The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Episode 03 Iron Man is born

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'll be reviewing the amazing new show The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. This episode was the third to air, But really it was the first of the micro-series mini-episode compliation shows that serves as an origin for each character. This is Iron Man's one and it comprises for the mini-episodes

Original Air  Date: 24/10/2010 Production Code:001

01 Iron Man is Born

04 Hydra Lives

06 Behold the Mandroids!

09 Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D

I didn't even realise they were mini-episodes because they fit together as a coherent story, as I'm sure it was intended. I'm still playing with format ideas so I guess I'll just go through each mini-episode in order this time and see how we go.

So first things first, Lets look at the Opening sequence. The Song is pretty epic, at first listen I actually didn't like but now I love it. Starts off with shots of our various heros doing their thing, with a particularly awesome shot of Ton Stark in his armour undersheath suit looking bad ass, and then he armours up, I believe I may have exlaimed outloud when I first saw it. The the rest is the whole team fighting HYDRA Dreagnaughts and Octo-tanks (I'm calling them that til we get an official name) infront of the UN. Then the title of the show. A nice sharp and well dont intro.

"I AM IRON MAN!"

01 Iron Man is Born

Starts off with some guy on the boardwalk taking some camera footage, then explosions and lasers! as Iron Man is fighting a giant robot ( probably Ultimo) in the bay. Ironman saves the camera guy from being crushed. It cuts to Jim Rhodes in the car with Tony, Jim is trying to convince Iron Man to join up with Shield. Tony blows him off wanting to fight alone. 

Tony and Rhodey pull up into Stark tower where Pepper is waiting, getting onto Tony for not answering his phone. Tony is a smart ass about it and Pepper tells us HYDRA has attacked the United Nations, yes the real life UN they even made the building look like its real life counterpart, This is what I love about this show another cartoon show might be afraid to show the UN for political correctness and come up with their own UN analog. but this is true to comics because the United Nations give the Avengers team a charter, making them an officially sanctioned peace keeping for by the United Nations Security Council.

Anyway an Octo-tank emerges and starts sending out troops. Shield is too far away, every world leader there. Tony decides he has to take this one and says he's going to be late for his lunch meeting. We get to see Tony in his under sheath walk into the hall of armour and armour up. Jarvis is the main computer instead of a butler.

"Pew pew pew"

The UN troops are getting decimated a Full power Uni-beam takes out the Octo-tank leaving the armour at 40% power, just leaving the Hydra ground troops, Stark's Arrogance and Over confidence really shows here when he is shock a lowly Hydra goon would actually shoot at him. one multi vectored rocket later and the goons are down. Time to relax . . . but wait The Remains of the Octo-Tank shoots out three  Dreadnoughts.

04 Hydra Lives

We get our first look at EMH Nick Fury, at first glance he looks like Ultimate fury but with hair and a soul patch ( yeah I know . . . ) he is like an amalgam of 616 Fury and Ultimate Fury ( not that that's a bad thing) We also have Maria Hill in the background giving us status reports, telling us Iron Man is there.

Tony is getting blasted by the Dreadnoughts, his shields are down and his trying to dodge the attacks. Jarvis scans the Dreadnoughts and discovers they have been upgraded with repulsor tech, his Stark TECH! This pisses Tony off something fierce, aint nothing he hates more than people stealing his stuff and using it against him. He tries a full power blast but they have Stark Tech shields too! The cheeky buggers!

"Table for Three?"

Back at Stark, Pepper and Rhodey are worrying about Tony, they are worried about him fighting alone. Iron Man uses an "X-ray" scanner  doohickey to see the Stark Industriest label on the Dreadnought power core ( Lazy Hydra didn't even try to boot leg it, just stole some Stark Tech and wired it in, no wonder they haven't taken over the world) Iron Man punches through it and rips out his Tech. Meanwhile a goon has woken up and is taking aim with a Rocket Launcher but his fellow goon shoots him in the back . . . What are Hydra upto? double agent? who knows.

"Bad Mama-Jama? or Baddest Mama-Jama?"

Another Dreadnought down and the third gets a cheap shot and Iron Man is down but the Shield Helicarrier arrives just in time to take out the last one. and it drops a unit of Mandroids and they order Iron Man to stand down!

06 Behold the Mandroids!

The Mandroids want to bring Stark in but he wants nothing to do with it, He just saved the UN and they are trying to arrest him! Scans reveal seven components they are derived from Stark Industries proprietary technology Oh Noes! This just pisses him off more, Fury tells his Mandroids to stand down. A Dreadnought stands up Iron Man goes to take him out and the Mandroids think he is aiming at them and start shooting. Stark fires his Uni-Beam using up all of his power and his armour shuts down.

The armour reboots, and the Mandroids are all down Stark proceeds to remove all his tech from them and flies onto the bridge of the Helicarrier to confront Fury! Hill pulls a gun Stark, Fury chides her again and tells her to stand down. Stark reveals that Hydra hacked Shield and stole their plans for StarkTech to upgrade their Dreadnoughts. Fury says scary things are out there, Hydra, super villains, monsters like the HULK! Tell Iron Man he needs him on his team, he can do it alone as a vigilante, Stark starts to walk away saying he will get his tech back on his own, setting things up for a potential Armour Wars Storyline. Fury orders Hill to find the leak and plug it, and tells her to get him the Black Widow.

"Seriously Hill, What do you expect to do with that pea shooter?"

Shield is loading up the prisoners and the one who shot his friend in the back earlier is smirking to himself, its like he wanted to be captured . . .

09 Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D

We are introduced to the Vault, up in the mountains somewhere. Fury personally drops off the prisoners so he can check up on someone. He is greeted by a Shield agent who I feel we are meant to recognise but I can't place him, I think they call him Wolf? but I'm not sure and he wasn't listed in the credits. Hill tells us that the Vault is the first of the Super Villian prisons, designed by Stark to hold tech based super villains then she does some name dropping! Oh yeah! Crimson Dynamo, Technovore, MODOK and Hydras leader Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker! I thought wait a minute? they didn't? They couldn't have. Then they should him, missing a hand, scared face, a monocle and evil German accent! Yes they did it they straight up put a super Nazi in a kids cartoon and didn't try to hide it, This is why its awesome!

"Herr Fury, I've been expecting you."

Meanwhile the prisoners are being processed and they find a gauntlet and the smirking Hydra agent from earlier is revealed to be Grim Reaper (In comics Eric Williams Wonder Man's Brother if he is in the show remains to be seen) and he starts destroying the place to spring Von Strucker. He manages to waylay Fury and Hill, gets to Strucker, kneels before him and gives him his gauntlet which Strucker promptly uses to drain the life out of a guard most likely killing him and rejuvenatiing his body, That's Nazi super science for ya.

They get to a conveniently waiting and unlocked Shield flying car, Shield should really know better. But Nick Fury being such a bas ass isn't letting them get away, he leaps aboard and there is a tussle, Strucker tries to drain his life and get some, before Fury breaks free. This gives him his trademark Nick Fury white patches in his hair, but in my opinion with his ultimate skin colour just makes him like G.W. Bridge, making EMH Fury an amalgam for not two but three Shield agents.

"S.H.I.E.L.D: We punch super Nazis in the face so you don't have to"

Strucker hits the ground and is apprehended, leaving the reaper to throw down with Fury, Fury falls over board, but Fury being Fury did it on purpose and the car explodes as Reaper is enjoying his victory. Reaper hits the ground hard and Fury glides in and lands with his boot on Reapers head. cementing the fact he is the baddest Mama-Jama! Everyone gets back in there cells. Hills asked if the The Vault, The Cube, The Big house are all like this. Fury says all four are different! and Credits! Hmmm I wonder that the fourth prison is. I'm gonna guess prison 42 in the Negative Zone. But I haven't seen it yet.

"Grim Reaper: Doormat to the stars"

They really captured Stark's character here, sure he comes across as an arrogant, wise cracking ass hole but that's how he is and he has the brains to back it up. He is one of the seven smartest people on the planet, The greatest engineering mind on the planet, resourceful, charismatic. Robert Downey Junior's portrayal in the movies is pretty much dead on for me, and they are definitely channelling him in the EMH Stark.

Something I really liked too, was all the name dropping and cameos, and thanks Marvel Animation running the show, they have pretty much free reign to include anyone they want and not worry about licensing fees and what not. Just this episode alone we got Crimson Dynamo, Hulk, Technovore, MODOK, Black Widow, the Vault and the Cube all well known and some not well know Marvel faces and locations.

Okay see you guys next time for "Hulk vs. The World". I'm going to go see if I can get that Theme song "Fight as One" performed by Bad City! hopefully its purchasable online somewhere.