Greg's Blog of Clue-By-Fours

Okay, the first episode of “Avengers Assemble” is temporarily available for free on iTunes. I figured I had an hour, so I would check it out. What are my impressions? It’s not good. The best thing I can say about it is that it’s better than “Ultimate Spider-Man.” But that is damning with faint praise, it looks and feels like “Ultimate Spider-Man” but without the Family Guy-style cutaways and immature attempts at humor.

Let’s start with the animation and character models… this show looks like it was done cheap. The characters all look like decals in a sticker book when they’re not in motion. I know some people didn’t like the stylized designs of “Spectacular Spider-Man” or “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” but they had a charm and liveliness to them that really brought the characters to life. They were animated shows that didn’t look like they were ashamed of their medium.

The plot is predictable, and the pacing is atrocious. It just throws things constantly at you, but really it’s all nothing. Red Skull and MODOK attack the Statue of Liberty, kill Cap but not… Tony assembles the Avengers again, and they go after Red Skull… get followed by Black Widow and discover that Cap was kidnapped and Red Skull traded bodies with him…. and not only bodies, but voices (I thought such ridiculousness died in the 80’s)… action scene, bodies are switched back, and then Red Skull (who stole Cap’s body because his was dying) stole Iron Man’s armor to keep him alive… never mind the ARC reactor was designed for a specific purpose, to prevent the shards of shrapnel from getting into Tony’s heart… it’s not a magic cure-all.

The characters don’t fare too well either, most of the voice actors are miscast… the character are making bad jokes seconds after hearing that Cap “died.” Nick Fury, for no reason whatsoever, fires Falcon from S.H.I.E.L.D. when he joins the Avengers… and done in a ridiculously boneheaded scene. Black Widow fares the best, but she doesn’t rise above being merely okay.

Now, I suppose you’re wondering if Jeph Loeb and Man of Action told the truth when they said it was in continuity with “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” The answer is no. It can’t be. And Falcon is one of the big reasons why… this show treats him like the rookie, he became Falcon for the first time, even though he was Falcon already in “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”. So, yeah, Loeb and Man of Action lied.

The show is bland, safe, and there is nothing challenging there. It’s bright and colorful, and perfect for the purpose it serves… to sell toys. And unlike “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” there will be action figures. It ranges from “okay, that wasn’t too awful” to “oh my god, that was completely awful” several times within the episode itself. It’s a throwback to cartoons of the 1980’s in many of it’s less flattering ways.

“Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” wasn’t perfect, especially in the latter half of the second season… but most of the time, it was the Avengers show I would always want to watch. I miss it, and I’m thankful this doesn’t share continuity with it. It’s not worthy to.

worldsfinestonline:

The Hollywood Reporter states Young Justice’s Greg Weisman will be executive producer, along with Dave Filoni, on the upcoming Star Wars Rebels animated series, coming 2014 to Disney XD. Production has already begun.