Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes season 2 discussion thread

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/marveltv/news/?a=58063

It's being alleged -- not yet confirmed -- that Loeb (head of Marvel Animation) has decided that Avengers: EMH will end after the current season and be replaced next year by a new Avengers show produced in-house by Marvel. Not unlike how the Sony-produced The Spectacular Spider-Man was cancelled and replaced with an in-house Marvel/Disney-produced Ultimate Spider-Man -- a cancellation based not on ratings or quality, but on corporate consolidation. (And perhaps based on Loeb's storytelling preferences; the report says he's not a fan of the multi-episode-arc approach that A:EMH has taken and prefers self-contained episodes.)

 

Thanks for the link. That's a shame .

 

Well, it's not definitely confirmed yet.

Although the fact that A:EMH is an outside production does explain why it and Ultimate Spider-Man are in separate continuities. Maybe the new Avengers series will be in continuity with USM -- and maybe it'll feature Agent Coulson.

 

But the ongingness is what rulz so hard about this Avengers.

It's making children smarter.

 

Don't believe things "reported" on Comic Book Movie. They have a notorious reputation for reporting false things, hoaxes, and generally making crap up that turns out to be completely and utterly wrong. If that "report" surfaces elsewhere then there is some merit to it.

 

A preview of Sunday's episode, "Welcome To the Kree Empire", with Ronan the Accuser and the return of Captain Mar-Vell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8kdbb_2zqc&feature=player_embedded

 

Marvel's probably afraid that people will get used to good writing, so viewers will be unable to put up with the recent comics.

 

That's so true. Comics never have a storyline that comprises more than one issue.

 

It's a false premise that serialized storytelling is automatically smarter than short-form storytelling. Is a cheesy daytime soap more intelligently written than the self-contained short stories of Ray Bradbury or the self-contained plays of Shakespeare? Of course not. Are the Saw or Fast and Furious series of films more intelligent than Casablanca or The Seven Samurai just because they have more installments? Obviously not. There's always value in the ability to tell a complete, fulfilling story in a single work. And it's always possible for serialization to be done badly, to be a lazy excuse for just tossing in fragments of stories and never actually finishing anything.

Episodic and serial storytelling are simply different styles, neither one intrinsically superior to the other. Serialization is simply more fashionable today, so people who mistake fashion for quality assume it's better. But half a century ago, only cheesy soaps were serialized and the classiest, smartest work in television was in the anthology shows, particularly the 90-minute showcases that put on weekly plays written by top-notch playwrights like Chayefsky and Corwin and Rose and Serling. So people then had the opposite prejudice, that quality writing meant standalone stories and that serial storytelling was hack work. Our modern prejudice is no more correct than theirs; it's just equally insular. And equally fallacious to assume that quality is a matter of format rather than execution.

Not to mention that it's a false dichotomy in this case. Ultimate Spider-Man is produced by Loeb and represents his preference for episodic storytelling, but those episodes definitely have serialized elements -- ongoing plot and character threads that run through the season even though each specific half-hour tells a complete story rather than just part of one. Which really is much the same as how Stan Lee himself wrote comics back in his heyday -- just about every issue was a one-parter, but the characters and plotlines continued to grow and evolve from story to story. You don't need every single story to stretch out over six issues in order to have meaningful character and plot development. Episodic and serial storytelling aren't incompatible opposites, but ingredients in the mix. Many series use varying mixes of both styles.

 

Agreed on all points. I do have to admit that actually wasn't my intent to criticize stand-alone stories vs. arcs, but your insight is always welcome.

What I meant to say was that, opposed to the comics, a TV series usually has the benefit of having the same writing staff over the course of it's run, thus allowing both one-shot and ongoing stories to benefit from shared continuity and consistency. I know too well that having a static staff does not actually ensure quality storytelling. EMH does have a great roster of talent, which would be a shame to lose just so Marvel can make slightly more money.

 

A friend went through his Buffy Collection on VHS Tape some time back with a stop watch to measure how long was spent in the entire 7 seasons summing up after one of he stars said "Previously on Buffy the vampire Slayer."

17 and a 1/2 years.

 

It's true that it's a shame to lose a show that's doing well because of corporate mergers and stuff. I still miss The Spectacular Spider-Man -- though if it hadn't been cancelled, Greg Weisman wouldn't have been free to do Young Justice, so it balances out.

But I'm not going to judge the next Avengers show until I see it. It could still turn out to be good. And to be honest, while A:EMH is reasonably entertaining, I wouldn't call it one of the top superhero shows on the air today. Warner Bros. pretty much has a lock on that category -- plus Nickelodeon, if you count Avatars and benders as superheroes. There are things I like about A:EMH, but I don't love it, and I won't miss it too terribly.

 

^ You're talking like the show has already been axed. I have not seen that "report" on Comic Book Movie anywhere else since searching for it, like legit news sites, I've seen others carry their story in fact, which makes me believe that it isn't true since no one else has confirmed it. Like I said. Until a reputable site confirms this "report" I wouldn't believe the "story".

 

Oh, you're right, I forgot that. Good point. I usually don't fall for unconfirmed rumors. I guess I'm too distracted right now.

 

Indeed. It implies he's from a thunder kingdom.

 

Wow, Ms. Marvel really got an impressive debut. She was really powerful, wiping the floor with practically the whole Kree invasion force, and even though Ronin was objectively more powerful, she demonstrated the classic Marvel-hero property of unbending determination even in the face of overwhelming odds, proving she's as strong in character as in body. That's a terrific way to introduce a new member to the cast, particularly a new female member in a team that's been overly male-dominated until now. I hope she continues to be this valuable a member of the team and a core character from now on.

Plus we get the animation debut of SWORD, and of an authentic version of Abigail Brand (a character of that name appeared in Iron Man: Armored Adventures once, but she was a black-haired SHIELD agent). Her voice sounded familiar to me. Was that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn?

I'm getting tired of Skrull Cap. He's kind of a one-note presence, and after the past couple of episodes it's high time some of the Avengers started to notice he's acting out of character. I wish they'd end the masquerade and bring back the real Steve.

 

I'm getting the feeling that Skrull Cap is the one who causes the Earth to get torched, so we might be stuck with him for a while.

 

Hooray for Ms. Marvel! I just wish she was wearing her current costume.

 

I dunno. As we got the Ultimate Mar-Vell instead of the Starlin design, I'm kinda glad to see Carol wearing the Starlin variation of her costume. Besides, she will be ditching her current costume in July when she becomes the new Captain Marvel, as seen in Admiral Young's current avatar with Spider-Man.

 

I quite like Carol's new Captain Marvel costume in the comics, at least from what I've seen of it in the online media. It's a good look and it avoids the impracticality and gratuitous skin exposure of too many female superhero costumes (and it's still sexy even without them).