Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
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 20th 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 Assemblewhich
replaced Avengers:
Earth’s Mightiest Heroeson 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.
13-year-old competitive surfer Zak
Storm (Hervé Grull & Michael Johnston) decided to go out and catch the
perfect wave while “borrowing” his father’s lucky necklace. Unknown to him, the
necklace actually contained the mystical Eye of Beru which caused him to be
sucked by a giant wave into the Bermuda
Triangle where a strange world awaited comprised of everything and everyone
ever lost within. He was picked up by a sentient pirate ship called the Chaos,
which came complete with a magical talking sword name Calabrass (Jérôme
Wiggins & Kyle Hebert, using a traditional pirate accent). The only way for
Zak to get home was to unite the seven magical seas within the Triangle.
Zak with Calabrass and the seven Eyes.
Calabrass was actually the key to
doing this, as he was able to activate the waypoint in each of the seas. He
also possessed the eye of each sea (originally planned to be only four Eyes to
represent the sides of a triangle), embedded in the gear around his face. Those
allowed him to access powers and give his wielder armor when selected, as well
as allowed him to transform into other kinds of weapons. The Eye of Blazz from
the Sea of Fire turned him into a flaming sword with fire abilities or a shield
of black stone; the Eye of Sino from the Sea of Ice turned him into a frozen
sword with ice abilities; the Eye of Dezer from the Sea of Sands turned him
into a hammer or club that could raise stone pillars from the ground, or stone
shield; the Eye of Aeria from the Sea of Storms turned him into an axe or a
shield made of lightning and gave him electrical powers; the Eye of Beru from
the Sea of Water turned him into a water cannon or a shield with four nozzles
that fired water jets; the Eye of Vapir from the Sea of Shadows turned him into
a staff or a double-edged blade made of smoke and gained smoke abilities; and the
Eye of Zite from the Sea of Stars turned into an axe or a shuriken attached to
a flail and gave him spirit powers, which allowed him to project himself and
others into astral forms. Zak summoned the powers by requesting a particular Eye,
which was followed by a stock transformation sequence. The only limitation was
that Calabrass often needed a rest after utilizing each Eye.
With a ship and a sword, of course
Zak also needed a crew.
His first recruit was a ghost who took up residence on the Chaos before
Zak’s arrival named Clovis (Elodie Menant & Reba Buhr, using a cockney
accent). Clovis was a carefree spirit who loved to play pranks on people, and
was born sometime in 19th Century England. He had lost his body
somewhere and hoped to one day find it. CeCe (who had purple skin in early
promotional material, voiced by Marie Nonnenmacher & Christine Marie
Cabanos) was an Atlantean princess who could breathe underwater, was a
proficient fighter, and had great leadership skills. She became Zak’s first
mate, and he also developed a crush on her. Crogar (Marc Duquenoy & Chris
Smith) was a 15-year-old Viking pirate and the muscle of the crew, always
shouting “Ragnarok!” when charging into battle. Caramba (Olivier Podesta &
Max Mittelman) was a small, green alien known as a Wahoolian. He got around in
a round, yellow exoskeleton and was technologically proficient, making him the
mechanic of the Chaos. He was also an incredible coward. Since every
member of the crew’s name began with a “C” (Zak’s real first name was Conrad),
they decided to call themselves the Seven C’s.
Skullivar, Golden Bones and their skeleton army.
Standing in their way was the evil
Skullivar (Julien Chatelet & David Roach), an undead despot who sought to
conquer the Triangle by claiming the Eyes and Calabrass for himself. To that
end, he had his own Eye made: the Eye of Netherwhere, which gave Calabrass
Skullivar’s abilities and turned him evil when applied. Serving Skullivar was
Golden Bones (Benjamin Van Meggelen & Matthew Mercer), a golden mechanical
skeleton with a hooked hand. Bones commanded Skullivar’s mechanical skeleton
army as well as The Demoniac, a haunted World War
II frigate. Other foes include the various waypoint guardians: powerful
mystical beings who could move the waypoints at will and control the
environments they’re located in, such as Anubis (Silverstein) in Dezer; and the
Lemurians, another underwater race at war with the Atlanteans. The character
designs were handled by Kamel Tazit, Nicholas Vulajaj and Philippe Guyenne.
New
episodes ran their course by the end of 2018; however, producer Jeremy Zag has
stated that they were given a greenlight for a second season. Despite release
dates of early 2019 and late 2020, the second season had yet to reach broadcast
and Zak Storm merchandise was no longer available through Zag’s official store as of this writing.
Zagtoon partnered with Bandai to handle the show’s merchandising. Bandai subsequently released a series of 3” action figures,
playsets and two of Calabrass’ forms. Each toy came with a
token that could be utilized with the mobile game also made by
Bandai. The game could be played along with episodes of the series in order to
unlock special in-game awards or mini-games. In 2018, Dragon d’Or
published five
books adapting an episode each, all credited to On
Entertainment. Additional
merchandise included a Halloween costume of Zak by
Palamon, various styles of backpacks, and an embroidered cap.
One of the United Kingdom DVDs.
Shout! Factory released four volumes with 8
episodes each between 2018 and 2020. A fifth
volume was released in international markets, with Dazzler Media handling the
United Kingdom releases, Koch Media
in Italy and Eden Germany GmbH in Germany. Clips and segments from the series
are available to view on its official
YouTube channel and in full on Netflix.
“Origins,
Part 1” (12/2/16 FR, 9/30/17 TTV) – Zak’s father’s necklace sends him into the
Bermuda Triangle where he’s tasked with uniting and commanding the Seven Seas
in order to return home.
“Origins,
Part 2” (12/3/16 FR, 10/14/17 DF) – Cece steals Calabrass from Zak in order to
get out of the Triangle, but ends up joining his crew when she faces down
Golden Bones with him.
“Morlock
the Unstoppable” (12/4/16 FR, 10/21/17 DF) – Zak goes on a treasure hunt to
prove he’s a worth captain, but Golden Bones beats him to it and assembles a
dangerous new foe from it.
“Witch
Overboard” (12/5/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – Carama is knocked overboard and finds an
ancient locket that allows the powerful shadow queen held inside to take over
his form.
“Freezing
Point” (12/6/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – The Seven C’s rescue an ice wyvern egg from
Golden Bones just as it hatches and bonds with Crogar.
“The
Voice of Chaos” (12/7/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – Evading Demoniac puts the Chaos
right into a tornado field with a damaged engine.
“Troll
Driving” (12/8/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – Mistaking his exoskeleton for a golden ball,
Caramba gets kidnapped by some sea trolls while repairing the Chaos.
“The
Seas Seven” (12/9/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – The Seven C’s must reclaim a powerful
Atlantean weapon from Skullivar.
“Spirited
Away” (12/11/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – When Clovis is kidnapped by two ghosts, Zak,
Calabrass and CeCe have seven hours to rescue him before becoming stuck in the
ghost forms they had to adopt.
“The
Swap” (12/11/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – Clovis’ clumsiness while infiltrating Golden
Bones’ ship allows him to take the Chaos and Calabrass.
“A
Jellyfish of Legend” (12/12/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – The Seven C’s vow to protect a
mythical jellyfish from all the sailors that seek to take advantage of it.
“Lemuria
Attacks” (12/13/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – CeCe is targeted for capture as a prize in
the war between Lemuria and Atlantis.
“Mutiny
on the Demoniac” (12/14/16 FR, 11/1/17 N) – Clovis becomes human again and
leads an insurrection on the Demoniac after he’s captured.
“Forged
in Fire” (12/30/17 FR, 5/12/18 DF) – Calabrass gets damaged when Zak
accidentally springs a trap, and Golden Bones attacks them when they take him
to the primordial flame to fix him.
“The
Shipwrecked in the Sand” (1/6/18 FR, 5/19/18 DF) – The Seven C’s head to the
Sea of Dezer to look for the lock and end up confronted by its guardian.
“Prison
Break” (1/13/18 FR, 5/26/18 DF) – The Seven C’s attempt to free legendary
pirate Alan Gamble from prison.
“The
Bermuda Apocalypse” (1/20/18 FR, 6/2/18 DF) – The Seven C’s set out to find a
spaceship that crashed in order to make use of its technology.
“The
Last Flight of Icarus” (1/27/18 FR, 6/9/18 DF) – The Seven C’s try to acquire a
flying machine so that Zak can investigate the Lock of Beru.
“The
Labyrinth of Minotaur” (2/3/18 FR, 6/16/18 DF) – The Seven C’s venture into a
labyrinth to get a rare crystal to fix Caramba’s exoskeleton.
“Lighthouse
of the Soul” (2/10/18 FR) – Golden Bones tries to take advantage of the
Lighthouse of Marituga’s fading out while The Seven C’s venture inside it.
“Crogar
the Terrible” (2/17/18 FR, 9/13/18 N) – Crogar is captured and hypnotized into
servitude by a sinister mermaid.
“Eye
of the Cyclone” (2/24/18 FR, 9/13/18 N) – The Seven C’s help an aerian open the
waypoint of Aeria, but something seems off about their new ally.
“Escape
from Netherwhere” (3/3/18 FR, 9/13/18 N) – The Seven C’s team-up with Alan to
save Caramba and stop a Netherwhere energy bomb from exploding.
“Thermal
Shock” (3/10/18 FR, 9/13/18 N) – Golden Bones delivers a thermal shock to the
Seven C’s as they try to open the Sino waypoint.
“Trial
by Fire” (3/17/18 FR) – Being trapped in a volcano forces Zak to team up with
Golden Bones to open the Blazz waypoint and defeat its guardian.
“Calabrass’
Old Friend” (3/24/18 FR) – Calabrass is reunited with an old pirate friend who
tries to destroy the Seven C’s.
“Call
to Adventure” (3/31/18 FR) – Caramba manages to repair Zak’s phone, but before
he can use it he needs to rush off and help Alan.
“The
Wiseman” (4/7/18 FR) – A wiseman tells the Seven C’s about a waypoint that will
allow them to bypass all the others, but CeCe has her doubts.
“Burn
Out” (4/14/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Despite their exhaustion, the Seven C’s agree to
help Sassafrass find a Chronos stone that could control time.
“Wrath
of Blix” (4/21/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Zak tries to encourage the jellyfish to rebel
against Golden Bones, who’s been using them as a power source.
“Calabrass’
Body” (4/2818 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Anubis captures Calabrass and tries to tempt him
with the offer of a body of his very own.
“Island
of the Lost Children” (5/8/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – The Seven C’s land on an island
where they believe children are being terrorized by monsters.
“Tanah
Lost” (5/12/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – The Seven C’s have to find a cure after CeCe
ends up poisoned in battle.
“Between
Stars” (3/18/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Zak has to join up with Sassafras and her
daughter to open the Waypoint of Zite.
“Viking
Connexion” (3/24/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Crogar puts the crew in danger while
attempting to reunite his old Viking crew.
“The
Stowaway” (3/24/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – While stuck in the Sea of Sino, the Seven C’s
have to contend with sinister duplicates.
“Zak’s
Choice” (4/1/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Zak grows increasingly frustrated that they
still have two Waypoints to open before he can go home.
“The
Lost Orb” (4/13/18 FR, 9/1/18 N) – Tied of Golden Bones’ failures, Skullivar
puts Carver in charge and he manages to snatch Calabrass away from Zak.
“The
Last Guardian” (9/24/18 FR, 9/1/18N) – The Seven C’s must battle Skullivar, who
now possesses an evil Calabrass.
