Marvel | 2010 | 161 mins. | TV-Y7
In recent years, films based on comic books have proven to be a financial boon to the worldwide box office. Perhaps even better, with the increasing demand for home entertainment media, television series based on comic books have continued to captivate. Disney has brought one of Marvel’s latest animated television series to DVD with the release of the first two volumes of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!.
The second television incarnation of the team of superheroes created in 1963 by the legendary duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, The Avengers original lineup was stellar: Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, and Wasp. Captain America would join them in issue #4. Later, the lineup would rotate, but the mission stayed the same: fight villains no single superhero could withstand.
Volume 1 consists of seven, 22-minute episodes. The series opens with vignettes that serve as an introduction to members of the team. First up is “Iron Man is Born!” featuring Tony Stark as he attempts to stop his weapons from getting into the hands of the enemy. Unlike the live action film starring Robert Downey Jr., the adventures in this series are taken right from the comics. Next up is “Thor the Mighty,” in which the God of Thunder takes on a horde of giants and trolls in defense of his home, Asgard. In “Hulk versus The World,” Bruce Banner attempts to stop the government from experimenting on other gamma infected villains. “Meet Captain America” takes us back the end of World War II, where Captain America is facing off in what will be his final battle against the Red Skull. “The Man in the Ant Hill” introduces us to Ant Man (more commonly known as Hank Pym), who tries to use science for the good of humanity.
Each of these introductions help us to understand how this group of individuals came together to work as a team, and it all comes together in the last two episodes. “Breakout: Part 1” and “Breakout Part 2” features a massive prison break from all five of the super powered prisons designed to hold the worst of the worst. All of this leads to a nasty showdown with a deadly villain named Gravitron.
This series stays faithful to the work of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. At the same time, they avoid a large pitfall by involving so many characters; in doing so, the writers have avoided repetition, and given themselves plenty of places to go with the story.
The Avengers” is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Both are just about flawless by DVD standards. The picture is clean and sharp, while the sound is crisp and engaging, putting you in the middle of all the action. Volume levels are a tad inconsistent, but not to a bothersome degree.
We get one special feature:
- Season 2 Sneaks: New Looks, New Heroes: (7:30) Supervising Producer Josh Fine and Story Editor Chris Yost give insights into the designs for the characters, how they came up with storylines for season one and a hint at what will be in store for in season two.
