by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners! In honor of a new movie release, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
November is full steam ahead with blockbusters and Oscar contenders. It’s been a better month for movie releases after a dreadful three-month stretch.
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, created by Ciro Nieli, Joshua Fine, and Christopher Yost, follows the superhero team as they attempt to find all the villains that have broken out of the maximum security prison. The original team keeps adding additional members and battles all kinds of threats, even ones from within the ranks of the team.
It’s hard not to see the MCU’s influence on this show. However, I do appreciate that the its original lineup for the Avengers is the comic book one. The original team consists of Giant-Man/Ant-Man (voiced by Wally Wingert), Wasp (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Iron Man (Eric Loomis), the Hulk (Fred Tatasciore), and Thor (Rick D. Wasserman). It’s a nice homage to what came before. Many people join the roster later on, including Captain America (Brian Bloom), Black Panther (James Mathis III), Hawkeye (Chris Cox), Ms. Marvel (Jennifer Hale), and Vision (Peter Jessop). It’s weird seeing Captain America coming in after the team is assembled, since he’s such a big part of the MCU’s version of the Avengers. That’s how it happened in the comics, though, so props to show for sticking to their guns. It’s also interesting seeing everyone in their original costumes. Future shows will modernize the uniforms, but Earth’s Mightiest Heroes sticks with the original ones.
Most of the core Avengers get their episodes to be introduced, or have at least one that shows what they were doing before they joined the Avengers. Those are some of the best episodes of the series. The first two episodes start with Iron Man and Hulk. Both of them have their moments in the sun and have them join the Avengers. Those are followed by Thor, Captain America (even though he was not on the Avengers yet), and a series of small segments in an episode involving Ant-Man and Wasp. Captain America’s episode is pretty great, as it explains what happened to him that led to him being frozen and found in modern times. Black Panther’s origin happens during the Ant-Man and Wasp episode, which is a smart move to backdoor introduce him. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? That way, everything feels organic instead of seemingly coming out of nowhere. Black Panther’s episode where he asks the Avengers for help in Wakanda is among one of my favorite episodes in the entire run.
The voice work is outstanding. Each performer embodies their character, and some even do double duty as other characters. It shows the versatility of the voice talent because they had career voice actors instead of splashy big names. They all understand the assignment when it comes to what they need to accomplish. The dialogue and scripts can feel a bit of the time, meaning some puns are a little outdated and some dialogue feels a little cartoony. The theme song is an early 2010s alternative, and it sounds like a Linkin Park song. Special props for Loomis’ Iron Man. It does sound a little like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, but he also manages to make it his own. He’s also in the most episodes, so he carries a large amount of the vocal performance.
The animation gives you the feeling that you’re inside the pages of the comics. The frames feel like they’re out of the comics, since most of the episodes are based on a comic from the Avengers run. Thankfully, this makes it feel like a cool art project instead of an attempt at stylized action. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of action, flash colors, and bright sequences. However, the animation does feel like it’s lifted straight from the pages of a comic book.
If you are a fan of Marvel, there are Easter eggs, cameos, and appearances galore. If you are looking for villains, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is chalked full of them. The pilot starts with a breakout of 75 villains across four different prisons. It introduces a ton of villains including Baron Zemo (Robin Atkin Downes), who comes into play in multiple future episodes. Numerous evil teams are introduced, including AIM, the Serpent Society, the Masters of Evil, and the Council of Cross-Time Kangs (something we will get in the MCU in the future). There are even a lot of hero teams that get scenes, like the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the New Avengers.
In addition to showcasing more of Marvel’s swath of distinct characters, it is also a haven for some of Marvel’s coolest storylines. Secret Invasion is a storyline in Season Two, offering viewers a glimpse of what to expect from the limited series moving forward. Operation Galactic Storm is another thing driving a Season Two storyline. Several episodes are based on Avengers comics, along with Fantastic Four and a lot of individual comic book characters. The Kang Dynasty comes up in Season One. The very fact that the stories are based on comics shows deep devotion to the source material.
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is a great entry from Marvel on Disney XD. It’s rich in comic book lore, outstandingly performed by the principal cast, and there are a ton of characters for fans to notice or newbies to get to know. The series was ultimately scrapped for Avengers Assemble, a show that is a spiritual successor to this series, which also capitalizes on the success of the MCU’s first Avengers movie. I can’t help but wonder if any of the stories that felt rushed or unfinished would have been in Season Three. The Ragnarok storyline is introduced but unfinished, and enough X-Men characters are introduced to lay the foundation for Avengers versus X-Men. Regardless, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is an amazing entry for Marvel television and shouldn’t be overlooked because it was replaced by another series.
With Black Panther playing a prominent role in this series, it’s hard not to be sad about T’Challa being gone from the MCU. I do hope Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does his character proud and that they start to push towards where the MCU will be going forward. Phase Four has been uneven and aimless, so I’m hoping for a great conclusion for a clunky phase.
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