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From Stan Lee comes Marvel's complete 1994 animated television series, IRON MAN. Experience every thrilling moment -- from the very first episode to the final climactic battle -- in this 3-disc collector's edition. Witness the action-packed adventure from the very beginning as billionaire inventor Tony Stark dons his invincible suit of iron to battle the villainous Mandarin and the power of his ten deadly rings. With fellow superheroes Nick Fury, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Spider Woman and Hawkeye at his side, Iron Man faces off against a band of evil foes, including Whiplash... and confronts his own demons, as well. Go behind the armor and get to know the man under the powered suit. This complete IRON MAN collection is a must-have for fans of all ages!
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
By Vulture Girl
Amazon Verified Purchase
Iron Man debuted in 1994 next to the 94 Fantastic Four on the MARVEL action hour on the Fox Kids network. This was a good series but it was short compared to X-Men and Spider-Man which were also on Fox Kids. This was a good series. Iron Man ran for 2 seasons. It featured two different intro themes. The first had a gothic pipe organ theme, the other had the lyrics, "I am Iron Man!".
Iron Man follows the adventures of Iron Man himself and his friends War Machine, Spider-Woman, Century, Hawkeye and The Scarlet Witch fighting The Mandarin and his evil forces and stopping them from taking over the earth. The first season is kind of silly but it gets more darker with the second season.
It's nice to see another one of Marvel's 90s animated series being released along with the final season of X-Men. I just hope we can someday see the 90s Spider-man get a DVD release along with some of Marvel's other animated shows such as Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. I just don't know why Disney has to be too darn slow on releasing such "most-wanted" titles. Heck, they haven't finished releasing Gargoyles and the Tick. So far the only entire Marvel animated series they have released so far is Fantastic Four, the 67 Spider-Man and the X-Men. Let's hope someday they'll release the 94 Spider-Man, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends and more. Heck, they even need to release other Fox Kids titles such as Eek the Cat.
Here's the episodes in Iron Man:
Episode #1 - And The Sea Shall Give Up It's Dead
Original Airdate 24th September 1994
The Mandarin turns a group of Russian sailors into an army of radioactive zombies in order to use them to take over the world. Only Iron Man and Forceworks can stop him!
Episode #2 - Rejoice! I Am Ultimo! Thy Deliverer!
Original Airdate - 1st October 1994
Iron Man and Forceworks must defeat the newly awakened Ultimo!
Episode #3 - Data In, Choas Out
Original Airdate 8th October 1994
The Mandarin and Justin Hammer have taken control of Stark satellites, using them to inflict a disaster and leading the public to believe that Stark is to blame. Modok also begins a plan to take control of Jim Rhodes mind in hopes of using him to frame Tony.
Episode #4 - Silence My Companion, Death My Destination
Original Airdate 15th October 1994
Iron Man must help Julia's daughter from escaping a virtual reality arcade, whislt wearing a damaged armour.
Episode #5 - The Grim Reaper Wears A Teflon Coat
Original Airdate 22nd October 1994
The Mandarin steals Stark's new weapon, The Grim Reaper, and Stark stands to lose his credibility unless he manages to find out how he managed to get past his security.
Episode #7 - Enemy Without, Enemy Within
Original Airdate 29t October 1994
When Mandarin places his wife in danger, MODOK seeks Iron Man's aid in saving her. Will he actually betray The Mandarin?
Episode #7 - The Origin Of The Mandarin
Original Airdate 05th November 1994
Spider-Woman, Century and The Scarlet Witch find a black box containing a holographic video of The Mandarin's origin, and The Mandarin finally finds The Hall Of Armour.
Episode #8 - The Defection Of Hawkeye
Original Airdate 12th November 1994
Forceworks begin to lose thier trust after Hawkeye fails to arrive in order to help The Mandarin steal Stark's device. Has Hawkeye turned rouge?
Episode #9 - Iron Man To The Second Power, Part 1 and Part 2
Original Airdate 19th November 1994
In this 2-part episode, Tony Stark's company suffers from financial troubles. With his company facing bankruptcy, Tony Stark must find begin to rebuild his shattering company, as The Mandarin plans a new plan to take over the world. He then creates an evil duplicate of Iron Man to destroy him.
Episode #11 - The Origin Of Iron Man, Part One and Part Two
Original Airdate 3rd December 1994
With his armour badly damaged, Iron Man must wait several hours for it to recharge whilst Fin Fang Foom hunts him down! Activating his memory module, he reminisces over how he became Iron Man! He also must watch out as Fin Fang Foom hunts him down to destroy him.
Episode #13 - The Wedding of Iron Man
Original Airdate 17th December 1994
Iron Man and Spider-Woman tie the knot as The Mandarin discovers Iron Man's secret identity!
Episode #14 - The Beast Within
Original Airdate 23rd September 1995
Tony fakes his death in order to infiltrate one of The Mandarin's schemes as Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom join forces.
Episode #15 - Fire And Rain
Original Airdate 30th September 1995
As blackouts begin affect the city, Iron Man faces a new enemy called Firebrand, who's determined to ruin Stark Enterprises to avenge the death of his Father. Will War Machine overcome his fear of water to help Iron Man?
Episode #16 - Cell Of Iron
Original Airdate 07th October 1995
A.I.M sabotages a ship called The Starwell, and uses it's powers to threaten the Earth into paying thier ransoms. When Iron Man investigates, he finds it's creator and Senturian, it's guardian. Can Iron Man stop A.I.M and save the ship?
Episode #17 - Not Far From The Tree
Original Airdate 14 October 1995
Iron Man finds his Father, Walter Stark held prisoner in A.I.M headquarters. Did SHIELD cover up his supposed death?
Episode #18 - Beauty Knows No Pain
Original Airdate October 21, 1995
Madame Mask kidnaps several Stark Industury employees in order to lure her former boyfriend Tony Stark into getting Iron Man to steal her ancient jewel which will grant her immense power.
Episode #19 - Iron Man On The Inside
Original Airdate November 4th 1995
Iron Man must shrink himself to the size of an atom in order to save Hawkeye as HOMER contracts a virus.
Episode #20 - Distant Boundries
Original Airdate November 11, 1995
When Iron Man assists in the landing of an unidentified, unmanned space ship, he learns that it was sent by the distant planet, Elysian, with a distress message -- pleading for Iron Man's help in their fight against a madman called Dark Aegis. Iron Man feels responsible because he inadvertently set Dark Aegis adrift in space long ago. James Rhodes, who is determined to beat his claustrophobia, dons his War Machine armor and joins Iron Man on the mission. But as the ship is launched, they find a dangerous stowaway, the Titanium Man. In the shipboard battle, Iron Man and War Machine are set adrift, braving the atmosphere of Elysian to land on its surface. They find out they're too late; the planet has been destroyed and the air so toxic they must keep armor on. While War Machine is engaged in battle by Titanium Man (who is in the employ of Dark Aegis), Iron Man confronts Dark Aegis, who has possession of the mightiest of weapons -- the Oracle.
Episode #21 - The Armour Wars, Part One and Part Two
Original Airdate 18th November 1995
After inadvertantly causing an explosion in Russia and injuring thousands, Iron Man learns that his designs have been stolen, and are being used to commit crimes throughout the world. The pressure finally gets to Stark, and he begins a mad rampage, attacking anyone that's using his designs.
Episode #23 - Empowered
Original Airdate 3rd November 1996
MODOK finds one of The Mandarin's rings and is terrified to learn that he is still alive and searching for his remaining rings.
Episode #24 - Hulkbuster
Original Airdate February 10, 1996
The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man are transported through various time periods as Iron Man tries to save Julia from being stuck in the past.
Episode #25 - The Hands Of The Mandarin, Part One and Two
Original Airdate February 17, 1996
In this 2-part episode,the Mandarin finally returns and creates an anti-technology field which renders Iron Man's armour useless. Forceworks must reunite to stop Iron Man's greatest enemy from declaring himself ruler. Forceworks must reunite to stop Iron Man's greatest enemy from declaring himself ruler.
Iron Man follows the adventures of Iron Man himself and his friends War Machine, Spider-Woman, Century, Hawkeye and The Scarlet Witch fighting The Mandarin and his evil forces and stopping them from taking over the earth. The first season is kind of silly but it gets more darker with the second season.
It's nice to see another one of Marvel's 90s animated series being released along with the final season of X-Men. I just hope we can someday see the 90s Spider-man get a DVD release along with some of Marvel's other animated shows such as Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. I just don't know why Disney has to be too darn slow on releasing such "most-wanted" titles. Heck, they haven't finished releasing Gargoyles and the Tick. So far the only entire Marvel animated series they have released so far is Fantastic Four, the 67 Spider-Man and the X-Men. Let's hope someday they'll release the 94 Spider-Man, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends and more. Heck, they even need to release other Fox Kids titles such as Eek the Cat.
Here's the episodes in Iron Man:
Episode #1 - And The Sea Shall Give Up It's Dead
Original Airdate 24th September 1994
The Mandarin turns a group of Russian sailors into an army of radioactive zombies in order to use them to take over the world. Only Iron Man and Forceworks can stop him!
Episode #2 - Rejoice! I Am Ultimo! Thy Deliverer!
Original Airdate - 1st October 1994
Iron Man and Forceworks must defeat the newly awakened Ultimo!
Episode #3 - Data In, Choas Out
Original Airdate 8th October 1994
The Mandarin and Justin Hammer have taken control of Stark satellites, using them to inflict a disaster and leading the public to believe that Stark is to blame. Modok also begins a plan to take control of Jim Rhodes mind in hopes of using him to frame Tony.
Episode #4 - Silence My Companion, Death My Destination
Original Airdate 15th October 1994
Iron Man must help Julia's daughter from escaping a virtual reality arcade, whislt wearing a damaged armour.
Episode #5 - The Grim Reaper Wears A Teflon Coat
Original Airdate 22nd October 1994
The Mandarin steals Stark's new weapon, The Grim Reaper, and Stark stands to lose his credibility unless he manages to find out how he managed to get past his security.
Episode #7 - Enemy Without, Enemy Within
Original Airdate 29t October 1994
When Mandarin places his wife in danger, MODOK seeks Iron Man's aid in saving her. Will he actually betray The Mandarin?
Episode #7 - The Origin Of The Mandarin
Original Airdate 05th November 1994
Spider-Woman, Century and The Scarlet Witch find a black box containing a holographic video of The Mandarin's origin, and The Mandarin finally finds The Hall Of Armour.
Episode #8 - The Defection Of Hawkeye
Original Airdate 12th November 1994
Forceworks begin to lose thier trust after Hawkeye fails to arrive in order to help The Mandarin steal Stark's device. Has Hawkeye turned rouge?
Episode #9 - Iron Man To The Second Power, Part 1 and Part 2
Original Airdate 19th November 1994
In this 2-part episode, Tony Stark's company suffers from financial troubles. With his company facing bankruptcy, Tony Stark must find begin to rebuild his shattering company, as The Mandarin plans a new plan to take over the world. He then creates an evil duplicate of Iron Man to destroy him.
Episode #11 - The Origin Of Iron Man, Part One and Part Two
Original Airdate 3rd December 1994
With his armour badly damaged, Iron Man must wait several hours for it to recharge whilst Fin Fang Foom hunts him down! Activating his memory module, he reminisces over how he became Iron Man! He also must watch out as Fin Fang Foom hunts him down to destroy him.
Episode #13 - The Wedding of Iron Man
Original Airdate 17th December 1994
Iron Man and Spider-Woman tie the knot as The Mandarin discovers Iron Man's secret identity!
Episode #14 - The Beast Within
Original Airdate 23rd September 1995
Tony fakes his death in order to infiltrate one of The Mandarin's schemes as Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom join forces.
Episode #15 - Fire And Rain
Original Airdate 30th September 1995
As blackouts begin affect the city, Iron Man faces a new enemy called Firebrand, who's determined to ruin Stark Enterprises to avenge the death of his Father. Will War Machine overcome his fear of water to help Iron Man?
Episode #16 - Cell Of Iron
Original Airdate 07th October 1995
A.I.M sabotages a ship called The Starwell, and uses it's powers to threaten the Earth into paying thier ransoms. When Iron Man investigates, he finds it's creator and Senturian, it's guardian. Can Iron Man stop A.I.M and save the ship?
Episode #17 - Not Far From The Tree
Original Airdate 14 October 1995
Iron Man finds his Father, Walter Stark held prisoner in A.I.M headquarters. Did SHIELD cover up his supposed death?
Episode #18 - Beauty Knows No Pain
Original Airdate October 21, 1995
Madame Mask kidnaps several Stark Industury employees in order to lure her former boyfriend Tony Stark into getting Iron Man to steal her ancient jewel which will grant her immense power.
Episode #19 - Iron Man On The Inside
Original Airdate November 4th 1995
Iron Man must shrink himself to the size of an atom in order to save Hawkeye as HOMER contracts a virus.
Episode #20 - Distant Boundries
Original Airdate November 11, 1995
When Iron Man assists in the landing of an unidentified, unmanned space ship, he learns that it was sent by the distant planet, Elysian, with a distress message -- pleading for Iron Man's help in their fight against a madman called Dark Aegis. Iron Man feels responsible because he inadvertently set Dark Aegis adrift in space long ago. James Rhodes, who is determined to beat his claustrophobia, dons his War Machine armor and joins Iron Man on the mission. But as the ship is launched, they find a dangerous stowaway, the Titanium Man. In the shipboard battle, Iron Man and War Machine are set adrift, braving the atmosphere of Elysian to land on its surface. They find out they're too late; the planet has been destroyed and the air so toxic they must keep armor on. While War Machine is engaged in battle by Titanium Man (who is in the employ of Dark Aegis), Iron Man confronts Dark Aegis, who has possession of the mightiest of weapons -- the Oracle.
Episode #21 - The Armour Wars, Part One and Part Two
Original Airdate 18th November 1995
After inadvertantly causing an explosion in Russia and injuring thousands, Iron Man learns that his designs have been stolen, and are being used to commit crimes throughout the world. The pressure finally gets to Stark, and he begins a mad rampage, attacking anyone that's using his designs.
Episode #23 - Empowered
Original Airdate 3rd November 1996
MODOK finds one of The Mandarin's rings and is terrified to learn that he is still alive and searching for his remaining rings.
Episode #24 - Hulkbuster
Original Airdate February 10, 1996
The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man are transported through various time periods as Iron Man tries to save Julia from being stuck in the past.
Episode #25 - The Hands Of The Mandarin, Part One and Two
Original Airdate February 17, 1996
In this 2-part episode,the Mandarin finally returns and creates an anti-technology field which renders Iron Man's armour useless. Forceworks must reunite to stop Iron Man's greatest enemy from declaring himself ruler. Forceworks must reunite to stop Iron Man's greatest enemy from declaring himself ruler.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Sometimes I'm convinced that there will never be another period in superhero animation quite as exciting as the early 1990's. There were shows literally popping up on nearly every single network with each new season, some ranging from the immensely popular (Superman: The Animated Series for example) to the truly obscure (anyone remember Ultraforce?). The shows were typically divided into two separate and distinct classes: The after school series and the Saturday morning series.
As logic would suggest, the after school shows were a bit darker, grittier and allowed to get away with much more (watch an episode of Batman: The Animated Series if you find yourself in doubt) while the Saturday morning set was generally brighter, milder, and a whole lot more campy. Interestingly, this is where a majority of Marvel's animated shows found themselves and many were represented: X-Men, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and The Hulk to name a few.
I recall enjoying some of the earlier entries mentioned clearly but somehow managed to fall out of the whole scene by the time shows like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk aired (I suspect it had something to do with jobs, girlfriends, sports cars, that kind of stuff).
Anyway, you'll likely understand my excitement when I discovered that Marvel has finally decided to grace us with an official DVD box set. I ordered without hesitation in anticipation of catching up on what I missed out on all those years before- Hey, better late than never!
The set comes in at a total runtime of 572 minutes and contains all 26 episodes of the show across three discs.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (stereo) and the only language option is English. Extras are completely zilch but again, beggars can't be choosers (or so I'm told).
Now onto the show itself: In the history of animation I'm aware of only one other program that managed to pull off such a radical swing between the first and second season and live to tell about it. That other show just so happens to be another Marvel property: Fantastic Four the 1994-95 series. I was warned countless times about the unambiguous swing from awful to decent even before I began the series but it's still difficult to accurately convey the train wreck that is the first season (episodes 1-13) of Iron Man without appearing overly merciless or on an agenda.
In effort to keep it simple, I'll start at the beginning. The first episode, And the Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead, somehow manages to combine all of the worst elements of Superfriends, Scooby-Doo, and He-Man then manages to integrate them into a muddled mess of plot points and poor acting. It should be noted that Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil (James Avery, none other than Shredder from competing show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) provides the vocals for James Rhodes/ War Machine in the early episodes then vanishes around the fifth episode never to be heard from again.
Honestly, if this first episode was in fact the pilot, it's downright amazing that the show ever saw the light of day. Fortunately things get a little better in the subsequent 12 episodes. Rather than try to cram as many scattered subplots into the twenty-three minutes as humanly possible, writer Ron Friedman settled down into a rhythm that was much closer to what we could expect from some of the finer moments of shows like Superfriends or the 1980s incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The plots almost always revolved around the Mandarin and his band of lackeys hatching up some scheme of world domination and Iron Man (with what is called the Armory Team (more on that later)) stepping in at the zero hour to save the world.
There are some really convoluted attempts at back-story amidst these episodes (such as Iron Man and Mandarin's origins) but even a fan of these characters will likely end up slightly more confused than enlightened (that's experience talking right there).
I'm not sure what they were thinking when the decision was made to integrate stock footage into each episode for Stark's transformation into Iron Man but the only mistake superseding that one was to approve the computer generated stock footage that they had to do it with! Sure I realize CGI was absolutely cutting edge back in 1994 when the show was being produced but why nobody who watched the test footage stopped to say, "why does Iron Man's armor go from red to pink in this sequence?" is beyond me.
Then there's the Armory Team... Why this show wasn't called Avengers Junior is really anybody's guess. Tony Stark is surrounded at all times by War Machine, Spider-Woman, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Century. On the other side of the coin our buddy Mandarin doesn't make a move without the aid of Modock, Blizzard, Dread Knight, Hipnotia, Grey Gargoyle, Whirlwind, Blacklash and occasionally Living Laser and Stark-hating mogul Justin Hammer (each complete with single-brain cell intellect).
Just as things were starting to get better, the thirteenth and final episode of the first season (The Wedding of Iron Man) comes along and introduces a new low point to an already sinking series. Namely when a Tony Stark, dressed in drag, dons the Iron Man armor to appear at his own wedding to Julia Carpenter to prove once and for all that the man walking down the isle simply cannot be the same dude in the armor (never mind just letting someone else wear a replica Iron Man armor to the wedding). Rather, the show's big ironic twist comes when the Tony Stark getting married reveals that he is in fact just an android by opening his tuxedo to reveal a chest full of computer components apparently salvaged from the early Apollo missions. Cue up forced laughter of superhero team standing in a circle then fade to black. I think perhaps now you may better understand the Superfriends comparisons.
Then suddenly, just when you realize there's no way you'll be getting a refund for the $20 you sunk on this box set, the second season begins and within the first fifteen seconds of the first episode (# 14, The Beast Within), all hope is restored. The show's not just good when compared to the first season; it's just plain good period. The artwork is better, the voice acting more consistent; the beginning theme music/ animation is superior, the pacing is much more organized and above all else the episode plots are spot-on.
It turns out that while X-Men the Animated Series was done by Saban and Spider-Man by Marvel Film Animation, the first season of Iron Man was done by a company called Rainbow Animation Group, a firm oft criticized for having been stuck in early 1980's in terms of animation style and quality of production.
Season 2 went with a new firm (Koko Enterprises) and kicked Ron Friedman to the curb in favor of Tom Tataranowicz. Better still, rather than create new "kid friendly" material for the animated format, the second season witnessed a return to some of the classic comic-story threads that made Iron Man such a promising property throughout the years.
The Mandarin remains one of the focal points but this time the show wastes little time in having a deal gone bad between he and a (much more intimidating) Fin Fang Foom results in his power rings being scattered throughout the globe. Not only does this move level the playing field, it creates an excellent ongoing thread element where the viewer is given a glimpse into the trials and tribulations of a powerless Mandarin in the final few moments of each episode.
Additionally the team element comes to an end only rather than just cheapen out and scratch the remaining heroes, the second season writes in a pretty believable reason for the "Armory Team" to become disgruntled under Stark's leadership which results in their walking. Jim Rhodes and Julia Carpenter (War Machine & Spider-Woman respectively) opt to stick it out with Tony.
Another point of improvement worth noting is the inclusion of depth brought to the characters in the second season. The cardboard-cutout, one-dimensional (and I'm rounding up there) characters of the first season evolve into individuals with realistic motivations, ambitions, and fears (like Jim Rhodes developing a phobia of being trapped inside his War Machine armor which just so happens to have been based on a then-current comic storyline).
In conclusion the fact that season 1 pales in comparison (and that's putting it very lightly) to season 2 is not nearly as remarkable as the fact that happened twice, in as many years, to the same people!
I've found that the best way to view this collection is to consider it a purchase of the stellar second season with the complete first season included as a bonus feature.
As logic would suggest, the after school shows were a bit darker, grittier and allowed to get away with much more (watch an episode of Batman: The Animated Series if you find yourself in doubt) while the Saturday morning set was generally brighter, milder, and a whole lot more campy. Interestingly, this is where a majority of Marvel's animated shows found themselves and many were represented: X-Men, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and The Hulk to name a few.
I recall enjoying some of the earlier entries mentioned clearly but somehow managed to fall out of the whole scene by the time shows like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk aired (I suspect it had something to do with jobs, girlfriends, sports cars, that kind of stuff).
Anyway, you'll likely understand my excitement when I discovered that Marvel has finally decided to grace us with an official DVD box set. I ordered without hesitation in anticipation of catching up on what I missed out on all those years before- Hey, better late than never!
The set comes in at a total runtime of 572 minutes and contains all 26 episodes of the show across three discs.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (stereo) and the only language option is English. Extras are completely zilch but again, beggars can't be choosers (or so I'm told).
Now onto the show itself: In the history of animation I'm aware of only one other program that managed to pull off such a radical swing between the first and second season and live to tell about it. That other show just so happens to be another Marvel property: Fantastic Four the 1994-95 series. I was warned countless times about the unambiguous swing from awful to decent even before I began the series but it's still difficult to accurately convey the train wreck that is the first season (episodes 1-13) of Iron Man without appearing overly merciless or on an agenda.
In effort to keep it simple, I'll start at the beginning. The first episode, And the Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead, somehow manages to combine all of the worst elements of Superfriends, Scooby-Doo, and He-Man then manages to integrate them into a muddled mess of plot points and poor acting. It should be noted that Fresh Prince's Uncle Phil (James Avery, none other than Shredder from competing show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) provides the vocals for James Rhodes/ War Machine in the early episodes then vanishes around the fifth episode never to be heard from again.
Honestly, if this first episode was in fact the pilot, it's downright amazing that the show ever saw the light of day. Fortunately things get a little better in the subsequent 12 episodes. Rather than try to cram as many scattered subplots into the twenty-three minutes as humanly possible, writer Ron Friedman settled down into a rhythm that was much closer to what we could expect from some of the finer moments of shows like Superfriends or the 1980s incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The plots almost always revolved around the Mandarin and his band of lackeys hatching up some scheme of world domination and Iron Man (with what is called the Armory Team (more on that later)) stepping in at the zero hour to save the world.
There are some really convoluted attempts at back-story amidst these episodes (such as Iron Man and Mandarin's origins) but even a fan of these characters will likely end up slightly more confused than enlightened (that's experience talking right there).
I'm not sure what they were thinking when the decision was made to integrate stock footage into each episode for Stark's transformation into Iron Man but the only mistake superseding that one was to approve the computer generated stock footage that they had to do it with! Sure I realize CGI was absolutely cutting edge back in 1994 when the show was being produced but why nobody who watched the test footage stopped to say, "why does Iron Man's armor go from red to pink in this sequence?" is beyond me.
Then there's the Armory Team... Why this show wasn't called Avengers Junior is really anybody's guess. Tony Stark is surrounded at all times by War Machine, Spider-Woman, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Century. On the other side of the coin our buddy Mandarin doesn't make a move without the aid of Modock, Blizzard, Dread Knight, Hipnotia, Grey Gargoyle, Whirlwind, Blacklash and occasionally Living Laser and Stark-hating mogul Justin Hammer (each complete with single-brain cell intellect).
Just as things were starting to get better, the thirteenth and final episode of the first season (The Wedding of Iron Man) comes along and introduces a new low point to an already sinking series. Namely when a Tony Stark, dressed in drag, dons the Iron Man armor to appear at his own wedding to Julia Carpenter to prove once and for all that the man walking down the isle simply cannot be the same dude in the armor (never mind just letting someone else wear a replica Iron Man armor to the wedding). Rather, the show's big ironic twist comes when the Tony Stark getting married reveals that he is in fact just an android by opening his tuxedo to reveal a chest full of computer components apparently salvaged from the early Apollo missions. Cue up forced laughter of superhero team standing in a circle then fade to black. I think perhaps now you may better understand the Superfriends comparisons.
Then suddenly, just when you realize there's no way you'll be getting a refund for the $20 you sunk on this box set, the second season begins and within the first fifteen seconds of the first episode (# 14, The Beast Within), all hope is restored. The show's not just good when compared to the first season; it's just plain good period. The artwork is better, the voice acting more consistent; the beginning theme music/ animation is superior, the pacing is much more organized and above all else the episode plots are spot-on.
It turns out that while X-Men the Animated Series was done by Saban and Spider-Man by Marvel Film Animation, the first season of Iron Man was done by a company called Rainbow Animation Group, a firm oft criticized for having been stuck in early 1980's in terms of animation style and quality of production.
Season 2 went with a new firm (Koko Enterprises) and kicked Ron Friedman to the curb in favor of Tom Tataranowicz. Better still, rather than create new "kid friendly" material for the animated format, the second season witnessed a return to some of the classic comic-story threads that made Iron Man such a promising property throughout the years.
The Mandarin remains one of the focal points but this time the show wastes little time in having a deal gone bad between he and a (much more intimidating) Fin Fang Foom results in his power rings being scattered throughout the globe. Not only does this move level the playing field, it creates an excellent ongoing thread element where the viewer is given a glimpse into the trials and tribulations of a powerless Mandarin in the final few moments of each episode.
Additionally the team element comes to an end only rather than just cheapen out and scratch the remaining heroes, the second season writes in a pretty believable reason for the "Armory Team" to become disgruntled under Stark's leadership which results in their walking. Jim Rhodes and Julia Carpenter (War Machine & Spider-Woman respectively) opt to stick it out with Tony.
Another point of improvement worth noting is the inclusion of depth brought to the characters in the second season. The cardboard-cutout, one-dimensional (and I'm rounding up there) characters of the first season evolve into individuals with realistic motivations, ambitions, and fears (like Jim Rhodes developing a phobia of being trapped inside his War Machine armor which just so happens to have been based on a then-current comic storyline).
In conclusion the fact that season 1 pales in comparison (and that's putting it very lightly) to season 2 is not nearly as remarkable as the fact that happened twice, in as many years, to the same people!
I've found that the best way to view this collection is to consider it a purchase of the stellar second season with the complete first season included as a bonus feature.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Ryan Daniels
This 1st season of Iron Man was so-so. It was really chessy and story and action were really bland. However the second season is a MAJOR improvment and is worth picking up just for that. Its at a reasonable price and by buying it you are supporting the release of other marvel tv shows (Spider-man?) So yeah, its a Good show for its 2nd season so pick it up.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite Avenger in my favorite short-lived series.
First off, let me just say that Marvel characters are my favorite super heroes in any media format. This was my introduction to Iron Man. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Patrick Correa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Iron Man old school style
This collection is a must have for any serious fans of Animation, or Iron Man ! It's action packed , and has story lines far beyond a childs level of storytelling .
Published 2 months ago by Polo Vader
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ok
My son loves super heroes and Iron man is no exception. This is based on a newer animated series and is ok, but definitely not one of the higher quality new series.
Published 5 months ago by Me333
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christmas present.
I really like Ironman but this isn't for me, I've gotten it for my brother, since he is a fan of Iron man as well. Love the series, and I'm sure he'll be very happy with it.
Published 5 months ago by Frog
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entire 1990s series on 3 Discs!!!
I was thrilled when I learned this series was finally coming to DVD. I was working at my old job at the time, (a video rental store), and special ordered this for myself. Read more
Published 13 months ago by The Man With No Name
5.0 out of 5 stars
I AM IRON MAN !!!!
That intro, as some have called it the most masculine cartoon intro ever, seeing Tony Stark pound with the hammer and pour the liquid metal. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Figureguy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kids love it!
Dvd's work great, Exactly what my 3 yr old wanted and hasn't stopped watching since it came in our mailbox...Thank you
Published 22 months ago by Mom of 3 boys
2.0 out of 5 stars
Incorrect rating
The disc set is listed as G-rated with Amazon, but arrived as TV Y7.Don't think this series will be appropriate for my 4 & 2 yr olds who are HUGE Iron Man fans.
Published 23 months ago by Mike Buoy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for little ones to watch Iron Man instead of the Adult movie
My husband (without me knowing) let our kids watch the adult movie of Iron Man (way too violent for a 3 and 5 year old). They whined to watch it over and over. Read more
Published 23 months ago by D. B. Pegalis
5.0 out of 5 stars
1994 Iron Man Cartoon
Wanted to say that this dvd came within three days of the estimated date and it looks like it is in great condition.
I would buy from this seller again thanks so much
I would buy from this seller again thanks so much
Published on April 25, 2011 by kyle
