Iron Man: Armored Adventures

Iron Man: Armored Adventures (also known in early promotional materials as Iron Man: The Animated Series) is a 3D CGI cartoon series partly based on the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man. It debuted in the USA on the Nicktoons on April 24, 2009, and has already begun airing on Canadian network Teletoon. Iron Man: Armored Adventures aired on Nickelodeon on July 4, 2009 until September 12, 2009.[3] The series is story edited by showrunner Christopher Yost,[4] who also worked on Wolverine and the X-Men, and numerous other Marvel Animation projects. The television show is not related to the 2007 animated film The Invincible Iron Man; it has a different voice cast, but some story elements are similar and the show uses the same musical score as the film in some instances. It is the first Iron Man television series since  Iron Man  from 1994–1996, and started airing after the success of the live action Iron Man film.

The series follows the adventures of teenage child prodigy Tony Stark and his alter ego of Iron Man. As Iron Man, he uses his technological inventions to fight various similarly technologically advanced threats. His friends, James "Rhodey" Rhodes and Pepper Potts help him on his courageous, and dangerous adventures.

The second season of this series premiered on July 13, 2011 running concurrently with English dub of the completely separate Marvel Anime: Iron Man anime series which has already finished airing on Japan's Animax in 2010.[5] [6]

In August 2012, it was revealed that Iron Man: Armored Adventures would air as part of The CW's new Saturday morning kids block Vortexx

Synopsis [edit]
When his industrialist father Howard Stark who disappears in a plane crash after refusing to weaponize the Earth Mover at Obadiah Stane's behest, 17-year-old genius Tony uses a high-tech suit of armor he has constructed and investigates a charge that Stane may have been involved in his father's death. As Iron Man, Tony spends his time stopping Stane's plans and saving the world from other villains such as Mandarin, Mr. Fix, Whiplash, A.I.M., Living Laser, the Maggia, Controller, Crimson Dynamo, Blizzard, Killer Shrike, Unicorn, M.O.D.O.K., Ghost, Black Knight, and Technovore. He is assisted in his crime fighting efforts with help from James Rhodes and Pepper Potts. Tony's activities as Iron Man usually result in his needing to make up excuses as to why he is constantly late or missing from school and other activities. Dependent on his phenomenal technology for survival, Tony must balance the pressures of teenage life with the duties of being a super hero.

First Season [edit]
The first season of Iron Man: Armored Adventures focuses on the Makluan Rings saga as Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and Gene Khan work together to get the 5 rings. Upon overthrowing his stepfather Xin Zhang, Gene secretly works undercover to steal the rings from his friends, and ends up betraying them (which upsets Pepper). The season also features the Madame Masque Saga, which comes to a conclusion in the episode "Best Served Cold". Tony's feud with Obadiah Stane comes to a partial conclusion in that episode as well. The season ends with two primary cliffhangers in the episode "Tales of Suspense". The now-friendless Gene discovers that the original Mandarin had 5 other rings besides the original 5. Tony finds out that his father, Howard, survived the plane crash and is being held prisoner, while the armory is destroyed during Xin Zhang's attack limiting Tony's resources to find and rescue his father.

This season featured Makluan Guardian versions of Dreadknight, Ultimo, Firebrand, and Fin Fang Foom who guard the rings the Mandarin hasn't obtained yet.

Black Panther, Hulk, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. make guest appearances.

Second Season [edit]
The show has been ordered with 26 episodes for the second season.[7] Black Widow / Natalie Romanoff, Hawkeye, Doctor Doom, Magneto and Justin Hammer appear in this season.[8] [9] General Nick Fury, Black Panther, Mr. Fix, Whiplash and Obadiah Stane return.[10]

The second season covers the Armor Wars saga and Stane International storylines. The first half of Season Two reflecting the Armor Wars has Tony and Rhodey as his definite partner War Machine fighting many people who have stolen Stark's armor tech and seek to exploit the stolen Iron Man specs for their own purposes. The enemies young Stark fights during this version of the Armor Wars include the Ghost who steals Iron Man specs and knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man. Ghost sells the specs to both Justin Hammer and Obadiah Stane but says he will not reveal Iron Man's true identity until Tony turns 18. Justin Hammer makes an armor with the Iron Man specs with the armor being called Titanium Man.[11] [12] Doctor Doom joins forces with Stane to attain the Iron Man armor operating system.[13] Stane builds the Iron Monger armor which is revealed actually to be a direct upgrade from Crimson Dynamo armor (version 3) and is much larger than in the comic book and live action movie realities.[14] The Armor Wars conclude as Obadiah Stane discovers the identity of Iron Man. Stane steals Iron Monger and is intent on destroying Tony once and for all.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15">[15]

While Tony is fighting the Armor Wars, Howard Stark is shown to be alive and forced by Gene to find the other 5 Makluan Rings. Gene continues to find and secured the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth rings for himself during this time. This part of the season also included Makluan Guardian versions of Melter, Sunturion, Grim Reaper, and Grey Gargoyle who guard the remaining Makluan Rings.

The second half of season two showcase the printed page storyline of loosely based on the "Stane International" story arc. Justin Hammer (instead of Obadiah Stane) successfully buys control of Stark International. Stark, Rhodey and Potts all agree to fight against Hammer and his weaponization of Stark International's projects. Unlike the printed page version, Stark and Rhodes reject the title of Circuits Maximus for the new start-up and settle on "Stark Solutions" (opposite to Stark Enterprises of the printed page).

In the second season episode "Hostile Takeover", the introduction of Pepper's armored identity as Rescue is held out in prospect.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[16]

Third Season [edit]
Acording to Story Editor Brandon Auman, talks about the third season occurred as early as December 2011 and introducing Wolverine to the series if the third season was confirmed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[17]

On May 25, 2012, James Harvey reported from Nicktoons that the 2012 finale will be a specific season end, and not a series end. "The network is slated to air new episodes of Iron Man: Armored Adventures weekly through the summer, up to the final episodes of the second season."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[18] Despite later reports of James Harvey (first on June 20, 2012<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[19] and later on July 6, 2012<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[20] ) stating that the series was cancelled and Brandon Auman stating in an interview with Harvey, "I wish we would have gotten a third season because it would be great to have the three of them go on more missions together. But at least we did get 52 episodes, which ain't bad!",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[21] Nicktoons announced in its promo for "Makluan Invasion Part 2: Unite!" on the official site that the 2012 finale is a specific season finale.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[22] Nicktoons has not revealed when the third season is to begin production or airing.

On March 25th 2013, Marvel Animation announced the April 23rd release of the "Complete Season 2" a 4-DVD box set with light up panel (emulating the Triangle unibeam effect on the box front), not the "Complete Series" DVD set.

Principal cast [edit]

 * Adrian Petriw - Anthony "Tony" Stark/Iron Man
 * Alistair Abell - Happy Hogan, Black Knight<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-0">[23]
 * Daniel Bacon - James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine
 * Anna Cummer - Virginia "Pepper" Potts/Rescue
 * Lisa Ann Beley - Iron Man Onboard Computer, Abigail Brand
 * Mackenzie Gray - Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger
 * Catherine Haggquist - Roberta Rhodes
 * Kristie Marsden - Whitney Stane/Madame Masque
 * Vincent Tong - Gene Khan, Xin Zhang/Mandarin

Guest cast [edit]

 * Michael Adamthwaite - Justin Hammer/Titanium Man
 * Ashleigh Ball - Natalie Romanoff / Black Widow
 * Eric Bauza - Thunderbolt Ross
 * Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[24] - Black Panther
 * Christopher Britton - Doctor Doom
 * Louis Chirillo<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-1">[23] - Living Laser/Arthur Parks
 * Michael Daingerfield<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-2">[23] - Unicorn
 * Michael Dobson - Ghost, Makluan Warrior
 * Brian Drummond<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-3">[23] - O'Brian, Makluan Warrior
 * Mark Gibbon<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-4">[23] - Hulk
 * Andrew Francis<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-5">[23] - Rick Jones, Hawkeye
 * Ron Halder - Professor Abraham Klein, Magneto, Professor X
 * Fred Henderson - Howard Stark
 * Peter Kelamis<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-comicscontinuum.com_25-0">[25] - Whiplash/Marc Scarlotti
 * Michael Kopsa<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-6">[23] - Controller/Dr. Basil Sandhurst
 * Paula Lindberg - Sasha
 * Donny Lucas<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-7">[23] - Mr. Fix
 * Richard Newman - Dr. Anton Harkov
 * Brenna O'Brien - Mad Thinker/Rhona Burchill
 * Mark Oliver<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-8">[23] - Crimson Dynamo/Ivan Vanko
 * David Orth<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-9">[23] - Blizzard/Donnie Gill
 * Ty Olsson<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-10">[23] - Killer Shrike
 * Dean Redman<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-comicscontinuum.com_25-1">[25] - Nick Fury
 * Russell Roberts<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-11">[23] - Count Nefaria
 * Tabitha St. Germain - Maria Hill, Technovore
 * Venus Terzo - Jean Grey
 * French Tickner - Professor Zimmer
 * Lee Tockar<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-voicecast_23-12">[23] - MODOK
 * Dale Wilson - Senator Robert Kelly
 * Alex Zahara - Peter Corbeau

Pre-release [edit]
Months before the show's television debut, Marvel had a screening of the first episode of the series at the San Diego Comic-Con.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-firstlook_26-0">[26] There was also a room where the public could meet, and talk with the Co-Producer Josh Fine and Head Writer Chris Yost among others involved in the production of the show.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-firstlook_26-1">[26] The trailer of the show was also released on Marvel's official website as well as numerous behind-the-scene and teaser trailers on the website in the weeks before the US television debut.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[27]

Theme song [edit]
Popular rock band Rooney recorded the theme song to the series.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-music-mix.ew.com_28-0">[28] The song originally could be downloaded from Teletoon`s website. A provided "secret code", Tony would be needed to access the theme. This "secret code" was shown onscreen during Canadian broadcasts of the first few episodes of the first season.. The music video for the theme song features clips of Rooney singing, along with clips of Iron Man from the show.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-music-mix.ew.com_28-1">[28]

Animation style [edit]
The series is made primarily using computer-generated imagery (CGI), in a similar style to MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and Nicktoons' original series Skyland. The technique is similar to cel-shading animation technique although the detail and resolution are lower.

Origin differences [edit]
See also: Iron Man#OriginsIn Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Tony Stark becomes Iron Man as a teenager, and Pepper Potts and James Rhodes are also teenagers. In the mainstream Iron Man continuity, Tony Stark becomes Iron Man later on in his life as a grown man, and is a long time friend with Pepper, whereas in this series, Pepper and Tony have just met.

Traditionally, Tony's parents were accidentally killed in a car crash, whereas in this series, Tony's father, Howard Stark, disappears in the first episode in a plane crash suggesting Howard's death. Howard lives to see his son become the armored hero Iron Man and even helps his son in his adventures in this reality. Howard uses the advanced technology of one of the alien Mandarin rings that he discovers for the basis of his many creations that he later locks away in his vault such as the light armor of the Living Laser. In the mainstream incarnation, Howard never met the Mandarin nor had any of his ten rings.

Tony also injures his heart in this crash, as opposed to being injured by an explosion in war. Tony invents the Iron Man armor at home. In previous incarnations, Tony invented a beta version of the suit to escape after being captured due to the trap explosion leaving him defenseless. In the show, Ho Yinsen was a Stark International medical specialist who saved Tony by installing the technology that saved him instead of Yinsen meeting Tony in the war being held captive. Ho Yinsen is different from his comics counterpart, he is unaware of Tony's double life as Iron Man.

Iron Man's armor [edit]
The Iron Man Mark 1 armor in the series.The Iron Man Mark 2 armor in the series.Iron Man's original armor in the series is very similar to Iron Man's armor in the 2008 live action film, although the helmet design is different, and the armor is less yellow.

The armor appears to be convertible from its ability to spread over Tony from various parts he puts on. This armor generates a force field around Iron Man from his repulsors.

There are also numerous alternate armors that Stark uses in special occasions, including the Silver Centurion Armor, the Stealth Armor and the Hulkbuster armor (which was originally named the Dynamo Buster armor).

In the second season, the armor was changed to look more like the second live action film's armor. One of the main changes of the armor is the circle unibeam is now a triangle unibeam. This also made the armor look more like the Extremis armor in the comics.

DVD releases [edit]
The pilot episode was released as a bonus feature in Wal-Mart's edition of the live-action Iron Man movie.

Volume One was released on DVD in the United States on October 20, 2009. The Blu-ray edition was released exclusively through Best Buy. In the UK, Volume One contains the first 13 episodes (the one-hour pilot being split into two separate episodes) on two discs.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">[29] Volume Two was released in the United States on January 5, 2010. The Complete Season One was released in the United States in May 4, 2010. The Complete Season One set included an unreleased pair of Volume Three and Four DVDs.

Season Two, Volume One was released on DVD on June 26, 2012, with Volume Two released on September 25, 2012.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[30] Marvel Animation announced that the Season 2, Volume 3 DVD was released on January 22nd 2013.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[31] Season 2 Volume 4 containing the season end episodes has been announced available beginning April 23rd 2013.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[32] Armored Adventures Complete Second Season will be available the same day, April 23rd 2013.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">[33]

Reception [edit]
The hour-long premiere of Iron Man: Armored Adventures broke Nicktoons Network's record of highest-rated original series by premiering with over 125,000 viewers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34">[34]

Reviews of the pilot episode have been mixed. Some praise the series for its detailed and layered writing, strong continuity, and character designs. Entertainment Weekly gave the series debut a B+ grade, saying, "What could've been a clunky retrograde reboot works surprisingly well, thanks to some smart writing and stellar CG butt-kickery."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">[35] Others do not like the "teen Tony" approach to the character's origin, which is drastically different from the original origin story. Some speculate this is due to comparisons between the series, and Jon Favreau's 2008 live action film, which was a more adult take on the character as well as this new origin having parrallels to the origins of Spider-Man.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36">[36]

Awards [edit]
In 2012, Iron Man Armored Adventures won the Pulcinella Award for Best TV Series for Teens.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">[37]