IMAGES

Some of them are simply a matter of experience. The voice actors are more comfortable with the characters, as are the writers.

Also, the creators don’t have to worry about introducing three or four new characters per episode any more.

With that having been said, I think it’s noteworthy that sidelining the Mandarin/Gene Khan has improved the series.

Justin Hammer gets the spotlight in “Titanium v. Iron” and he’s a much better foil for both Iron Man and Tony Stark. Meanwhile, the Mandarin as a teen always seemed a little bit silly (in no small part because the writers never got a handle on Gene’s voice. He was too prone to spout generic villain clichés.)

Meanwhile, Justin’s got a better gimmick as an immoral, funhouse version of Tony.

Now, as per this specific episode, it’s pretty much just a big badass fight between Iron Man, War Machine and Titanium Man. That hasn’t usually been Armored Adventure’s strength, but this works.

The fight is well boarded so it’s always clear what’s happening. The writers and actors do a good job of ratcheting up the tension. Yes, there’s some silly pseudoscience here (despite what Tony says, titanium can be extinguished with specialized chemicals) but there’s still some logic here. (I also appreciated how Pepper hinted at Tony’s solution when she complained about the worthlessness of chemistry.)

There’s another cheap fake out involving Mr. Fix in the epilogue, but otherwise this is a very good episode.

Armored Adventures has been on a hot streak since “Armor Wars.”