This is another under the radar gem, this was a show in the 90's alongside "The Fantastic Four" which made "The Marvel Hour".
I was a kid from the 90's and a comic book fan, I have heard of the "Iron Man" series before but didn't get into it until this animated adaptation. It's really cool whenever Marvel focuses on a property that doesn't always get the most attention despite its popularity, this show helped reinvigorate it for a while and generate new fans, I'm one of them.
There has been one other animated adaptation after this one in 2008 called "Iron Man: Armored Adventures" which is another under the radar gem, but still this Iron Man animated series is still the best in my book (for now anyway).
The music is good, there are two styles of tune that are from both seasons. Personally, I really love the second season's music tunes. The music from first season was decent, but the music from the second season I felt was a lot better as it heavy metal soundtrack just fit the series better as it had more punch and was a lot more memorable just sings out metal action. I really love that second season theme song which is one of my favorite theme's songs of all time, it's such a simple and short heavy metal like tune but feels so right as it simply sings out one sentence over and over.
The animation is good, mainly the animation for the second season which was an improvement from the details but mainly down to the color scheme with the use of bolds. This made it all the truer to the comic animation from the latter 80's to early and mid-90's run of "Iron Man". The storytelling is solid, obviously taken a little inspiration from John Byrne's run which was always my favorite run of Iron Man.
Action is solid, it's well chorographed as it's more aerial action, which is cool, really love seeing Iron Man use all the gizmos and tricks he's armed with. But also, all the different types of armor that he uses each have different functions, makes me wonder why the heck this series never got a toy line.
Storytelling is solid, though the storytelling for the second season I felt was a lot stronger as it had plotlines with more depth and even a little dark but with a little pulpish fun. There were some two part arcs along with a a little revolving plotline with the Mandarin regaining his rings which lead to the big series finale, which I like as animated shows and even live action TV shows weren't known to have that at the time.
The characters are solid, true to their predecessors from the comics. From the Villains, the two that stand out are the Mandarin. Really like the look of him as it's obviously the Fu Manchu look. He's pretty much the main villain for Iron Man, he's kind of your power mongering archetype but what's unique about him is that he's doing this through the power of mysticism where he's armed with nine rings that do different things. I thought that was cool as the conflict between Iron Man and him is the old motif of science and technology versus mystic arts, but it's a turn on the motif because most of the time science and tech are always welded by the villains and get undermined by magic. I like this because for once seeing science used for good along with logic and reason to counterattack magic.
His cohort or flunky is Mordok (voiced by Jim Cummings) whom is practically a giant floating bobble head literally. He's the guy that supplies Mandarin with all the tech he needs to aid him in his nefarious goals. Mordok is funny as he's has this Peter Lore like voice and mannerism, he shares in the Mandarin's nefarious goals but despite hard working for Mandarin the poor fluky as Rodney Dangerfield puts it just gets no respect. He gets kicked around by the Mandarin occasionally, even none of the members of Mandarin's leagon of doom respect him. But also, Mordok isn't all that evil, for one thing he's not that good at it but also you get the feeling he might actually be an alright guy but just working for the wrong company and influenced by the wrong people.
Then there are the good guys, like the fact that in the show we saw Tony/Iron Man have a super team of his own called "Force Works". In a way this show was the closest we ever had to an animated adaptation of "The Avengers" at the time; though there was that one in the late 90's on Fox called "Avengers: United they Stand" but that sucked.
However, for the good guys it's really the trio dynamic throughout the show that consisted of Tony, Julia and Rhodey. The chemistry like any well put together machine runs well. Julia Carpenter/Spider Woman voiced well by Jennifer Hale one of my favorite voice actresses who is no stranger to comic book animated shows. She a strong female type that is slightly feisty but also levelheaded. Roddie/War Machine (voiced by Dorian Harewood) whom is one that is sort of the straight man for Tony as he's very orderly set in his military customs. Both really help keep Tony grounded and flying straight.
And of course, Robert Hays as Tony Stark/Iron Man, he's still my favorite voice for Iron Man. I like that he's not like the Robert Downey Jr version, don't get me wrong I do like that version of Tony, but I do feel that version is imitated/impersonated a little too much these days. Here he's a little more dialed down, slightly more accurate to the John Byrne "Iron Man" run from 80's to 90's.
Tony in this show feels a little more balanced where he a bit of an introvert and passive aggressive which is something I can emphasize with as I'm that way too. Still has that sharp charisma but the kind that doesn't overstay its purpose. Constantly inventive and determined to always do the right thing but doesn't let that overshadow his life.
Really like the romance chemistry between both Tony and Julia. Yeah, it's true that in the comic series they were never a couple but since this is an animated adaptation liberties are inevitable. And I know that it's Pepper Potts that suppose to be Tony's significant other, but in a way Julia in reality actually kind of is that character as Julia physically looks, professional role, and even has a few of the familiar personality traits.
But anyway, the chemistry with both characters is soild, you really buy them as a couple as they have their ups and downs. Really like how you see the value in comic heroes having a significant other as we see Julia not just gives him professional support but emotional as well, and even helps him with the aggressive part of his persona from doing what must be done but also to open more letting her and his friends in a little more. This is a good thing because some battles and wars can't be won with a sole soldier.
This vintage Marvel show picks up altitude.
Rating: 3 stars
I was a kid from the 90's and a comic book fan, I have heard of the "Iron Man" series before but didn't get into it until this animated adaptation. It's really cool whenever Marvel focuses on a property that doesn't always get the most attention despite its popularity, this show helped reinvigorate it for a while and generate new fans, I'm one of them.
There has been one other animated adaptation after this one in 2008 called "Iron Man: Armored Adventures" which is another under the radar gem, but still this Iron Man animated series is still the best in my book (for now anyway).
The music is good, there are two styles of tune that are from both seasons. Personally, I really love the second season's music tunes. The music from first season was decent, but the music from the second season I felt was a lot better as it heavy metal soundtrack just fit the series better as it had more punch and was a lot more memorable just sings out metal action. I really love that second season theme song which is one of my favorite theme's songs of all time, it's such a simple and short heavy metal like tune but feels so right as it simply sings out one sentence over and over.
The animation is good, mainly the animation for the second season which was an improvement from the details but mainly down to the color scheme with the use of bolds. This made it all the truer to the comic animation from the latter 80's to early and mid-90's run of "Iron Man". The storytelling is solid, obviously taken a little inspiration from John Byrne's run which was always my favorite run of Iron Man.
Action is solid, it's well chorographed as it's more aerial action, which is cool, really love seeing Iron Man use all the gizmos and tricks he's armed with. But also, all the different types of armor that he uses each have different functions, makes me wonder why the heck this series never got a toy line.
Storytelling is solid, though the storytelling for the second season I felt was a lot stronger as it had plotlines with more depth and even a little dark but with a little pulpish fun. There were some two part arcs along with a a little revolving plotline with the Mandarin regaining his rings which lead to the big series finale, which I like as animated shows and even live action TV shows weren't known to have that at the time.
The characters are solid, true to their predecessors from the comics. From the Villains, the two that stand out are the Mandarin. Really like the look of him as it's obviously the Fu Manchu look. He's pretty much the main villain for Iron Man, he's kind of your power mongering archetype but what's unique about him is that he's doing this through the power of mysticism where he's armed with nine rings that do different things. I thought that was cool as the conflict between Iron Man and him is the old motif of science and technology versus mystic arts, but it's a turn on the motif because most of the time science and tech are always welded by the villains and get undermined by magic. I like this because for once seeing science used for good along with logic and reason to counterattack magic.
His cohort or flunky is Mordok (voiced by Jim Cummings) whom is practically a giant floating bobble head literally. He's the guy that supplies Mandarin with all the tech he needs to aid him in his nefarious goals. Mordok is funny as he's has this Peter Lore like voice and mannerism, he shares in the Mandarin's nefarious goals but despite hard working for Mandarin the poor fluky as Rodney Dangerfield puts it just gets no respect. He gets kicked around by the Mandarin occasionally, even none of the members of Mandarin's leagon of doom respect him. But also, Mordok isn't all that evil, for one thing he's not that good at it but also you get the feeling he might actually be an alright guy but just working for the wrong company and influenced by the wrong people.
Then there are the good guys, like the fact that in the show we saw Tony/Iron Man have a super team of his own called "Force Works". In a way this show was the closest we ever had to an animated adaptation of "The Avengers" at the time; though there was that one in the late 90's on Fox called "Avengers: United they Stand" but that sucked.
However, for the good guys it's really the trio dynamic throughout the show that consisted of Tony, Julia and Rhodey. The chemistry like any well put together machine runs well. Julia Carpenter/Spider Woman voiced well by Jennifer Hale one of my favorite voice actresses who is no stranger to comic book animated shows. She a strong female type that is slightly feisty but also levelheaded. Roddie/War Machine (voiced by Dorian Harewood) whom is one that is sort of the straight man for Tony as he's very orderly set in his military customs. Both really help keep Tony grounded and flying straight.
And of course, Robert Hays as Tony Stark/Iron Man, he's still my favorite voice for Iron Man. I like that he's not like the Robert Downey Jr version, don't get me wrong I do like that version of Tony, but I do feel that version is imitated/impersonated a little too much these days. Here he's a little more dialed down, slightly more accurate to the John Byrne "Iron Man" run from 80's to 90's.
Tony in this show feels a little more balanced where he a bit of an introvert and passive aggressive which is something I can emphasize with as I'm that way too. Still has that sharp charisma but the kind that doesn't overstay its purpose. Constantly inventive and determined to always do the right thing but doesn't let that overshadow his life.
Really like the romance chemistry between both Tony and Julia. Yeah, it's true that in the comic series they were never a couple but since this is an animated adaptation liberties are inevitable. And I know that it's Pepper Potts that suppose to be Tony's significant other, but in a way Julia in reality actually kind of is that character as Julia physically looks, professional role, and even has a few of the familiar personality traits.
But anyway, the chemistry with both characters is soild, you really buy them as a couple as they have their ups and downs. Really like how you see the value in comic heroes having a significant other as we see Julia not just gives him professional support but emotional as well, and even helps him with the aggressive part of his persona from doing what must be done but also to open more letting her and his friends in a little more. This is a good thing because some battles and wars can't be won with a sole soldier.
This vintage Marvel show picks up altitude.
Rating: 3 stars