TV Retrospective: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes season 2 episodes 6-10

Micheal Korvac

In the comics, Korvac is more or less a monster, in EMH, he’s kinda different.

In the opening, a strange man (yeah, we all know he’s Korvac) arrives and begs for help saying that ‘they’ are coming for him. At the mansion Janet and Carol are talking about Janet’s recent breakup with Ant-man.

The doorbell rings and the police have brought Michael Korvac to the mansion. Korvac confuses Janet for Karina but when she reveals her name she begs for her help. She takes him in and says she’ll summon Jane Foster to help. Michael remembers being abducted by the Kree Sentry and experimented on. He becomes aggressive until the Wasp is forced to knock him out.

Hawkeye, Iron Man and Black Panther observe as Janet theorises, but the Black Panther has some reservations. Iron Man sends Hawkeye and the Black Panther to observe the crater in which Korvac arrived in whilst Janet goes to find the real Karina, who she finds in the very next scene.

Hawkeye is also suspicious about Michael’s story as the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive. Unlike the movie we don’t see Gamora or Drax, instead we have Quasar and Warlock. Tony and the Hulk talk, with the Hulk demonstrating more intelligence than Iron Man suspected. Hawkeye and Black Panther have discovered cosmic radiation at the site which Iron Man had also discovered on Michael.

The Wasp brings Karina to Michael. But as Michael ups the creep factor the Guardians arrive. Wasp instigates an attack thinking that Star Lord was up to something. Iron Man takes on Quasar, Black Panther deals with Warlock, Star Lord fights Hawkeye, Rocket and Groot team up on the Hulk allowing the Wasp to take Korvac to safety. Hawkeye knocks Star Lord down and demands answers, Star Lord says he has no idea who Korvac is

Iron Man knocks out Quasar but is surprised he’s speaking English. The wasp brings the couple to the hangar but are intercepted by Warlock, Hawkeye and Star Lord rush in to explain. Korvac is insane and has wiped out hundreds of sentient lives.

Miss Marvel arrives on the scene and sees the destruction of the battle. As the Wasp tries to defend Micheal he begins glowing yellow, emitting vast amounts of energy, he knocks everyone out except Karina, Miss Marvel arrives and sees them all unconscious and blasts Korvac, he absorbs her energy much like she does. She’s knocked out and she and Karina are grabbed.

The Wasp wakes up in familiar surroundings, as do the others before they come together. Quasar wakes up Warlock, who had absorbed everyone into the soul gem. He explains the concept of the Guardians of the Galaxy and introduce themselves. They reveal that Korvac had blown up a Kree  ship, a space station and a chunk of the planet below. He was just laughing the debris.

The plan was to let Warlock absorb him into the soul gem. In the real world the battle moves to central park. The avengers and the guardians arrive and lay on their attacks, distracting him until Warlock can pull him in, however this fails. Karina gets upset, saying she was scared, she calls him a monster, trying to get him to stop and he does so, she breaks down and the wasp conforts her

Korvac had teleported to an unknown portion of space where Warlock couldn’t sense him. Iron Man asks for intel but the Guardians say they’re better off not knowing. The episode is dedicated to Boyd Kirkland, one of the season’s directors who tragically died before this episode aired. He also has credits on Batman: The Animated Series and X-men: The animated series.

It’s another very good episode, and a great way to introduce to guardians and subtly bring in the infinity gems (Warlock possess the soul gem).

Rating 9/10

Who do you trust?

It’s time for the main story to make its return once again as we deal with the Skrulls.

We open at the SHIELD heli-carrier, up and running once again, Mockingbird covers her mouth and Nick Fury warns her to watch her back. She hands Maria a file with everything he knows, everywhere has been infiltrated including the super-heroes, Nick escapes before SHIELD guards arrive.

We cut to a pizzeria where they’re welcoming Miss Marvel to the team. Hulk is on monitor duty with the Black Panther watching the Hulk. We’re introduced to quake, who isn’t a hacker with memory issues in this one. She encounters a supervillain and uses her earthquake powers to make him go on a rampage before reporting in.

They see the monster but Tony stays behind to pay the check but is instead knocked out by the Black Widow. Tony awakens in a secret base, he shows Tony the skrull and explains that they’re invading earth. We hear how the attack on HYDRA island allowed Madame Viper to be restrained and changed into a skrull. The pulled a communicator from her, hence their knowledge of the skrull species and know that it has received communications from both the SHIELD heli-carrier and Avengers mansion

Slight problem here, the infiltration of Avengers mansion was after the Loki incident, well after Viper’s capture. Mockingbird recites a scene from Widows sting where Madame Viper kept them alive, making everyone assume they replaced Hawkeye with a skrull.

The avengers return to the mansion, having easily defeated the Griffin with Miss Marvel having done all the work. Black Panther can tell that Iron Man is secretly studying them. He asks whether any of the Avengers have been replaced by a shape-shifting alien. He reveals that Fury suspects Hawkeye was the skrull but of course Hawkeye is defensive. As an agent of sword, Miss Marvel wants to bring him in.

They begin to take sides. Black Panther decides to depart and return to Wakanda. The Hulk goes to Hawkeyes defence, and attacks Miss Marvel. Unable to trust anyone Iron Man leaves, declaring the avengers over. Miss Marvel also takes off, disappointed that her welcome party has gone south. Captain America uses a nice speech to keep the remaining Avengers together (interesting since he is also a Skrull) Hawkeye, the Wasp and the Hulk all agree to remain part of the Avengers.

Nick Fury is watching knowing that Iron Man is very much who he says he is, he assumed that the skrulls had always known that they were onto him. The Black Panther returns to prepare Wakanda for invasion, Iron Man throws his helmet at the wall and Cap meets up with the Skrull leader Mockingbird

Now, did they replace mockingbird when she was captured or was she already a skrull at that point and Madame Viper spared them to ensure she was spared. Guess we’ll never know. It’s a strong episode as the arch becomes more intriguing, the issue is that we all already know who the Skrull is negating some of the drama here.

Rating 8.5/10

The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill

It’s been a while since we checked up with Thor, let’s see what he’s up to

As a star explodes, killing a number of planets a single ship takes off, the ship prepares for battle with Surtur and his fire demons.

Thor takes with Baldar about his worries about Odin fighting Surtur so soon after the incident with Loki. Thor ponders that he finds his thoughts on Midgard, with Jane Foster. Lady Sif overhears and isn’t pleased but Odin returns, concluding that Surtur had left Muspelheim. He hasn’t attacked Asgard yet, but he has found a way to evade Odin’s sight.

The warriors 3 enter with news from Heimdall, with Odin weakened Thor goes to see what to find, Heimdall sees a ship in Midgard that emanates Surtur’s evil. Thor goes out to deal with it using Heimdall as a guide. He arrives and the ship detects him as a threat and fires upon him

Thor manages to destroy the turret and make his way aboard, finding the ship full of containment pods containing species. He’s attacked by a creature, Beta Ray Bill. They fight but he is able to pick up the hammer and use it against Thor. He accidentally hits the ships controls sending it crashing down.

Lady Sif brings news to Odin from Heimdall that Thor is facing Surtur’s forces, Odin summons Mjolnir’s wielder and summons Beta Ray Bill. Beta Ray Bill easily fends off most but Odin stops him. He sees on the monitor that demons are attacking.

Thor has worked out what has happened, Beta Ray Bill mistook them for Surtur’s fire demons, as all who wield Asgardian magic look similar. Bill explains that the fire demons took people from the planet Korbin, they knew the end of the was coming and they fled with most in suspended animation and he underwent modifications to become their guardians. They have since been pursued by the fire demons.

Beta Ray Bill says he’ll do whatever he can to get Mjolnoir, Lady Sif offers to help and Thor says he will give Mjolnir before Odin suggests another way. They head to Nedavilir, the Dwarf King is not happy that his realm was burnt to the ground but agrees to help under the provision that Thor does him a favour at a time of his choosing.

Beta Ray Bill now wears Thor-Like armour and carries his own hammer, stormbreaker. They see fire demons attacking the ship and go to battle. The Enchantress joins the battle, under Surtur’s control. Sif lands on the ship and enters, using a security code to deactivate the weapon systems. The ship is now capable of flight and Sif takes control of the weapons. She takes the battle to the Enchantress but demons begin to board the craft.

Thor advises that if the enchantress is defeated, the demons will fall but they’re not match for her individually. Sif gets help from internal weapons against the fire demons. Thor advises that they act together, they each summon lighting and stun Amora with their hammers; the demons begin to dissipate. Amora demands that they end it but Sutur takes possession of her and she escapes.

Lady Sif offers to go along with Bill, but he senses that she’s needed elsewhere. The threat of Surtur looms greater than ever. Lady Sif now understands why Thor made a connection to Jane Foster, Surtur finishes his sword

It’s an odd episode to carry from such a big reveal but I can say it’s great pity that these threads were never really followed up on.

Rating 9/10

Nightmare in Red

General Ross and Doc Samson arrive at the Heli-carrier for a meeting with Fury.  A SHIELD agent, who somehow has Maria Hill’s eyes enters a secret quarters using a bionic arm to unlock a sample of the Hulk’s blood. It’s the Winter soldier.

Ross and co meet with Ross wanting the Hulk’s blood, Maria rebuttles this request before saying she’ll consider it. We cut to somewhere where Bruce Banner and Clint Barton are fishing, the Hulk gives Banner one free day a month and this is his choice of activity. He’s already tried to find the skrull anyway he can without success.

The Winter Soldier loads the blood to an injector along with a special formula and gives someone an injection of it. The end result is a Red Hulk. Maria goes to investigate the destruction causes in his wake and finally she sees him.

Cap and the Wasp answer a call from the Hulk. He tries to explain that the Hulk is under supervision but Maria doesn’t step back. Cap and The Wasp arrive on the Qunnjet to help. Falcon arrives at the Avengers mansion as Hawkeye and the Hulk, he attack with an adrenaline inhibitor to stop banner from changing but Hawkeye electrocutes him and forces Falcon’s retreat

The Red Hulk has SHIELD on the ropes until a mystery man interferes and forces his retreat to the mansion. Clint is knocked out and Banner taken to the shipping yards. The mystery man wants banner brought to him but Red Hulk destroys the headset, wanting a fight with the Hulk. The others arrive to help.

Banner finally manages to transform after seeing Hawkeye nearly get his arm crushed. They fight with the Hulk being able to defeat the Red Hulk with the help of his fellow Avengers. Red Hulk escapes after some coaxing from mystery man as the hulkbusters arrive seeminly without general Ross. Cap tells the Hulk to stand down as attacking them will make him look guilty.

Ross finally shows up as Banner is arrested. It seems as though Samson too is under control of our mystery senator. Cap reports to his Queen that Banner is no longer on the table.

It’s another bit of forward progress on the Skrull front, but some of the antics seem a little obvious to me.

Rating 7.5/10

Prisoner of War

It’s time to find out where the real Cap has been all this time

We see the A.I.M. scientist supreme (very nearly) being locked up in a prison cell, he begs for mercy as he sees a Skrull change into him. He begs for help and screams. In a cell below is Steven Rogers

We flash back to Cap’s abduction 2 months ago. 3 dove Skrulls arrive to begin a spell to allow the skrull Cap’s powers and memories. The Skrulls interrogate Cap but he will not reveal any intel even under torture. The ship’s captain wants him broken but Cap will not break, so the Queen orders a different tact. The Avengers arrive and free him from his bonds but Cap knows that they’re skrulls and incapacitates them and the pale imitations of their powers. Cap takes the interrogator and begins to interrogate him.

Cap soon comes to realise he’s on a spaceship on Titan. He heads through the ventilation shaft and finds Madame HYDRA, he convinces her that they have to work together to get home. The interrogate the interrogator once again. Their home-world was destroyed by Galactus but a prophecy states that they will use the Earth as their new home-world. They have already infiltrated all high ranking organisations, the invasion is already over. Cap knows this means they have other prisoners and battles the skrulls to release them.

Mockingbird, King Kobra, the commander of SWORD and Quartermain all come out and are greeted by Captain America who relays the speech about working together. One of the cells however did not exit a prisoner. They have one prisoner too powerful to keep conscious, the Invisible Woman

Viper tries to convince them to leave her behind but Cap is having none of it. In order to prevent them escaping they unleash a super-skrull, a skrull with the powers of all the fantastic 4. Cap tells Quartermain (with the invisble woman in tow), the SWORD director and the AIM scientist to board the ship and work out how to fly it whilst Mockingbird, King Cobra, Madame Hydra and Cap hold off the super-skrull. They’re divided by Skrull re-enforcements.

The AIM scientist manages to control the ship and its weapons, firing on the skrulls but also Cap and Viper, Quartermain knocks him out. Viper is grabbed by the Super-skrull and Cap goes out to rescue them, Cap holds off the skrull, telling the others to launch, but he’s saved at the last second by viper and the inviable woman.

Viper warns that once the skrull threat is over, everything will revert to normal. The ship’s captain reports to the queen but she takes interest in that, Cap can inspire humans, even mortal enemies to work together, she can use the skrull Cap to subjugate the humans. Skrull Cap orders invasions on Wakanda, New York and DC.

It’s a great Captain America episode but also another quite light on Avengers

Rating 8/10

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Images used in this review are from The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use