The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

***The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!*** is an American animated television series by Marvel Animation in cooperation with Film Roman, based on the Marvel Comicssuperhero team the Avengers. The show debuted both on Disney XD and online in the fall of 2010, starting with a 20-part micro-series.

Marvel Entertainment, LLC and Disney XD announced a "new Marvel Universe" programming block, named Marvel Universe, which began broadcasting in April 2012 and included the second season of *Earth's Mightiest Heroes!* and the animated series *Ultimate Spider-Man*.[2]

The series initially features a team based on the roster for the original Avengers, composed of Iron Man, Giant-Man, Hulk, Thor, and Wasp. The team is later joined byCaptain America, Black Panther, and Hawkeye in the first season, and Ms. Marvel and Vision in the second season. In terms of overall tone and style, the series is based principally on the original stories by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The series also uses material from all eras of the comic's run as well as other sources, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[3]

The series was replaced by *Avengers Assemble*, which premiered on July 7, 2013.[4]

## Plot

### Season One

As 75 of the world's most dangerous super-villains are mysteriously freed *en masse* from the Vault, the Cube, the Big House, and the Raft, five of Earth's mightiest heroes assemble a crime-fighting alliance called the Avengers. The Avengers' team is compiled of Iron Man as *de facto* team leader, Ant-Man/Giant-Man, the Hulk, Thor, and theWasp.[5] Captain America joins the team. Although other characters feature in the Avengers, these are the original and main avengers. In the season finale, it is revealed that Thor's adopted brother Loki was responsible for the breakouts and that he had the Enchantress and her servant Executioner form the Masters of Evil.

### Season Two

Season Two uses cold openings, and remixes opening theme song "Fight As One", replacing the lyrics with Nick Fury, voiced by Phil LaMarr, introducing the show's concept and main characters. Season Two depicts the Avengers as they track down the remaining members of the Masters of Evil and end up facing the invasions of theSkrulls in the first half of the season and the Kree in the second half. The Avengers are unaware that Captain America had been replaced at the end of the first-season finale by a Skrull operative as part of their systematic infiltration of Earth. This season also alludes to a developing storyline that Surtur, now free of his imprisonment in Muspelheim, is slowly gathering his strength to oppose the Avengers as a prelude to Ragnarök. Ms. Marvel joins the team this season, followed by the Vision. Many other characters from the Marvel Comics universe, such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Scott Lang (the second Ant-Man) and his daughter Cassandra, Heroes for Hire, Doctor Doom, Crossfire, Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross (in both his human form and his "Red Hulk" form), the Guardians of the Galaxy (composed of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Quasar and Adam Warlock), Quake, Beta Ray Bill, the Falcon, the Winter Soldier, and Galactus and his heralds, make appearances. Series producers Joshua Fine and Christopher Yost have revealed that certain returning characters will adapt their Ultimate Universe counterpart costumes for the second season, such as Nick Fury appearing more like Ultimate Nick Fury with a shaven head and goatee, and the Skrull operative posing as Captain America wearing the costume directly adapted from Ultimate Captain America and wielding an energy shield.[6] The second-season premiere, titled the "The Private War of Dr. Doom" (featuring Dr. Doom and the Fantastic Four), was shown to audiences at both the 2011 San Diego and New York Comic Cons, as well as the 2012 WonderCon in Anaheim.[7] It premiered with the two-part *Ultimate Spider-Man* pilot on April 1, 2012.[8]

## Cast

* Brian Bloom[9] – Captain America
* Chris Cox – Hawkeye
* Jennifer Hale – Ms. Marvel
* Peter Jessop – Vision
* Phil LaMarr[10] – J.A.R.V.I.S.
* Eric Loomis[9] – Iron Man
* James C. Mathis III[11] – Black Panther
* Colleen O'Shaughnessey[10] – Wasp
* Fred Tatasciore[10] – Hulk
* Rick D. Wasserman[10] – Thor
* Wally Wingert[10] – Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Yellowjacket