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[LOLtron]

A.I.M. attempts to pay Iron Man back for past grievances.

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Credits & Solicit Info:

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Review:

From the events of the pilot, A.I.M. lays siege to Stark Tower as Iron Man is forced to fend against them alone. Alright, he has Maria Hill, Black Panther, Captain America, and James Rhodes helping him. So maybe he's not alone against A.I.M.

We get this episode coming off the heels of the great reintroduction of this show. It isn't bad per se, but given the string of back-to-back epics this show had since the middle of Season One, beginning with Kang Dynasty Trilogy leading up to this point, it feels disappointing. After this high us viewers have been on, we are hit with this filler episode, which is what this basically is. Only two current subplots are continued here: Skrull Cap's ongoing deception, and the likelihood of Civil War happening on this show with Maria Hill demanding the Avengers register with S.H.I.E.L.D. or else.



Still, my disappointment with the episode doesn't stretch that far. This isn't a bad episode. In fact, for filler this is pretty good. We get a key insight into Iron Man's world with many of Tony Stark's cast making key appearances here. Further, we get to see the impact of Tony's life as an Avenger and the toll it carries. The excess Tony has been imploring with the team since his debut in the micro-episodes is staggering, and it's good to see that the show isn't writing this sort of behavior off on Tony. I'm curious to see if Tony will heed the advice of his aide Pepper Potts, but given that it is Tony Stark, I doubt it. At least we saw his latest suit in action and this one is a better design compared to the Season One version. So much detail and a sleeker look than the one we got last season, showing the progression with the animation on the show itself.

The other big Iron Man cast member who appears here is James Rhodes aka War Machine. Yes, we do see him in armor using it in full glory. But really, that's my biggest problem with this episode. He was using a mixture of lasers and actual ordinance on his shoulder. So does that mean Rhodey was murdering some A.I.M. Soldiers (likewise Cap when he was using A.I.M. weaponry)? I mean we know some A.I.M. lackeys bought it getting gobbled up by the monster they unleashed on Iron Man, but did the others die too? Yeah I know it's nitpicking, but it's the sort of one you can't help but wonder when watching the episode because it's a distraction to the entertainment.



Back to the ongoing subplots: they were the true juicy materials that I enjoyed about the episode. Just how far and deep will Skrull Cap's betrayal go? We get a good hint of it this episode and I wonder what more is to come. How badly will the Avengers get hit when the Skrull Invasion happens?

The same goes for Maria Hill and her registration subplot. We know this is leading to an animated Civil War adaptation possibly, but I love the slow burn this show is taking with it. For the actual comic adaptation there wasn't good build-up and well let's face it, the comic version of Hill was a one dimensional bastard. Here, Hill makes a compelling argument as to why heroes should register and is a possible enemy; she still does the right thing to help Tony during this episode. It's this compelling dimension adds to whatever future plot comes of this and so far has been making this version better than the actual comic thus far. The same goes for Hill herself.



Overall, this episode was disappointing given what came before it. This didn't feel like an epic, like the previous episodes going back to Season One. Still, this episode had some great character moments and action pieces. The villain itself was lacking and the less said about the whole energy worm monster the better. This episode wasn't too terrible and was still a lot better than the other cartoons we got this week.

3 out of 5

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Review by: Zechs


http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/reviews/entertainment-reviews/18943-the-avengers-earths-mightiest-heroes-202-alone-against-aim.html/

[Benderbrau]

War Machine looked fucking awesome!

[Rockman]

Dude I was so relieved that this episode didn't move the main plot forward. Not everything has to be part of some puzzle, and it's nice to have a one and done episode.

We got some good character moments for Tony, and got something of a sense why people like Pepper and Rhodes would associate with the guy.

[Zechs]

Dude I was so relieved that this episode didn't move the main plot forward. Not everything has to be part of some puzzle, and it's nice to have a one and done episode.

We got some good character moments for Tony, and got something of a sense why people like Pepper and Rhodes would associate with the guy.

I know why I gave it a passing grade unlike another animated review about to turn in.

[GOSD]

Dude I was so relieved that this episode didn't move the main plot forward. Not everything has to be part of some puzzle, and it's nice to have a one and done episode.

Except Skrull Cap is now in possession of that hard drive that has all of Stark's info on it.

[Rockman]

Except Skrull Cap is now in possession of that hard drive that has all of Stark's info on it.

That's true.

But you could watch that episode ten years from now, and have no clue what is going on with secret invasion anymore and still appreciate it. Skrull Cap did a good job of imitating the real cap.

[Zechs]

That's true.

But you could watch that episode ten years from now, and have no clue what is going on with secret invasion anymore and still appreciate it. Skrull Cap did a good job of imitating the real cap.

I cant' wait to see real Cap vs. Skrull Cap.

[rdrsfn82]

It set up the Civil War storyline (which you know they are going to do), it foreshadowed there being some horrible event caused by a hero (like the Stamford thing in Civil War) being the cause for the registration act, Skrull-Cap got all of Stark's info on the hard drive, War Machine embraced his role as a superhero (somewhat, but you know he'll be more involved in a future episode), Stark introduced Cap's energy shield, you got an update on what AIM is up to now, and they furthered a potential relationship with Hill and Stark.

So, I'd definitely say it moved the plot forward a bit. But it also worked fine as a standalone episode.

Good, solid stuff, Nothing amazing, but solid. Reminded me a lot of the Vibranium mine episode last year that set up T'Challa's role on the team, showed Cap starting to lead in the field, introduced Vibranium, set up Klaw, and had some stuff like that going on in the background while mostly being a standalone episode.

[sdsichero]

This was an okay episode, but a slip from the previous one. Something about the flow of the episode felt off. I also didn't like the worm thing much. The ending with the main arc reactor seemed like the bad gobbledygook endings that Star Trek Voyager had. I did like the stuff about the registration, found it interesting. War Machine looked okay but was a little disappointing in action. He should have kicked more ass but seemed a little clunky.

[Rockman]

War Machine is a tough one to use against human opponents, seemed like all his weapons were still bullets and missiles.

And I really hope they don't do Civil War, or if they do they change it up so it doesn't suck as much as the Millar story.

[Benderbrau]

also Technovor(sp?)? Never heard of 'em

[Rockman]

http://www.comicvine.com/technovore/29-56711/

Created in 93, from the dark ages.

[Rockman]

one thing I dislike is how these recent incarnation of Spidey have him become an up and comer while the Avengers are already established. Seems off to me. Not even Ultimate Spiderman (the comics) did that so much.

Part of what made Spidey interesting in the first place is that he did the right thing because he really believed it was the right thing, not because a bunch of other heroes were doing it. Making him into a possible "copycat" hero just seems trashy.

I put this in both threads because of the Spidey mention in Avengers, and obviously one of the main plot points of Ultimate Spidey.

[BlueStreak]

Technovore also made an appearance in Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 1.

[MrBlack]

one thing I dislike is how these recent incarnation of Spidey have him become an up and comer while the Avengers are already established. Seems off to me. Not even Ultimate Spiderman (the comics) did that so much.

Part of what made Spidey interesting in the first place is that he did the right thing because he really believed it was the right thing, not because a bunch of other heroes were doing it. Making him into a possible "copycat" hero just seems trashy.

I put this in both threads because of the Spidey mention in Avengers, and obviously one of the main plot points of Ultimate Spidey.

In all fairness, the first episode of Ultimate Spider-Man indicated that Spidey had been active for a year at the beginning of the series. Indeed, part of the point of the first few episodes is that he is meant to help train the next generation of young heroes because of his experience. It's not clear how long the Avengers have been active in the Ult. Spidey world. He may look up to them not because they're long time heroes (Thor and Cap excepted), but because they're the powerful, adult heroes who save the world on a near daily basis, while Spidey webs up bank robbers. They're the big time, while he's still struggling.

I didn't see this episode, so I can't comment on anything said there, but nothing I've seen in Ultimate Spidey would indicate that the Avengers are better established than Spider-Man is, or that they have been around longer in that continuity. They're just more recognized heroes, while Spidey is a small time vigilante.