Earth's Mightiest Heroes

"Did the natives surrender?"

"They did not."  -- Nameless flunkie to Kang the Conqueror after meeting the Avengers.

If you're not watching The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, why aren't you?  I suppose I will accept the following answers: you have an irrational dislike of superheroes, your cable or satellite service doesn't get Disney XD, or you've let your inner child grow old and gray.  For the rest of you, definitely check this show out!  It has provided some of the purest pleasure on television that I can remember in some time.  Even Kristin said she would like the Avengers -- if she was a ten-year-old boy.  Okay, that's not the best recommendation on the planet, but I'll take what I can get.

Christopher Yost  is the lead writer.  He has written episodes of the cartoon X-Men: Evolution, as well as arcs of the comic books New X-Men and X-Force.  Earth's Mightiest Heroes provides entertainment for all ages, in my opinion.  It's clean enough that a kid can watch it, but well plotted enough and with such good dialogue that adults can also enjoy it.  The voice actors are uniformly excellent, and the characterizations are spot on.  The cast includes a host of heroes and supporting players from the Marvel universe, along with a team core.  The recurring heroes include Tony Stark the futurist, the gruff and inwardly conflicted Incredible Hulk, the stranger in a strange land who is Thor, the regal Black Panther, Hawkeye the ex-SHIELD agent, the engaging Ant-Man and Wasp, and of course, the noble Captain America. 

But don't worry, other supporting characters show up as well from all time periods of the comic's history. There are minor changes.  For instance,  Nick Fury is now a black man, a good idea probably borrowed from the Ultimate Marvel universe (don't worry, none of the bad writing was brought over, only that).  Continuity comes from a mix of classic Avengers comics and new plots from more recent stories.  Longtime readers of the various comic book incarnations should immediately feel at home.  The show seems firmly set in a wider Marvel universe, with cameos by villains of all stripes, alien heroes like Captain Marvel (a revised version, though). SHIELD is running national security; international terrorist groups are rampant; prisons have been built in the Negative Zone (though no superhuman civil war has yet happened); and even the Fantastic Four have made a background appearance.
 

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