Iron Man and Wolverine Animated Shows Coming to Nicktoons Network
Iron Man and Wolverine are no strangers when it comes to animation. Both of them have been the stars of animated programs in the past and now both of of them will get a chance to return to the medium thanks to the new popularity afforded to them by upcoming big-budget, live-action films.
Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man: The Animated Series will debut in the early part of 2009 with 26 half-hour episodes each on Nicktoons Network.
The plot of Wolverine and the X-Men is as follows:
The story begins as an explosive event shatters the lives of the X-Men and takes away their mentor, Professor X. The beaten heroes, including Beast, Storm, Cyclops and Nightcrawler, walk away from it all but then they are given a rare glimpse into the future, where they see a world in utter ruin … ruled by giant destructive robots. They discover the world has spiraled out of control because the X-Men have given up. So now the most legendary of all X-Men, Wolverine, must take the lead on the ultimate mission — to prevent the world’s destruction — while fending off enemies Magneto and The Brotherhood.
As for Iron Man’s show, the plot roughly follows that of the comics, just with Tony Stark as a teenager instead of a middle-aged alcoholic:
Tony Stark, heir to a billion-dollar corporation, lives a life of luxury, free to pursue his chief interests — seeking extreme thrills, solving scientific mysteries and creating mind-boggling inventions. But everything goes horribly wrong when a tragic accident robs Tony of his father and nearly costs him his own life. Now dependent on his own impressive technology for survival and dedicated to battling corruption, Tony must reconcile the pressure of teenage life with the duties of a Super Hero. Inside his remarkable invention, Tony Stark is geared for high-speed flight, high-tech battles and high-octane adventure! He is Iron Man.
Will a new generation of children tune into to the action packed adventures of Iron Man and Wolverine or will they stick to their precious little anime programs? Only time will tell in this battle to capture young minds and advertising dollars.
(via SHH)
Young Iron Man??!?!! WTF?
Young Iron Man!???!?!!! WTF?!?!
If you ever read the Orson Scott Card 'Ultimate' books, you'd see that Stark can be pretty bad ass, even as a pimply teen!
How about 'I was a teen-aged Iron Man' – The X-Men have given up. So now the most legendary of all X-Men, Wolverine, must take the lead on the ultimate mission –Why don't they call both of these series "What If?"
I caught some sneak footage from the X-Men series and you can see they're planning on leaning towards a slightly more mature audience (a la the 90's series, rather than Evolution). This is great, seeing I'm still looking for something to fill my JLU void.
Remember when being a teen hero meant you were the side-kick?
Nick has struggled with the idea of a more mature audience in the past. Invader Zim had good ratings in an older demographic, but not enough in their core audience.Avatar seems to be garnering an older audience as well as being popular with younger viewers as well. If these new shows can work for kids and older fans as well, then it may just work out.
The interesting thing to look at is that just about ALL comic license cartoons have been molded for a more mature audience, age ranging from 13 to 40. the 90's FOX cartoons such as Spider-Man and X-Men had some of the most continuity-heavy episodes I have ever seen between the hours of 8 and 10 on Saturday mornings. Even UPN's Iron Man/Hulk/Fantastic Four block of shows had some pretty heady episodes as well. Somehow I doubt an eight year old would get the complexity of Namor being in love with the married Sue Storm….
I guess it is good to know that in general, TV executives don't think that there is a need for super Marvin and Wonder dog any more.
You’ve just given me a good idea for an illustration. The X-Men in Super Freinds style with the teen sidekicks.
Wolverine on Nicktoons? UGH!!