Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – A Review and a Reflection

When superheroes were actual heroes, boys were allowed to be boys (mostly), and what we can learn from that.

It is no secret that Marvel has fallen from grace. Yet once the company was capable of great storytelling, and it behooves one to remember their glory days. This is not to wallow in nostalgia; rather, there is much that can be learned from previous Marvel media. We forget the past at our own peril, and that includes past series like the animated one under review today.

Released in the fall of 2010, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was an animated series that managed to squeeze a lot of characterization and no small amount of lore into its two-season run. Had the company executives not changed and shut down the show, it may have run for four seasons, possibly even five. As matters stand, the series managed to keep the tone of the original comics as well as the “mainstream” comic book universe despite being forced to compress its final season.

At no point even with this compression does the series feel like it is going too fast. Though corners are cut in the later episodes to make sure the compromises do not destroy the characters or the story arcs, the flow and rhythm of the series remains intact. Additionally, while the show adheres most closely to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original run on the comics, it smoothly incorporates later storylines into their vision for the heroes, often while nodding to different comic universes in various subplots or character adjustments.

For instance, the Ultimate Comics’ story that sees Black Widow and Hawkeye as SHIELD agents, where she betrays him for her own ends, is melded with their mainstream characters neatly in this show. Widow remains a heroine despite her “betrayal,” keeping with her mainstream counterpart rather than her Ultimate incarnation. While Hawkeye’s heart is injured in Heroes it is not broken, as it is in the Ultimate universe. This enables both characters to remain heroic and to believably reconcile during the first season’s run.

Captain America, now a political lightning rod due to the company’s misbehavior, remains recognizably heroic in this series. Brian Bloom ably captures the wisdom of Steve Rogers’ greater experience with his deep, mature voice. Rogers is a man out of time but that does not make him any less a man. It certainly does not mean that he is out of touch, though his enemies (and sometimes his friends) think it means that he is. Sooner or later they are all reminded not to underestimate him.

This animated version of Tony Stark takes after Robert Downey Jr.’s successful film interpretation in many ways, though he is younger than RDJ’s interpretation and so remains personable. He gets to quip and have fun while having moments where he can be serious. Since the Civil War arc never made it into the series, we never see Tony so isolated and alone that he gives into government pressure to register, thus becoming an antagonist the unregistered heroes need to face.

Meanwhile, Thor is very clearly a prince trying to fit diplomatically into Earth’s culture. How well he succeeds depends on the occasion, which can lead to quite a bit of appropriate humor that does not dent his royal aura. While he is still a little quick to throw his hammer, he is equally likely to offer the hand of friendship once he gets to know whom he is dealing with better. If you want Thor at his most princely, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is the show for you.

The series pays creative reverence for later Marvel writers’ stories by including homages to popular arcs like the Korvac saga, Ultron’s attempt to replace humanity with a new synthetic race, and an adaptation of the Winter Soldier arc. At no point, however, does it do these things in a manner that suggests the showrunners wanted to “update” the characters or the world they live in. Instead, the show writers clearly respected to the original creators – Stan Lee and Jack Kirby – and used their licensed heirs’ works to enhance what they had done. They weren’t trying to remake the wheel; they were reintroducing that wheel to a new audience, an audience they hoped would love this fictional universe as much as they did.

A second important aspect of this series is that all of the characters are clearly friends. They have their disagreements, their “petty jealousies” as Stan Lee put it, but they still come through for one another when the chips are down. The masterful interpretation of the Skrull Invasion arc that sees the heroes unsure of who to trust works so very well precisely because it does not (permanently) damage the friendships among the Avengers. It tests them but never breaks them, making them question themselves and each other without irrevocably shattering the bonds that existed prior to the revelation that an invasion was underway and the infiltration was so thorough most means of uncovering it wouldn’t work.

The third item in the series that makes it worthwhile viewing are the male friendships among the Avengers, all of which are given some of the best screentime (and the best lines). Viewers are shown how deeply Captain America and Iron Man respect one another despite Steve overcoming Tony in more than one training exercise, while the rapport between the Hulk and Hawkeye offers some of the funniest yet deepest dialogue in the show. It is no accident that at one point, the only way to bring the Hulk out is to threaten to crush Hawkeye’s arm; the scene has a strong impact and great weight precisely because the two characters’ relationship has received attention throughout the first season and into the second. The archer’s relationship with Black Panther, while more understated, also shines through in how the two tease each other. Panther’s respect for Rogers and pleasure in needling his fellow genius, Tony Stark, adds nuance to the relationships he has with the two of them as well.

Given our culture has so completely abandoned male friendship, going back to watch a series that values it is a big selling point for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. We do not see this type of subtle characterization that assures and encourages healthy friendships anymore. It was already beginning to become scarce when Heroes aired, but by now the quickest way to find it is to turn on an anime from Japan. The West doesn’t do this now, and that is a crime.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Theme Song Fight as One (HQ)

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes presents a masterclass in serial storytelling and characterization. It is also a very good show for boys. Girls will love it, too, if for different reasons, but boys will benefit a great deal from viewing it. The heroes all act like men – men boys can model themselves on and learn from. In a world where “girls go on adventures” and boys implicitly (or explicitly) don’t, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes shows that the girls can’t go adventuring if the boys don’t lead the way.

So consider picking up the series on DVD today for a boy you know, or ask your local library to purchase the DVDs so anyone can watch it. There are boys out there who will benefit from having the series on the shelf, as well as older fans who will be happy to see some vintage Marvel media untainted by the current rot. After all, if it can be done once…

...who is to say it cannot be done again at some point in the future?