Iron Man: Armored Adventures

Synopsis

After a plane crash in which his father Howard Stark disappears for refusing to weaponize the Earth Mover at Obadiah Stane's request, Tony Stark builds a high-tech suit of armor and investigates whether Stane was involved. As Iron Man, he stops Stane's plans and fights villains including Mandarin, Mr. Fix, Whiplash, A.I.M., Living Laser, the Maggia, Controller, Crimson Dynamo, Blizzard, Killer Shrike, Unicorn, MODOK, Ghost, Black Knight, and Technovore.

He is aided by James Rhodes and Pepper Potts, and often makes excuses for being late or missing school. The first season has 26 episodes and focuses on Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and Gene Khan searching for the five Makluan rings. Gene secretly works undercover to steal the rings and betrays his friends; at season's end he learns there are five additional rings, and Tony discovers Howard survived but was captured. The second season also has 26 episodes, introducing Black Widow, Hawkeye, Doctor Doom, Magneto, and Justin Hammer.

It covers the Armor Wars saga and Stane International storylines, with Rhodey becoming War Machine. Gene forces Howard to help find the remaining rings, and Justin Hammer buys Stark International. In the series finale, Iron Man and other heroes stop the Makluan aliens from destroying Earth.

Production

Talks for a modern Iron Man animated series began in 2003 as a tie-in with a proposed Nick Cassavetes-directed Iron Man film at New Line Cinema, alongside a Fantastic Four series that became Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes. Months before the television debut, Marvel screened the first episode at San Diego Comic-Con and released promotional videos on its website. The rock band Rooney recorded the theme song, which could be downloaded from Teletoon's website using a secret code shown during Canadian broadcasts. The series uses computer-generated imagery in a style similar to Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, with a cel-shading-like technique but lower detail and resolution.

DVD releases

The pilot first appeared as a bonus feature on Wal-Mart's DVD of the 2008 Iron Man film. In North America, Vivendi Entertainment managed distribution. Volume One hit US DVD on October 20, 2009, with a Best Buy-exclusive Blu-ray. Genius Entertainment distributed Volume Two on January 5, 2010. The Complete Season One, released May 4, 2010, contained two unreleased Volume Three and Four DVDs. Season Two followed with Volume One on June 26, 2012, Volume Two on September 25, 2012, and Volume Three on January 22, 2013. Volume Four and the complete second season set arrived April 23, 2013. In the UK, ITV Global Entertainment handled rights; Volume One split the pilot into two episodes across two discs. Australia got the complete first season on Blu-ray.

Reception

The hour-long premiere broke Nicktoons Network's record for highest-rated original series, drawing over 125,000 viewers. Reviews of the pilot were mixed, with some praising the detailed writing, strong continuity, and character designs. Entertainment Weekly gave the debut a B+ grade, noting that smart writing and CG action made the show work. In 2012, the series won the Pulcinella Award for Best TV Series for Teens, and in 2013 it was included on TV Guide's list of the 60 greatest cartoons of all time.