A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Earth's Mightiest Heroes was the best of the three and it is one that ranks very high up in the comic ranks. I definitely say that it is Marvel's top show and it isn't likely going to be surpassed anytime soon.Season 1's main plot is about the Avengers forming so that they can bring back a large group of super villains who escaped from Shield prisons all across the planet. It's technically the plot of the show, but it's mostly used as a backdrop. The season is pretty episodic, but it does begin a lot of plot lines that are explored in those episodes so it's definitely better than the average pre arc. Ultron, Kang, and Loki all get multiparters as well as the Leader. There may not be much of an overreaching story arc, but most of the episodes have a cliffhanger scene at the very end so the transition from episode to episode is actually pretty great. Season 1 is a lot of fun and you can count on many excellent battles.Season 2 decided to go for a big plot and one that featured the Skrulls deciding to invade the planet. They have taken many people in powerful positions so they are all set for their bid to conquer the human race. The Avengers have to get past several obstacles and the lack of trust in their teammates to even have a shot at taking down the Skrulls. Other highlights of the series includes the return of Ultron and Kang. It should be noted that the Kree also get a multi parter as they finally make their big move. This season can get a little dicey since we have to miss out on Hulk, Captain America, and Thor for various parts of the season, which makes for a limited roster. The Guardians of the Galaxy do get to appear though, which is pretty intense.I will admit that I was one of the many Marvel fans who was not a huge fan of the designs for the show when they first popped up. The characters just looked a little off. Thor was actually one of the biggest offenders for me. His build just didn't seem right and his arms were huge. The hammer looked so small when Thor was holding it and the handle should have been longer. That being said, you get used to it as you watch the show. I wasn't a huge fan of Captain America's design compared to United They Stand, but it is still a very good design in its own right. The Abomination was one of the characters who drew the short straw in terms of design.I don't know whether this is a result of the character designs or whether it was the overall animation, but the fight scenes were pretty over the top in a great way. Some of the energy blasts looked like they came out of an anime. The action scenes definitely shine in this series and they put most of the other Marvel shows to shame. The first few episodes tried some unique things with the animation, particularly Iron Man's view from inside the suit. I think that the animation took a bit if a dip after the beginning, but it still looked pretty good overall. Season 2 certainly looks sharp and it was definitely an improvement. I wasn't sure about this at first, but I definitely am now.

For some unknown reason, Marvel have never been able to match the success of DC when it comes to animation. The Avengers is arguably their best work but falls well short of, say, the Justice League, a comparable series in many ways. Maybe it is because the DC series is more loosely related to the comics than Marvel; Marvel does seem to have a slavish devotion to reworking various classic comic book stories into their animated series, almost invariably weakening the original. And here the homage stretches to the naming of the episodes after well known stories, although the episodes have very little in common with the comic books of the same name.Each series consists of two overarching story arcs, both related to each other although divided into many differing stories. The main invasion strand of season 2 is strongly foreshadowed in season 1 and the Asgardian War is season 1 is continued in season 2. These story arcs are very impressively handled, in fact, I can think of no more successful handling of complex narrative over such a span even in supposedly more mature programmes.Not everything is so successful however. The dialogue is generally banal with everyone constantly being told to "stand down" all the time. Characterization is variable. Whilst I enjoyed the pacifistic interpretation of Henry Pym, the Hulk seemed rather too knowing. I prefer him as an innocent savage. Other characters are (intentionally?) annoying. Iron Man/Hawkeye/ Human Torch/Wasp among others have an interchangeable line in glib one-liners that quickly wears thin and it is a relief when the occasional serious person, such as The Black Panther, speaks.In fact, a certain facetiousness of tone undermines any sense of real danger. The general plan is: bad guy shows up, heroes make some glib comment, someone is told to "stand down", then there's a fight. Or some variation.For some reason WWII has been altered to remove any mention of the Nazis or Germany, instead having the allies fighting against Hydra. What is the reason for this? German sales? The animation itself ranges from great to bad. Some imaginative animation early on but this tends to decline as the series progresses. Thor's hammer Mjolnir is depicted as comically oversized, one of several things which, I guess, is meant to appeal to children although it must be said that the Black Widow's derriere is lovingly animated throughout for some reason.During the second season, each episode has a short prelude consisting of what appear to be rather randomly selected clips from the first season. I found them more confusing (I watched the second season first) than enlightening since they rarely have any relevance to what follows.

Animation and superheroes are a perfect mix, and on the most part The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is a perfect example of why. The animation, apart from Iron Man's faceplate and on occasions the inconsistent character designs of Hawkeye and Wasp, is simple but still quite detailed and colourful. The music is intense, beautiful and atmospheric, and I personally found both intros catchy. The writing is smart and intelligent with some nicely judged humour, and the story lines while again simple are compelling with strong character arcs. In regard to the latter Season 1 is very consistent. Season 2 not so much, though The Winter Soldier episode was outstanding. The characters are great, I love Thor's nobility(his redesigned armour in Season 2 is also awesome), Hulk's broodiness and Captain America's heroism, while the antagonists especially Loki and Ant Man(more in Season 1 than in Season 2), whose motivations are quite refreshing for an animated show, are equally strong. The voice acting is very good, those of Loki, Hulk and Iron Man are the standouts.Season 2 however is a let-down in comparison. It is still more than watchable, but is lacking something. It certainly has its good points, Ms Marvel is a worthy addition, she is strong, never loses her femininity and her character is refreshing. Spiderman and Wolverine's cameos are also delightful. The best character in this season is Captain America, he shows that he is a great leader and is heroic yet his quite dark story lines indicate a sense of torment. That is part of the reason why The Winter Soldier was so good. The cosmic theme is also interesting. What lets it down though is that some of the story lines are on the repetitive side, for instance the climax of the episode introducing Vision feels too similar to the arc shown in the Skull story. Some of the character designs are also inconsistent, while Thor's relationship with Jane is too briefly introduced and doesn't go anywhere and Ant-Man's motivations are not as well thought out.Overall, mostly it is a great show, though Season 2 could have been more. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Being a comic book fanboy since I was six, I always hoped for an animated series featuring Marvel Comics's illustrious super-hero team, "The Avengers", since I thought they were cool (well…maybe not "X-Men cool).When fall 1999 came around, I wanted to vomit when I saw "Avengers: United They Stand", a fourth-rate production that mishandled second-class heroes, sentenced first-rate heroes to guest-star status, used poor character designs and had a soul that was part-Power Rangers (ugh!) and part-toy commercial without decent plots(double ugh!).Eleven years is a long wait, but "The Avengers: Earth's Mightest Heroes" is worth it.Corralled as a unit in 1963 by co-creators Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby (both men co-created each individual with some assist from Stan's brother, Larry Lieber and the late Don Heck), the original five members are given good exposure here: armored crusader Iron Man (voiced by Eric Loomis); Asgardian thunder god Thor (Rick Wasserman); micro-sized troubleshooters Ant-Man (Wally Wingert) and the Wasp (Colleen O'Shaughnessy) and gamma-radiated behemoth Hulk (Fred Tatasciore of "Ben 10").Earth needs them since many super-powered miscreants (name them all and win a prize!) have escaped from four maximum security prisons, this plot adapted from the "Breakout" arc from the recent "New Avengers" comic book. Guess having one of the lockups shrunken and stationed in the helicarrier headquarters of the counter-terrorist group SHIELD was a BAD idea. In future episodes, other heroes will enter the fray like World War II superhuman patriot Captain America; unconventional archer Hawkeye and African monarch/combatant Black Panther. Bring on the good and bad guys! Though it won't surpass the monolithic "Justice League: The Animated Series" from long-time competitor DC/Warner Bros Animation, "Avengers" joins recent Marvel Comics animated shows "X-Men: Evolution" and "The Spectacular Spider Man" as good quality productions. You better assemble, true believers!