AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
(Disney XD, May 26, 2013-February 24, 2019)
 
Marvel Animation

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Adrian Pasdar – Iron Man/Tony Stark (season 1-3), Bruto the Strongman/Bruce Olafsen
Mick Wingert – Iron Man/Tony Stark (season 4-5), Doctor Faustus/Johann Fennhoff
Roger Craig Smith – Captain America/Steve Rogers, Torgo, Great Gambonnos, Grim Reaper/Eric Williams, J.O.E.Y., Radioactive Man/Dr. Chen Lu, Nightmare, Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Orka
Travis Willingham – Thor, Bulldozer/Henry Camp, Brok, Trickshot/Buck Chisholm, Growing Man, Executioner/Skurge
Laura Bailey – Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Gamora (2^nd appearance), Darkstar/Laynia Petrovna
Fred Tatasciore – Hulk/Bruce Banner, Thunderball/Dr. Eliot Franklin, Volstagg, Ringmaster/Maynard Tiboldt, Crimson Dynamo/Anton Vanko, Nightmare Ultron, Black Bolt/Blackagar Boltagon, Crossbones/Brock Rumlow
Troy Baker – Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Loki, Doombot, Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov, Whiplash/Mark Scarlotti, Kraven the Hunter/Sergei Kravinoff
Bumper Robinson – Falcon/Sam Wilson, Human Cannonball/Jack Pulver

 

 

            It took 36 years for Marvel Comics’ Avengers to get their own animated series, with the short-lived Avengers: United They Stand. It only took another decade for them to get not one, but TWO more shows. The first began development in 2008 as a pitch for a solo Hulk series—his fourth, counting The Marvel Super Heroes shorts and the live-action CBS series—but was decided to expand the focus to the entire team. Developed by Ciro Nieli, Joshua Fine and Christopher Yost, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes took heavy inspiration from the comics run by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby—going so far as to emulate the original line-up of Iron Man (Eric Loomis), Giant-Man (Wally Wingert), Hulk (Fred Tatasciore), Thor (Rick D. Wasserman) and Wasp (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), initially—while also blending in later stories and elements of the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series debuted on Disney XD on September 22, 2010, and then joined the channel’s Marvel Universe programming block alongside new series Ultimate Spider-Man in 2012.

Earth's Mightiest Heroes (top) vs. Avengers Assemble.

            After two seasons, Marvel decided to cancel EMH in favor of a retooled show that would bring things closer to the MCU’s depiction in The Avengers film. Avengers Assemble was developed by Man of Action, who were given control over the final 12 episodes of EMH, and featured the film-inspired line-up of Captain America (Roger Craig Smith), Iron Man (Adrian Pasdar & Mick Wingert), Thor (Travis Willingham), Black Widow (Laura Bailey), Hawkeye (Troy Baker) and Hulk (Tatasciore), with newcomer Falcon (Bumper Robinson) serving as the entry point for the audience.

Thunderbolts? Assemble did it first.

            Avengers Assemble debuted on Disney XD on May 26, 2013, airing as part of the Marvel Universe block. It was joined by and shared a continuity with Ultimate Spider-Man (as well as its replacement, Marvel’s Spider-Man, when the former was cancelled), Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Guardians of the Galaxy. It ran for 5 seasons, with seasons 3-5 receiving the subtitles Ultron Revolution, Secret Wars and Black Panther’s Quest, respectively (a trend all of Marvel Animation’s shows would follow after reaching a 3^rd season). Assemble would feature crossovers with its fellow shows, as well as a variety of characters from across the Marvel universe (excluding the X-Men, although some of their villains did appear). While starting out from the MCU, the quicker production schedule of an animated series vs. a feature film slate meant that Assemble often introduced characters before the MCU did; such as Falcon, who wouldn’t debut until Captain America: The Winter Soldier the next year, and characters the MCU yet couldn’t, such as the Fantastic Four (whose rights were tied up over at 20^th Century Fox until Disney bought them in 2019).

Bring on the bad guys! Two established MCU villains, two future ones, and one not yet seen.

            All of the Marvel Universe programs were cancelled in 2019 due to internal restructuring at Marvel. Marvel Television, under which Marvel Animation operated, was a separate division from Marvel Studios, which handled the films. It was decided to fold Television into Studios under the stewardship of studio head Kevin Feige, who became the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel as a whole. Television’s output was either outright cancelled or allowed to wrap-up as Marvel Studios began looking into developing MCU-connected content for Disney’s new streaming platform, Disney+, and the Animation division was extremely pared down in favor of the all-new Marvel Studios Animation. Assemble would continue to be rerun on Disney XD and was made available to stream on Disney+ alongside EMH.

IRON MAN: ARMORED ADVENTURES

 

IRON MAN: ARMORED ADVENTURES

(Nicktoons, April 24, 2009-July 25, 2012)

 

Marvel Animation, Marvel Entertainment, Method Animation, DQ Entertainment, LuxAnimation (season 1), Fabrique D’Images (season 2), Onyx Lux (season 2)

 

 

            Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe there was Iron Man, which became a bigger hit than anyone could have anticipated for such a widely unknown character. Naturally, Marvel Entertainment sought to capitalize on that momentum and commissioned the creation of an animated series; only the second after 1994’s Iron Man, although the character has appeared in other shows. Developed by Alexandre de La Patelliére, Craig Kyle, Romain van Liemt and Christopher Yost, Iron Man: Armored Adventures was a French co-production that followed a teenaged Tony Stark (Adrian Petriw). Unlike the comics and film, Tony was injured in a plane crash that seemingly killed his father, Howard (Fred Henderson). He was saved by his Iron Man armor which he used to investigate Obadiah Stane’s (Mackenzie Gray) possible involvement in the crash. That leads him into superheroics with the aid of his best friend, James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Daniel Bacon), and a girl he meets at his new school, Pepper Potts (Anna Cummer). They eventually get their own armor and become War Machine and Rescue, respectively.

Tony, Pepper and Rhodey in their armors.

            Iron Man: Armored Adventures debuted on Nicktoons on April 24, 2009, breaking the network’s record of the highest-rated original series. The CGI-animated series ran for two seasons, with Yost serving as head writer for the first and Brandon Auman assuming the role for season 2. The series loosely adapted several storylines from the comics, making changes to account for the characters’ reduced ages and integrating elements introduced in the Iron Man films and blossoming MCU; such as Tony’s armor resembling the film version and even changing his chest beam from round to triangular as in Iron Man 2. Unlike the MCU, the series was able to incorporate characters licensed at the time to other studios; such as Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom (Christopher Britton) and X-Men villain Magneto (Ron Halder), both with 20^th Century Fox (which later became a part of Disney). The series’ theme was written by Robert Schwartzman and recorded by his band, Rooney.

Kids on a mission, even without their armor.

            A third season was planned, but following Disney’s acquisition of Marvel the series was quietly and informally cancelled in favor of moving the character over to a show that brought him more in line with the MCU. However, instead of a solo effort, that ended up being Avengers Assemble which replaced Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on Disney XD. The month following the final episode, Armored Adventures began airing on The CW’s Vortexx Saturday morning programming block until that December. The entire series was made available to stream on Disney+ in 2020.