I grew up a Marvels guy. Sure I had my handfuls of Superman, Bat-man, JLA, GL and the Flash, but it was always Marvel's high-octane drama that did it for me. Spidey, Cap and of course The Avengers.
Lots of folk liked the Bruce Timm DC series'; Batman, Superman and the JLA. I agreed, they were beautifully drawn animated stories that took the characters seriously. A big departure, IMO, from the Japanese Anime influenced hero cartoons from the late 80's and 90's. But I was never 'hooked' so to speak.
But now we have The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated cartoon and on this I am hooked. It's a Bruce Timm influenced cartoon of the Marvel Universe. They capture the evolution of the bickering team quite well and pack it with all aspects of their prized universe. Though a modern take on the heroes, it pays great homage to the Avengers of the 1960's & 70's through the development of the marvel expected depth of characters, the interwoven extended plots and villains galore.
From Ant-man / Giant-man (which is awesome in and of itself), to the discovery of Captain America, the crabby Hulk as a member, to the Masters of Evil and the Kree Skrull war it's a cartoon that touches on every almost every aspect of classic Marvel Comics greatness.
Though kids will love it, adults and fans of the characters will enjoy the character dynamics and plotlines even more.
I do have to say that the theme-song is the most irritating, ear-bleeding piece of crap I've ever heard that anymore than just a brief first listen will explode your brains.
So, for some great Supers action (and inspiration) check out The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, streaming from NetFlix! You will not be disappointed.
Agree on all counts, especially the theme song.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should loan you the Justice League DVDs.. :)
ReplyDeleteI also love the show and keep thinking that they have done a nice job in creating a supers-gaming set-up. The Breakout thing is a bit heavy-handed, but gives the team a solid reason to band together (cp. Avengers No. 1, which is, essentially, "hey, we beat up Loki okay; let's form a team!"). And then, things happen from there. I'd like to try a supers-game along those lines. Not quite a "sand-box" but with similar qualities.
ReplyDelete"hey, we beat up Loki okay; let's form a team!"
ReplyDeleteAnd then the Hulk says: " I pity the fool that messes with us." Classic!