For most of my life, I've been reading comic books, from Marvel and DC to the occasional minor companies like Darkhorse and Image. I like to think of how they would take different storylines and characters and put them in TV shows and movies. Sometimes, its worked out pretty well, creating some very entertaining shows that manage to get a cult following even after the series end. Other times, it falls flat on its face. And then, there are a few that somehow manage to work in a way that most people wouldn't catch the first time around.
This is the third one, simply know as Marvel's The Super Hero Squad Show!
(So cute and yet so dangerous)
Yes, they taken some of the biggest names in the Marvel Universe, shrunken them down, and made rather cutesy and such. Its a kind of formula that could've failed, but managed to stay afloat for at least 2 seasons. It knows its a parody of the Marvel Universe overall, with some nice jokes and allusions to the different character that make up said universe.
Before the actual show came to being, it was originally a series of super-deformed action figures of Marvel characters sold by Hasbro. It was soon developed into a comic series, known as Mini Marvels, and later become a TV series. It was produced by Film Roman and Marvel Animation, ran on Cartoon Network from 2009 to 2011, and had a string of producers like Joe Quesada, Alan Fine, and Stan Lee. Heck, Stan Lee actually created the series and even gets his own character!
(I kinda wish he kept the mustache, y'know, for humor's sake)
The story takes place in the city of ,well, Super Hero City, which is, of course, home to many heroes. Next door to them is a massive wall, keeping the villains out and forming their own place: the city of Towns-er, Villainville. Due to the number of different heroes and villains that actually exist, the show has thankfully chosen a small group of each to follow in each episode and such.
For the heroes, we have the Super Hero Squad. In keeping with the show's humor and child-likeness, the heroes' personalities aren't too grim and gritty and make them more humorous. The leader, Iron Man, relies a lot on his gadgets and intelligence, which sometimes backfires in his face. Hulk isn't too dark and is potrayed more dim-witted, while still retaining his destructive tendencies and anger issues. The Silver Surfer is, well, a stereotypical surfer who is rather new to human culture. Thor, paragon of manliness, retains his 'ye olde' accent and, while not as dumb as the Hulk, isn't the brightest bulb in the group. Wolverine, of course, acts as the typical 'tough guy' in the group. Rounding out the six is Falcon as the straight man at times. Oddly enough, Falcon's role was meant to be played by Spider Man, whose rights to be on television were given to Sony at the time. During that time, Sony was working on animated series known as Ultimate Spider-Man (which should be out right now).
On the villains side, we have Doctor Doom, one of the greatest Marvel villains ever to be created. In this interpretation, he still maintains his usually hammy gloating (upped up by 11) and tendencies to rule the world, but the way he breaks down with defeat after defeat can be a sight to behold. The fact that he is too stubborn to quit being a super villain is kinda respectful in a way. Guy doesn't give up in trying to take over the world.
(DOOM WILL NOT BE DENIED!)
Anyway, the whole plot for the first season, as well as the whole series, is when Iron Man and Doctor Doom are fighting for a powerful artifact known as the Infinity Sword, capable of warping reality. In the struggle, the sword shatter, spreading several different Infinity Fractals across Super Hero City. Now, it turns into a race against time to see who would reforge the Infinity Sword.
This more-or-less serves as the backdrop for the season, allowing some connection between all the episodes. Otherwise, each episode allows different characters to take focus without having to be too much the center of attention. Most prominent ones include exploring the Silver Surfer's back story, a look into the villains, and hosting a Canon Immigrant known as Reptil, who can transform different parts of his body into different dinosaur parts. Along with the plot are jokes and gags that highlight the lesser known parts of the Marvel universe.
(Somewhere, some paleontologists are crying right now)
Animation wise, it isn't bad, but it tends to overuse stock footage way too much. Seriously, it gets kinda annoying to see someone getting bashed repeatedly or electrocuted or even quickly eating a bag of pop corn. Kinda discredits the series when they kept doing that. Otherwise, it fits with the campy style of the show.
At the end of the 1st season, the Infinity Sword is once again reforged when Galactus arrives. In the ensuing battle with the villains, Villainville gets destroyed and the Super Hero Squad manages to capture all the villains, including Doctor Doom. In order to keep the Infinity Sword safe, the Silver Surfer agrees to be Galactus' herald once more. And as such, the 1st season of the Super Hero Squad Show comes to a close.
Its hard to really label which kind of episodes to see, since its partly an acquired taste and partly tolerance of some stupid antics. Besides, its hard enough to fight any DVDs or recordings of it online, much less actually watching the series. Hopefully, there may be a better chance for it sooner or later.
Until next time...Hero Up!
The Super Hero Squad Show is produced by Film Roman and Marvel Animation
Thanks to Youtube account Yuranngrombolar for the intro
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