactor to MODOC, something along the lines of "Like a Frost Giant's head on an infant body." Yeah, I know his name is supposed to be MODOK ("Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing," with "Conquest" replacing the last word), but the insane visual is firmly intact. In fact, MODOK is going to star in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.

The Fury/Cap stuff was good as well, and it's a reversal of an early Avengers storyline where Cap wanted to join SHIELD.

[JLoats]

The introduction of Wonder Man, and the prominent mention of Ultron in the same episode, makes me think they're setting up to bring in the Vision at some point.

[TheEndlessOne]

I thought "Everything is Wonderful" was the weakest episode so far. Don't get me wrong, I loved MODOK, I loved the action scenes, I loved the Tony/Hank stuff. But what killed it for me was Simon. His fall from grace felt forced and contrived. Going from "Stark stole my company" to "I'm willing to subject myself to untested supervillain experiments that in all likelihood will turn me into a pile of radioactive glop" just didn't work.

I'm willing to give the writers a pass, because Wonder Man has a pretty weird origin, so adapting it was likely to be hit-or-miss.

Looking forward to Black Panther. Every other animated appearance he's been a one-off guest star, but now he's actually gonna join the team!

[ShaniquaVan]

It's been a fun cartoon so far, but they've got a ways to go before they're in JLU territory in terms of story lines. Only the Hulk seems to have an inner life, and that's only because his inner life is an entirely other person.

next thing you know, major parties will be nominating Nazi re-enactors for Congress, or something insane like that.

I know it seems unpossible, but it's dangerous to misunderestimate people. Now, watch this drive!

[Lantern7]

"Gammaworld" was great. Especially liked the "OH SHIT" moments, when most of the team -- after getting their asses banged around in the first part -- turning into gamma-powered monsters. I think the writers held back . . . we could've wound up with this version of Wasp. Also liked the Hulk/Hawkeye/Thor team-up, and Thor controlling Absorbing Man after the villain wound up powering up by touching his hammer.

Looks like we'll have to wait a few weeks until the big Avengers/Masters Of Evil throwdown. Will there be an episode next Wednesday?

[Captain Pike]

I've loved every episode so far. I too have wondered why it isn't getting more buzz on this forum or anywhere else for that matter. I did talk to the guy who runs the local comic book store. (guy's nothing like Simpons' "Comic Book Guy" he knows is stuff.) and asked him what he thought of the new series, and he hadn't heard of it. when I explained it was on Disney XD he said he didn't get that channel. If he's not getting it, I bet there are a lot of potential viewers not getting the show beause they dont have the full cable package (I would have missed it if not for my DVR) and the network is compounding the problem by shifting it all over the place, First it's wed. 8pm then Sat only, now Sun Morning only??? (again only my DVR Series recording feature saved me).

"Gamma World" was the biggest departure from the old school continuity but it was a well written story so I don't mind in the least. I love that they're actually making Thor use his head once in awhile for more than stopping a foe's punch (controlling Absorbing Man like his hammer, calling down lightning to jumpstart Iron Man)

I like that they're setting up a Hulk-Hawkeye rivalry. In the comics Hulk was long gone when Hawkeye showed up, but when She-Hulk first joined, she and Hawkeye picked on each other all the time.

I'm looking forward to the Masters of Evil episode. (hopefully the first of many. There have been several classic MOE stories.)

This series makes me want to go dig up my old Avengers comics and read 'em all over again. (I own the first 300 issues of Avengers and Iron Man)

[Lantern7]

Heads up: "Masters Of Evil" airs tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. I'm surprised . . . I think XD wanted to kick off the series on prime time to start.

ETA: In case you missed it: The Masters of Evil (Baron Zemo, Amora/Enchantress, Crimson Dynamo, Abomination, Simon Williams/Wonder Man) take on the Avengers the way they it should be done . . . namely, by ganging up on them on an individual basis. Well, except for Hulk . . . Enchantress banishes him to where the Frost Giants hang out. The episode turns around with Hawkeye and Black Panther buying enough time for Hank Pym (whom Zemo does not underestimate) to take control of the situation. Fair fight breaks out, the Masters turn tail and teleport to Armin Zola's lab, and Enchantress turns to the Masters' benefactor, who's in the shadows. I didn't look too hard, but it's gotta be Loki. He's the first canon Avengers villain, and he was shown in the mini-eps. Good episode all around. And next week? Captain (Non-Shazam) Marvel comes to Earth.

Edited by Lantern7, Dec 5, 2010 @ 1:25 PM.

[JLoats]

Removing the Hulk from the scene of the fight is certainly a smart villain strategy, but it makes for boring/frustrating TV. What's the point of having the Hulk on the team if he never gets to actually do anything?