Favorite Current Super Hero Cartoons

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Mr Light, Apr 22, 2012.

  1. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    1. Legend of Korra: we're only three episodes in but it's already incredible, a worthy continuation of my all time favorite animated series, and I can't wait for more!

    2. Avengers: I love the huge cast, the sharp animation, and the blending of modern and old stories into one large epic.

    3. Young Justice: again, a huge cast and a single large storyline, but it's a little too angsty and serious and lifeless for me. Plus, the villains have been a little B list so far.

    4. Ultimate Spider-man: it's, ah, very, kinetic and silly, which is different. I also like that it's a team up show.

    5. Iron Man Armored Adventures: second season is much better, I'm actually enjoying it this time.

    6. Generator Rex: I enjoy the tone of the show and the stories are occasionally interesting, occasionally not interesting.

    7. Green Lantern: I love the comics, but I'm not really into this simplistic young adult adventure. And I loved Batman Brave and the Bold.

    8. Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: I was barely ever into this show. Not great, not terrible, just there.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2012
  2. startrekwatcher

    startrekwatcher Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    the only one I'm interested in is Young Justice--I appreciate its much more serious tone than a lot of the superhero cartoons of recent years and the fact that it is serialized. I also like the way it smartly utilizes and incorporates various DC elements.

    The other cartoons I'm pretty meh about.
     
  3. Saga

    Saga Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Young Justice
    Avengers
    Ultimate Spider-Man

    in that order. i quickly lost interest in Green Lantern. just seems so...bland.
     
  4. Methos

    Methos Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    i flick through young justice from time to time, not really paid attention to any of the others...

    M
     
  5. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know if I'd categorize Korra as a super hero cartoon but it is definitely a strong contender only three episodes in.

    Young Justice is a good solid entry. It's starting to grow on me though I have had some problems with the mentioned angsty/seriousness and level of threats they deal with.

    I like Generator Rex, it's just a fun adventure show with a good dose of humor. It doesn't always wow me but it's usually a decent watch. Ben 10 is similar in tone but never really pulled me in.

    I just started Ultimate Spider-Man having missed the premiere. It's odd, the way they mix in the humor and the meta sometimes feels awkward. I like that it seems to draw from old American toon styles instead of just anime. I'm still on the fence though.

    Avengers seems to be what I perceive to be the standard Marvel animation style but is OK. I prefer the "house style" of Marvel for comics but DC for animation. Despite my comments for Ultimate Spider-Man I do like that they went for something different.

    I couldn't really get into GL but I'm thinking of trying more recent episodes to see if maybe they've found their footing, some things start rough.

    I dont know if Thundercats fits in here or not, though if Korra does... I do like what this show is trying to do so though I don't think it always works but it's enough for me to pop it on the DVR queue.
     
  6. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, I forgot about Generator Rex, they haven't aired new episodes lately. It's a cute show, I'd rank it over GL and Ben 10.
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Korra is a clear winner in any animation category. It's just on a level all its own.

    After that, I'd go with Young Justice, then Green Lantern.

    As for Ben 10, it's a mixed bag. I never got heavily into the original show. I liked the first couple of seasons of Alien Force a lot, since they went in a more mature and sophisticated direction, but it seems a lot of the franchise's fans thought it was too great a departure, so they changed it after that, and AF season 3 and Ultimate Alien weren't quite as good. But that whole 5-season run of Ben 10 in the hands of Glen Murakami and Dwayne McDuffie was one of the best-looking animated shows on TV and consistently well-made. Next season they'll be doing a new version called Ben 10: Omniverse with a completely different art style and writing team (since McDuffie is no longer with us and Murakami is doing Beware the Batman). I don't know what to make of that, but I doubt I'll like it as much.

    Generator Rex has a great SF premise and is often intriguing, but it often goes too much for hip teenage attitude or whatever and then it's more annoying. And in this past season they had a tendency to introduce major, profound changes in the characters or story and then fail to follow up on them. (Particularly with Agent Six -- he seemed to admit his feelings for Holiday, then that was ignored, then his memory was wiped for good, but then they did the whole time-jump thing and the changes in Six were forgotten.) And now Cartoon Network seems to have pulled it from the air with seven unaired episodes remaining and no word on whether they'll ever air them.

    I wouldn't rank any of the Marvel shows as high as the shows on Cartoon Network. Avengers is good in its way, but I find the look too cartoony and the animation a bit clunky compared to Warner Bros. Animation's usual standard, and the character development tends to take a back seat to nonstop action. So it's just not as good as it deserves to be.

    As for Ultimate Spider-Man, it's entertaining, but a mixed bag. I definitely prefer its design style to that of The Spectacular Spider-Man, and its animation is almost as good, but I don't like the storytelling or the tone as much.

    Then there's Iron Man: Armored Adventures. It's probably the weakest of the bunch, especially where the animation is concerned, but it's still decent most of the time.

    As for Thundercats, I lost interest in it pretty quickly. It looks great, it has good music, and it had a couple of really impressive episodes early on, but they were in the minority and most of the episodes I saw were much weaker in plot than execution. It's trying to be like Avatar, but it only comes close in style. In substance, it's a lot shallower and harder to take seriously. And the gratuitous oversexualization of the show's sole adult female character annoys me.
     
  8. Technobuilder

    Technobuilder Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    These are the main 4 animated series I'm watching at present.
    -Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
    -Young Justice
    -Avatar: The Legend of Korra
    -Green Lantern: The Animated Series
     
  9. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So far only Young Justice and Green Lantern have grabbed me.
     
  10. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    Ah, yes, I also forgot about the sporadically airing Iron Man! I found the first season very uninteresting, and I didn't care for the animation... but I have actually enjoyed the second season. Probably because there's more crossover characters and War Machine is in every episode, making it more of a team show.
     
  11. byron lomax

    byron lomax Commander Red Shirt

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    I've watched Young Justice a couple of times but that's it. It looks to be well-made and has had some really cool moments (like Zatanna becoming Dr Fate in a recent episode), but personally, I'm kinda burned out on superhero cartoons at this point. The last ones I watched regularly were Spectacular Spider-Man (which I loved) and Wolverine and the X-Men (which was good despite some flaws). I am really looking forward to Korra though, but wouldn't include it in this company.
     
  12. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It's just The Legend of Korra. There were James Cameron-related problems with using Avatar in the title (even though these guys used it first). For a while they were calling it The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra, which would've been really stupid because there are four airbenders in it and Korra isn't one of them.
     
  13. Technobuilder

    Technobuilder Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Already knew that but who cares... She's the Avatar.

    Cameron can suck it.

    Avatar: The Legend of Korra complements Avatar: The Legend of Aang quite well.