THOR animated series slated for 2010!

[Dread]

http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=27109

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ifc7bb2290700c27f1fb7359423d24268

To capitalize on the upcoming motion picture and ultimate AVENGERS placement, a THOR animated series is in pre-production. As usual for the last few series announcements, the first season will be 26 episodes. Networks and cast are unknown.

This falls in line with:

- SPETACULAR SPIDER-MAN, which finished Season 1 this year, getting a second season of 13 episodes, most likely on CW 4Kids or 4Kids TV. It airs an hour of reruns every Saturday and has started hitting DVD.

- WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN, which has been a hit in Canada and Latin America, debuting with a 26 episode first season on NickToons in Jan. 2009 with a second season already in pre-production.

- An AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES animated series being produced to start in 2011.

- The THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA films in pre-production alongside a sequel to IRON MAN, with an AVENGERS film in the near future.

My only wondering is; say the THOR cartoon is a success; how to handle Thor being on the AVENGERS:EGH as well as having his own show? Same network, same actor? Is Marvel animation returning to a loose continuity, as their shows once had in the 90's on FoxKids & UPN's network?

 

[Hush]

WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO Man o man that is going to be awesome! I guess the Marvel Animation Age is comming and hopefully with quality.

 

[GhostPoet]

Sweet!!

too bad it'll get canned just as it's starting to get good.

 

[Dread]

In terms of quality, the Marvel cartoons from the past 2 years so far have ranged overall from good (FANTASTIC FOUR: WGH, WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN) to great (SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN).

Their last animated dud was MTV SPIDER-MAN in 2003, and that was basically a failing due to MTV's demands and backpeddling in pre-production to mooch cash from the unpredicted major-success of 2002's SPIDER-MAN film.

Some of the same figures (Wiesman, Yost, Kyle, Johnson) have been working on various Marvel cartoons for the last 5+ years so keeping things tight is not impossible. Chris Yost & Criag Kyle may not both work on the same show anymore, but they often collaborate and trade notes. Marvel is also bring some ex-WB cartoon people onboard, such as Nieli, a director from TEEN TITANS and LEGION OF SUPERHEROES for the Avengers cartoon.

If THOR is a success, a second season of that may be airing in 2011, when the AVENGERS: EGH show is set to begin. That could be interesting if some continuity is maintained. After all, in the comics, the "big three" usually all had their own titles and took leaves of absence from the team frequently.

There also is a CGI IRON MAN series coming out, which has Stark as a teen, but frankly it seems too focused on mooching dollars from the film rather than anything else, and could be a wash.

Marvel & Lion's Gate still seem intent on releasing about 2 DTV's a year as well.

And, of course, a BLACK PANTHER cartoon on BET.

So, yeah, it is a budding time for Marvel animation.

THOR could be a good mix of fantasy superheroing combined with modern superheroism. If handled well, it could be a cross of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. Thor can have adventures in the wild and wonderous Asgard, which is as vibrant as any Eternia, as well as have a superhero career and secret identity in "Midguard". Rather than trying to pick and choose which, the cartoon should go for both. It can be balanced.

 

[RogueDK]

Good news .
I hope that he's 616 Thor and not Village People Thor from the Ultimate universe.

 

[Sawyer]

Geez, DC really needs to catch up with Marvel.

 

[Dread]

DC dominated Marvel for the first 4-5 years of the 21st century with BATMAN BEYOND, JUSTICE LEAGUE, JLU, TEEN TITANS, THE BATMAN, and LEGION OF SUPERHEROES (not including KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG). DC cartoons were usually of superior quality during the 90's and by 1998, Marvel cartoons were done for that decade.

Frankly, I say Marvel is due a come-back. DC may be scraping the bottom of the barrel with BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD against SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN and WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN.

DC has proven to be the king of the small screen for ages now, but as Marvel cancels them out with big screen and comic book sales, it is about time they turned their focus to cartoons. I don't mind it. But granted, I am a Marvel Zombie.

 

[MissHush]

This is Hush, DC still dominates the DTV market. You know it Dread, lol. I think DC may duke it out with Marvel soon on the small screen.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Great to finally see Marvel's Thor getting some exposure.

 

[Sawyer]

So...seeing as how there is a Wolverine series, an Iron Man series, an Avengers series and now a Thor series (I'm sure that I have heard about a Hulk series somewhere...), who wants to bet that Captain America will be coming to animation in his own series?

 

[RogueDK]

So...seeing as how there is a Wolverine series, an Iron Man series, an Avengers series and now a Thor series (I'm sure that I have heard about a Hulk series somewhere...), who wants to bet that Captain America will be coming to animation in his own series?

Pretty much a forgone conclusion.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

This is probably never going to succeed past a season or two, but I still creamed my jeans when I heard about it. Who knew Thor would come so far, from a major cornerstone of the early Marvel universe to a barely recognized D-lister to a relaunched juggernaut with movies and cartoons based on him. His history at Marvel is as epic as he is.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

This is probably never going to succeed past a season or two, but I still creamed my jeans when I heard about it. Who knew Thor would come so far, from a major cornerstone of the early Marvel universe to a barely recognized D-lister to a relaunched juggernaut with movies and cartoons based on him. His history at Marvel is as epic as he is.

It can succeed. It just needs to take an example from the animated Batman, JLA, and Spectacular Spider-Man toons; Basically; Please the comic fans first, and the mainstream audience shall follow.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wonder what they'll change for the cartoon. Inevitably, there will be changes. I've ranted before about how Hollywood (and wherever they make cartoons in America) is unlike Japan in that they never, ever even attempt 100% faithful adaptations. Hopefully the changes work and/or bring the comic stories closer to the myths, if anything.

 

[Dread]

This is Hush, DC still dominates the DTV market. You know it Dread, lol. I think DC may duke it out with Marvel soon on the small screen.

Hello, Hush.

I do agree that in terms of animated DTV's, DC still has the edge thanks to the ability of Bruce Timm to be able to put out something decent even when he's just repeating himself. DC's recent DTV's have usually been better than Marvel's. But, Marvel finally has a chance to reverse that trend with HULK VS.

So...seeing as how there is a Wolverine series, an Iron Man series, an Avengers series and now a Thor series (I'm sure that I have heard about a Hulk series somewhere...), who wants to bet that Captain America will be coming to animation in his own series?

Now, that I am unsure about. The problem is Captain America may not play well overseas, which may be part of why he hasn't gotten a show for so long. Remember how the full quote, "truth, justice, and the American way" was nixed from SUPERMAN RETURNS? He will likely be starring in AVENGERS: EARTH'S GREATEST HEROES, much as he had a lot of focus in the ULTIMATE AVENGERS DTV's. But, who knows.

It may see weird to have solo cartoons running at the same time as characters are appearing on a team show. It'd be like...the comics.

This is probably never going to succeed past a season or two, but I still creamed my jeans when I heard about it. Who knew Thor would come so far, from a major cornerstone of the early Marvel universe to a barely recognized D-lister to a relaunched juggernaut with movies and cartoons based on him. His history at Marvel is as epic as he is.

Indeed.

I wonder what they'll change for the cartoon. Inevitably, there will be changes. I've ranted before about how Hollywood (and wherever they make cartoons in America) is unlike Japan in that they never, ever even attempt 100% faithful adaptations. Hopefully the changes work and/or bring the comic stories closer to the myths, if anything.

That is a fair point, but it is worth noting that with anime, usually the creator of the manga is it based on is involved in the key production/writing. That is, the guy who does the NARUTO manga also is a constant force in the making of the anime whose word is NOT questioned. It is usually similar with most manga creators when they shows become anime. Manga is also more creator owned than American comics have become. American comic characters are owned by larger companies, not the people who create them.

Plus, well, Japan appreciates animation and comics more as an art form than mainstream America does. Disney/Looney Tunes spoiled us and even today it is more geared towards focus group mass consumption.

Like I said above, I think THOR could really work if the show's writers and producers don't get locked into thinking Thor has to be JUST a guy having adventures in Asgard or JUST a guy in a modern city being a superhero when he can be, and is, BOTH and that mixture could be very interesting. If played right, Thor could seem like a post-modern Superman.

He had become arrogant on Asgard, so Odin sent him to Midguard to teach him humility, and also in a way to protect them. Soon of course he realizes all this and can exist in both worlds, like if Superman actually could teleport back to Krypton sometimes and talk to Jor-El and whatnot. Like I said, if done right this could be MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE crossed with SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

They're gonna need a good theme song as well...something catchy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q631uZ6DQzg

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm not gonna quote that whole monster of a post, but I do agree with Dread's second-to-last point. I want to see a nice mixture of stories for Thor. One of the things I've always liked about Thor is that he can live in practically any world the creators want to put him in without seeming forced. Earth, magic stuff, cosmic stuff, mythology, whatever. Thor can work in practically any environment. I want to see him fight Thanos or Galactus once in a while, even if it's not as often as he fights Loki or Asgardian threats.

 

[Prison Mike]

if it's anything like Wolverine and the X-Men or Spetacular Spider-Man (in terms of story writing), then I'll be happy.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, if it's as good as either of those, it'll definitely be a worthwhile addition to Marvel's cartoon line-up. It's funny, if this were just 4 or 5 years ago, the idea of Marvel having a near-monopoly on comic-based cartoons would've been unimaginable.

 

[JerseyJoker]

Hopefully they take some from the recent storys, and set Asgard in middle town america, i really love the interaction between the normal folk and Thor and the others.

 

[deathshead2]

Cool, I like seeing all these animated projects come up. Only issue now is where will it air. Unlike DC who has networks to air on thanks to WB, Marvel has a hard time finding a good home since FoxKids died.

 

[Dread]

I'm not gonna quote that whole monster of a post, but I do agree with Dread's second-to-last point. I want to see a nice mixture of stories for Thor. One of the things I've always liked about Thor is that he can live in practically any world the creators want to put him in without seeming forced. Earth, magic stuff, cosmic stuff, mythology, whatever. Thor can work in practically any environment. I want to see him fight Thanos or Galactus once in a while, even if it's not as often as he fights Loki or Asgardian threats.

Exactly, or Loki empowering local criminals to try to kill Thor (Wrecker, Wrecking Crew). Even something like Zaniac, who was like a demonic serial killer. An ideal Thor is one that takes advantage of both of these elements, not just focuses on one.

And yeah, a good theme song would be good. There are a lot of Norse rock type bands, though...

 

[Prison Mike]

I'm looking forward to this show because I know absolutely nothing of Thor but would like to learn more. Maybe the movie will satisfy that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hopefully they take some from the recent storys, and set Asgard in middle town america, i really love the interaction between the normal folk and Thor and the others.

That'd be cool, but I'd prefer to see Odin involved in the cartoon even if they do that. Odin's time may have passed in the comics, but there's too much good stuff that they could use him for in a fresh, new continuity like the cartoon.

 

[RonStoppablefan]

Wo, never expected this to happen, pretty cool news.