Editorial: Marvel Needs More Animated Content That Is NOT Associated With The MCU

[wonderfly]

The latest weekly editorial is up on the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Editorial: Marvel Needs More Animated Content That Is NOT Associated With The MCU"​

"The Marvel Cinematic Universe MCU is one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history. However. at this point, I think Marvel’s directive that almost all of its animated content be associated with the MCU is dragging down the quality of its animated projects. Almost all the Marvel animated series that aired on Disney XD (Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assembled, etc) would try to ape plot points and design choices from the MCU.

For example, the alien warriors the Chitauri showed up in an episode of Ultimate Spider-Man, this is despite the fact that the Chitauri are not a major antagonist in the traditional Spider-Man comic book series. The Chitauri did appear as villains in the Ultimates comic book series, but those were separate from the traditional 616 universe. The Chitauri seen in the Ultimates comics were completely different from the Chitauri seen in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. Even in the Ultimate comic book universe, Spider-Man never fought the Chitauri. No, the Chitauri in Ultimate Spider-Man were the ones seen in the 2012 Avengers film. Spider-Man has no history with the Chitauri in either the 616 universe or the Ultimate Comics Universe. The Chitauri are not iconic Spider-Man villains, they were included in that show simply because they appeared in the movies."

Read the full article here.

 

[Frontier]

I want more shows like X-Men '97 and less like What If.

 

[Freddy]

I agree with this editorial in general, but I'm going to defend What if? a little bit and say that tying up with the MCU makes sense. The hook of What if? is to put new twists on familiar stories and the majority of the audience of a streaming animated show isn't made out of comic readers. So, if What if? the series was adapting old What if? comics, most of those twists would be meaningless to the people watching, because they would have no idea how those stories are "supposed to" go down. MCU versions of these characters and stories are mainstream enough that an average joe can understand what a premise like "What if Steve Rogers wasn't Captain America?" means in that context.

The only alternative way of adaptating What if?, that I can see, is for a long-running Marvel show having Simpsons' Threehouse of Horror-styled episodes, where they would do what if? riffs on their own previous episodes. Say, for example, AEMH could have done something like "What if the Leader's Gamma World wasn't stopped?" or "What if Thor never left Asgard?".

 

[SweetShop209]

I think it would help if Marvel shows also took influence from Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur, though I don't know how much a show from Disney Television Animation would influence Marvel. Still, it's a very top notch series simply because of how charming Lunella and the characters are and how we get to see some real growth.

 

[Antiyonder]

I think as with anything, it's making sure to give some good amount of views to Non-MCU shows whether it is the current X-Men '97, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur or the various other oldies not MCU related.

 

[harry580]

since marvel big success before mcu were the direct to video movies lionsgate used to released & the marvel anime, I love to see marvel to go in that direction again

 

[TheGuy]

As long as we get goodness like X Men 97 and not What If? I'm chill with them doing this

 

[wonderfly]

The latest weekly Editorial is up on the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Editorial: Where Should Marvel Animation Head Next? A Few Suggestions…."​

"The success X-Men ’97, hopefully means that there are many more animated projects on the way, and with that, there are many unique directions the studio can go. A previous editorial here at “AnimeSuperhero” advised that Marvel Animation steer clear of being tied to the MCU. I largely agree, though there are ways for some projects to be “MCU Adjacent”. Here are some suggestions:

Continuations:

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: This beloved cartoon was canceled unfairly shortly before they started introducing aspects and characters that haven’t even been used in the MCU yet. Its well-developed characters and strong storytelling made it Marvel’s answer to Justice League Unlimited. Due to its early cancellation, there were still plenty of lingering plot threads left hanging and this could be our only chance to get more Iron Man and Captain America since they are now out of the MCU."

Read the full Editorial here.

 

[wonderfly]

News/Mod Note: Since the two editorials were closely in relation to one another, I added both editorials to the same discussion thread.

 

[Christopher Glennon]

Depending on the general feeling of the multiverse, an Exiles show sounds like a good idea. Even if they don't continue the 1990's Fantastic Four cartoon, I would freak if 90's animated Reed showed up in some kind of Council of Reeds in a future Fantastic Four cartoon.

As for Earth-X, we should wait for DC to do a Kingdom Come movie first to test the waters and see if Alex Ross art can translate to animation.

 

[Rick Jones]

Depending on the general feeling of the multiverse, an Exiles show sounds like a good idea. Even if they don't continue the 1990's Fantastic Four cartoon, I would freak if 90's animated Reed showed up in some kind of Council of Reeds in a future Fantastic Four cartoon.

As for Earth-X, we should wait for DC to do a Kingdom Come movie first to test the waters and see if Alex Ross art can translate to animation.

I think my mind would explode if I heard Beau Weaver voice Reed in something new.

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

It may be obvious, but the 90s Spider-Man cartoon is a good option to continue after X-Men. The final season is weirdly short and ended suddenly.

Spider-Man Unlimited had a cliffhanger that was never resolved. Same for Silver Surfer. Unfortunately those two shows were only on for 13 episodes, and didn’t become nearly as popular as the earlier 90s Spider-Man, so I don’t really see them ever being resolved.

 

[The Overlord]

It may be obvious, but the 90s Spider-Man cartoon is a good option to continue after X-Men. The final season is weirdly short and ended suddenly.

Spider-Man Unlimited had a cliffhanger that was never resolved. Same for Silver Surfer. Unfortunately those two shows were only on for 13 episodes, and didn’t become nearly as popular as the earlier 90s Spider-Man, so I don’t really see them ever being resolved.

I think the issue is "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" is coming out soon and I think having a Spider-Man 98 series would be trickier if "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" is going on at the same time as Spider-Man 98. Really, Spidey is the most overexposed superhero in TV animation and could use a break. I think Spider-Man 98 would be an easier sell if there wasn't constant animated TV shows from 2008 to 2020.

 

[Chris Wood]

I'll go a step further - Marvel Needs More Animated Content That Is NOT Associated With Superheroes.

I like heroes in spandex saving the day and all, but it would be nice to get more variety. In the 1980s-90s Marvel Productions produced a more diverse range of animated series, most of which were not superhero focused:

Meatballs & Spaghetti
Pandamonium
Dungeons & Dragons
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Muppet Babies
The Transformers
Robotix
Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines
Jem and the Holograms
Inhumanoids
My Little Pony 'n Friends
The Glo Friends
MoonDreamers
Potato Head Kids
Defenders of the Earth
Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series
Little Wizards
The Little Clowns of Happytown
Dino-Riders
RoboCop
Rude Dog and the Dweebs
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Kid 'n Play
Space Cats
Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!
Little Shop
Biker Mice from Mars

I'm not suggesting bringing back Kid 'n Play, but it would be great to see different types of heroes, and even some comedy series as well.

And I would not be opposed at all if they want to revive Dungeons & Dragons, Inhumanoids, Robocop, or Bucky O'Hare.