User reviews

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!

Both Marvel and DC have to an astonishing degree started to pick up these last few years, with several well-appreciated shows that I really enjoy: Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Green Lantern TAS, and now this; The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

I'm pretty sure many of you reading this remember when back in 2001, Bruce Timm brought the Justice league into the DC animated universe. And I'm also pretty sure that everyone who does remember, can agree with me that it was an absolutely fantastic show.

Now Marvel's counterpart to the Justice League, The Avengers, have finally gotten a cartoon that really is something to behold.

Let me just make it very clear that I'm not much of a comics reader, pretty much everything I know about pretty much any character from Marvel/DC stem from their incarnations in television.

I'm a 17-year old guy with too much free time on my hands, some of that free time is mostly spent watching cartoons on the internet: more specifically, superhero cartoons.

I have seen superheroes of both Marvel and DC portrayed in wildly different ways on television: from the monumental Timmiverse incarnations of the Justice League and other DC characters, to Teen Titans and The Batman. From The 90s Spider-Man show to X-Men: Evolution

I was only vaguely familiar with most of the characters presented in "TA:EMH", so I didn't know what to expect. In fact, the only one I was at least somewhat familiar with was Iron Man, through the 2008 movie and the TV series "Iron Man: Armored Adventures".

I knew their names, their powers, and their origins, but I had literally nothing to say about their characters.

However, many people say that this show depicts the characters perfectly and 100% faithfully to the source material.

This is a good thing, because that gives me the opportunity to get to know these characters, to learn to understand them and interpret them.

This, coupled with outstanding story lines and great animation, makes "TA:EMH" an absolutely fantastic show that any fan should be able to enjoy.

My personal favorite characters among those I only vaguely knew are probably Ant-Man/Giant Man, and Thor.

I admire Ant-Man's's constant struggle to find "a better way" and his belief in the inherent good in every human being. It's really a great show of character to see him believe that even in such a violent world as the Marvel Universe, it's never too late to start again and try to put your life in line. And he's a good example for the kids watching this show. The kids need good role models too you know.

Thor strikes me as kind of similar to Superman in a lot of ways: noble, kind, powerful. But he's still a very different character. If I may point this out, I'm Norwegian, and it's something infinitely cool about watching one of the deities my ancestors (the vikings) worshipped portrayed as a noble and powerful hero of the modern day. A shame he doesn't offer Norway a thought though, oh well, you can't have everything.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is a monumental cartoon and a great achievement in animation. Absolutely worth watching.

This series is true to the source material. But infinitely more important, it is true to the spirit, heart and drive of the source material. This enables it to change, twist, to even every so often go beyond what the great pioneers of comics achieved before it.

It is undoubtedly comic-accurate, in the most important aspect of any story: the characters. Although Tony Stark comes off initially as a full-blown impression of what Robert Downey Jr and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have achieved, he is very much his own character and very much stands on his own two feet. The best example of this is the indomitable season one finale, where even comic readers found ourselves surprised and thrilled and cheering for our heroes in a way that few other shows have achieved.

The animation quality is top-notch and more than enough to rival the legendary DC Comics series (of which I am a big admirer). It is fantastic. It is very very grounded in relatable reality in way that many DC animations are lacking, yet it, dare I say, manages to enhance the iconic work of Jack 'The King' Kirby, with his unforgettable, distinct style and a equally strong colouring. The achievement of the animation here makes the cartoons' subsequent decline, in shows such as Avengers Assemble which was frankly at best a compliment to the MCU for toddlers, all the more painful.

The stories, as I have said, have managed to capture a great deal of the essence of the comics. They remain true to the characters, and rarely rush a narrative. Characters are mostly placed well and serve a clear function in the plot. With the library of storylines at their fingertips, my hat is off to the writers. They have, in my opinion, not only chosen the right plots to adapt, merge and hint at, but they have also paced and directed the flow of the series very successfully. While some pacing issues and jarring gaps were cause of a great deal of pain to me, it was because of how invested I was in the story and the characters that made my pain as severe as it was.

The series finale feels rather soon, with many many awesome introductions and short stories leading up to it. It feels rushed, yet undeniably extremely entertaining. They manage to come up with new solutions to problems that have been solved so many times over in comics.

Ultimately, this series is between fantastic adaptation and great series, but the quality of the story and sub-plots and the characters and the phenomenal animation and character design make the series an extremely enjoying one, and one that I am happy to have invested myself in.

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.

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.

Cancelled way too soon in lieu of Avengers ASSemble, which is unquestionably two steps back from this, great story lines, great music, great voice acting, it never gets too "Kiddy" despite it being animation. This show is always a welcome wave of nostalgia for me, and for it not even tying into the MCU, like Assemble, which is why they cancelled it, you can tell the MCU lifted a lot of ideas from this.

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.

I hated to see this one go. Was better then what followed. Told so many of the story lines I grew up reading. Would show small parts of future story lines along the way. Writers did a great job weaving them together. The MCU could use a great lesson in looking at this as a base line. If Disney + can revive the X-mens' best cartoon then why not this one? Could just keep rolling with classic story lines and expand this universe. This a great show and should get the new life that it deserves. I am still shocked this was cut short for the MCU based Avengers ASSemble that can not even come close to what this show was.

"THE AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES" serves to introduce viewers to the expansive world of Marvel Comics heroes and villains. It blends very well the established comic book universe with aspects of the recent Marvel films (IRON MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, IRON MAN 2, THOR, CAPTAIN_AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER). A portion of the show's audience will not be comics readers and will be unfamiliar with the characters beyond the blockbuster movies, so this cartoon makes sure not to confuse anyone. And by reconciling the two universes, the show is able to expand the familiar movie setup into bigger and better things that can only really be brought to life in cartoons. The cartoon is free to indulge in the greater Marvel mythology. More superheroes, more supervillains, bigger organizations, better technology, more colorful costumes. The live action films try to stay grounded in semi-reality, while this cartoon show can tap into all the fantasy and science fiction that makes the Marvel universe so much fun.

Each episode introduces new characters and builds up the Marvel world. The show brings together heroes Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant Man, and Wasp (and later Captain America) to form the superteam The Avengers. This is a great way to bring these superheroes to life for a new generation (Marvel produced several separate animated series in the 1990s, some more successful than others) and it also builds up to the all-star superhero blockbuster Avengers movie set for release in 2012. THE AVENGERS will unite the stars of the separate Marvel films against a common threat, and this show allows viewers to see the different heroes in action together and sets up their relationship with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. (It also introduces Maria Hill, a character not yet established in the movieverse.) The show should raise excitement for the upcoming movie, especially among viewers who were unaware that the live action team-up was in the works.

I'm not an avid comics reader myself, but it seems like the cartoon is styled after the mainstream Marvel comic universe, with a few added touches from the movies (which were inspired, in part, by the alternative "Ultimate" comic universe). The Avengers lineup is like the original in the comics, and the character designs are faithful to the classic comics. (Nick Fury looks more like the original comics version, but is a black man like in the movies/Ultimate comics.) So I think the show strikes a good balance of bringing the comic book universe to life and keeping things compatible with the movies.

Needless to say "THE AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES" is action- packed. It should be a good time for superhero fans, particularly young ones hungry for all things Marvel. (Rival DC Comics had a comparable show, highlighting the various characters in its expansive stable: "JUSTICE LEAGUE".) It's a solid superhero cartoon, and faithful to the comics. It's not stylized beyond recognition or twisted from its inspiration. Marvel stays true to itself. And you get all of the heroes and villains populating the same world. (Except the X-Men and Spider-Man, maybe, but the Fantastic Four do make an appearance.) It is nice to see the comic book characters brought to life, in all their glory. This is shaping up to be a definitive Marvel Comics animated series. I'm just not sure I'm sold on the voice cast.

For some unknown reason, Marvel have never been able to match the success of DC when it comes to animation. The Avengers is arguably their best work but falls well short of, say, the Justice League, a comparable series in many ways. Maybe it is because the DC series is more loosely related to the comics than Marvel; Marvel does seem to have a slavish devotion to reworking various classic comic book stories into their animated series, almost invariably weakening the original. And here the homage stretches to the naming of the episodes after well known stories, although the episodes have very little in common with the comic books of the same name.

Each series consists of two overarching story arcs, both related to each other although divided into many differing stories. The main invasion strand of season 2 is strongly foreshadowed in season 1 and the Asgardian War is season 1 is continued in season 2. These story arcs are very impressively handled, in fact, I can think of no more successful handling of complex narrative over such a span even in supposedly more mature programmes.

Not everything is so successful however. The dialogue is generally banal with everyone constantly being told to "stand down" all the time. Characterization is variable. Whilst I enjoyed the pacifistic interpretation of Henry Pym, the Hulk seemed rather too knowing. I prefer him as an innocent savage. Other characters are (intentionally?) annoying. Iron Man/Hawkeye/ Human Torch/Wasp among others have an interchangeable line in glib one-liners that quickly wears thin and it is a relief when the occasional serious person, such as The Black Panther, speaks.

In fact, a certain facetiousness of tone undermines any sense of real danger. The general plan is: bad guy shows up, heroes make some glib comment, someone is told to "stand down", then there's a fight. Or some variation.

For some reason WWII has been altered to remove any mention of the Nazis or Germany, instead having the allies fighting against Hydra. What is the reason for this? German sales?

The animation itself ranges from great to bad. Some imaginative animation early on but this tends to decline as the series progresses. Thor's hammer Mjolnir is depicted as comically oversized, one of several things which, I guess, is meant to appeal to children although it must be said that the Black Widow's derriere is lovingly animated throughout for some reason.

During the second season, each episode has a short prelude consisting of what appear to be rather randomly selected clips from the first season. I found them more confusing (I watched the second season first) than enlightening since they rarely have any relevance to what follows.

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!!

This program is one of the best I have ever watched. It has good writing, stylish animation and good voice acting. Sometimes the animation may not be very fluid, and there are rare moments when the animation is very slow. This cartoon has well-developed characters. My favorites are Iron Man, Wasp, Captain America and Miss Marvel (for some reason she is not called Captain Marvel on the show). The writing is very good (especially in the 1st season), with good arcs, good stories and good dialogues. The writing weakens a little in season 2, but the season remains good. Verdict: An excellent program, one of the best of its kind (superheroes) and I highly recommend you to watch it. Season 1- 9.5 Season 2- 8 Final score- 8,75

This is the closest thing Marvel has ever done to the comics in any TV show or movie. The character development of each character and story lines are top notch. This interpretation of the Avengers is the one that should have been introduced in the big screen. There are some minor changes, but they work perfectly for the story. I strongly recommend this show to any Marvel fan, from a eager beginner to a veteran.

It's a shame the show got canceled by the second season. So many unfinished stories were pending...

What happened to the Guardians Of The Galaxy, Beta Ray Bill, Wonder Man, and the Ragnarok storyline?

So I just finished watching all the 1st season's 26 episodes of The Avengers: Earths mightiest Heroes (thank you netflix) and I've got to say, it is really good. I'm not going to go on about how I've read every comic ever made blah-blah-blah, because I haven't. I'm one of those pesky bandwagon fans that never heard of Iron Man until the movie came out, but I've loved it and every other Avenger movie ever since. And yes the main reason why I watched this series is because I'm excited about the upcoming Avengers movie. I also wanted to get caught up on the rest of the story. It wasn't long until the theme song was stuck in my head all day and I had to go back and keep watching. I've read a lot of the previous reviews and it looks like the writers have stayed pretty true to the original comics and that's not hard to believe because the story is really good, one of the best I've seen on an animated series. I can only hope that that the movie will do the same. I have faith in Joss Whedon but I try not to get too excited because I've been let down by lots super hero movies before. (cough- cough* green lantern) So I cant say whether or not a well versed Marvel fan will be satisfied with this rendition of the Avengers or not, I can defiantly say that a average popcorn eating summer movie fan like myself should enjoy it as much as I have- as long as expensive CGI and explosions aren't required.

p.s. has anybody else wondered how cool the theme song would sound performed by Metallica or something? Just throwin that out there...

The Positive: The artwork, lots villains/characters

The Negative: If you are familiar with these characters, this show is BORING.

I'm afraid the negatives heavily outweigh the positives for this Marvel outing - though I do agree it's one of the best they've produced. I almost got used to the weird twang that Tony Starks speaks with, but never did. Hulk/Banner is annoying in every way, as is much of the supporting cast.

I sought out a good series after completing every other higher rated superhero animated show (Batman the Brave and the Bold, Teen Titans, Superman TAS (note:all DC))and ended up with AEMH. A lot of potential is wasted here. Not sure if I can even finish the series. Blame the director, or the writer, but I just can't get into it. There isn't the suspense, drama, or intrigue of the DC series's. And I was a die-hard Marvel fan growing up. DC has surpassed Marvel in leaps and bounds. Why am I still getting origin stories with every Marvel product? Do they have no good stories to share? Live-action and animated. Marvel has lacked in originality, banking on their iconic characters to set the story (with the exception of the Thor major motion pictures, and Winter Soldier, which were great). I'm a convert! DC all the way. Bruce Timm all the way.

If I never watched a Marvel cartoon after the 67 Spiderman series I'd be OK with that.

But I'd be poorer not having seen Justice League Unlimited, Batman TAS, Batman Beyond, Young Justice, etc. Watch these instead.

But if you loved Spectacular Spider Man and Wolverine and the X-men, you will be happy with AEMH

Update: Kept with it and it gets better. Some people don't like the second season as much but I'm totally into it. I know I'm watching a good cartoon when I start wanting to sketch the characters and dreaming up new hypothetical stories for them. I changed my rating from a 5 to 7. Stoked on some cameos from some other Marvel heroes (won't say who).

The name may sound childish, but it's an animation series that has great plots. Unlike adapting into movies plots at random, its plots are very close to the comics. The animation introduced the members of the Avengers one by one wvith great stories. Even if you've only seen the movies or haven't heard of Marvel, you can watch it without any problem. It introduced Marvel's worldview with many classic Marvel stories. This is an animation with a unique style, and the every hero's image and character are based on comics rather than movies, which is very rare for the whole Marvel animation series.

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, this animation also has something that is difficult to see in superhero animation in recent years, it's the serious plots. The plots are also really fascinating, with the attractive turning point and the foreshadowing of the ending. Even in some average episodes, I could still see that the basic skills of the production are not bad.

Every character in the series is also well portrayed. Just some simple sentences could depict the heart of the character very well. And each character has a sense of humor that suits his or her own character. The Avengers in EMH, they are all very different from MCU. Even if you see it from beginning to end, it won't be a bit boring.

This excellent animation can even teach MCU a thing or two. It did not imitate the style of the movie like Avengers Assemble, it has its own image, and it is greater than MCU in terms of characterization, especially Captain America, in whom I feel the real awe-inspiring righteousness.

Unfortunately, this series has been canceled, and it is almost impossible for us to see wonderful stories to follow. At a time when Marvel animations are all accessories to movies, Marvel Studios or MCU may not allow an animation that threatens their influence appear.

As a fan of the comics, I had a lot of people recommended this show to me. It's often been described as "The Best Avengers show ever!!" And that can't be further from the truth.

While I adore the comics, it can be hard to execute it for a TV show without introducing some changes. The overall stories fall flat, with dreadful dialogue and one-dimensional characters that rarely have decent character development or characters arcs.

One of the most glaring flaws in the show is the horrendous character designs. Tony Stark looks absolutely horrible. You would expect better from a animated show from 2010. Even the costume designs don't give the comics justice at all. It's too blocky and geometrical.

That being said, the animated fight scenes are one of the only aspects that saves this show.

All in all, I would recommend giving this a watch if you're bored or have nothing better to do with your time. If you want a show with character development, decent pacing, and okay animation, Avengers Assemble seasons 1-3 is a better retelling.

This super hero series left me thoroughly disappointed and questioning my choice to invest time in it. From the very first episode, it felt like a hasty attempt to cash in on the superhero craze without any originality. The storyline was a chaotic mess, jumping between subplots that never fully developed, leaving me confused and disconnected from the characters.

The characters themselves were bland stereotypes with clichéd backgrounds. The hero lacked depth, and the villains were one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. There was no emotional connection to any of them, making it hard to care about their fate.

The writing was cringe-worthy, with cheesy one-liners and predictable plot twists that I could see coming a mile away.

Really loved the series.This is the best Avengers series I ever watched.