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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Vol. 2

Marvel Comics Animated Series

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The Avengers Vol. 2 - Bio creatures, ionic madman, gamma freaks, and a Captain!

Jul 9, 2011

by Madpenguin
posted in Speech Bubbles: Comics & Graphic Novels

Rating:

A terrorist organization called Hydra attacks the United Nations while all of the worlds leaders are present. Tony Stark aka Iron Man, enters the scene to halt the rampage. After the skirmish, he comes to words with SHIELD commander Nick Fury, and learns that the threat of supervillains are increasing and he's only one man. As the supervillain activity increase, solo superheroes attempt to stop the madness. These random attacks are only the beginning of something bigger in the works.

Previous Volume:

The Avengers Volume One - Heroes Assemble!

The Avengers Volume Two - Captain America Reborn!

After apprehending Graviton from the breakout that took place on the Raft, which was a secret prison for the most dangerous supervillains on the planet. The newly formed Avengers consisting of Iron Man, Hulk, Wasp, Ant Man, and Thor, learn 74 villains are now at large, who escaped from the other three prisons as well; The Vault, The Big House, and The Cube. Together they attempt to capture all the villains, but there are others who are seeking to destroy the group. -summary

Picking up immediately after the last episode, Avengers volume 2 continues to move at full speed, delivering one action packed story after the next. Even though the action is pretty much the main attraction, the storytelling isn't sacrificed at all, and once again, despite the episodic nature which focuses on plenty of stand alone stories. There's a subplot taking place that is building up to something larger, while in the process, some of the other subplots that were introduced in the previous volume are tied up here.

Now, of course, the action is indeed where it's at; however, there's more of an emphasis on character development for a little while. The viewer will get to know more about several characters, with the Hulk getting his fair shake in the very beginning. He struggles with his human side, trying not to give in to the monster, but soon falls victim to Asgardian black magic. It's pretty easy to feel for the character, since it's obviously difficult for him to fit in due to being labeled a monster. Iron Man goes through his little situation, which gets a nod from his Civil War personality. However, it's Captain America who steals the show from this angle for me. After being freed from a block of ice, in which he was trapped in for decades. He's now forced to adjust to this new world, plus accept the fact that his world has almost completely disappeared, which brings him to ponder does this world need Captain America at all. The character driven portions of the show doesn't effect the brisk pacing, and as a result, the episodes never dragged for me.

The villains introduced are used very well for the most part, and they're built up into some serious threats. Together with the Executioner, the Enchantress gives the team a tough fight. Baron Zemo also makes an appearance, and gives Captain America a very rough one on one as well. The final two episodes which ends in a two parter overshadows everything, as the Leader puts together a devious plan to conquer the world, with the Wrecking Crew, Absorbing Man, U-Foes, and Abomination at his side. Some really good stuff goes down here. I must also give a nod to the comedy. Japanese anime directors should watch a lot more American animation to see how comedy is done. Sometimes it's not always what the character does, instead, it's what they say and how they say it that works. The comedy comes out of nowhere in the dialogue, and it gave me several chuckles without feeling forced and silly.

I really enjoy the animation since it results in some very entertaining battles. Expect to see those big huge punches that Hulk has been known for in the comics. Plus the group battles are well animated too. I think plenty of the backgrounds look nice, and the use of lighting was pulled off well during the darker moments. I think the character designs are very good for the most part, with a clear size distinction between Thor and Hulk. They both look like serious power houses, but the Hulk truly comes off as a devastating monster. I like the designs for the women; Enchantress, Black Widow, and Wasp. They don't come off over the top gorgeous, but average and that's pretty much the way I like it. The only character I have a problem with is Abomination. I just don't really care for his bulky design at all. He's not as well defined as the other heavy-hitters and comes off looking goofy. I feel the BGM and sound effects are just as good as the previous volume. Nothing here to truly note. However, there is something to note in regards to the voice acting. I just love it. I enjoy the free-spirited portrayal of the Wasp voiced by Colleen Ann O'Shaughnessey the absolute most. Her fun attitude seems to be the perfect fit, and her witty antics shows up at the right time. Plus she's not overplayed to the point of being annoying.

In closing, this volume is a nice follow up, and serious comic fans are going to love where it's going. Since the volume concludes with the formation of a dangerous group who took down the Avengers in the comics. The next few episodes have me salivating and I can hardly wait. Non comic fans will more than likely enjoy this show as well, and quite honestly, I think it's best for them since they possess little to no knowledge about the comics, so everything will be a surprise to them. This volume contains episodes 8-13, and has a 137 minute run time.

Pros:
-Action, character development, stories

Cons:
- Ends on cliffhanger

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FM_ALEX July 09, 2011

I need to watch these soon, great review.

Madpenguin July 09, 2011

Thanks, and you really do. It's that good.

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Madpenguin
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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is an American cartoon series by Marvel Animation based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. The show debuted on Disney XD in Fall 2010 starting with a 20 part micro-series.^[1]
The series initially features a team based on the roster for the original Avengers, composed of Iron Man as team leader, Ant-Man (also as Giant-Man), Hulk, Thor, and the Wasp. In terms of tone and style, the series is based primarily on the original stories by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. However, it also tends to utilize material from all eras of the comic's run and other sources such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^[2]

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