Avengers cartoon - Part 4

[TheCorpulent1]

Wendell and Genis probably don't exist.

[Colossal Spoons]

Don't say such things! They're probably off somewhere relaxin' with Drax and Nova

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, in the land of nonexistence.

[Colossal Spoons]

Perfect opportunity to introduce Oblivion lol

[TheCorpulent1]

How awesome would it be if the Nova Corps and the Guardians of the Galaxy showed up to help the Avengers if/when the Kree/Skrull War breaks out into open hostilities with the Avengers caught in the middle?

[Colossal Spoons]

That'd be awesome. I miss Rich(not that abomination over in Spidey's cartoon)

[TheVileOne]

Can Phyla/Quasar actually be related to Mar-Vell in this continuity?

[Anubis]

Anythings possible.

[Dread]

Topping "TO STEAL AN ANT-MAN" last week is a tall order for "AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES" at least in my eyes. This season has had a lot to do and has on the whole juggles it all well. It furthers and settles subplots from the last season while maintaining a serial structure as well as having quite a few guest heroes as well as new villains appearing in virtually every episode. At the very least, that is how it will go until the second season's 14th episode, which will begin the "Jeph Loeb Hostile Takeover" era. We are still 8 episodes away from that era, without including whenever Disney XD will decide it is time for a break. This episode is titled after one of the Avengers' most classic villains from the comics, "MICHAEL KORVAC", written by Andy Lanning and Danny Abnett from the "Marvel Cosmic" comic line, and is dedicated to Boyd Kirkland, the long time Marvel Animation writer/producer who died last year.

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

This episode, to put it simply, makes a lot of compromises with the traditional Marvel continuity. In the original comic book story, both the Avengers and the Guardians Of The Galaxy much unite to battle the "cosmic level threat" of Michael Korvac, who had godly energy powers. The battle at the end involves his love, Carina, as well as a bit of suicide. If you look at the structure of the 1970's KORVAC SAGA storyline in simple terms, then it remains intact. However, the characters within are vastly different, as are the circumstances as well as scale. The Guardians involved are the newer characters as assembled in the more recent comics, and not the classic characters like Vance Astro, Yondu, or Charlie-27. Instead they are Star-Lord/Peter Quill, Phyla/Quasar (who probably isn't Mar-Vell's cloned daughter here), Groot, Rocket Raccoon and Adam Warlock. Instead of an origin which involves the far future of the 31st century, Michael Korvac is simply a man who has been turned into a genocidal weapon via Kree experimentation who has gone insane as a result. This keeps the plot consistent with the overall theme of the season of involvement by the Kree or the Skrulls in what is soon to be an epic space war.

Michael Korvac has landed in a crater from the sky, with weird markings on his back and raving about aliens chasing him. Without any clue what to do with him, local cops pawn him off to the Avengers' doorstep, where Wasp is once again on monitor duty. This is consistent with last week's episode and she's chatting with Ms. Marvel about Hank, which is also consistent with the two from last season. While the cops and even Hawkeye consider Korvac to just be a kook, Wasp takes his story seriously and tracks down Carina, the woman Korvac has sought to find. It turns out that he's been missing for 2 years, and both the crater and he are giving off cosmic radiation (of the sort that created the Fantastic Four). However, the Guardians of the galaxy quickly beam in to apprehend Korvac; since they initially talk in alien tongues and Wasp is a bit jumpy, it leads to a typical "bout of misunderstanding" until Korvac's true nature is revealed. The scale of Korvac's threat is explained as being capable of blowing up entire planets, and in no small terms Star-Lord says that he's taken countless lives. There is some dilemma that the scale becomes to large that it is harder to get as much of a grasp for it than, say, the quest to save a kidnapped girl from mobsters last week. In the end, it does feel very much like a Cliff's Notes version of the original comic saga, which may be a decent homage to some or underwhelming to others.

For me? I was actually pleased that this episode featured all of the Avengers besides for "Cap", Pym, and Thor; the lack of all three of these characters was explained and this was the first real Avengers mission with Ms. Marvel as a part of the team to me. As usual, Hawkeye and Hulk often get some of the best lines, although I continue to like the banter between he and Black Panther. Without the real Cap as a grounding force, Iron Man still continues to be more of a reactionary leader, unable to stop things such as Wasp's impulsive antics from complicating things. The Guardians themselves are complicated characters to newbies; Quasar uses the "quantum bands", Warlock has something called a "soul gem", but the episode plays it all at face value and expects it to seem overwhelming - which allows Star-Lord's place as the "everyman leader" of the squad to shine. I was especially surprised to see Kirk Thorton credited as Adam Warlock; he's a long term anime voice actor who hasn't voiced as many traditional cartoons, but he's usually known for gruff military type roles. As an example, he was cast as Guile twice by MANGA VIDEO for some of their dubbed Street Fighter anime. Before the role of Capt. America was cast, I once suggested Thorton for the role and he's naturally solid as Warlock. Greg Ellis reprises his role as Rocket Raccoon from ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3 and it is a little weird hearing an alien Raccoon with an Aussie accent, but it beats everyone in space having upper class British accents. Naturally, Carina in this episode is a typical woman, with no hint of being the daughter of the Collector, but her role in the story is the same. Thus, Wasp's impulse to locate her to unravel the mystery of Korvac proved critical to not only the heroes, but the planet at large. Considering Korvac's design is simplistic, I did feel the episode did a good job of animating him and making him seem unique against other "rampaging energy guys" on the show such as Wonder Man.

This episode wasn't as satisfying to me as last's week, but it certainly felt more like an Avengers episode and I did appreciate the attempt to pay homage to a classic saga from the comics with more modern characters within one episode. It STILL was an episode which manages to fit into the core seasonal subplot instead of seeming like a lark. I was never a fan of the original GOTG, but was of the more recent one, so I was pleased by their depiction here; the themed uniforms likely helped get them to the small screen. I probably would have preferred either Moondragon or Mantis have been in Phyla's place on the roster - especially since Moondragon was actually a part of that original KORVAC SAGA - although I suppose the producers liked her visual energy powers and thought they'd match well against Iron Man for a bit. Now that at least one "infinity gem" has been established, I wonder if a future episode will feature Thanos and some sort of adaptation of the INFINITY GAUNTLET saga. My tastes are variable and I can appreciate both low key episodes as well as epic scale episodes such as this one, so overall I was pleased. I liked seeing Ms. Marvel involved in the regular mix and am stunned it has been so long since Wasp had another lady to play off of.

Good episode, as usual. Not the best this season has had but up there with the consistent quality. I am looking forward to seeing the "Skrull Cap" subplot reaching a head next week.

[BigThor]

Originally Posted by IronGirl299

Agreed so does RDJ. They are the characters incarnate.

Yeah he get's enough credit for what his portrayal IM, that's why I listed Hemsworth and Hiddleston.

[Oberon sexton]

Rocket Raccoon is quite possibly the best guest star we've had on this show.

[MarvelKnight]

I thought Groot was awesome.

[Dread]

Originally Posted by Oberon sexton

Rocket Raccoon is quite possibly the best guest star we've had on this show.

I preferred Iron Fist, but Groot was pretty cool.

[sauronthegreat]

wow, Adam Warlock and the Soul Gem.. I so want Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet saga in this show!!!

[SaF]

I'm kinda sad, this episode was a bit random for me, especially the way it ended...

Did like the various fights between the guardians and the avengers (hulk and the raccoon/tree guy and iron man/lady with all te glowy weapons especially) but the whole episode just didn't quite work for me, can't put my finger on why though. Mebbe it will grow on me with a repeat veiwing.

did love the chat between Jan and Carol at the start, it was dead on for the situation. Poor sad wasp =(

[Nathan]

As I'm not too well-versed in the Marvel lore, I honestly expected Korvac to turn out to be the Sentry. Blond, uber-poweful apparently, fits the bill I thought.

[natey2k4]

I just finished episode 14 and I'm absolutely loving this show so far. Best animated show in years, at least since the first season or two of Ninja Turtles. If there is an awesome show I missed, please feel free to PM me so I can check it out.

Anyway, so far I love pretty much all the characters. Thor and Hulk are still the most powerful but at least they can be topped in this series (unlike the movie). That's part of what makes this show awesome - you never know who will save the day.

Loved that my favourite character Hawkeye is pretty badass in this show so far. He's saved the Avengers twice now (as well as the World) and he stands up to Hulk. I love the "not so scared of anything" attitude from him. And his one liners are awesome --- on par with Tony Stark from the movies.

I love Wasp. I've become a big fan of hers because she's so small but she has all the heart in the world!

Not really sold on Black Panther yet, he's a bit boring.

[Arthur Curry]

Originally Posted by SaF

I'm kinda sad, this episode was a bit random for me, especially the way it ended...

Did like the various fights between the guardians and the avengers (hulk and the raccoon/tree guy and iron man/lady with all te glowy weapons especially) but the whole episode just didn't quite work for me, can't put my finger on why though. Mebbe it will grow on me with a repeat veiwing.

did love the chat between Jan and Carol at the start, it was dead on for the situation. Poor sad wasp =(

I agree with that almost entirely. I find myself just doing this Cap-Skrull vs Steve-Cap countdown, and rolling my eyes when they don't advance this storyline, as they're screwing around waaay too much around it. This episode did nothing for me (GotG not my thing and I miss the male Quasar) and could have been either pushed back or scrapped altogether as I was concerned. An episode like "To Steal an Antman" though I had no problem with because of Cage and IF who made loonnnnnggg overdue animated debut (well sort of). It's a perfect self contained ep ala JLU and like "CAT AND THE CANARY".

It's just taking too long to get to the meat and potatoes of the Skrull-Cap saga. Here we are at S2E7 and the real Cap STILL isn't back in the fold?? I thought at least they would time it where the release of the film would coincide with a Steve Rogers triumphant return but this Skrull stuff is getting real old especially when not a hellavalot has even happened.

IMB Cap got shafted out of playing time (and extended action sequences) LAST season and now the real Steve Rogers gets to miss the first 6 and counting in season 2. I'm as negative and trepidacious as anyone about Jeph Loeb and MAN OF AVERAGE but one point I give them is they must have screened S1 and the first half S2 and were like "HEY WHERE'S CAP IN THIS, AND WHY IS HE ALWAYS HURT OR CAPTURED OR OFF CAMERA?? I'VE REALLY ONLY SEEN HIM IN LIKE 8 out of 39 eps?? AND HE'S HAD VIRTUALLY NO SCENES OR DIALOGUE WITH THOR???" So they decided to REALLY put an emphasis on "THE BIG THREE" in final 13eps to jibe with the film and even out screen time which needed to be done.

[Arthur Curry]

Originally Posted by natey2k4

Not really sold on Black Panther yet, he's a bit boring.

I agree with that too. He's boring because he's too much the "Mr. Perfect" on the show. He's never wrong and they OVERplay his agility as well in the way they UNDERplay Cap's. I've been following the books and the abilities my whole life and they're portrayed as about equals in that dept but on AEMH Black Panther gets this super-vibranium level of agility (w/ Hulk super jumps) that makes Nightcrawler look like Prof X while Cap has Paste-Pot-Pete feet.

It's like the producers/writers are afraid of making BP do anything negative or less-than-perfect for the fear of being accused of racism or something by Reggie Hudlin or Christopher Priest.

[Anubis]

Shut up racist.

[Savage]

It's to make him and Cap unique to each other. Cap is more of a bruiser while Black Panther is more about speed and agility. You know, like a cat. Cap has shown agile moves and he is damn fast as well but where BP is weaker than him, Cap isn't as fast or agile as BP.

I do see him as the Spock of the group, though. He's very calm, cool, collected, rarely ever shows an extreme emotion. The guy's always in control. At least after his debut, anyway. I'd like to see more episodes developing him. He's kind of been shafted in that department. It really doesn't feel like he has any reason to stick with these guys. He's more guest star material. I'm a Black Panther fan but I admit he works better alone. On a team he's just kinda...there. If you can do everything better than everyone else then why is the team even needed? Just go off on your own adventures.

[TheCorpulent1]

That doesn't really make any sense, though. Cap should be as agile and fast as him because Black Panther isn't superhuman. By definition, Cap is as agile and fast as any other human being can possibly hope to be.

Although, I will say that the cartoon has at least done a better job of showing off Cap's agility and grace than the movies have.

[Savage]

This is true. Though The Avengers have made quite an improvement in that respect.

The way I always saw it with the powers (even in the comics) is everybody has different body types. Therefor different peaks and attributes that they excel at. While Cap may be the stronger, heavier brute of the two at 6'2 220 lbs, Black Panther has always been a little shorter and lighter (6'0 200. Or I think 180 these days). Naturally Black Panther is not going to be as strong as Cap if we're assuming they're both at their peak for their sizes and smaller guys tend to be a lot more agile and quick than the big ones. It's not like peak human automatically means the same height and weight for everybody. I doubt Cap and BP can bench the same amount or would make the same time on a track.

[TheCorpulent1]

But Cap is never really about brute strength in the comics. How could he be when there are people like Thor and the Hulk around? He's always shown working his way through ridiculously complex jungle gyms at Avengers Mansion with the greatest of ease. Agility is very much his thing. The movies haven't done a great job of conveying that. It seems more like throwing his shield and being kind of a dork are his things based on those. The cartoon does a much better job of getting close to the comics, although I still feel like he's just sort of an average fighter with a nice shield. No one's really conveyed the fact that this dude, through a combination of reflexes, agility, and his own self-made fighting style that leans heavily on boxing and judo, is one of the most deadly graceful living weapons in the world.

Also, I just saw that your sig has a ton of MIA gifs.

[Savage]

And I just realized that they're links and not images. Damn. That vid is pretty sweet, though.

You're right about Cap relying heavily on his agility in the comics. Just saying that when you put him and Black Panther in the same room Black Panther naturally edges him out in that department. The show is just exaggerating that. I honestly believe that if Black Panther was not on the show Cap would be doing everything that he does. From a viewer's standpoint, what's the point of Black Panther on The Avengers if he's just Cap with blades instead of a shield? Tony Stark is already the brains and they had Hank Pym to boot. Black Panther would really just be kind of there. I can see why they made the decision to make speed and agility his niche while Cap is a little more down to earth (he still does acrobatics but Black Panther might as well be made of feathers).