The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Infiltration" Review

Note: Full spoilers for this episode follow.

This week's installment of Earth's Mightiest Heroes tended to wear its influences on its sleeve, drawing material from a number of comics involved in Marvel's Secret Invasion storyline. As in the Black Panther story  "See Wakanda and Die," Panther was charged with repelling an invasion of his homeland. As in several issues of Mighty Avengers, Nick Fury struggled to uncover which of Earth's heroes had been replaced. And as in Secret Invasion itself, a crashed Skrull ship revealed an entire crew of what appeared to be escaped Avengers. It was a packed episode, but luckily the end result was less choppy than might be expected.

Ms. Marvel of all characters proved to be the star of the show this time. She served as the voice of moderation between the crashed "Avengers" and Black Panther's forces. Her ongoing struggle to reconcile her duties to S.W.O.R.D. with her status as an Avenger is serving the show well. And seeing Carol unleash her powers later in the episode is a treat. As much as the character has suffered a rocky history in the comics, Earth's Mightiest Heroes continues to do right by Ms. Marvel.

The battle for Wakanda was also enjoyable, albeit not quite at the scale I was hoping for. What should have been a siege of a massive and highly advanced city instead played out as a brawl between a handful of Skrull impostors and Wakandan footmen, with a few tanks and cannons thrown in for good measure. One area DC shows like Young Justice continue to dominate Marvel's efforts is in animation quality. It's hard not to wonder what this battle might have looked like with Young Justice-caliber animation. Still, the individual character match-ups were fun. The only thing cooler than one Black Panther kicking ass is two Panthers battling each other. There was also something strangely satisfying about seeing Wasp revert to full size in order to deck the Skrull Giant-Man. Call it payback for the infamous spousal abuse storyline in the comics.

Iron Man also returned to the spotlight briefly for an unexpected team-up with Doctor Doom. This episode expertly captured the uneasy relationship the two have always shared in the comics. Doom may have disdain for all humans, but even he has to begrudgingly respect Tony's scientific acumen. It's also nice to be reminded that this show isn't limited by the same character rights issues as the Avengers movies are. That fact was further emphasized with the glimpse of Nick Fury's Skrull candidate charts. These charts offered a who's who of Marvel cameos, including everyone from Wolverine to Magneto to Luke Cage. Aside from fan service, the Fury scenes worked nicely as a means of tying some loose threads together. Fury revealed the myriad ways in which Skrull agents like Captain America and Mockingbird have been manipulating recent events towards the Skrulls' end. Unfortunately, Fury was taken down before he and his remaining allies could go on the offensive. Hopefully we'll get a chance to see his abbreviated Secret Warriors squad in action before this storyline wraps up.

Much in the same way Secret Invasion itself did, I felt this episode missed some potential with the impostor Avengers. It would have been exciting to see at least one of the characters revealed as the real deal. But with the invasion plotline still unfolding over the next couple episodes, there's plenty of time yet for more Skrull-related shocks and surprises. I only hope these next chapters do a better job of capturing the full scale and scope of this conflict.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Is The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Cancelled?

With The Avengers movie destroying box office records left and right, it would seem odd that the current Avengers animated TV series, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, could be cancelled. But there’s increasing speculation that might be the case.

In recent interviews, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb has been non-committal on the status of EMH, only saying they had ongoing plans for the Avengers in animation, but not whether that particular series would continue. While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes debuted after Disney bought Marvel, it’s worth noting that the show was already in the works before that deal. The speculation is that Marvel may want to end Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in order to begin a new Avengers animated series fully developed and produced by them and also in continuity with the new Marvel animated series universe established by Ultimate Spider-Man.

When I spoke to Adrian Pasdar last month (who voices Iron Man on Ultimate Spider-Man), he noted he had also voiced Iron Man on the upcoming Hulk and the Agents of Smash animated series – likely a sign those two shows (both fully produced by Marvel) will be considered part of the same universe. A universe Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is not a part of...

While acknowledging Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ fandom, Loeb’s comments to Collider in March, on the topic of serialization in the animated series, also could point to the current Avengers show not being in line with Marvel’s future plans. Said Loeb, “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has a tremendous following. One of the things that’s very unique about that show is that it was at a time prior to my coming in. It is a very serialized show, and there are a lot of characters. What we wanted to do with Spider-Man, and going forward, was to tell stories that are individualized. Obviously, we want everybody to watch the show every week, but we also know that people’s time is often taken. So, DVR the show, but if you’re not going to do that, the idea is that you will be able to catch up. I don’t ever want anybody to sit down on Sunday mornings at 11 o’clock and suddenly feel like, “Well, I lost the last three episodes, so I don’t really know what’s going on.”” Loeb has previously indicated that the final twelve episodes of Season 2 of Earth's Mightiest Heroes feature more standalone storylines.

There are still eighteen episodes left to air for Season 2 of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. When I asked Marvel for information on the show potentially ending after that, I was told the company doesn’t officially comment on plans for future seasons of their Marvel Universe programs.

Loeb usually takes part in a Marvel television panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Assuming that is the case again this summer, no doubt the future of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will be a question many are curious to ask.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/22/is-the-avengers-earths-mightiest-heroes-cancelled

The Avengers Video Game Coming: Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth On Wii-U And Kinect Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth is coming out for the Kinect and Wii-U. Ubisoft and Marvel Entertainment announced that they are teaming up to create a game based on the blockbusting superhero tong. The title will feature more than 20 characters from the Marvel universe and is based on the “Secret Invasion” comics, not the film. We don't know the release date, but it will obviously not be out until after the Nintendo Wii-U launches.

“The idea that we’re making a motion-control version of The Avengers is a unique proposition if you compare that to superhero games of the past,” said Tony Key, Ubisoft’s vice president of sales and marketing said to The Associated Press. “This is the perfect type of game for that because these characters are very action oriented. They’re always fighting and throwing things.”

Further details on the game are scarce, but Ubisoft promises more details at this year's E3 in June. Speaking of which, G4 will be all over E3 2012, bringing you all the news, videos, and surprises you could possibly need or imagine.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723675/the-avengers-video-game-coming-marvel-avengers-battle-for-earth-on-wii-u-and-kinect/

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Michael Korvac" Review

Note: Yep, we've decided to begin weekly reviews for The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! For some reason we can't put our finger on, the timing just felt appropriate... Moderate episode spoilers follow.

With the Avengers movie shifting Marvel Studios' films into a more cosmically-oriented direction, it's only fitting that Season 2 of Earth's Mightiest Heroes continues to do the same for the show. The series continued its gradual build-up towards the big Kree/Skrull War conflict, but in the process introduced both a legendary Avengers foe and a very unusual team of "Space Avengers" called the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The episode handled Michael Korvac very well considering the limited, 21-minute time span. The character was always meant to be a cautionary tale of what happens when one ordinary man is given god-like power, and Korvac's gradual breakdown over the course of the episode captured that descent into madness. As in the original story, his desperate attachment to his girlfriend, Carina, providing just the right touch of humanity. The fact that so much of "The Korvac Saga" was reduced or eliminated for this episode was probably for the best.

But in the end, it was really the Guardians of the Galaxy who stole the show. Considering that the episode was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (who created the version of the Guardians the episode utilized), that's only to be expected. Hawkeye had a great line, "There's a tree and a raccoon scowling at us, man. Are we firing?" That pretty much kicked off hostilities between the two groups as they embarked on the obligatory "let's fight each other for a while until we unite to battle a common foe," shtick.

It might not have been the most clever or surprising plot, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Whether it was
Iron Man vs. Quasar, Hulk vs. Groot, or Black Panther vs. Adam Warlock, the battles were consistently engaging and visually memorable for a show that doesn't always boast the strongest animation quality. The vocal work was also particularly noteworthy thanks to all the guest stars. There was the inimitable Kevin Conroy as Star-Lord, of course. Kirk Thornton's Warlock and Troy Baker's Korvac were also particularly well done. Although, as a long-time fan of Rocket Raccoon, I can't say I ever pictured the character with a heavy British accent.

This episode may not have had quite the epic scale and sense of doom the original Korvac Saga did in the comics, but it ended on a suitably tragic note that leaves the door open for the villain's return. On a more somber note, the episode was dedicated to the memory of its director, the late Boyd Kirkland. At least Kirkland was able to go out in style with one of the better episodes the series has seen to date.


Source : http://tv.ign.com/articles/122/1224443p1.html