The heroes of Marvel Comics have been everywhere lately. Now, Nicktoons, which has already added Wolverine and the X-Men to its lineup, looks to capitalize on the success of the 2008 blockbuster movie Iron Man with an animated series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
This is not the Armored Avenger’s first foray to the small screen. Two previous animated series featured clunky animation and stilted dialogue, but stayed true to the comic. Nicktoons’ version has slick computed animation that renders nearly lifelike buildings and objects. People, however, are awkward and move about clumsily. Think The Sims: Marvel Universe.
But that is not the series’ biggest sin. Iron Man: Armored Adventures takes a few too many liberties with the comic book’s basic storyline. Tony Stark is no longer the ingenious captain of industry who built the Iron Man suit to escape captivity. Instead, he’s a teenage wunderkind whose father’s death leaves Stark Industries in the hands of Obadiah Stane. James “Rhodey” Rhodes is reduced from former combat pilot to schoolboy. Pepper Potts is a teen sleuth, rather than Stark's callipygian secretary and sometimes love interest.
Iron Man: Armored Adventures has little that will appeal to fans of the comic book. Younger viewers who have never read the Iron Man comic or seen the film may have an easier time latching on to the series, but they’d be better served going to the source material.
Iron Man: Armored Adventures premieres on Nicktoons on April 24 at 7 p.m.
