| This article is written from the Real World perspective |  |
| Super Hero Squad | |
|---|---|
| File:Marvel-super-hero-squad-tv.jpg | |
| Beginning date | September 14, 2009 |
| End date | October 14, 2011 |
| Number of Episodes | 52 Season One Season Two |
| Producers | Stan Lee Alan Fine Simon Philips Eric S. Rollman Joe Quesada Dan Buckley Jeph Loeb Dana C. Booton |
| Original Channel | Cartoon Network |
| Previous Series | Iron Man: Armored Adventures |
| Next Series | Black Panther |
The Super Hero Squad Show was an action-comedy series that ran from September 14th, 2009 and October 14th, 2011. It aired on Cartoon Network while it is syndicated on The Hub. It features super-styled versions of popular Marvel Comics characters.
"The talent that has signed on truly speaks to the strength of the Marvel brand as well as the uniqueness of this series," said Eric Rollman, Marvel's President of Animation. He continued, "This is the first time Marvel has produced an action-comedy show and the reaction from both broadcasters and celebrity talent indicates we have something very special in the making."
Premise
The world's greatest heroes team up to fight the world's greatest villains in the most family-friendly superhero team-up in television history. Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thor, and Falcon protect Super Hero City from the wild, weird, and even wacky villainy of Villainville's infamous bad guys. The heroes shout "Hero Up!" as they fight to stop Doctor Doom from gathering pieces of the Infinity Sword, or else Doom will use the sword to rule the universe. The heroes are assisted by plenty of superhero guest stars to help them out as they deliver action with plenty of humor.
Background
The show was first previewed at Comic-Con in 2009. Cast members Tom Kenny, Steven Blum, and Charlie Adler appeared and did a live reading for the audience. The reading was about Doom's attack on Comic-Con 40 in search of a convention exclusive My Little Pony. Clips from two episodes were screened for the public. The video game was also previewed at a two different panels.
Steven Blum previously voiced Wolverine on Hulk vs Wolverine and Wolverine and the X-Men. Mark Hamill previously voiced Hobgoblin on Spider-Man, Maximus on Fantastic Four, and Gargoyle on The Incredible Hulk. George Takei previously voiced Wong on Spider-Man. Robert Englund previously voiced Vulture on The Spectacular Spider-Man. Tricia Helfer previously voiced Black Cat on The Spectacular Spider-Man.
Shawn Ashmore reprised his role from the X-Men film series.
While Sony Pictures Television did own the television rights to the character when the series first aired, Spider-Man was not included because the producers did not want to over saturate the character by having him appear on too many series and movies. However, when The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment Sony gave up the television rights to the character, and ended The Spectacular Spider-Man. It is currently unknown if the character will appear in later episodes. Though he did appear in the video game tie-in.
Following the conclusion of the series' second season, the status of the series became unknown.
Cast
Actor Role Steven Blum Wolverine Tom Kenny Iron Man
Captain America
M.O.D.O.K.Grey DeLisle Ms. Marvel
EnchantressAlimi Ballard Falcon Charlie Adler Doctor Doom Shawn Ashmore Iceman LeVar Burton James Rhodes Taye Diggs Black Panther Robert Englund Dormammu Greg Grunberg Ant-Man Mark Hamill Red Skull Lena Headey Black Widow Tricia Helfer Black Cat
SifCheryl Hines Stardust Wayne Knight Egghead James Marsters Mister Fantastic Jennifer Morrison Wasp Adrian Pasdar Hawkeye Kevin Sorbo Ka-Zar George Takei Galactus Michelle Trachtenberg Valkyrie Stan Lee Mayor Jim Parsons Nightmare Adam West Nighthawk Jane Lynch Nebula Ty Burrel Captain Marvel Katee Sackhoff She Hulk
Eric Rollman commented, “The talent that has signed on truly speaks to the strength of the Marvel brand as well as the uniqueness of this series. This is the first time Marvel has produced an action-comedy show and the reaction from both broadcasters and celebrity talent indicates we have something very special in the making.”
Season two featured the addition of Scarlet Witch and H.E.R.B.I.E. to the team. [1]
Crew
Job Person Supervising Producer Cort Lane
Matt WayneSupervising Director Mitch Shauer Executive Producer Joe Quesada
Eric Rollman
Episodes
Each season has twenty-six episodes for a total of fifty-two episodes.
Marvel would include the characters Bucky, Captain Marvel, Hercules, Zeus in the second season. It would also move onto more cosmic levels. Marvel also teased the idea of characters appearing from alternate realities and different dimensions. [2]
Video Game
Marvel will release a squad based video game alongside the series. The game was released on October 20, 2009 and was produced by THQ.
Reception
Eric Goldman of IGN.com gave a review after viewing the first two episodes. He noted how the series aimed for a younger audience, but the references for older fans had mixed results. He said there was fun material with amusing visual gags. He did not like how low some of the jokes were. He noted that the flatulence of Mole Man was too much, saying that the transition between that and the older-skewing gags was not smooth. He noted that Batman: The Brave and the Bold does much of the same but with more wit and style, and The Spectacular Spider-Man is more successful for both older and younger viewers. He said that if he were five or six he would probably love it. He enjoyed the cameos of characters such as Luke Cage, Fantastic Four, and Shadowcat. He missed Spider-Man but since Sony relinquished the television rights to the character he may yet appear. He was amused to see silly takes on the characters, such as Thor's overly flowery dialogue and Silver Surfer talking like a stereotypical surfer. He also liked Steven Blum's different take on Wolverine. Though he pointed out that Ms. Marvel was more of a shrew than she should be and hopes she mellows out or the producers bring in a more appealing female character. He did praise the opening sequence including the catchy theme song. "As a lifelong Marvel fan, I wish this show had a bit more spark, but for now, it should go over well with its core audience of kids. And if you're like me, curiosity will keep you coming back, at least for select episodes." [3]