| Iron Man: Armored Adventures | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action Science fiction Superhero fiction |
| Created by | Stan Lee Larry Lieber |
| Written by | Comic Book: Stan Lee Larry Lieber Don Heck Jack Kirby |
| Directed by | Stéphane Juffé Philippe Guyenne |
| Creative director(s) | Stéphane Juffé Philippe Guyenne |
| Voices of | Adrian Petriw Daniel Bacon Vincent Tong Anna Cummer Mackenzie Gray |
| Opening theme | "Iron Man: Armored Adventures Theme" by Rooney |
| Ending theme | "Iron Man: Armored Adventures Theme" by Rooney |
| Composer(s) | Guy Michelmore |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (39 aired) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Joshua Fine Cort Lane Cédric Pilot Romain van Liemt |
| Running time | approx. 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Marvel Animation, Method Animation,[1] LuxAnimation (post-production) |
| Distributor | DQ Entertainment PLC (Asia)[2] |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Nicktoons Teletoon |
| Original run | April 24, 2009 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Avengers: United They Stand (unrelated) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Iron Man: Armored Adventures is a 3D CGI cartoon series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man. It debuted in the USA on the Nicktoons on April 24, 2009, and has already begun airing on Canadian network Teletoon.[3] The series is story edited by showrunner Christopher Yost,[4] who also worked on Wolverine and the X-Men, and numerous other Marvel Animation projects. The television show is not related to the 2007 animated film The Invincible Iron Man; it has a different voice cast, but some story elements are similar and the show uses the same musical score as the film in some instances. It is the first Iron Man television series since Iron Man from 1994–1996, and started airing after the success of the live action Iron Man film.
The series follows the adventures of teenage child prodigy Tony Stark and his alter ego of Iron Man. As Iron Man, he uses his technological inventions to stop villains. His friends, James "Rhodey" Rhodes and Pepper Potts help him on his courageous, and dangerous adventures.
The second season of this series premiered on July 13, 2011 running concurrently with English dub of the completely separate Marvel Anime: Iron Man anime series which has already finished airing on Japan's Animax in 2010.[5][6]
Contents |
When his industrialist father Howard Stark disappears in a plane crash after refusing to weaponize the Earth Mover at Obadiah Stane's behest, 16 year old genius Tony uses a high-tech suit of armor he has constructed and investigates a charge that Stane may have been involved in his father's death. As Iron Man, Tony spends his time stopping Stane's plans and saving the world from other villains such as Mandarin, Mr. Fix, Whiplash, A.I.M., Madame Masque, Living Laser, the Maggia, Firebrand, Controller, Crimson Dynamo, Blizzard, Killer Shrike, Unicorn, M.O.D.O.K., Ghost, Fin Fang Foom, Black Knight, and Technovore. He is assisted in his crime fighting efforts with help from James Rhodes and Pepper Potts. Tony's activities as Iron Man usually result in his needing to make up excuses as to why he is constantly late or missing from school and other activities. Dependent on his phenomenal technology for survival, Tony must balance the pressures of teenage life with the duties of being a super hero.
The first season of Iron Man: Armored Adventures focuses on the Makluan Rings saga as Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and Gene Khan work together to get the 5 rings. Upon overthrowing his stepfather Xin Zhang, Gene secretly works undercover to steal the rings from his friends, and ends up betraying them (which upsets Pepper). The season also features the Madame Masque Saga, which comes to a conclusion in the episode "Best Served Cold". Tony's feud with Obadiah Stane comes to a partial conclusion in that episode as well. The season ends with two primary cliffhangers in the episode "Tales of Suspense". The now-friendless Gene discovers that the original Mandarin had 5 other rings besides the original 5. Tony finds out that his father, Howard, survived the plane crash and is being held prisoner, while the armory is destroyed during Xin Zhang's attack limiting Tony's resources to find and rescue his father.
Black Panther, Hulk, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. make guest appearances.
The show has been ordered with 26 episodes for the second season.[7] Black Widow / Natalie Romanoff, Hawkeye, Doctor Doom, Magneto and Justin Hammer are announced to appear in this season.[8][9] General Nick Fury, Mr. Fix, Whiplash and Obadiah Stane return.[10]
The second season covers the Armor Wars saga with Tony fighting many people who have stolen his armor tech and seek to exploit the stolen Iron Man specs for their own purposes. The enemies young Stark fights during this version of the Armor Wars include the Ghost who steals Iron Man specs and knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man. Ghost sells the specs to both Justin Hammer and Obadiah Stane but says he will not reveal Iron Man's true identity until Tony turns 18. Justin Hammer makes an armor with the Iron Man specs and becomes Titanium Man.[11][12] Doctor Doom joins forces with Stane to attain the Iron Man armor operating system.[13] In the ninth episode entitled "The Hawk and the Spider", Hawkeye and Black Widow appear as thieves who are out to steal UI technology which provides direct neural interfacing with machines such as the Iron Man armor though not as well as young Stark's own interface tech.[14] Stane builds the Iron Monger armor which is revealed actually to be a direct upgrade from Crimson Dynamo armor (version 3) and is much larger than in the comic book and live action movie realities.[15] In the eleventh episode "Fugitive of S.H.I.E.L.D." Black Widow returns stealing from General Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier[16] The Armor Wars conclude as Obadiah Stane discovers the identity of Iron Man. Stane steals Iron Monger, and is intent on destroying Tony once and for all.[17]
While Tony is fighting the Armor Wars, Howard Stark is shown to be alive and forced by Gene to find the other 5 Makluan Rings. Gene continues to find and secured the sixth and seventh rings for himself during this time.
Dr. Doom is confirmed to reappear in the second half of the second season.[18] Writer Sean McKeever who wrote episode 24 of the second season has confirmed that the episode has been finished.[19] Story Editor Brandon Auman says work for a third season is being talked about in December 2011 and specifically introducing Wolverine to the series if the third season is confirmed.[20]
A total of 26 episodes aired in the first season. An additional 26 episodes from the second season started airing from July 13, 2011 on Nicktoons.[7]
| Seasons | Episodes | First Airdate | Last Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | April 24, 2009 April 12, 2009 May 13, 2009 |
January 18, 2010 March 21, 2010 January 16, 2010 |
|
| 2 | 26 | July 13, 2011 | TBA | |
Months before the show's television debut, Marvel had a screening of the first episode of the series at the San Diego Comic-Con.[24] There was also a room where the public could meet, and talk with the Co-Producer Josh Fine and Head Writer Chris Yost among others involved in the production of the show.[24] The trailer of the show was also released on Marvel's official website as well as numerous behind-the-scene and teaser trailers on the website in the weeks before the US television debut.[25]
Popular rock band Rooney recorded the theme song to the series.[26] The song originally could be downloaded from Teletoon`s website. A provided "secret code", Tony would be needed to access the theme. This "secret code" was shown onscreen during Canadian broadcasts of the first few episodes of the first season.. The music video for the theme song features clips of Rooney singing, along with clips of Iron Man from the show.[26]
The series is made primarily using computer-generated imagery (CGI), in a similar style to MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and Nicktoons' original series Skyland. The technique is similar to cel-shading animation technique although the detail and resolution are lower.
In Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Tony Stark becomes Iron Man as a teenager, and Pepper Potts and James Rhodes are also teenagers. In the mainstream Iron Man continuity, Tony Stark becomes Iron Man later on in his life as a grown man, and is a long time friend with Pepper, whereas in this series, Pepper and Tony have just met.
Traditionally, Tony's parents were accidentally killed in a car crash, whereas in this series, Tony's father, Howard Stark, disappears in the first episode in a plane crash suggesting Howard's death. Howard uses the advanced technology of one of the alien Mandarin rings that he discovers for the basis of his many creations that he later locks away in his vault such as the light armor of the Living Laser. In the mainstream incarnation, Howard never met the Mandarin nor had any of his ten rings.
Tony also injures his heart in this crash, as opposed to being injured by an explosion in war. Tony invents the Iron Man armor at home. In previous incarnations, Tony invented a beta version of the suit to escape after being captured due to the trap explosion leaving him defenseless. In the show, Ho Yinsen was a Stark International medical specialist who saved Tony by installing the technology that saved him instead of Yinsen meeting Tony in the war being held captive. How Yinsen is different from his comics counterpart, he is unaware of Tony's double life as Iron Man.
Iron Man's original armor in the series is very similar to Iron Man's armor in the 2008 live action film, although the helmet design is different, and the armor is less yellow.
The armor appears to be convertible from its ability to spread over Tony from various parts he puts on. This armor generates a force field around Iron Man from his repulsors.
There are also numerous alternate armors that Stark uses in special occasions, including the Silver Centurion Armor, the Stealth Armor and the Hulkbuster armor (which was originally named the Dynamo Buster armor).
In the second season, of Iron Man: Armored Adventures, the armor was changed to look more like the second live action film's armor. One of the main changes of the armor is the circle unibeam is now a triangle unibeam. This also made the armor look more like the Extremis armor in the comics.
The pilot episode was released as a bonus feature in Wal-Mart's edition of the live-action Iron Man movie.
Volume One was released on DVD in the United States on October 20, 2009. The Blu-ray edition was released exclusively through Best Buy. In the UK, Volume One contains the first 13 episodes (the one-hour pilot being split into two separate episodes) on two discs.[27] Volume Two was released in the United States on January 5, 2010. The Complete Season One was released in the United States in May 4, 2010. The Complete Season One set included a unreleased pair of Volume Three and Four DVDs.
The hour-long premiere of Iron Man: Armored Adventures broke Nicktoons Network's record of highest-rated original series by premiering with over 125,000 viewers.[28]
Reviews of the pilot episode have been mixed. Some praise the series for its detailed and layered writing, strong continuity, and character designs. Entertainment Weekly gave the series debut a B+ grade, saying, "What could've been a clunky retrograde reboot works surprisingly well, thanks to some smart writing and stellar CG butt-kickery."[29] Others do not like the "teen Tony" approach to the character's origin, which is drastically different from the original origin story. Some speculate this is due to comparisons between the series, and Jon Favreau's 2008 live action film, which was a more adult take on the character.[30]
| Country | Channel |
|---|---|
| Canada | Teletoon |
| USA | Nicktoons |
| Australia | ABC3 |
| Japan | Disney XD (Japan) |
| Pakistan | Cartoon Network |
| The Netherlands | Disney XD |
| South Africa | Disney XD |
| Sweden | Disney XD (Sweden) |
| Ukraine | QTV, Gamma, Vinnychyna |
| France | Disney XD (France), France 4 |
| Egypt | Disney XD (Egypt) |
| Poland | Disney XD |
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