The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Emperor Stark" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

After sitting out several episodes of Earth's Mightiest Heroes following his conversion in "Ultron Unlimited," Vision came back in a big way with "Emperor Stark." The episode kicked off with a great premise, as Vision awoke after a 30-day repair process to discover that Tony Stark had inexplicably chosen to take over the world. If superhero movies have taught us anything, it's that any device promising free, unlimited energy will eventually be harnessed for nefarious purposes.

The episode was certainly a strong showing for Vision, whose inorganic mind suddenly became a major asset in a world where Purple Man ruled all. His interaction with his new teammates was very enjoyable, particularly when Hawkeye scolded Vision for calling the battle "easy." Hawkeye had his own solid moments throughout. It was amusing to see Cap trick him out of being brainwashed by reminding Hawkeye that he doesn't like to do what other people tell him to. Hawkeye's trick shot in space also stood out as a memorable moment. Buit nothing topped the brawl between Thor and Vision. Seeing the latter take on 500 tons of mass and dive-bomb Thor from orbit had to be one of the top moments in the show's two-year history.

What was interesting about Christopher Yost's script for "Emperor Stark" is that it showed a bit less less direct influence from the Avengers comics than usual. Technically this episode could be said to be inspired by the Emperor Doom graphic novel, but the cast of characters, their motivations, and Purple Man's role in the story were heavily modified. Purple Man is known for committing some heinous acts against Marvel's heroes. And while his misdeeds in this episode certainly didn't outclass those in Brian Michael Bendis' Alias comic, he still managed to hit Tony closer to home than any other villain in the series. The fact that it was all merely revenge for being made to look foolish in public was a nice extra touch. Star Trek: The Next Generation's Brent Spiner made a welcome guest appearance as the voice of Purple Man. Spiner seemed poorly suited for the Joker on Young Justice, but here Purple Man had just the right blend of shrillness and subtle malice.

My only complaint with "Emperor Stark" was that it could have been drawn out longer. The ending in particular could have used a bit more attention. Stark noted his own culpability in Purple Man's world domination scheme, but Cap seemed content to brush away his concerns and deliver a typically heart-warming, sappy speech. The extended brawl between the two brought to mind the conflict in Mark Millar's Civil War comic. For a time it seemed as though the series was moving towards a full-on adaptation of that conflict, but with EMH ending in a few months, clearly that won't be the case. Even so, it would have been nice to see the episode end on a slightly more ambiguous note in terms of the Cap/Iron Man dynamic.

That aside, this was easily one of the better installments of Earth's Mightiest Heroes this season. Next week brings the long-awaited return of Hulk and the resolution of the Red Hulk mystery.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Yellowjacket" Review

Warning - full episode spoilers follow.

My biggest complaint about the previous episode of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, "Ultron Unlimited," was that it didn't focus enough on the bizarre Pym/Ultron family dynamic. A major part of the problem was that Hank Pym was still in superhero retirement at the time and thus not around to confront his creation. But while that was a bit of wasted potential, at least Hank made his long-awaited return for "Yellowjacket." This episode borrowed from some classic Bronze Age Avengers material as it chronicled Pym's descent into madness and his misguided attempt to reinvent himself as a more proactive hero.

This isn't easy material for a more family-oriented superhero show to tackle, but the writers seemed to handle the challenge well. Speaking of which, the Man of Action team were responsible for this week's installment. They seemed to bring an extra dose of sly humor to the characters, particularly when it came to Hawkeye and his quips. But despite that extra dose of humor, the episode was fairly dark in tone. The writers didn't shy away from Pym's deteriorating mental state. If anything, they pushed him a step further than he went in the comics. Though he didn't get to the point of physically abusing Jan as he did in the infamous Avengers #213 (good luck convincing Disney to air that), Yellowjacket's schizophrenic desire to kill off his Hank Pym personality was arguably more extreme than it was in the source material.

All of this made for a very interesting character study. The characterization in Earth's Mightiest Heroes has always been a bit wooden and straightforward compared to some of the more ambitious superhero cartoons out there, but Hank may be the lone exception on the team. The show is immediately better off for having him back in action. And kudos to Wally Wingert for providing a Yellowjacket voice that was convincingly different from his regular Pym voice. Even for viewers who haven't read an Avengers comic, I'm sure the identity reveal was about as surprising as Senator Palpatine turning out to be Darth Sidious, but the effort was appreciated anyway. That said, hopefully Wingert can find more of a happy vocal medium if Pym really is determined to keep up his Yellowjacket persona going forward.

The one down side to this episode is that it didn't offer the resolution regarding Pym's mental state I was hoping for. Iron Man's brief outburst aside, the Avengers seemed perfectly willing to accept Hank back in the fold despite his recent misdeeds. That's to say nothing of the bizarre public reaction to Yellowjacket's debut. For all anyone was aware, Yellowjacket was caught on video giving the Punisher treatment to the Serpent Society, yet he was being praised on the news as a welcome addition to New York's costumed community. Will there be opportunity to keep exploring Hank's tenuous grip on sanity in the remaining episodes, or is this it? And is it just me, or is anyone getting tired of the Serpent Society being the de facto characters whenever the writers need a group of bad guy punching bags? The Marvel Universe is a crowded place, and surely there are some other C-Listers out there deserving of being punched in the face.

But if not as conclusive as I would have liked, "Yellowjacket" was nonetheless a strong return for Hank Pym.  With more episodes slated for the remainder of September, we'll see if Earth's Mightiest Heroes can keep building on its recent momentum.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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