Avengers: Protecting the Earth, No Matter Which Show

Avengers: United They Stand (1999-2000)

This series is relatively unknown compared to the other two on this list. It only ran 13 episodes. It was fun, but kind of clunky. The heroes had strange 90’s style costumes, and the plots were a little too ridiculous and “cartoony”. It closely resembled an issue of What If? where Tony Stark had made armored outfits for each of the Avengers. Everyone had a jet pack! While I get that comics are often just as outlandish, when compared to the other 2 “Avengers” series here, it was noticeably more for kids rather than for all. The other issue, and probable reason for its quick cancellation, is that the show chose to focus on less-known Avengers characters. Captain America and Iron Man make appearances, but they aren’t main cast till near the end of the series.

The Super Hero Squad Show (2009-2011)

While I mark United They Stand as too kid-like, The Super Hero Squad Show is meant for a younger crowd but is nonetheless amazing. The Avengers, known on this show as the Squad, are small and goofy looking. They resemble Imaginext toys if you’re familiar with those. Though this show was intended for little tykes, it is extremely hilarious. The characters that everyone know aren’t quite themselves on the 52 episodes of this show, they’re all a bit weird. Whether they’re egotistical or dull witted, they are caricature-like but funny. The jokes work on multiple levels. There’s goofy humor for kids or the “kid” in all of us as well as deeper humor that most kids won’t even get. I equate this one to a similar target audience as Teen Titans Go! but skewing a little younger.

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010-2012)

This series was awesome. It stuck amazingly close to the comics. The characters all had their costumes straight off the pages of Marvel. “Realism” wasn’t important enough to change their costumes as it did in the movies. So, all the bright colors and bigger than life costumes were proudly on display. The cartoon was colorful, fun, and well written.

Realism didn’t affect the costumes, but it did affect the storytelling.  The plots were not “kid only” as many cartoons are. No, these stories were complex, well-written, and had intricate plots that involved many characters, both hero and villain. The story arcs, much like comics, spread out over multiple episodes instead of the traditional one-and-done structure that most cartoons follow. Additionally, the action was fast-paced and edge of your seat. Characters’ origins were told well, and the characters we all know and love were explored in depth. Many people and issues were kept mysterious. Black Widow, for example, was shrouded in mystery for a while. It was hard to tell for certain if she was good or bad. Now, of course, she was a good guy, but the Avengers weren’t so sure.

The show also introduced many characters who had not yet been in movies since it was modeled more after the comics. So, viewers got to see Captain Marvel (both Carol and Mar-Vell), Black Knight, and Wonder Man. Even Doc Sampson made an appearance! The same can be said for villains. Now, of course, only so many villains have appeared in the movies because there’s generally one big bad per movie. This cartoon, though, was weekly. So, it was able to delve further into Marvel’s canon of villains and give more of them a spotlight. Then, the bigger villains, such as Loki, Ultron, Galactus, and the Skrulls got to lead bigger, longer story arcs. One villain that unfortunately has yet to appear on the big screen, Kang, steered one of the best story arcs.

Fortunately for the world, the MCU was a staggering success. We’ve gotten awesome movies, and hopefully we’ll continue to. However, the success of the MCU was not good for this series. Disney chose to cancel it in favor of creating an Avengers cartoon that more closely resembled the MCU version of the heroes. So, unfortunately, only 52 episodes are available of this, the best Avengers series.

Avengers Assemble (2013 – ?)

While I’m biased towards Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, this series is a lot of fun. Other than villains, Avengers Assemble initially restricted itself to only heroes that had appeared in the MCU. Thankfully, that changed over time, and the show has included appearances of Ghost Rider, Blade, Hercules, and the new Ms. Marvel.

While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had intricate plots that were skillfully interwoven to the point that many overlapped, Avengers Assemble does something just as cool. Entire seasons are often devoted to ongoing stories, usually concerning one major villain. Thanos, Red Skull, Loki, Ultron, Doom, and many more have shown up to assault the heroes.  The downside, though, is that the characters were all a bit more one-dimensional in this series versus the previous one.

While I loved the bright colors of the animation on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Avengers Assemble’s animation took getting used to. The artwork was a combination of computer-generated art and traditional animation. The end result seemed washed out and dull in comparison to other cartoons, especially Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.