Well, here we are. This is the final part of the 90s Marvel show series. I started writing these reviews back in February and started watching these shows back in September. I actually originally was just going to write one article, but after writing about X-Men for two pages, I decided to make this a series. It’s been a lot of fun going through these shows and seeing pieces of 90s media. When I first started watching these shows, I had no intention of writing an article, but when the Newspaper Club started, I jumped at the opportunity to be able to speak about topics I’m passionate about.
Spider-Man Unlimited
This show was surprisingly decent. It actually works pretty well as a continuation of the original show, despite a very different cast and story. I was just happy to get something better than Iron Man. The plot of this show is that Spider-Man goes to an alternate Earth called Counter-Earth, where J. Jonah Jameson’s astronaut son John Jameson has been captured. Spider-Man finds him and tries to do good while trying to get home while being hunted by the High Evolutionary and his guards.
Even though this show was a breath of fresh air compared to Iron Man, it still had problems. The main issue is how weird it is. The main villains are the High Evolutionary and his Bestials which are humanoid animals, who aren’t very interesting. This show also has an alternate heroic Green Goblin who was a surprisingly decent character. This show also had a character I really liked named Git Hoskins who was an escapee of the High Evolutionary, but he can’t talk and looks sort of like a mummy. This show also unfortunately leaves off on a cliffhanger, which stinks since this show has a significantly less amount of people wanting it’s comeback compared to X-Men.
Avengers: United They Stand
This show was honestly kind of decent. I was amazed by this because this show is commonly considered the worst of the Marvel shows in this era, but I disagree.
It is very obviously trying to fit in with other cartoons at the time as there is a prolonged dramatic scene of the Avengers suiting up, which doesn’t really work for a show like this. It is also said that this show takes place in the future, which was a common theme in the late 90s and early 2000s. Examples of this are Batman Beyond and Spider-Man Unlimited, which I just reviewed in this article. This show also has an interesting lineup, with Ant-Man, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon, Wonder Man, Hawkeye, and Tigra. For those who are unaware Tigra is a hybrid tiger and Wonder Man has powers similar to Superman. Even though many mainline characters aren’t used, the lineup is similar to an Avengers spin-off based in California called West Coast Avengers, which is what I think the creators were going for.
I also think the animation and designs weren’t great. Some of the colors clash too much, the suits look too technical, and they just look too complicated. This may be because this show actually was just created to sell toys. The Avengers were not as well known as they are today, so not many people wanted to watch this show.
This show surprisingly did a lot in its 13-episode run. It introduced Ultron, Baron Zemo, Absorbing Man, Agatha Harkness, Egghead, Kang the Conqueror, and an honestly pretty poor Masters of Evil lineup. Despite this, I thought the “Masters of Evil” episode was the best one, and it was fun pointing out all the low-tier characters.
It is honestly underrated. It’s not that good, but I think it receives so much hate, maybe because it’s being held to the standards of X-Men and Spider-Man.
Silver Surfer
Here I am, at the finish line, wanting nothing more than a decent show to finish this viewing. I was so relieved I finished this viewing on a good note with a very good show on the tier of Spider Man and X-Men.
Even though this show doesn’t line up with the canon of the other shows, I really don’t care. I was just having a fun time with this show, and enjoying how different it was. I also can’t help but love the early 3D Galactus which definitely didn’t age well. (See below)
This show also introduced a lot of characters that hadn’t been used yet, such as Thanos, Pip the Troll, Gamora, Nebula, Drax, Mentor, Eternity, The Kree, Infinity, Beta Ray Bill, and The Watcher.
One of my favorite parts of this show was Thanos. This was before he was a mainline character and this was not long after the Infinity Gauntlet was introduced, which is not used in the show. For those who don’t know, in the comics Thanos’ goal isn’t to wipe out half of humanity with the gauntlet, rather it’s to impress the physical embodiment of death, Lady Death, who Thanos loves. Lady Death is used, but she is called Lady Chaos for censorship reasons.
Also, many Guardians of the Galaxy characters are used, but not as the Guardians. Gamora, Drax, and Nebula are used, but they are wildly different from the movies. The movies really changed how the characters were seen, and are nearly unrecognizable to their comic counterparts. This isn’t a bad thing since I love the Guardians movies.
The final episode of this show was also surprisingly tense and kind of scary. Thanos has achieved a weapon capable of erasing time itself, which is most likely based on the Infinity Gauntlet. Everyone including the embodiments of time and space, Eternity and Infinity are wiped out from this, and the Surfer has to rush to defeat Thanos outside of time. This is the most tense moment of this whole Marvel franchise easily, since it’s such a different premise than the rest.
I didn’t have a whole lot of problems with the show. My only problems were with the characters of Pip the Troll and Frankie Raye. I found the characters to not be very interesting and sort of annoying, especially Pip the Troll.
Frankie Raye isn’t as bad, but she made an appearance on Fantastic Four, where her character was significantly better and more interesting. In Fantastic Four, Frankie already has her powers, which she gained as a child when she snuck into her father’s lab, where he was working on the original android Human Torch. The original Human Torch is an android who fought with Captain America during World War 2. He actually was introduced in comics two years before Captain America. Frankie also has a romance with the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, which I found interesting due to their similar powers. She then sacrifices herself to become Galactus’ herald in exchange for the Earth’s survival. In this show, Frankie is randomly pulled from Earth to be a herald, and she doesn’t seem to care.
I also thought this show missed the chance to introduce Galactus’ other heralds. Galactus has several other heralds in the comics, which the showrunners could definitely use. Other heralds include Morg, Air-Walker, Firelord, and Terrax.
Another thing I noticed is how the tone is incredibly different. Most of the shows incorporate humor and are mostly pretty light-hearted. This show is humorless and relies on its story and writing to keep viewers interested, which is risky for a show meant for kids, but is successful.
Unfortunately, the show ends on a cliffhanger, which is a shame. The second season was actually supposed to introduce Mephisto, the Marvel Devil. Although, with the release of X-Men 97, it’s certainly possible this show could return.
Conclusion
This massive viewing was a lot of fun and was a nice hobby to get through the school year. It’s kind of fitting that I finished this final article at the end of the year as I head off to high school. The shows had their ups and downs, but I’m happy I finished this viewing off on a good note. In high school, if there’s a Newspaper Club I’ll almost definitely join, and maybe there will be another set of shows for me to review.
Final Ranking:
Spider-Man
Fantastic Four (Season 2)
Silver Surfer
X-Men
The Incredible Hulk
Spider-Man Unlimited
Avengers: United They Stand
Iron Man (Season 2)
