So I'm not going to be one of those guys who lets nostalgia blind them, but I don't think it's much of a hot take to say that so far, the best period for superhero shows was the 90s to mid-2000s. While the movies were getting mixed results at the box office and from fans, many of the shows made at that time gave us the definitive versions of the characters we've wanted so badly to bring to life. For Spider-Man, it was spectacular. For x men, it was the animated series, and for the avengers, it was something even better.
Because on a day unlike any other, earth's mightiest creators decided to unite against the common threat of mediocrity. On that day, avengers earth's most powerful heroes were born for the world to bear witness! It may have existed for only a short time, but I think it's important to look back at a time before the MCU and show you all why EMH was the definitive version of the avengers even ten years ago.
Intro
Through the combined efforts of Film Roman, Marvel Animation, and the combined talents of veterans like Joshua Fine - Supervising Producer, Vinton Heuck - Director, Sebastian Montes - Director, Jamie Simone - Casting/Voice Director, and Christopher Yost - Story Editor. They have worked on numerous acclaimed series in both past and future projects. This series, in particular, was made to pay tribute to the Avengers from various source materials like comics and movies.
This was a bit of a risk as, unlike other shows at the time, there was no real nostalgia grab that would automatically make the show a hit like X men or Spiderman. It was quite the opposite, with the last series Avengers United Stand flopping due to financial instability and fan disinterest in 1999. Still, despite the limitations, we managed to get a show that has a strong fanbase to this day. Before the official series started, we had the first minisodes made to highlight our main characters and season. But I think I can explain that better in the Story section.
Story
In a world where superheroes are commonplace, it seems commonplace that the challenges and villains they face are getting harder and harder to handle. Iron Man's technology is utilized for ulterior motives outside of his control despite his origins. The Hulk gets captured by Shield to be used as a weapon for them. Ant-Man and the Wasp are dealing with their unique philosophies on how to help the world.
Thor got exiled to Midgard after arguing with Odin. However, after 74 super-villains escape from various super prisons, the five heroes decide to avenge the wrongs of both themselves and others by becoming the Avengers! And through this mashup, we see these mighty heroes battle threats from all over this grand Marvel universe as they grow in power.
Cast
Befitting the nature of the Avengers, this show has a large interchangeable cast, but I'll focus on the ten mainstays throughout the two seasons. Also, let me add that the voice acting in this series is both top tier and very fitting for every character involved. First up, we have Iron man portrayed by Eric Loomis. Unlike most characters, this tony was built after the MCU Iron Man.
A futurist must learn humility from the past to become stronger. Captain America is as unapologetically heroic as ever, but I think Brain Bloom more than makes up for it through his amazing portrayal. The man plays the role with so much raw heroism, presence, and resolve that I can't help but feel inspired whenever he makes a speech. Next up, we have the noble Norse out of water Thor and the beautiful dynamic of wasp and ant-man.
While hank Pym isn't the most well-defined or interesting character, I respect his means. He wants the avengers to do more than save civilians with the energetic and spunky wasp wanting to make a positive difference in the world. We also have the most interesting portrayal of the hulk ever. More recent portrayals of the Hulk tend to try and completely out Bruce Banner without realizing that's what makes him special. This portrayal shows Bruce willingly giving up his life to make sure the Hulk could have a new life as a hero despite the world's feelings on him, making him more casual and stoic than other versions.
Next, we have the intelligent, stoic, and wise Black Panther, who is always a treat amongst the more outlandish members. Hawkeye in this show is also one of my favorite characters in this. Despite having no powers, this version of Hawkeye is one of the most crafty, reliable, consistent, and grounded characters in the show, and his reactions are awesome. Finally, we have Ms. Marvel and Vision. While we don't see much of them, I think they're entertaining enough as they provide for some incredibly badass members and comedic moments, respectively.
Outside of the main avengers, we have numerous other characters. We got introduced to a new and lively world with the potential for infinite stories from Shield, Asgard, and even the other heroes in New York. I'm more surprised by the usage of villains since we get everybody from greats like Ultron and Loki to lesser-knowns like Micheal Korvac and Mandrill, which helps make it apparent that the show can have the potential for pretty much any villain to show up. These characters make fun interactions and moments, with my favorites being Iron Man and Cap, Hawkeye and Hulk, Thor and wasp, etc.
Presentation
No, if's and's or buts about it, this shows looks hot. While I will admit that the proportions of certain characters are a little off, and the characters never seemingly look good in posters and the like, the show itself is a joy to watch. This series takes much of its design from the old 60's comics with a modern repaint. While it does give a well-cartoony look to everything, I think it works well for the tone of the show.
This is a world where superheroes are both new but nothing special in this universe, and since this show also was made to pay tribute to said comics, I think you can become quickly readjusted to them after a couple of episodes. Overall just seeing Jack Kirby's colorful and dynamic pencils be inspired to create a modern retelling is the authenticity and creativity that I like to see in series like this. Not everything needs to be the same, but it's important to remember your source material.
Overall the animation is top tier; the first episode is a feast for the eyes in every sense of the word as we see just how over the top and powerful our heroes are as they trash Manhattan. No fight is mainly boring, and seeing how the series finds new ways to pay homage to the character's abilities in fights colorfully are amazing.
This leads into the theme song that blew the minds of every elementary school nerd watching. Fight as one perfectly hypes you and introduces you to the story of what this show is trying to tell. The series shows a world about to break, with heroes stranded and lost in unfamiliar territory but when you think it's all over, these heroes realize that as long as they fight as one, they can make up each other's weaknesses and have evil on the run, a message that holds true to this day.
It's hopeful, inspiring, and downright chilling as we see that through the current roster, we know that whoever might be an avenger at the time they are heroes that will defend us all the same. Outside of that soundtrack is pretty good and fun to listen to in battles as it has the heroic or techno feel to it all.
Season 1
So this show overall started strong as all hell. The subplots in the start and the way they integraly tie the entire story of the season was done really well. The introduction of certain characters through subsequent arcs like Gamma World and the Masters of Evil create a sense of cause and effect that I appreciate. The entire season feels like a crash course on the Avengers lore as we see Asgard, the Raft, Shield, and some of their greatest enemies like the Masters of Evil, Ultron and Loki portrayed positively light for the most part. I liked this series mainly the focus on 2 things: characters and the team overall.
Many of these arcs feature villains or actions of the heroes, making these characters a lot more complex than my descriptions about them before. Iron Man's worry over a utopic future characterized by Kang the conqueror's premonitions, Hawkeye's drive for revenge and slow separation of organizations like Shield and Hydra, and Ant Man's regret over turning Ultron from peacemaker to genocidal madman is all great stuff to develop the cast and characters further and hit home that they can do more with like-minded individuals.
And I also like how even this superhero society the Avengers aren't seen as some new trend that will end soon. Organizations like Hydra and Shield go to great lengths to try and control the Avengers, given their independent status. Villain groups like the Masters of Evil and the creation of Ultron prove that, unfortunately, their unearthly might can cause grave consequences to reverberate out. This hits home with Marvel in general, given that Marvel is all about Humans becoming Gods, meaning that they are even more infallible than usual. The season finale is probably the best aspect of that, as we see everything our heroes have built up to test our heroes' abilities in the most outlandish scenario. At the same time, showing Loki (the main villain of the season) face to face that his greatest trick was bringing this fabulous team together.
Season 2
Overall, Season 2, in comparison to Season 1, is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, if you wanted to see more of this universe, you certainly got it by the end of the series. This universe with heroes like Spider-Man and the Heroes for Hire to cosmic entities like the Kree and Skrulls is more prevalent than last season. Unfortunately, this season's biggest problem is that makes the roster we've built up from season 1 largely nonexistent, as it took nearly the entire season for the cast to all assemble once again.
The stories were also largely episodic because of this nature which can be good or bad depending on how you see it. Episodes like Along Came With A Spider are probably some of my favorite episodes in the series. The adaptations of the Kree Skrull War, Skrull War, and Micheal Korvac are all impressively good and distinct.
However, the Kree and Skrulls are a bit too scripted over my liking as they deserved far better given the unique build-up. The overall strengths and weaknesses of the season are exemplified best in the finale. Despite no real build-up, we get Galactus appearing with every character that we've seen to make an appearance. Overall it's a good finale, and it shows the potential that this series had.
Epilogue
Soooo, you're probably wondering why a show this good and well-received got canned. I wish I could tell you to because there is no legitimately good reason. Mainly because of the vast success of the Avengers live-action movie Disney smelled money in the oil and decided to try out a new strategy that sounded like this.
"Chuck, man look at these numbers, we capitalize on this craze now, and Marvel could dominate both live-action given the success of our recent show with this new Marvel show."
"Yeah, this cinematic universe is coming together, but I think I know how to make sure that this universe truly stays timeless and make them even better moving forward."
"We're going to keep using the near-infinite amount of money we have at our disposal to keep bringing fantasy to life while at the same time challenging the minds of young kids through the infinite possibilities of animation?"
"No, are you daft? We're just going to cancel that awesome show without the creators knowing about it and then make a cheaper show so that little kids will be brainwashed into seeing the movies."
"But what about trying to pay respect to kids and adults by making impossible stories that won't fit the MCU anyway? What about the fact that any smart kid is enough to realize that the movies and cartoons are both different and watch them anyway? What about trying to innovate an already oversaturated market and establishing a long and loyal universe and fanbase like the DC animated universe?"
"Chris, let me tell you something straightforward. This cash cow is too good to fail. We don't need to try and innovate anymore. We don't need to be risky and try something new because, in 10 years, our brainwashed base will love these movies. Sure we could get a couple of critiques and sweaty neckbeards both young and old, but they'll learn to live with it like others. What's the point of being timeless when you can be trendy?"
And while yes, I know that whole section of the post could get seen as cringy, it's not untrue in my eyes. Avengers Assembled and all of the shows Disney made past it aren't inherently bad, but the reason why they'll always be second fiddle is so obvious. Because stories like EMH got made for a simple purpose: to add something to the equation, make a dream a reality, and honor something that has existed for so much longer than most symbols do. Sure they didn't rewrite the wheel, but Avengers Emh shows everything right about this age. It honored its roots while still trying to make these somewhat problematic stories work in their unique way. It tried treating its audience like adults with messages and stories that were grippingly eternal and questioned even what you could do with animation—all with a dash of love and care from passionate people. Avengers Assembled and Ultimate Spiderman aren't bad or unwatchable but compared to the variety of boundary-pushing stuff that quickly never talked down to its audience. It's sorely lacking.
If Avengers Emh did continue, I think it could have given the DCAU a run for its money. Future storylines would have focused more on the fantastic four, X men, Dracula, and Surtur. All these would've been fantastic stories, but unfortunately, they'll never see the light of day.
Even still, I think that Emh will always be one of the best shows of its genre and one of the most important to me. I don't think I would be able to make the stories I have now without this series. Overall, Emh may never truly be finished, but I don't think that the impact of this show itself will ever be as long as we fight as one.