The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Being a comic book fanboy since I was six, I always hoped for an animated series featuring Marvel Comics's illustrious super-hero team, "The Avengers", since I thought they were cool (well…maybe not "X-Men cool).

When fall 1999 came around, I wanted to vomit when I saw "Avengers: United They Stand", a fourth-rate production that mishandled second-class heroes, sentenced first-rate heroes to guest-star status, used poor character designs and had a soul that was part-Power Rangers (ugh!) and part-toy commercial without decent plots(double ugh!).

Eleven years is a long wait, but "The Avengers: Earth's Mightest Heroes" is worth it.

Corralled as a unit in 1963 by co-creators Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby (both men co-created each individual with some assist from Stan's brother, Larry Lieber and the late Don Heck), the original five members are given good exposure here: armored crusader Iron Man (voiced by Eric Loomis); Asgardian thunder god Thor (Rick Wasserman); micro-sized troubleshooters Ant-Man (Wally Wingert) and the Wasp (Colleen O'Shaughnessy) and gamma-radiated behemoth Hulk (Fred Tatasciore of "Ben 10").

Earth needs them since many super-powered miscreants (name them all and win a prize!) have escaped from four maximum security prisons, this plot adapted from the "Breakout" arc from the recent "New Avengers" comic book. Guess having one of the lockups shrunken and stationed in the helicarrier headquarters of the counter-terrorist group SHIELD was a BAD idea. In future episodes, other heroes will enter the fray like World War II superhuman patriot Captain America; unconventional archer Hawkeye and African monarch/combatant Black Panther. Bring on the good and bad guys!

Though it won't surpass the monolithic "Justice League: The Animated Series" from long-time competitor DC/Warner Bros Animation, "Avengers" joins recent Marvel Comics animated shows "X-Men: Evolution" and "The Spectacular Spider Man" as good quality productions. You better assemble, true believers!

Fantastic series and the most true to the comic stories to date. Excellent action, characters, and story telling. The characters are so life like you'll forget you're watching a cartoon and get lost in the story line.

It's also fun to see the similarities between this show and the Marvel movies that have become so popular. If you have never had a chance to read the comics, this show is a great opportunity to see where the essence of the movies came from.

If you're a Marvel fan, you'll love this series. My only complaint is that they ended it way too soon after only 2 seasons.

Avengers Assemble!!

I am a long time fan of the Avengers, and have dreamed of the day when we would see an animated series that could actually capture the best of the comic and bring it to life. I feel that this show really does that. I followed the comic for over 35 years, but finally stopped a few years ago, because I felt the book lost it's magic. They allowed a new creative team to make the book more "popular", at the expense of what made the book great. I believe this new animated series will delight long time fans, while bringing a new younger audience to these characters. It seems that the creative team behind this series is taking great care to stay true to the original material, while doing a great job of merging it with a modern spin. They've even taken elements from newer story lines, and worked them in very effectively. I like the look of the show a lot. I would have preferred a look more reflective of George Perez's style (my favorite Avengers artist}, but I do understand that a lot of people enjoy the more anime look. I will say that it flows very smoothly, and with so much action, it is very exciting. I just watched the first 13 episodes, and can't wait for the rest of season 1 to be released on DVD. On the DVD's they talk about some of the things planned for second season, and all I can say is it looks amazing. If Marvel could get the same excitement back into the comic, I would be buying it again! I'm hoping this series has a very long run, and continues to bring in more of my favorite characters and story lines.

Earth's Mightiest Heroes was the best of the three and it is one that ranks very high up in the comic ranks. I definitely say that it is Marvel's top show and it isn't likely going to be surpassed anytime soon.

Season 1's main plot is about the Avengers forming so that they can bring back a large group of super villains who escaped from Shield prisons all across the planet. It's technically the plot of the show, but it's mostly used as a backdrop. The season is pretty episodic, but it does begin a lot of plot lines that are explored in those episodes so it's definitely better than the average pre arc. Ultron, Kang, and Loki all get multiparters as well as the Leader. There may not be much of an overreaching story arc, but most of the episodes have a cliffhanger scene at the very end so the transition from episode to episode is actually pretty great. Season 1 is a lot of fun and you can count on many excellent battles.

Season 2 decided to go for a big plot and one that featured the Skrulls deciding to invade the planet. They have taken many people in powerful positions so they are all set for their bid to conquer the human race. The Avengers have to get past several obstacles and the lack of trust in their teammates to even have a shot at taking down the Skrulls. Other highlights of the series includes the return of Ultron and Kang. It should be noted that the Kree also get a multi parter as they finally make their big move. This season can get a little dicey since we have to miss out on Hulk, Captain America, and Thor for various parts of the season, which makes for a limited roster. The Guardians of the Galaxy do get to appear though, which is pretty intense.

I will admit that I was one of the many Marvel fans who was not a huge fan of the designs for the show when they first popped up. The characters just looked a little off. Thor was actually one of the biggest offenders for me. His build just didn't seem right and his arms were huge. The hammer looked so small when Thor was holding it and the handle should have been longer. That being said, you get used to it as you watch the show. I wasn't a huge fan of Captain America's design compared to United They Stand, but it is still a very good design in its own right. The Abomination was one of the characters who drew the short straw in terms of design.

I don't know whether this is a result of the character designs or whether it was the overall animation, but the fight scenes were pretty over the top in a great way. Some of the energy blasts looked like they came out of an anime. The action scenes definitely shine in this series and they put most of the other Marvel shows to shame. The first few episodes tried some unique things with the animation, particularly Iron Man's view from inside the suit. I think that the animation took a bit if a dip after the beginning, but it still looked pretty good overall. Season 2 certainly looks sharp and it was definitely an improvement. I wasn't sure about this at first, but I definitely am now.

Finally Marvel comics has some quality work to compete with all the awesome DC animated movies/shows that have been coming out lately. The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes takes everything that was great about the old comics and filters it through the modern Universe that Marvel is building through their big budget movies.

The artwork, animation and character design is spot on. The attention to detail paid in these shows to the story and characters is proof that the folks making this series truly love and respect the old comics and these beloved heroes and villains. And let's not forget the most important part...the action - which is fast paced and epic as almost any Marvel comic.

Story arcs and sub-plots abound just like the comics and the cast of characters is huge. I would like to see the Vision though, and Ultron would be nice as well...hopefully the show gets many more seasons to explore those options.

If Marvel could apply this sort of treatment to perhaps an animated Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four or even Spider-Man I'm sure millions of fans would rejoice! Avengers Earths Mightiest heroes is this fan's delight.