Written by Matt Sernaker, Senior Editor
When evil threatens the world, it’s time for The Avengers to Assemble! Now, you can watch Captain America, Thor, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Hulk, and Iron Man as they face off against Hydra, Klaw, Loki, and the escaped villains of The Raft in Volumes 1 and 2 of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on DVD!
This new animated series focuses on the classic Avengers line up , and introduces viewers to a modern interpretation of how the team formed. Prior to the series premiere, Disney XD released 20 webisodes which were short glimpses into the world of our heroes. In Volume 1, these 20 webisodes have been reordered and separated out so that fans can experience a complete story of heroism.
Volume 1 Episode Highlights:
“Iron Man Is Born!”- Iron Man steps in to help fight off a Hydra attack on the United Nations and realizes that he might be in over his head. This episode is a perfect example of how the team behind the series have attempted to tie the cartoon into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Robert Downey Jr’s portayal of Tony Stark gets unleashed in an animated form. Tony must find a way to stop this new threat, and gets a little help from Rhodey, Pepper Potts, and Jarvis (his enhanced A.I. system).
“Meet Captain America”- Set during WWII, witness Captain America and Buckey’s fight against The Red Skull! This is a classic Captain America story, featuring cameos from The Howling Comandos and other surprise Marvel Universe characters (maybe a certain Canadian…).
“The Breakout” Parts 1 and 2- When a massive attack on several SHIELD facilities unleashes 74 villains into the world, heroes must team up to find and stop these foes before they can cause unimaginable damage. Iron Man, The Hulk, Ant-Man, and The Wasp fight together to contain the newly released Graviton. The heroes realize that someone must seek out the escapees, and avenge those who have been wronged by these villains; thus The Avengers are born. This episode has a lot of references to the classic formation of the team from the 1960’s, as well as elements taken from the formation of the team in the New Avengers comics. Keep an eye out for apperances by Hawkeye, Doc Samson, Nick Fury and more!
Volume 1 Special Feature:
New Looks, New Heroes – Supervising Producer Joshua Fine and Story Editor Christopher Yost give you an exclusive look at the evolving characters and the storylines of Season Two.
Volume 2 Episode Highlights:
“Living Legend”- Captain America returns! After years of being frozen in suspended animation, Cap finds himself in a world that he doesn’t understand. When Baron Zemo attacks, Cap is called into action and must find a way to stop Zemo and his genetically altered creature, “Doughboy”. For fans of the comics, there are many fantastic parallels to Cap’s introduction in the original series. The fact that Captain America isn’t even introduced until the fourth episode is a nice homage to the history of the character (his first apperance in The Avengers was in issue #4).
“Panther’s Quest”- The Black Panther seeks help from The Avengers to overthrow the Man-Ape (yup, that is a Black Panther villain…not even making it up) who has taken over his homeland of Wakanda. The threats keep coming as secrets are revealed and the team must also face Klaw, Hydra, and the Grim Reaper!
Volume 2 Special Feature:
New Stories, New Threats – Supervising Producer Joshua Fine and Story Editor Christopher Yost reveal what meaks the Marvel super heroes and villains so unique, and hunt at what’s in store for Season Two.
Overall:
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is a testiment to the comics and does justice to the Marvel Universe. While it works to encorporate elements from the recent cinematic releases, the creative team have also gone out of their way to make this series feel epic in scale. Christopher Yost has taken his experience with Wolverine and The X-Men and applied it directly to The Avengers. This series is a must for any superhero fan.
ComicsOnline gives The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Volumes 1 and 2 on DVD – 5 out of 5 times that you enjoy yelling AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!
Get your copy of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Volume 1 and Volume 2 on DVD at Amazon.
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