Posted: 05/06/2010

Iron Man: The Complete 1994 Animated Series

by Michael J. Nicholas

As the movie Iron Man II hits theaters this Friday, May 7- the complete animated series from 1994 hit stores this past Tuesday. Now that is some good timing when you’re looking to cross-promote brothers from the same mother. The animated release, new to DVD, features all 26 episodes on a 3-disk set and brings back lots of memories.

All the good guys make appearances in this series: The Hulk, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, War Machine and Century. Better yet, all my favorite villains are included as well: Mandarin, Living Laser, MODOK, Whirlwind, Hypnotia, Blizzard, Justin Hammer, Dreadknight, Fin Fang Foom, Blacklash, Titanium Man and Grey Gargoyle. I don’t know about you, but the bad guys just seem a lot cooler than the heroes when it comes to comic book characters. The animation isn’t as crisp in the cartoons as it is in the drawn comics, but the stories are there and the series still makes for enjoyable watching.

When Iron Man left a group of superheroes called The Avengers over the way things were handled and crime fighting differences, he formed Force Works- which was actually a published comic book series that ran during the time this animated series was ran. Written by Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett, the Force Works comics produced 22 issues.

Almost all the episodes are a blast and I wish they made cartoons like this nowadays; not necessarily because of the animation, but because of the writing. Sure, some stories and plot lines are a little predictable, but what isn’t in this day and age? Anyway, the only bad thing I can say about this DVD set is that it contains absolutely zero bonus features. It would of been neat to see anything at all included amongst the complete series, but maybe Disney had nothing to offer. All and all, Iron Man The Completed Animated Series is a must have for all fans.

Michael J. Nicholas - a.k.a. Nicky The Note - reviews, opinions & life lessons.

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