Mania Grade: B+
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- DVD: The Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
- Rating: PG
- Starring (Voices): Tom Kane, Aidan Drummond, Noah Crawford, Michael Adamthwaite, Fred Tatasciore
- Written By: Christopher Yost
- Directed By: Jay Oliva
- Distributor: Lionsgate and Marvel Studios
- Original Year of Release: 2008
- Extras: Legacy: The Making of Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow" featurette, A First Look at "Hulk Vs. Wolverine", A First Look at "Hulk Vs. Thor", Kid Power: Next Gen Marvel
DVD Review of Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
A Two-Sided Review By
Robert T. Trate
September 01, 2008
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow DVD(2008).
© Lionsgate/Marvel Studios
There are two ways to look at the Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. The first as a stand alone cartoon and the other would be to look at it as a die hard Marvel fan. Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow takes place in the distant future where Earth’s mightiest heroes, the Avengers, have fallen. In their last great battle, Captain America, Iron Man, the Vision, Ant Man, the Wasp, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor and the Black Panther were defeated by Ultron. On the eve of that battle they hid their children. Flash forward to almost ten years later and James (son of Captain America and the Black Widow), Torrun (daughter of Thor), Azari (son of the Black Panther and the X-Men’s Storm), Pym (son of Ant Man and the Wasp) live under the protection and tutelage of Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). They eat, sleep and train. For what they have no idea. Their only link to the past is a bed time story Tony tells them about how their parents fell. Each longs to see the world and learn more about who their parents were.
One night the Vision, damaged, returns and the children instantly recognize him as the “Ghost” from their bed time story. The Vision has remained in his ghost like state to keep on eye on Ultron. He has come to warn Tony that Ultron has taken over almost every major city on the planet. Tony takes the Vision away from the children in the hopes to repair him but in their haste and inquisitiveness the children accidentally launch the Iron Avengers. These giant Iron Man like versions of the Avengers were Stark’s plan on taking down Ultron. Ultron’s defenses quickly respond and their secret is out.
As a stand alone movie the premise, story and dialogue all work. Christopher Yost’s script is solid and his characterization of all the major players is perfect. Yost even captures the kid’s dialogue and interactions in a way that it is not annoying as it normally is for anyone over the age of ten. The world Yost created is a perfect nightmare fitting of Marvel’s “Days of Future Past” or the “Age of Apocalypse”. In the mere 78 minutes the story never feels short or quickened. Yost has some great character driven moments that lead to the discovery of Hawkeye’s son and the whereabouts of the Incredible Hulk.
If Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is supposed to be entertainment and fun for a younger generation then it accomplishes its goal.If it indoctrinates even one new reader into the Marvel Universe and the Avengers then it accomplishes its goal. It is a great story about family, heroes and standing up for what is right no matter what the odds are. Not a bad way for the kiddies to learn some great lessons and about the Avengers.
As a die hard Marvel fan the Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow has a few departures from the Marvel Universe. The team assembled for the final battle against Ultron is obviously not the current roster. This is understandable and a probable necessity to go back and tell the story from a different perspective. The biggest leap from the continuity is that Tony Stark created Ultron. If the story didn’t feature Ant Man aka Hank Pym (Ultron’s creator) then perhaps this leap could be overlooked. In the confines of the story though it seems like a sore thumb. Why would Stark then create an army of Iron Avengers if he knows Ultron could overtake them? Wouldn’t he have programmed something into their matrix to stop that from happening? Sure, destroying robots keeps a PG rating but it seemed kind of naïve and stupid of Tony Stark to create such an easily conquered set of robots.
Another overlooked and blatantly hinted at character is Azari’s mother. It says in the prologue that the Azari’s father, the Black Panther, found his queen. They never reveal who it is but Azari has all the powers of the Black Panther and a certain X-Men that can control lightening. Gee, I wonder who that is? This is an obvious reference to the current Marvel continuity where the Black Panther and Storm are married. Giving him a tie to another character would have added another dimension. Betty Ross being alive was another odd character in the story. She lives with the same group of scavengers as the young Hawkeye but in the Marvel Universe she has been long absent. Young Hawkeye’s physical appearance also screams of his father’s long love interest Mockingbird. Betty Ross was miscast. She should have been Barbara Morse aka Mockingbird, adding yet again to the story and to the character.
Now the future of the Marvel Universe has been explored for decades. This is obviously not a definitive future and one that could easily be looked at if it was either a “What if” story or better yet a world that the Exiles stumbled upon. For all the banter and gee wiz moments that do occur any true fan of the Marvel Universe will find the Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow to be a fun story and true to the characters (minus the Ultron creator error). Tony Stark assuming the role of father figure to his fallen comrades’ children was not only appropriate but fitting for a man with so many daddy issues. Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is a great introduction for the younger fans of these classic heroes but one that any real fan will enjoy as well.
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