Genre:
Animated | Sci-Fi | Action
Director:
Sebastian Montes, Vinton Heuck
Writers:
Christopher Yost, Brandon Auman, Michael Ryan, Kevin Burke, Chris Wyatt, Paul Giacoppo, Joshua Fine
Cast: Eric Loomis, Rick Wasserman, Colleen O’Shaugnessey, Wally Wingert, Brian Bloom, Fred Tatasciore
MPAA Rating: G
Runtime:
Vol. 1 – 161 min | Vol. 2 – 137 min
Summary:
If the planet is threatened by super villains, time traveling conquerors, alien invaders, mythical beasts, or robots bent on the total destruction of humanity, if the forces of evil are so overwhelming that no single hero has the power to save the world, when there is no hope left, you assemble the AVENGERS. The Avengers are the best of the best in the Marvel universe, the greatest heroes who take on the unbeatable foes. These are the heroes who hold back the storm. On their shoulders rests the fate of the world.
“Bio-engineered monsters. Freaky ooze creatures. Is that what it was like fighting evil in the 40s?” – Tony Stark
“No, sometimes it got strange.” – Steve Rogers
Writer/Director Joss Whedon‘s big-screen adaptation of The Avengers is just starting to ramp up production and we, the superhero moviegoing public, still have a long wait ahead of us before that band of Marvel heroes assembles at your local theater.
Marvel Animation and Walt Disney Home Entertainment have recently released Volumes 1 & 2 of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on DVD, and it just might be the ticket to filling the void until the highly anticipated big-screen adventure begins. Both volumes (sold separately) are a great introduction to The Avengers for the uninitiated, no matter their age. Adults and kids will both dig the humor and action in this series, and thankfully employs both without seriously dumbing down the dialogue.
Volume one contains seven episodes , the first five focusing on each individual hero (Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Wasp and Ant-Man/Giant Man) and a quick look at the origins of some of the characters, with the final two-part episode showing our heroes brought together to tackle a threat too large for just one of them to handle. The six episodes included in volume two, brings out more supervillainy for the team to handle, and features a good amount of infighting as the heroes adjust to being a team, in addition to Thor adjusting to being on Earth and Captain America adjusting to being in the modern-day world, after being frozen for decades.
Throughout the two DVD volumes, we are introduced to other Marvel heroes as well, including Black Widow, Black Panther, Hawkeye and of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. along with it’s leader, Nick Fury all make appearances. Both Volumes contain one bonus feature each that focuses on what’s coming up for season 2, along with some spoilers.
The voice acting in the series is really superb, with one exception. Eric Loomis who portrays the voice of Tony Stark/Iron Man is incredibly distracting. Loomis sounds like Jack Black doing his best impersonation of Robert Downey Jr., Colleen O’Shaughnessey who portrays the voice of Janet Van Dyne / Wasp, Rick D. Wasserman who voices Thor, Wally Wingert as Ant-Man/Giant Man, Fred Tatasciore as The Hulk and Brian Bloom as Captain America, all do a fantastic job. While thier characters don’t get as much screen time as the main team, Chris Cox who plays Clint Barton / Hawkeye, James C. Mathis III who voices Black Panther, Vanessa Marshall who voices Black Widow and Alex Désert as Nick Fury, all do a great job as well.
The only real complaint I have is that they decided to span one season of this show across two discs that are only available for purchase separately. I wish Marvel and Walt Disney Home Entertainment would take a cue from Warner Premiere and DC Entertainment, who have shown with their direct to DVD animated movies and series, that they know how to package serious value into their DVD and Blu-ray offerings.
That being said, if you’re a Marvel fan, and especially if you want a palatable introduction to The Avengers for your kids, or non-comic book reading friends or significant other, these two volumes are definitely a must have.
I give The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Volumes 1 & 2, Four out of Five Stars
Pick up your copy over at Amazon, using the links below!
