Unless you’re intent on sticking to your guns that the classic X-Men animated series from the 90s is the best Marvel cartoon to date, then the only real two contenders in that argument are the recently canceled Wolverine and the X-Men and the ongoing The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Granted neither of these has yet to reach the heights of their DC counterparts like Batman, Superman, or Justice League Unlimited, but there’s a definite sense that with The Avengers, Marvel has finally found its footing in creating an animated series for the fans. In the first half of the first season, most of the time was spent on the initial assembly of the team and then a few of their initial adventures culminating in the battle to prevent the entire world succumbing to gamma radiation-induced transformations. With the second half of the season, split up between volumes 3 and 4, we start to see some of the long-term storytelling come into play, and thanks to some great voice acting and groundwork, the series looks to be a decent counterpart to JLU.
The major plotpoints of the first season’s second half include the arrival of Kang the Conquerer who’s intent on killing Captain America for the effect his presence in modern times have on the future, the revelation of an intergalactic war that has the sights of the alien Skrulls set on Earth, and a larger plot enacted by a puppeteer that could destroy Asgard and the rest of the nine realms. The best and worst part of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is its desire to tackle some of the larger stories of Avengers lore, because while it’s great to see some of these stories in such a fantastic animated medium, you can’t help but feel that some get the short shrift by playing out in two-episode spans. More time could easily be afforded to some of the more complex stories presented here, but it seems like the writers and showrunners don’t have the confidence that their show is as much for older fans as it is for the kids.
The writing and voice work is sharp and the stories told here draw upon many of the comics’ finer moments to make The Avengers Marvel’s best animated series yet, but it’s lack of patience may be what ultimately stops it from reaching the quality of its better peers.
DVD Bonus Features
To say the extras are disappointing is an understatement. Each volume has only one extra and it’s one of the episodes embedded in a frame with a running trivia track.
"The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - Volumes 3 & 4" is on sale October 25, 2011 and is not rated. Action, Adventure, Animation. Directed by Ciro Nieli, Vinton Heuck. Written by Joshua Fine, Brandon Auman, Kevin Burke, Chris Wyatt. Starring Brian Bloom, Chris Cox, Colleen Oshaughnessey, Eric Loomis, Fred Tatasciore, James C Mathis Iii, Rick D Wasserman, Wally Wingert.
