Customer Reviews

Marvel Iron Man: The Complete Animated Series - 3-Disc DVD

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The second time Marvel's Iron Man was adapted for a TV cartoon (the first being the kind of cheesy 1966 version), was in this two-season syndicated series that premiered in 1994 as part of The Marvel Action Hour. Stan Lee appeared onscreen as host, and though these intros are not included on the new DVD, Iron Man: The Complete Animated Series, the end credits mention it.

This is actually, in effect, two series with the same actor, Robert Hays, as the voice of Iron Man. The first season was produced by Rainbow Animation with scripts largely by Ron Friedman. The animation is a sort of lower budget ThunderCats, with recycled action and somewhat limited scope. The stories are a bit overloaded with characters so numerous they weigh down the chance to develop them.

There are also plenty of pop culture references (David Letterman?) and Bill Clinton himself is depicted rather than a generic President (voiced by none other than Jim Cummings, the voice of Tigger, Pooh, Darkwing Duck and many more including Ray, the beloved firefly in The Princess and the Frog). This set of episodes also allows you to see the origins of Iron Man and his arch nemesis, Mandarin and his henchman, MODOK (also Cummings).

Once you hit episode 14, there is a distinct difference in style and a totally different theme song. This season was produced by Koko Animation and written by such comic book veterans as Len Wein. The animation is more elaborate but what is particularly noticeable is the dialogue. While there is a lot of action, an effort seems to have been made to flesh out the personalities, conflicts and, most of all the inner turmoils that are the Marvel trademark.

The cast, by and large, provides outstanding performances of what could potentially be campy. Robert Hays is given the opportunity as the voice of Iron Man to deliver more depth and complexity than many of his best-known characters in TV shows like Angie and the movie Airplane!

Most of the voices were recast in the two series. James Rhodes (aka War Machine) is played by James Avery in season 1 and by Dorian Harewood in season 2. Ed Gilbert (Baloo in Disney's TaleSpin) as Mandarin is recast with Robert Ito (Quincy).

In season 2, when the Incredible Hulk appears in an episode, Ron Perlman (of the Bill Bixby live action series), voices the Hulk and Dr. Banner. Also this season, Wanda/Spider Woman is voiced by Jennifer Hale, who is the current voice of Disney's Cinderella.

The episodes look and sound great on the three discs. It would be nice if there was a printed episode guide in the package. I know budgets are an issue, but surely one panel of the enclosed Blu-Ray flyer could be used. That way, it's less likely to be tossed away!

Released just in time for a certain movie, the Iron Man Animated Complete Series collects the two season series that ran 1994-1996 as part of the Marvel Action Hour (alongside the Fantastic Four - The Complete Animated Series) - but the two seasons are so different that it may as well be two different shows.


In the first season, Iron Man - accompanied by War Machine and a barely-developed Force Works team (consisting of Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye and the Century) battles the Mandarin and his minions (which include M.O.D.O.K. occasionally disguised in a baby carriage) in pretty much self contained episodes. The animation and simplicity of the stories could have been made ten years earlier and are about on a par with He-Man.

In fact the first season could almost be recycled He-Man scripts with the names changed; they're really that simplistic and dated.

Marvel Entertainment must have realized that they were on to a loser, because in the second season everything changes.

The animation improves, most of Force Works leaves, storylines are sometimes stretched out over multiple episodes, stories are cribbed from the comics (such as the Iron Man: The Dragon Seed Saga storyline), the Mandarin's presence is dramatically reduced, Iron Man gets new armor, Tony Stark gets a mullet and the show gets a snazzy new title sequence.

It feels like a completely different show - and one that can stand next to the Spider-Man, X-Men and Hulk cartoons of the day (and when do we get the Spidey and Hulk series on DVD?). For these episodes alone, the boxset is worth a look.

Plus, you get Fin Fang Foom. Can't go wrong with that.

The "Iron Man" comic book series has been a strong part of the Marvel Universe. Originally created by Stan Lee and debuting in Tales of Suspense #39 back in 1963,the series revolved around the playboy and industrial millionaire Tony Stark who suffered a severe heart injury during a kidnapping. Keeping him alive was a device connected to his heart and being the master inventor that he is, creates a suit of armor to help keep him alive but also to become the super hero known as Iron Man.

The character continues to be a popular and within the last four decades since his character debut, Iron Man has gone through various uniforms with one given to his best friend James Rhodes who would go on to become War Machine. And with the resurgence of comic book collecting in the early '90s, Marvel capitalized the opportunity by releasing new animated series.

And in 1994, the Marvel Action Hour was born. "Iron Man" aired from 1994-1996 in syndication along with "The Fantastic Four" and also had a popular toy line to go along with the animated series. Although the episodes have been shown on television, the complete 1994 animated television series (featuring both seasons) for "Iron Man" will now be released on DVD via a 3-disc DVD set.

The first season of the "Iron Man" animated series was quite different from the comic book series as it featured Iron Man taking on the Mandarin and his group of villains which include Dreadknight, Blizzard, Blacklash, Grey Gargoyle, Hypnotia, Whirlwind, Living Laser, MODOK, Fin Fang Foom and Justin Hammer. Joining Iron Man in the battle are his fellow Force Works team (ala remnants of the West Coast Avengers) featuring Century, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Spider Woman. By the second season, there was a connection to the comic book series with the inclusion of "The Armor Wars" storyline.

Here is a brief summary of the episodes included in "Iron Man - The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series":

DISC: 1

* EPISODE 1 - And the Sea Shall Give Up It's Dead - The Mandarin creates an army of zombies to conquer the world. Can Iron Man and friends defeat Mandarin and his group of enemies?
* EPISODE 2 - Rejoice! I Am Ultimo, Thy Deliverer - The Mandarin and MODOK resurrects Ultimo.
* EPISODE 3 - Data In, Chaos Out - What happens when the Mandarin steals and reprograms Tony Stark's military and communication satellites.
* EPISODE 4 - Silence My Companion, Death My Destination - Elastika kidnaps Julia Carpenter's daughter Rachel.
* EPISODE 5 - The Grim Reaper Wears a Teflon Coat - Mandarin's group steals the super fighter bomber jet, the Grim Reaper.
* EPISODE 6 - Enemy Without, Enemy Within - Mandarin's group of enemies kidnaps a model and Iron Man and friends must rescue her.
* EPISODE 7 - Origin of the Mandarin - A video is found featuring the origin of the Mandarin.
* EPISODE 8 - The Defection of Hawkeye - Is Hawkeye helping the Mandarin?

DISC 2:

* EPISODE 9 - Iron Man to the Second Power, Part 1 - MODOK creates an Iron Man double.
* EPISODE 10 - Iron Man to the Second Power, Part 2 - Iron Man vs. his double.
* EPISODE 11 - The Origin of Iron Man, Part 1 - Iron Man is trapped in the arctic, while alone and freezing, Tony Stark remembers how he became Iron Man.
* EPISODE 12 - The Origin of Iron Man, Part 2 - Tony Stark continues to reminisce of his past, meanwhile Force Works tries to find him before the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom gets to him.
* EPISODE 13 - The Wedding of Iron Man - The Mandarin and Justin Hammer think that Tony Stark may be Iron Man.
* EPISODE 14 - The Beast Within - The Mandarin tries to steal Tony Stark's armor.
* EPISODE 15 - Fire and Rain - Iron Man takes on Firebrand.
* EPISODE 16 - Cell of Iron - A.I.M. has gone forward with terrorist attacks and now Iron Man must stop them.
* EPISODE 17 - Not Far From the Tree - Tony Stark intercepts a plea of help from his father but Tony thought his father is dead.

DISC 3:

* EPISODE 18 - Beauty Knows No Pain - Workers in Egypt have been kidnapped by Madame Masque and Maggia.
* EPISODE 19 - Iron Man, On the Inside - ULTIMO and H.O.M.E.R. are back!
* EPISODE 20 - Distant Boundaries - Iron Man and War Machine embark towards the planet Elysian.
* EPISODE 21 - The Armor Wars, Part 1 - Iron Man tries to stop a coup in Russia started by Crimson Dynamo but Iron Man is blamed when people are injured.
* EPISODE 22 - The Armor Wars, Part 2 - Iron Man takes on his former teammate Hawkeye.
* EPISODE 23 - Hulk Buster - The Leader has found two of the Mandarin's rings and Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk get pulled into a time rift.
* EPISODE 24 - Empowered - MODOK locates one of Mandarin's power rings.
* EPISODE 25 - Hands of the Mandarin, Part 1 - The Mandarin has reunited with all ten of his rings and now wants to take over the world.
* EPISODE 26 - Hands of the Mandarin, Part 2 - Iron Man and the Force Works try to stop the Mandarin.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Iron Man - The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series" is presented in full screen (1:33:1). It's important to note that a lot of animation created in the '90s don't hold up as well in terms of picture quality. I've always felt that the Marvel animated series from the early '80s had more detail when it came to artistic backgrounds and even the characters themselves. But for the most part, the animation is fine but for those with larger television sets, the edge enhancement is quite apparent as well as interlacing. Although, I was watching this on a 51', I switched to a smaller screen and on smaller screens, things looked better but the interlacing is still noticeable.

But it's important to remind people that this is an animated series that is over 15-years-old and it was the first Marvel animated series to also sport CG. Although, the CG is quite dated by today's standards.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. The sound effects are fine and the dialogue is clear. I preferred to have my receiver settings set at stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundscape but for the most part, there are no issues with audio.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included.

EXTRAS:

"Iron Man - The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series" comes with a slip cover.

JUDGMENT CALL:

It's great to see "Iron Man" the animated series finally being released on DVD. As a big fan of Iron Man especially enjoying and collecting the comic books for many years, it's great to see the character receiving some love by fans especially since the first live action film had done so well.

When the "Iron Man" animated series was released in 1994, I have to admit that although I enjoyed the character and the comic book series, I didn't like the enemies presented in the animated series at all. To have Mandarin being this leader of evil (like Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) just didn't seem right. Also, to see A.I.M. leader MODOK working for Mandarin also seemed a bit out of place.

But when the series was on television, one of the major reasons I was staying tuned to the series was that the characters of the West Coast Avengers (Force Works) were in the series. When the X-Men animated series was released two years earlier, I was wanting an Avengers series (which would eventually happen but several years later), so this "Iron Man" animated series was the best thing at that time.

I felt that the first season of "Iron Man" was a bit hokey but by the second season things started to get better. Especially with the inclusion of the Armor Wars and also showcasing the Hulk Buster armor (it's important to note that the "Hulk Buster" episode was connected to the Incredible Hulk animated series in 1996 but the animated series has not yet been released on DVD).

As for the DVD itself, it's great to see all episodes from both seasons on DVD. I guess it has been so long since I have seen the episodes that I was a bit shocked by the edge enhancement and interlacing but I suppose considering the age of the series, this is probably the best we will see of these older animated series.

Overall, "Iron Man - The Complete 1994 Animated Television Series" was great for nostalgic sake and for hardcore Iron Man fans, if you enjoyed the animated series between 1994-1996, then definitely give this DVD a chance!

The thing you need to know getting this show is that there are two seasons by 2 different head writers and animators. So you have the first season which has very poor animation. And on top of that the writing and theme song is about as low on the 80's cartoons schlock scale as you can get (despite this being made in the 90's). The characters are one dimensional and the plots make about as much sense as an episode on Ninja Turtles.

Then we get to the second season. Which cleans up the animation, opening theme, and the writing putting it more on par with other 9-'s marvel cartoons such as X-men and The Incredible Hulk (which still needs a DVD release). Some the stories are based on actual comic book stories. And everything really picks up.

So if you get this and find the first episode unbearable try poping in the second disc and got to the episode called "The Beast Within" which is the start of the second season and try from there.

Before I start, I should say that I love the show and it was first on. I would get up early in the morning (Sunday morning as I remember) just to watch it back to back with the fantastic four; of the two I definitely preferred Ironman. I was unbelievably happy when I got a second series in the animation improved so much. Watching it again so many years later, does that still hold up?

For me the answer is no in a big way. Animation is very low quality, even for its day. Normally I wouldn't comment on this and make any big fuss about it, but one thing they did with that really threw me off. They only had enough money to do one scene where he was changing into his Ironman outfit insert of a semi-3-D animation. It was something novel in its day, but looking back it just pulls you out of the animation. I know they only did that much because they couldn't afford to do that kind of animation for the entire episode, but I've asked my friend and we both felt that it almost feels like they're saying "We can do good animation. Here it is. Now we take it away. Ha ha ha." It's a minor thing, nothing I'd count off for really, but it dulls the luster a little bit.

What makes me lower the view really is a laughably bad plots. That's not to say there weren't some really good ones, there were. I was especially fond of one where Iron Man has his armor specification stolen and goes on a one-man crusade to destroy all versions of it but the criminals are using. It's a two-part episode and it really shows him going over the edge. While you have good episodes like that, you have many boring ones where enemy X is dispatch, Ironman fights him/her, almost loses, but hurray he wins, boring stuff and some really bizarre ones too. There's one episode in which they wanted to teach children something I guess so they have Ironman losing power in his suit when he's able to recharge using Walkman. Are you kidding me? Their whole point was to teach children that soundwaves could power something that the output of a Walkman is can be nowhere near strong enough power some sort of suit like that. We're talking about two 1.5 V batteries for goodness sake. You can teach something to kids without being that lazy.

Season to up the ante for the animation, much improving it. What really hurt it for me though is that his freedom works group was almost entirely left out of the second season. They show up for may be two episodes or three and otherwise it's pretty much just Ironman running around doing his own thing. It's possible that you would like that, I have no idea. For me though I preferred the team environment. I will say though, I really did like the Mandarin's quest to get his rings back and the final episode of the series.

To sum it up this is a show that was much better in my memory is that when I watched it again. I suppose that's true of a lot of things, but when I go back to watch Batman or Superman they still seem to stand up on their own to this day. I don't regret getting this set, but if I had to do it over again I'd probably skip it.

I've been waiting for this set since forever. I thought it would have been released when the first Iron Man movie came out, but all we got was a blu-ray and reissue dvd of the previous Lionsgate Iron Man animated feature (which I hated)and later, the equally lame IM: Armored Adventures. I guess I understand why they waited on releasing this series because it features characters from the new Iron Man 2 film(War Machine and Whiplash - who don't appear in the Lionsgate animated dvd)and creates less confusion for the casual IM fans if this series and characters were "introduced" prior to their debut in IM2. My favorites are War Machine and Spider Woman. By-the-way, I like the first season better because it features the other heroes more and the goth theme song's cool too. The best part of movie studios trying to cash in on hot ticket items like Iron Man 2, is that we get great releases like this, that may not have ever been released otherwise. Thank God I waited and didn't buy that bootleg set floating around at various sites. It even costs more.

So I'm excited to have this series on DVD finally, it was part of a series of Marvel Cartoons back in the '90's with X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and others.

I caught this series when it first aired on UPN Channel 11 on Sundays and I really enjoyed it. Not as good as X-Men or Spider-Man, but still enjoy able for its style of animation and more solid story lines compared to what else was on and playing at the time.

My only -though minor- complaint with the DVDs is the lack of an episode guide or insert for that purpose.

Otherwise I'm am happy to get this finally.