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The Super Hero Squad Show
File:Super Hero Squad Show.jpg
Promotional poster
Genre Action-Adventure
Comedy
Science fantasy
Format Animated
Created by Stan Lee
Voices of Charlie Adler
Alimi Ballard
Steven Blum
Dave Boat
Jim Cummings
Grey DeLisle
Mikey Kelley
Tom Kenny
Stan Lee
Tara Strong
Travis Willingham
Theme music composer Parry Gripp &
David Ari Leon
Opening theme "The Super Hero Squad Show" Theme
Ending theme "The Super Hero Squad Show" Theme (instrumental)
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 52 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Stan Lee
Alan Fine
Simon Philips
Eric S. Rollman
Joe Quesada
Dan Buckley
Jeph Loeb
Producer(s) Dana C. Booton
Running time 22–24 Minutes
Production company(s) Film Roman
Ingenious Media
Marvel Animation
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network
Original run September 14, 2009 (2009-09-14) – October 14, 2011 (2011-10-14)
External links
Website

The Super Hero Squad Show is an American cartoon series by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the Avengers, the X-Men, and various other characters of the Marvel Universe in a cartoonish super-deformed-style. It is also a self-aware parody of the Marvel characters, with influences taken from on the comedic Mini Marvels series of parody comic books, in that the heroes tend to find themselves in comedic situations, and have cartoonish bents in comparison to their usually serious personalities (such as The Incredible Hulk being jovial and good-natured but with "major anger issues"), and is an overall comedic take on the Avengers. The series' animation was produced by Film Roman and Marvel Animation.

Plot[]

Season 1[]

Prior to the beginning of the series, the villainous Doctor Doom, in pursuit of universal domination, attempts to acquire the limitless reality-bending power of the "Infinity Sword." He is stopped by [[:wikipedia:Iron Man|, but as a consequence of their battle, the sword is shattered into numerous "fractals" that rain down on Super Hero City.

Doctor Doom has forged alliances with just about every super-villain forming the Lethal Legion in order to hunt down the scattered fractals, each of which possess dangerous and different powers of their own. Doom's forces, including his two primary henchmen MODOK (whose appearance seems to have been altered from the original version) and the Abomination, dwell in Villainville, which is separated from Super Hero City by a giant wall that is directly seen at the start of the series premiere. Once again opposing Doom's plan is Iron Man, now leading the elite team known as the Super Hero Squad, consisting of himself, the Falcon, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Thor, and Wolverine. Their signature battle cry is, "All right, Squaddies, time to hero up!" Marvel initially intended to put Spider-Man in at least one episode of the show, but Sony Pictures Entertainment (then-owners of Spider-Man's television rights) appears to have chosen not to allow it. However, Spider-Man appeared in Marvel Super Hero Squad's video games and other tie-ins. Spider-Man was later briefly mentioned in the "Election of Evil" episode as "a guy who got incredible powers for being bitten by a radioactive bug".

The Super Hero Squad is headquartered in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and are frequently aided in their defense of Super Hero City by their boss Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Ms. Marvel, rookie "Squaddie" and Wolverine's apprentice Reptil, and many more of their superhero friends.

By the end of the first season, the Infinity Sword is reforged when Galactus arrives to devour the Earth. It is later revealed that the Infinity Sword can be wielded only by someone who wields The Infinity Gauntlet. The Silver Surfer rejoins Galactus as his Herald and leaves the team with the Infinity Sword in his possession. As of the aftermath of the battle, Villainville is destroyed, and his henchmen are arrested, except for Doom, who flees.

Season 2[]

A second season involves having the Scarlet Witch as a replacement of the Silver Surfer and focuses on traveling to different parts of the Marvel Universe, the galaxy, different dimensions, and through time. Thanos becomes the main antagonist for the first half of the season, as he will seek the six Infinity Stones in order to prove his superiority to Nebula and gain supremacy over the universe. He does eventually gain all six Infinity Stones; however, the Silver Surfer (who was corrupted by the Infinity Sword) steals the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos, takes over the universe, and the Silver Surfer transforms into the Dark Surfer. The Dark Surfer replaces Thanos as the main villain of the season.

In the series finale, the Dark Surfer is defeated, the infinity gems are destroyed, The Infinity Sword is destroyed again (for good) and everything goes back to normal. (Although Silver Surfer has to pay his debt for what he did as Dark Surfer) The squad's roster was changed in the season, due to Silver Surfer leaving the cast to once again become a herald of Galactus. Scarlet Witch[1] replaces Surfer, with original squad members Iron Man, Hulk, Falcon, Wolverine and Thor returning. Thor receives his "chain armor" as a gift from his father Odin in the episode Support your Local Sky-Father.

The second season premiered in the United States on October 23, 2010, on Cartoon Network[2] to coincide with the release of its video game follow-up, Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet.

Marvel character parodies[]

Comedy is the driving factor of The Super Hero Squad Show, and the members of the squad have a comedic bend that parodies their usually serious personalities and their powers:

  • Iron Man is obsessed with high-tech solutions for even the most mundane of tasks, and his newest gadgets tend to either go untested or blow up in his face.
  • The Hulk is childlike, good-natured, and even jovial, but is prone to "major anger issues" that lead to unintended mishaps. He owns a massive collection of comic books, and tends to get into juvenile arguments with The Thing from the Fantastic Four over which one of them is stronger. He also has a strong aversion to water, due to his heavy weight, which causes him to sink like a rock.
  • Thor is overly enthusiastic about everything, and the other members of the Super Hero Squad sometimes cannot understand his archaic Shakespearean English.
  • Wolverine resents being a mentor to Reptil, choosing to go it alone, yet concedes they make a great duo. He also hates being nicknamed "Wolvie" and when ever he gets badly injured he always refers to his adamantium skeleton.
  • The Silver Surfer talks in a stereotypical surf culture accent, uses typical slang associated with surf culture, and likes to engage in philosophical discussions.
  • The Falcon is often paired with the Hulk, who calls him "Bird", and is like a big brother or mentor to him in that he either keeps the Hulk from losing his temper or frequently reminds him of the task at hand.
  • Captain America frequently uses phrases or thinks things that imply he believes he still is in the 1940s (for instance, mentioning Franklin D. Roosevelt when referring to the President, or shocked when sees Karaoke, as that was invented by the Japanese, and the other characters explain to him that they made up a while ago). This is a reference to his classic origin: getting frozen in ice during World War II, and then getting unfrozen during modern times. In addition, he has been present at various events in American history (though how he witnessed these events is unclear and not explained), and will tell the others about it in full detail unless they keep moving.

Episodes[]

Main article: List of The Super Hero Squad Show episodes

During the first season in the opening sequence of the show, there is a running sight gag similar to The Simpsons and Fairly Odd Parents where the Hulk picks up an Infinity Fractal and is transformed by its power into something different every episode, such as the classic grey-colored Hulk, a toddler Hulk, a disco Hulk parodying John Travolta, and a Hulk similar to Homer Simpson. This feature was removed in the second season. Additionally, each episode's title card is a homage to a classic comic book cover as are some of the episode titles.

Production[]

The show's executive producers include Alan Fine, Simon Philips, and Eric Rollman, with Joe Quesada and Stan Lee as co-executive producers. Cort Lane is supervising producer. Mitch Schauer, creator of the Nickelodeon series The Angry Beavers, is the show's supervising director and character designer. Matt Wayne is the show's story-editor and head writer.[3] Other writers include Michael Ryan, Nicole Dubuc, Atul N. Rao, Eugene Son, James Krieg, and Mark Hoffmeier. Novelty song writer, Parry Gripp composed the theme song.

Head of Marvel Television and comic book writer Jeph Loeb explained the series as something everyone will like, stating "Marvel Super Heroes have always entertained fans of all ages in our comics, and we're proud to offer an animated series that families can enjoy together. With the most exciting super-powered adventures, The Hub can now offer the greatest fun of all—experiencing Marvel for the very first time. So whether you want to fly with Thor, suit up with Iron Man or smash with Hulk, this series has everything your family wants to see from our heroes."[4]

Cast[]

The following were confirmed to do voice work in this series:[5]

Crew[]

Other media[]

Comic books[]

Main article: Marvel Super Hero Squad (comics)

A four-part comic book series based on the show called Marvel Super Hero Squad was released in the fall of 2009. The series was a success and Marvel renewed the series in January 2010 as an ongoing series, now entitled: Super Hero Squad. The comic does not feature only characters from the show, but also characters outside the show. As of December 8, 2010, Super Hero Squad had a total of 12 issues released. No new issues have been released since, seemingly indicating that the comic book franchise has been canceled. Trying to bring back the franchise, Marvel released a Super Hero Squad Spectacular where the Beyonder sends them to another planet with their Lethal Legion foes.

Home media[]

United States[]

Most of the episodes have been released on DVD across several volumes by Shout! Factory and Walt Disney Home Entertainment]].

  • The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest For The Infinity Sword, Volume 1, released July 13, 2010, includes episodes 1–7 from Season 1, as well as never-before-seen bonus features.[6]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest For The Infinity Sword, Volume 2, released November 9, 2010, includes episodes 8–13 from Season 1 as well as more bonus features.[7][8]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest For The Infinity Sword, Volume 3, released February 8, 2011, includes episodes 14–19 from Season 1.[9][10]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest For The Infinity Sword, Volume 4, released May 3, 2011, includes episodes 20–26 from Season 1.[11][12]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet, Vol. 1, released August 2, 2011, includes the first six episodes from Season 2 (episodes 27–32 overall).[13]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet, Vol. 2, released November 22, 2011, includes the next seven episodes from Season 2 (episodes 33–39 overall).[14]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet, Vol. 3, released April 17, 2012, includes an additional seven episodes from Season 2 (episode 40–46 overall) and a special promotional code for players to unlock "special powers" on the MMO based on the series and the toy line, Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.[15]
  • The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet, Vol. 4, set to release on August 21, 2012, includes the final episodes of season 2 (episode 47–52 overall).[16]

United Kingdom[]

Five volumes have been released on DVD so far. Hero Up contains episodes 1–6, Hulk Smash contains episodes 7–11, Don't Call Me Wolvie contains episodes 12–16, Tales of Evil contains episodes 17–21, and Mother of Doom contains episodes 22–26. Home video releases of Season 2 have yet to be announced.

Australia[]

Magna Home Entertainment released The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Fractal War (Vol 1) and Titanic Team-Ups (Vol 2) on June 2, 2010 and The Lethal Legion Strikes (Vol 3) on September 8, 2010. Each DVD includes 6–7 episodes of the show, as well as character profiles. (Australian Release). The final volume of Season 1, entitled Quest for the Infinity Sword (Vol 4) was released on November 3, 2010, containing the final six episodes of Season 1. Season 2 The Infinity Gauntlet (Vol 1) is currently available. Infinite Thanos (Vol 2) was also released on November 2, 2011.

Canada[]

Vivendi Entertainment under the named Vivendi Entertainment Canada released two volumes under the names of The Super Hero Squad: Hero Up, Squaddies (Vol 1) and The Super Hero Show: Titantic Team Ups (Vol 2), both released on May 4, 2010.[17] A Vol 3 was announced to release on June 29, 2010.[17] But to a conclusion the Vol 3 DVD never hit markets. Since this happened, Vivendi didn't release a Vol 4 DVD ether. On September 28, 2010[18] Vivendi released a The Super Hero Squad Show: The Complete Season 1 DVD set containing an unnamed Vol 3 and Vol 4. It is unknown if there will be any Season 2 DVD releases.

Video game[]

Super Hero Squad: The Video Game is not exactly a Super Hero Squad game, but more of a Marvel game having all of the heroes.

In other media[]

In episode five of Ultimate Spider-Man, "Flight of the Iron Spider", Living Laser is transported into the Super Hero Squad Show universe and is trounced by Thor.

References[]

  1. The Super Hero Squad Show: Voicing the Scarlet Witch. Marvel.com. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
  2. Harvey, James (September 28, 2010). New "The Super Hero Squad Show" Home Video Release, Other Updates. Marvel.toonzone.net. Retrieved on December 8, 2010.
  3. Harvey, James (February 17, 2009). First Season Of "The Super Hero Squad Show" Set To Launch Late 2009 On Cartoon Network. Marvel.toonzone.net. Retrieved on December 8, 2010.
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MTV
  5. Marvel Super Hero Squad Voice Cast. Comics Continuum (July 28, 2009). Retrieved on February 13, 2013.
  6. Harvey, James. The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume 1. Toon Zone. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  7. Shout! Factory To Release Super Hero Squad Show Volume 2 DVD in November. Superheroes-r-us.com (November 9, 2010). Retrieved on January 12, 2011.
  8. Harvey, James. The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume 2. Toon Zone. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  9. Super Hero Squad Show Volume 3 DVD in Early 2011 | Superheroes-R-Us. Superheroes-r-us.com (February 8, 2010). Retrieved on January 12, 2011.
  10. Harvey, James. The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume 3. Toon Zone. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  11. Super Hero Squad Show Volume 4. Amazon. Retrieved on June 14, 2011.
  12. Harvey, James. The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume 4. Toon Zone. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  13. Super Hero Squad Show: Infinity Gauntlet Vol 1. Shout! Factory. Retrieved on June 14, 2011.
  14. Super Hero Squad Show: Infinity Gauntlet Vol 2. TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved on August 11, 2011.
  15. Lambert, David (January 9, 2012). The Super Hero Squad Show - 'The Infinity Gauntlet, Volume 3' DVD: Street Date, Cost, Box Art. TV Shows On DVD. Retrieved on January 9, 2012.
  16. Lambert, David (May 4, 2012). The Super Hero Squad Show DVD news: Announcement for The Infinity Gauntlet, Volume 4. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2012.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Lambert, David. The Super Hero Squad Show - 3 Different Canadian DVD Releases Are In-The-Works. TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved on July 7, 2011.
  18. Harvey, James. Season 1 DVD. Toon Zone. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.

External links[]

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