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Review By Arsenal, Media by Stu
Episode Episode #12 - Earth And Fire, Part One Music Composed By: Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi Animation Services By: Sae Rom Guest Starring: Martin Roach as The Falcon, Ron Rubin as The Vision, Rod Wilson as Ant-Man, Linda Ballantyne as The Wasp, Stavroula Logothettis as Scarlet Witch, Lenore Zann as Tigra, Graham Harley as Edwin Jarvis and John Stocker as Ultron. Credits (Part Two) Directed By: Ron Myrick Music Composed By: Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi Animation Services By: Sae Rom Guest Starring: Martin Roach as The Falcon, Ron Rubin as The Vision, Rod Wilson as Ant-Man, Linda Ballantyne as The Wasp, Stavroula Logothettis as Scarlet Witch, Lenore Zann as Tigra, Graham Harley as Edwin Jarvis and John Stocker as Ultron. Review: All good things must come to an end. All bad things too, fortunately.Avengers: United We Stand is one of the weakest Marvel animation series, and there is plenty blame to go around. The animation never impresses, the voice actors don't rise above the mediocre scripts and every episode feels like a new toy commercial. (Ask for Crash Armor Falcon, in stores now.) "Earth And Fire II" is not the worst this series had to offer, but it is difficult to assess a series finale without assessing the finale. And the series failed to engross. Worse, it didn't even seem to have any aspirations beyond being a so-so toy commercial. Other failed Marvel series like "Silver Surfer" and "Spiderman Unlimited" at least had aspirations. They tried to do something creative or cerebral and failed. This series seemed content to peddle out stock heroes against mustache-twirling villains week after week. This specific episode tried to raise the stakes. It fed us some action and gave us a credible (if silly) villain group: The Zodiac. The problem, however, is the entire plot is intentionally shrouded in too much history. For the last 13 episodes, the Avengers and Zodiac have been fighting over a series of macguffins. After an entire episode, we should at least know the villains' master plan. Especially if there is a possibility that the series will only receive 13 episodes. Instead, nothing is resolved. Another important plot line, the status of Wonder Man, comes to a non-conclusion. Wonder Man is unstable and might have to leave the Avengers. He's been unstable since episode two. Moreover, who cares if he isn't in the Avengers if the Avengers are canceled? I can accept failure. Failure can be interesting, fascinating even if there is a hint of a good idea. This is the worst kind of failure, the one where the creative team tried to play it safe. In conclusion, I'd like to assess the Avengers (the series and the episode) with a hamhanded sports metaphor. In basketball, a missed shot from half court is worth the same amount of points as a missed free throw. But there's no excuse to miss the free throw. Avengers: United We Stand is a missed free throw. Screenshots: 
 
 
 
 
 Part Two 
 
 
 
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