Earth's Mightiest Heroes - Season 2

[Podmark]

So Avengers: EMH season 2 will be starting soon. Here's a pretty interesting pic from the upcoming season:


Both Ant-Man and Yellowjacket being there intrigues me.

I enjoyed the first season but I never really got into it like I would have liked. Not sure what it is but it hasn't clicked yet like, for example, Young Justice has.

[Previsionary]

It and Spider-man premiere Sunday morning on Disney XD.

I think the animation style and their lack of a gripping storyline for the first half of the season might be the issue there, Poddington, no?

[Tomato]

Both Ant-Man and Yellowjacket being there intrigues me.

Huh. Didn't notice that when I saw the pic elsewhere, but it does confirm a suspicion I had about one of the early episodes after reading the synopsis:

Spoiler

"To Steal an Ant-Man"

When Hank Pym's Ant-Man suit is stolen, he takes it upon himself to find the thief.

*cough*Scott Lang*cough*

[Podmark]

Starts Friday night in Canada.

lack of a gripping storyline for the first half of the season

That's probably it. I'm hoping for more from season 2.

[Talavar]

That picture is interesting...

Spoiler

also having Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Spider-man, none of which have really been introduced thus far.

[Previsionary]

That picture is interesting...

Spoiler

also having Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Spider-man, none of which have really been introduced thus far.

Spoiler

Well, Logan was in Cap's "prologue" episode, but you're right, he wasn't introduced as Wolverine at the time.

[Tomato]

That picture is interesting...

Spoiler

also having Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Spider-man, none of which have really been introduced thus far.

Spoiler

Well, Logan was in Cap's "prologue" episode, but you're right, he wasn't introduced as Wolverine at the time.

I suspect this screen's a bit later on in the season, so we'll get to see a lot of that stuff develop as time goes on. As far as Winter Soldier goes though, they foreshadowed him a lot during the previous season.

[Podmark]

That picture is interesting...

Spoiler

also having Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Spider-man, none of which have really been introduced thus far.

Spoiler

Well, Logan was in Cap's "prologue" episode, but you're right, he wasn't introduced as Wolverine at the time.

I suspect this screen's a bit later on in the season, so we'll get to see a lot of that stuff develop as time goes on. As far as Winter Soldier goes though, they foreshadowed him a lot during the previous season.

They sure did! I'm pretty excited about seeing that play out.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Yeah, I knew that bit was coming when I saw that one episode.  Looking forward to seeing it all comes about.

[Cyber Burn]

So Avengers: EMH season 2 will be starting soon. Here's a pretty interesting pic from the upcoming season:


Both Ant-Man and Yellowjacket being there intrigues me.

I enjoyed the first season but I never really got into it like I would have liked. Not sure what it is but it hasn't clicked yet like, for example, Young Justice has.

Can you find the hidden Skrull???

Nope?

That's cause they're all Skrulls!!!

[oldmanwinters]

I notice there's a lady who is dressed like The Black Widow in that screenshot.  I only got to see the episodes leading up to Gamma World, so I'm in the dark regarding how the last half of Season 1 played out.

Can somebody sum up how they played out that "Natasha as Hydra's double-agent" twist?  And is the Black Widow in the picture a different character?

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Black Widow spoilers right here.

Spoiler

The Black Widow is in fact a triple agent, and was never really working for Hydra to begin with.  She really did betray Hawkeye to keep her cover, however.

[captmorgan72]

How did Thing get so tall? Isn't he six foot?

[oldmanwinters]

Black Widow spoilers right here.

Spoiler

The Black Widow is in fact a triple agent, and was never really working for Hydra to begin with.  She really did betray Hawkeye to keep her cover, however.

Spoiler

Oh, that she-devil!  So is the Black Widow in the picture above just Natasha with a different hair style?

[thalaw2]

How did Thing get so tall? Isn't he six foot?

Yes!  I was wondering that too.  I guess he's been drinking milk.

[Previsionary]

Sooooo, Chris Yost and Joshua Fine will be liveblogging the show tomorrow (ET) on Marvel.com for those that care and want to get interactive (or get behind the scenes tidbits).

[Talavar]

First episode in and I'm a little underwhelmed...

Spoiler

my major complaints being that it's the teams' sole female members in the episode who get captured & need rescuing; that the Hulk and Wasp both basically get punked by Doom with no opportunity for any response, and that Doom solos the combined might of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, grossly overpowering him in my opinion.

One thing of interest - in this episode, Skrull-Cap is wearing a more Ultimates-style costume, but in the picture above, Cap's hood is clearly sporting head-wings once again.  Does that imply that Real-Cap will be back soon?  And was it just me, or did Captain America's voice actor sound different?

[Previsionary]

Haven't seen it yet but...

Spoiler

Doesn't Doom do that all the time in the comics? I mean, just in the past 5 years, he's taken on 1) The Avengers + X-men; 2) Black Panthers, Storm, Wakandian Warriors, Wolverine/NC/Psylocke, Fan4; 3)X-factor & Fan4; 4) Hulk/Fan4/X-men/BP; 5) Thor/Asgardians

It happens so much that at some point you lose the shock value.

[Tomato]

While I agree him going after sue+wasp is kind of bogus, of the ones we know about she was arguably the easiest to snatch. besides, there's no guarantee he even knew about cap, or they'd have taken him down too.

Wasp has more than proven herself to be more than trap-bait, even with "lesser" powers than some of the others.

[MJB]

I enjoyed their take on Dr. Doom. He should be a badarse.

[captmorgan72]

Man, I love Doom. He is one step ahead of everyone and can humble anyone. He figured out what the Avengers and the F4 could not.

[Talavar]

I liked that Doom was ahead of everyone intellectually; Doom fighting the Avengers & Fantastic Four to a standstill alone = ridiculous.  His armour is that much better than Stark's?  Then that makes Tony look like a chump. 

Anyway, new episode!

This week, AIM attacks Stark Industries:

Spoiler

While Tony meets with Maria "I'm the worst character ever" Hill, AIM attacks with the Technovore in an attempt to kill Tony and steal his stuff.  Captain America and Black Panther are also there with Rhodey, who puts on the War Machine armour to help out.  (Skrull)Cap also gets an energy shield to replace his original, which is weird to see as 'new' - when did Cap have the energy shield in comics?  It was a while ago.  Maria & Tony have to work together to save the day, but she learns nothing and reverts to her standard party line by end of the episode.

I liked this week's installment better than last, despite Hill's presence.  I just hope they don't actually get too far into the 'Civil War' storyline, for reasons of its extreme suckiness.  Hill's complete lack of flexibility on the issue here and in her appearances last season not only make her the least likeable character in the history of animation, but make her come off as having some sort of brain injury.

[Tomato]

Spoiler

Y'know, I'm actually going to have to argue somewhat in favor of Civil War here. The simple truth is, of all the nonsensical garbage we've gotten since the whole back-to-back event mentality got started at Marvel, Civil War was arguably the most sound conceptually. The basic setup is actually brilliant... a couple of dumb media heroes go out and pick a fight with people way out of their league, and the whole thing ends with an entire city being destroyed. The fact that the government and the population would have a knee-jerk reaction to the whole thing is supported by our nation's history, particularly in the last decade. Conceptually, the entire story is well above any of the others Marvel has put out in recent years (Invasion of the shape changers, alternate reality with Magneto in charge, Hammer time, Osborne leading SHIELD... Ugh).

The problem, both in the comics and unfortunately it might be in EMH as well, is in the execution. The morality surrounding Civil War should have been very gray, with the reader left unsure which side to root for. But at no point reading Civil War did I EVER root for anyone besides the rebels. The government was clearly the bad guy in the situation, and every single action it took made them all more and more unlikeable as the series went on.

There is a legitimate reason for the government and local law enforcement to be afraid of heroes, and to enact Laws that would require some accountability. There are reasons characters like Batman come up with contingency plans to take down other heroes if they go bad. The fact that Marvel epically failed to present that argument and that EMH is seemingly doing the same completely undermines a legitimately interesting concept.

And yeah, Maria needs to get some brain cells here. Her idiocy was almost forgivable in the comics because she was picket specifically to be the government's puppet after Nick Fury's nonsense, but here she was Fury's second in command and there's no indication that her selection was political in any way.

[captmorgan72]

I liked that Doom was ahead of everyone intellectually; Doom fighting the Avengers & Fantastic Four to a standstill alone = ridiculous.  His armour is that much better than Stark's?  Then that makes Tony look like a chump.

Yeah, that was a bit far fetched. I think of Doom like I do Batman. Victor knows everyone's weaknesses and how to exploit them. I can see him surprising foes many times his power level, but he couldn't keep it up for long.

[BentonGrey]

Curse you Toon Disney!  Curse you for not being in my channel package!

[Cyber Burn]

Just watched this week's episode, I enjoyed the preview for next week's episode more than the actual show.

[Talavar]

New episode time!

Spoiler

the Enchantress is seeking revenge on Zemo & his Masters of Evil for his double cross at the end of last season, and the Avengers have to defend the other villains from her.  Simultaneously, something escaped/broke in and stole something in Asgard, greatly upsetting folks there.  It was a solid episode, and nice to see Thor for the first time this season, even if he didn't do much.  That said, it feels to me like the writers keep throwing jimmies into the air, plot-wise, while none of the story-arcs already in motion really advance.  To my count, the show is currently working on: the Kree-Skrull War, Secret Invasion, Civil War, and now Surtur?It seems like too much.  I'd rather see more motion on fewer plots, like the second half of last season.

In other news, Hank is still MIA.  Is Ant-man even still on this show?

[Previsionary]

I like how the language filter turns any instance of the word "b alls" into "jimmies."

[oldmanwinters]

Spoiler

Y'know, I'm actually going to have to argue somewhat in favor of Civil War here. The simple truth is, of all the nonsensical garbage we've gotten since the whole back-to-back event mentality got started at Marvel, Civil War was arguably the most sound conceptually. The basic setup is actually brilliant... a couple of dumb media heroes go out and pick a fight with people way out of their league, and the whole thing ends with an entire city being destroyed. The fact that the government and the population would have a knee-jerk reaction to the whole thing is supported by our nation's history, particularly in the last decade. Conceptually, the entire story is well above any of the others Marvel has put out in recent years (Invasion of the shape changers, alternate reality with Magneto in charge, Hammer time, Osborne leading SHIELD... Ugh).

The problem, both in the comics and unfortunately it might be in EMH as well, is in the execution. The morality surrounding Civil War should have been very gray, with the reader left unsure which side to root for. But at no point reading Civil War did I EVER root for anyone besides the rebels. The government was clearly the bad guy in the situation, and every single action it took made them all more and more unlikeable as the series went on.

There is a legitimate reason for the government and local law enforcement to be afraid of heroes, and to enact Laws that would require some accountability. There are reasons characters like Batman come up with contingency plans to take down other heroes if they go bad. The fact that Marvel epically failed to present that argument and that EMH is seemingly doing the same completely undermines a legitimately interesting concept.

And yeah, Maria needs to get some brain cells here. Her idiocy was almost forgivable in the comics because she was picket specifically to be the government's puppet after Nick Fury's nonsense, but here she was Fury's second in command and there's no indication that her selection was political in any way.

Great thoughts, 'Mato!  I've always found this to be an annoying flaw of the Marvel Universe.  I have yet to read Civil War so I can't comment intelligently on the that arc.  But the X-Men's relationship with the U.S. Government tends to only promote one side of the argument (at least in the mediums I've witnessed). 

I think DC's Cadmus organization's relationship with the Justice League (as portrayed in Justice League Unlimited, for instance) makes for a much more morally complex story.  I found Amanda Waller very interesting.

[Tomato]

Spoiler

Yes, but the one-sided nature of the debates in X-men is considerably more forgivable than that of Civil War for two very important reasons:

-In the case of Mutant registration, we're talking about individuals who are born with a unique power being forced to publicly reveal themselves as mutants by the government. Yes, SOME mutants go on to commit crimes or to become dangerous vigilantes, but SOME black people rob stores and SOME Christians kill people for differing beliefs too. We would never, as a country, allow a public register of all Chinese people, so it is equally wrong to have a public register (which, btw, is something I've only ever heard done with regards to sex offenders) of those who happen to have mutant abilities.

By contrast, the issue with Civil War is NOT a public register of anyone with powers... it's a private registration of people with power who choose to use those powers publicly, aka Superheroes/villains kept within the US government. Now there are issues with any such list being out there, especially in a world of Super-hacking villains, but it's not like this would be something updated on wikipedia every time a new hero's identity is registered.

-The debates in X-men are, almost by default, viewed from the X-men's perspective. Obviously I expect comics to be skewed in favor of the titular characters. The problem is, Civil War isn't supposed to be skewed. The basic premise, the way the comic was marketed (Which side are you on?!), even the game was designed to get the reader/player thinking about the issues presented and to come to their own conclusion.

The problem is that the comic itself epically failed to do that. The Rebels only ever fight for what they believe in and never seem to make any questionable decisions, while the Government never seems to stop... using hardened supervillains, killing some of the rebels, cloning dead allies to use as weapons, building super-prisons... not once, not one single time in the entire Civil War miniseries did I EVER sympathize with anyone but the rebels, and I happen to actually agree with the government mandating some form of accountability on super-heroes.