This 2008 direct to video release tells the tale of the children of the famous Avengers, who later appeared in the first arc of the current Avengers comic series written by Brian Michael Bendis.
Cast and Crew Information
Noah Crawford as James Rogers (son of Captain America and Black Widow)
Brenna O’Brien as Torunn (daughter of Thor and an unnamed mother)
Aidan Drummond as Pym (son of Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Yellowjacket/Wasp and the original Wasp)
Dempsey Pappion as Azari (son of Black Panther and, presumably, Storm; his mother isn’t named as this was in production before the marriage happened in comics, but he has lightning powers and T’Challa’s ceremony-and-drug induced powers despite not undergoing the ceremony or taking the drugs.)
Adrian Petriw as Hawkeye (son of Clint Barton and and unnamed mohter)
Tom Kane as Tony Stark / Iron Man and Ultron
Fred Tatasciore as the Hulk
Shawn MacDonald as the Vision
Ken Kramer as Bruce Banner
Nicole Oliver as Betty Ross
Michael Adamthwaite as Thor
Script by Christopher Yost based on a story by Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle
Directed by Jay Oliva and Gary Hartle
Availability Information
This is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital formats. It is also a part of the six movie box set along with Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2, Doctor Strange, The Invincible Iron Man and Hulk Vs..
Premise
Ultron, whose history has been rewritten in a minor but pointless fashion, has destroyed the original Avengers and taken over most of the Earth. The only hope lies in the inexperienced offspring of the Avengers who lost the first time. This new generation gathers together, rallies together, and heads out to defeat Ultron.
High Point
The new Hawkeye and James Rogers take after their fathers quite nicely.
Low Point
Spoiler guard: The heroes who gather together as the last hope of humanity? They don’t save the day. The Hulk does.
The Review
The cast is original, but the other details are pretty standard for any “legacy hero” story. I give it 3 out of 6.
The animation is a bit jerky in many cases, and often seems like the cel animators didn’t have access to the finished backgrounds when lining things up. The character designs are generally good, but the motions are not particularly smooth. I give it 3 out of 6.
The story is definitely aimed at the ten year old set. If you aren’t familiar with the details of the source material, and you are ten years old, it will probably work for you quite nicely. As for the rest of us, it’s passable and predictable at best. The nature of the resolution irks me, though, as it feels as though it lacks the appropriate payoff. I give it 4 out of 6.
The voice acting is weak. I honestly can’t tell if the intonation and delivery is poor and then the animations are made to match, or if the animation came first and the voice actors just delivered lines poorly to line up with it. It’s hard to tell, because the problem pervades all performers. I give it 3 out of 6.
The production is actually quite good in terms of music, editing, and composition. I wonder if this marks the deliniation between the contributions from the two directors. I give it 5 out of 6.
The emotional response was, for me, fairly poor. If, however, I had seen this at age ten, before I had read any Avengers comics, I’d have probably loved it. I give it 3 out of 6.
Overall, this is well suited to its target audience. That audience does not include me. I give it 3 out of 6.
In total, The Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow receives 24 out of 42.