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Superheroes thrive in animation. The medium is uniquely positioned to capture the visual possibilities and sheer imagination of comic books without having to compromise anything. It's the reason the highest-rated superhero show of all time on IMDb is a cartoon. As we have seen time and time again, from the masterpiece that is "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" to the gripping drama of "X-Men '97," animation can serve these stories in a way that live-action can't.

Still, that doesn't mean every effort is a home run. For every "Batman: The Animated Series," there's a "Batman Unlimited." While the '90s saw plenty of masterful cartoons based on superheroes, even Marvel ones with "X-Men: The Animated Series" and "Spider-Man," there was still something missing — The Avengers. So, in the late '90s, Fox Kids decided to fix this grave mistake and create an Avengers cartoon. Before the show could get greenlit, however,...

Still recognized as one of the greatest interpretations of the Caped Crusader, even three decades after its debut, Batman: The Animated Series helped to redefine the portrayal of superheroes in mainstream media. The show's commitment to quality writing, and the internal battles over the juvenile scripts produced early on by some Saturday Morning veterans, was an indicator Batman had aspirations that exceeded most of the era's programming. One established character who presented a challenge to the writing staff, however, was Gotham's infamous criminal mastermind, the Riddler.

The Name Is "Riddler!" Edward Nygma Doesn't Exist Anymore!Image via Warner Bros. Discovery

Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuting in October 1948's Detective Comics #140, the Riddler remained an obscure figure for nearly twenty years, thanks to a dearth of appearances during the Golden Age of comic books. The Riddler's return in May 1965's Batman #171, from writer Gardner Fox and penciler Jack Schiff,...

Marvel’s X-Men ’97 was filled with unexpected twists and turns, yet it has been one glorious ride for all Marvel fans. After years of having a love-hate relationship with Fox’s X-Men movies, fans were hopeful that Marvel Studios would bring them a more comic-book-faithful version of the mutants after Disney acquired Fox.

X-Men ’97 (Credits: Marvel Animation)

Not only is X-Men ’97 faithful to the source but its nostalgic theme and ties with the original X-Men: The Animated Series make it one hell of a show to watch. With the season one finale approaching fast, creator and showrunner Beau DeMayo took to his X account to share a bit of assignment for fans of the show.

In his recent tweet, DeMayo revealed that every fan of the mutant tale should prep and watch these 6 episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series before watching the 3-part season finale, Tolerance is Extinction.

Transformers Animated came to an end with its third season, but it wasn’t always intended to be that way! Various plans existed for a fourth season that would have continued the story of the series and taken it in a new direction.

Transformers Animated (2007)

During the brainstorming phase for the fourth season, Marty Isenberg, the story editor, envisioned a narrative that would span both Cybertron and Earth. The focal point would remain on Cybertron, the homeworld of the Transformers, but the discovery of new energon deposits on Earth, originating from shards of the AllSpark, would necessitate the Autobots’ continued defense against the energy-starved Decepticons on our planet as well.

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According to Isenberg, season 3 embraced a more traditional Autobot vs. Decepticon war narrative.

During the early 2000s X-Men: Evolution reimagined the popular Marvel Comics team for a younger audience. The animated series ran for 52 episodes across four seasons and was the first introduction to Mutants for an entirely new generation of superhero fans. However, the series failed to bring to life one of the X-Men’s deadliest foes.

Mr. Sinister as depicted in Marvel Comics

Despite its long run on air and interesting roster of X-Men characters, X-Men: Evolution could not introduce the terrifying Mr. Sinister, which would have preceded the character’s appearance in the more recent but retro-style animated X-Men ’97 series. Here is everything you need to know about plans for Mr. Sinister’s introduction in X-Men: Evolution and why it never materialized.

X-Men: Evolution Season 5 Almost Introduced Mr. Sinister Years Before X-Men ’97

X-Men: Evolution was created by Marty Isenberg, Robert N. Skir, and David Wise, and aired...

There have been a lot of "Transformers" cartoons since 1984. Most of them (and I say this as a fan) are pretty unimpressive. One of the best ones is "Transformers: Animated," which aired from 2007 to 2009 on Cartoon Network. Network executive Sam Register created the series like it was "Teen Titans" with robots. Register even recruited one of that show's character designers, the late Derrick J. Wyatt, resulting in a similar art style.

"Animated" broke away from past series' tenets, transforming them you might say — the show's team even cast Megatron voice actor extraordinaire David Kaye as Optimus Prime instead. The series was explicitly pitched as "more like a superhero show than a 'Transformers' show" (read the original production bible here for many tantalizing insights and scrapped ideas). The Autobots each had unique powers and faced off against human villains; against the Decepticons, they were definite underdogs.

By season 3, "Transformers: Animated...

Synopsis:

This All Hallows’ Eve, Nightmare is bent on conquering our waking world by crossing through the Dream Dimension, and converting each dreamer into a monster. Can Dr. Strange, Hulk and the Howling Commandoes hold the line and put an end to his nefarious scheme?

Marvel’s Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, the first animated, feature-length film centered on Hulk, premieres on Digital HD on Oct. 21. In this spooky, action-packed feature, the Green Goliath and Sorcerer Supreme team up with the Howling Commandoes, a supernatural strikeforce, to thwart the villainous plan of Nightmare, the evil, supernatural lord of the Dream Dimension.

Voice Cast:

Fred Tatasciore as Hulk; Liam O’Brien as Dr. Strange; Jesse Burch as Bruce Banner; Edward Bosco as Warwolf and Minotaur; Chiara Zanni as Nina Price, Vampire by Night; Mike Vaughn as Zombie Jasper Sitwell; Matthew Waterson as Nightmare; and Michael Robles as Benito

Writers:

Marty Isenberg (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,...

Marvel announced that production has begun on their animated Guardians of the Galaxy TV series, with the studio's head of television, Jeph Loeb, unveiling the first trailer and poster at New York Comic Con today. Take a look at the official press release for new details on the show, which debuts in 2015 on Disney Xd.

Production has begun on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy an upcoming animated-television series for Disney Xd, featuring the hugely popular characters introduced in the record-breaking Marvel Studios film of the same name. The announcement was made today by Jeph Loeb, Marvel's Head of Television, at New York Comic-Con. Produced by Marvel Television, the series stars Peter Quill as Star-Lord, the brash adventurer who, to save the universe from its greatest threats, joins forces with a quartet of disparate misfits - fan-favorite Rocket Raccoon, a tree-like humanoid named Groot, the enigmatic, expert fighter Gamora and the rough-edged warrior Drax the Destroyer.

Marvel announced at New York Comic Con that they have started production on an animated series for Guardians of the Galaxy! News of this first popped up earlier in the year, and it's great to see that it's actually happening. The series is coming to Disney Xd in 2015! The announcement came from Jeph Loeb, Marvel's Head of Television, and we even have some cool test footage for you to check out that gives us a good idea of what we can expect from the series.

The series stars Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, "the brash adventurer who, to save the universe from its greatest threats, joins forces with a quartet of disparate misfits – fan-favorite Rocket Raccoon, a tree-like humanoid named Groot, the enigmatic, expert fighter Gamora and the rough-edged warrior Drax the Destroyer."

This is an opportunity for Marvel to step up and do something awesome with their animation team. They used to do great stuff,...

Press Release:

It’s Hero Time All Week Long As Cartoon Network Celebrates Ben 10 Week March 19-24 Global Premiere of All-New CGI Movie, Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens Sneak Peek of Brand-New Series Ben 10: Omniverse CartoonNetwork.com Launches Next Ben 10 Game

Ben 10, the ultimate teen superhero and global superstar, takes over Cartoon Network with an entire week of on-air and online content beginning Monday, March 19. All week long, fans can start their day with special episodes from every Ben 10 series airing each morning at 6:30 a.m. (Et, Pt) then catch their favorite episodes of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien at 4 p.m. (Et, Pt). In addition, CartoonNetwork.com launches the next Ben 10 Game, The Mystery of the Mayan Sword. All this leads up to the U.S. television premiere of the all-new CGI movie, Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens on Friday,...

For newcomers as well as longtime fans, Idw Publishing - under license from Hasbro, Inc., is proud to announce the release of The Transformers Animated: The Arrival #1 Â. the first of a series of five All-new Original comics.  

{sidebar id=1}The story arc takes place in the continuity of the first season of the Â.AnimatedÂ. TV show, airing on Cartoon Network. 

In Â.Dispatches,Â. Animated series head writer Marty Isenberg, along with artist Dario Brizuela take a brand-new look at the story behind the AUTOBOTSÂ. arrival on Earth.

YouÂ.ve seen the Animated movie, but do you know the whole story? You will as Ultra Magnus, Sentinel Prime, Starscream, Blackarachnia, and many more tell their sides of the story that started it all!

The Transformers Animated series will also feature Oilslick, who was originally intended to be a toy-only character, but the creators found a place to fit him into the comic.