AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, SEASON ONE (2013-14)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological, psychological*                                                                                                                                Whatever the failings of the AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES series, it remains much more ambitious than this show, since HEROES attempted to adapt some of the more far-reaching comic-book storylines. Evidently that series could not be continued due to behind-the-scenes legal complications. So ASSEMBLE rebooted the avenging team, consisting of Iron Man (more or less the leader), Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye and The Black Widow-- in essence, reproducing the ensemble from the 2012 live-action film, except for the addition of rookie member The Falcon. One episode works in Ant-Man, though there's no explanation of how he related to any earlier adventures.                                                         

   The new priority for ASSEMBLE was action, action, action, with just touches of characterization along the way, and (like the movie series) no soap-operatic plotlines. The writers were evidently free to cull villains from most of the Marvel Comics mainstream, so ASSEMBLE is the first animated appearance for such characters as The Mangog, The Super Adaptoid (this time portrayed as a mindless automaton whom Modok uses as his personal mecha), Justin Hammer, and Hyperion. Though Doctor Doom appears in three episodes, the primary villain for Season One is the Red Skull, whose strong presence makes up somewhat for his mediocre usage in the FIRST AVENGER film. In addition to Hyperion and Modok, the Skull also drafts into his Cabal the services of Attuma and Dracula, who in this incarnation looks like a Tolkienian elf-prince.                                                                   

As for the heroes, most of their conflicts as they mess around Avengers Mansion involve one hero having eaten another hero's refrigerator stash, so no, no attempt at drama. A minor exception is "Hulked Out Heroes." In this story, Black Widow, who part-times with SHIELD, is instructed by Nick Fury to turn over any information she gets on ways to subdue the Hulk. Out of team loyalty, the Widow conveniently loses the coveted intel. The Hulk is often used to set up allegedly humorous situations, but at least in Season One, he remains a pivotal member of the team, in marked contrast to the way the character gets sidelined in the MCU's live-action movies. He never reverts to Bruce Banner, though, and no one in the super-team really has anything like a private life. To be sure, Falcon gets a sitcom-like episode in which his mom comes to visit the mansion, and the high-flying hero must beg his friends not to reveal his identity, because she thinks he's "just" a SHIELD agent. On the whole, the main heroes never go into any deep characterization, even by melodrama-standards. But it's a small blessing that none of them are actively bad in terms of their dominant traits, in contrast to the way the later MCU productions treated Hulk and Thor. So that's something.