Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers - Episode 12: The Unstoppable Force, Juggernaut!

Okay, admittedly, it's been a while since I've done one of these, but the last few weeks have been rather... interesting, to put it simply.  I'll have some personal updates shoved into a Let's Talk soon, but for now, let's just get into another episode of the best Avengers program to happen outside of the movies...and in some ways, better than the movies.

Besides, in this episode, we finally get a massive threat to the Avengers.  Someone who isn't normally one of their own foes, and is wildly remembered for a pretty terrible meme that came out in 2005.

I mean, I just watched the video it came from again, and I still think it's terrible.

Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers - Episode 10:Showdown! The Silver-Donned Samurai!

The last time we did one of these, we got through a huge confrontation between the Avengers and Loki's forces, and the plot moved on to the next stage of Loki's plan.  Playing off the fears that Spider-Man was killed in battle, Loki used his government "secret identity" to get the President of the United States to pass a bill requiring all superheroes to work for the government.

Tony Stark, possibly without even realizing he was doing it, managed to outmaneuver Loki by having the Avengers and their new child "handlers" move out to Tokyo, free from the rules and regulations they'd have to face back in the States.

So after a huge conflict and political tension, we ended the story with Tony and Akira going to meet the head of the Japanese underworld, the Silver Samurai.  What's Tony's next idea?  Is he really willing to make a deal with a proverbial devil?

Avengers: Age of Ultron

I'm torn.

On the one hand, I can go into the review of a movie like Avengers: Age of Ultron as a fan, and simply crow about how amazing it is to see things I know and love up on a big screen.  "Look," the younger version of me that used to collect action figures and thought that stuff made in the 90's wasn't horribly dated, "they referenced Wakanda!  It's the Hulk fighting Iron Man!  There's a Jocasta reference!  This is the best!"  On the other hand, if I do my best to look at it as if I knew nothing about comic book characters other than what they've presented in the films so far, I'm less enthused about it.

But then I wonder if it's me, not the movie, that's having troubles.  Maybe I'm just jaded still after so many years of terrible comic book movies that I find it hard to believe there can be one that really reaches greatness, even after the first Avengers movie smashed through box office records like, well, like the Hulk smashing through drywall sheets.  Maybe it's my inner critic that just feels the need to nitpick things because I hold the sequel to a movie that broke box office records in the previously-referenced metaphoric way to high standards that I feel the need to be strict where I'd be lenient with other films.

Maybe I should just boil it down this way: Did I enjoy myself?  "Yes, But."

Marvel Disk Wars The Avengers - Episode 8: The Avengers Assemble!

Voices are a funny thing in cartoons.  I've talked before about what a huge fan I am of voice actors before, and I even- wait a minute.

...I was going to have another link there, but I can't find that I ever did a review of the movie I Know That Voice.

Okay, scratch that, this opening about some of the stranger voices I've heard so far in this series will wait until next week, because I need that post to link to.

Let's just get into the action!

Marvel Disk Wars The Avengers - Episode 5: The Mighty Thor Descends!

Something I think I've come to realize as time goes on is that while many "executive" decisions might be made for completely cynical reasons, the people who actually have to work on the projects aren't always simply trying to cut so many corners that they wind up with a perfect circle.  Sure, Hollywood might simply be attempting to cash in on a brief craze or something silly that's "in" with a particular crowd, but that doesn't mean that everybody who works on the project is just phoning it in waiting for a paycheck to show up.

That's right, someone likely cared about trying to make this "good."

So when you have a cartoon designed to push toys, it might be surprising that there are people who actually want to put out a good product.  The voice actors, animators, designers, editors, they're all looking at each thing they do as more than just "a way to make a paycheck."

For one thing, they know it'll be the most recent thing on their resume if someone looks them up on imdb.  But also, if you know people might watch it, why wouldn't you try your best to make sure they enjoy it?

Unless you're Uwe Boll, but that's a different topic.

So where were we in the show?  Oh, right, Spider-Man and Akira (and, thus, Iron Man) were being attacked by Diamondback while Hawkeye tried to recruit Hikaru into helping.

Let's not dilly-dally and get down to the action!

Marvel Disk Wars The Avengers - Episode Three: Iron Man, Reborn!

Marvel Comics always had mixed luck when it comes to animation.  While they've never had anything that compares to the glory days of DC (Batman: The Animated Series is still pretty much the bar all other animated superhero shows are held to), but they've had a few successes on their hands.  The X-Men and Spider-Man both had (somewhat) successful runs in the 90's, and the characters from the Avengers are having a surge in popularity now from their cinematic success.

Hopefully this will have the effect of erasing the memory of Avengers: United They Stand.

But enough of that garbage, let's get back to Japan's interpretation of the Avengers, and all the madness that will surely come with it.

Review: LEGO Marvel

I've stated before that, for the most part, the LEGO series of games are extremely fun little time-wasters, filled with humor without being too childish, and managing to stay true to the source material and digging deep into the minutiae without completely alienating everybody who isn't a die-hard fan.

That being said, LEGO Marvel is both the most fun I've had with a LEGO game and the most infuriating time I've spent with a LEGO game.