Retrospective 2009 - Part 3

We have reached the culmination of our look back on 2009. If you missed them, check out Parts 1 and 2.

Green Lantern: First Flight

July brought one of the years best efforts in the form of the animated Green Lantern: First Flight DVD. It was about time that Green Lantern got his own movie and this origin story will hopefully pave the way for future entries.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

You pretty much know what to expect from a GI Joe movie. This movie is basically what you expect, though pleasantly better. Somehow with tempered expectations GI Joe ends up a more enjoyable movie than Transformers 2, even though it made a lot less. Its $150 million may not be enough to greenlight a sequel, unless of course there were ample toy sales- which there very well may have been.



Zartan, Snake Eyes, Destro, Stormshadow. They are all here.


Super Hero Squad

Marvel's Super Hero Squad debuted in September and has been a big hit. I for one can't get past the high pitched voices and manic stories, but some people love it. I think the idea is cool- throwing in pretty much the whole Marvel Universe sans Spidey- but it just a little too juvenile for me (and I still watch Super Friends).




Superman Batman: Public Enemies

Near the end of September, DC released their third DTV of the year featuring everyone's favorite team-up. This movie was a pretty straight forward adaptation of the Superman Batman comic book issues #1-6. Though not as good as Wonder Woman or the Green Lantern movies, this was still a solid entry, providing one more take on Power Suit Luthor.



Much like Hulk VS, this movie was made up of a bunch of showdowns. Batman and Superman took on Hawkman, Captain Marvel, DC's ice-themed villains, Major Force, Black Lightning, Captain Atom, Solomon Grundy, and a bunch of other costumed "supers."

Of course, during the year a number of other superhero TV series continued to air.


On Smallville, Clark Kent took on Doomsday in the season 8 finale. In season 9, Major Zod and Metallo have become new threats. In the meantime, Clark has teamed up with the Wonder Twins and will meet the JLA early next year.


Highlights of the team-up series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, saw Batman teaming with the Boy Wonder, The Joker, Bat-Mite, and Aquaman to take on such epic threats as Owl Man, Crazy Quilt, and of course the Music Meister.

The fantastic series Spectacular Spider-Man ended its second season (which sadly due to business related decisions may be the final season) with the identity of the Green Goblin being revealed. Hopefully there will eventually be a season 3 since this is pretty much the definitive Spider-Man series with so many stories yet to tell.

On other channels... Heroes continued to air, writing plenty of new twists for Sylar and killing characters on screen months before they were revealed to be dead. It seems Heroes days are numbered in spite of an overall improvement in the quality of season 4. Wolverine and the X-Men also continued to air on the elusive Nicktoons channel, though I will be waiting to catch the show on DVD.

And that my friends was 2009 in a nutshell. Superheroes continued to be prolific and 2010 doesn't look to slow down.

Onscreen History of War Machine

James Rupert Rhodes AKA Rhodey is the character most associated with the War Machine armor. Rhodey filled in for Iron Man when Tony Stark was off drinking, but when Tony returned, Rhodey assumed the War Machine identity.

Rhodey and the War Machine armor first appeared on screen in the 1994 animated Iron Man series.

During the '90's War Machine made the rounds on the animated circuit also appearing in a cameo as a member of SHIELD in an episode of the X-Men animated series.

Next up, War Machine and Spidey teamed up against Venom and Carnage on the Spider-Man animated series.

Then of course, Iron Man and War Machine made a stop on the Incredible Hulk animated series.

After his 90's whistle stop tour, War Machine took a hiatus, with the armor making a quick appearance in 2006 on the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Superheroes series.

Also in 2006, Tony Stark would don the War Machine armor when his traditional suit got busted up in the Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther direct to video movie.

The 2009 Iron Man Armored Adventures featured a young take on Iron Man and his friend Rhodey, and as you could expect, the story eventually led Rhodey back into the War Machine suit.

War Machine is slated to appear sometime in 2010 on the animated Super Hero Squad series.

Though War Machine did not appear in 2007's Iron Man movie, Rhodey sure did, even going as far as to say that some time he would like to try on the Iron Man suit.

Though, Rhodey was recast for 2010's Iron Man 2, it is now confirmed that he will be getting his wish.

And in 2010, War Machine will be making his big screen, live action debut.

Count Your Many Squaders, Name Them One By One

The Super Hero Squad is set to debut on September 19th on Cartoon Network and the promotion for the series is heating up. From the hero montage, it looks like everyone from Avengers to X-Men to Fan 4 and their dogs are joining the show's lineup (sans one itsy-bitsy spider).

The villains are equally well represented.

Perhaps even more impressive is the all star line-up assembled to voice these characters. They have Luke Skywalker, Geordi, 6, Parkman, The Real Ice-Man, Newman, Sulu, Hercules. Wow!

I don't know if the show is going to be any good, but at least they aren't holding back on the A-listers like they did with that horrible 90's Avengers series. This looks like it could be a fun show. And at the least, my 4- year old daughter will soon know who The Punisher is.

Marvel Babies Hero Up

This show could either be kinda fun or a train wreck. It basically looks like the Marvel Babies duking it out. I will probably check it out next month on Cartoon Network, but I am not too optimistic. Then again Batman: The Brave and the Bold turned out pretty good. And at least this has a jam packed line-up (sans Spider-Man). That could be fun.

This is how the show has been described:

When the greatest heroes on the planet unite to face the world's greatest villains, you get the biggest, most family-friendly Super Hero team-up in TV history… The Super Hero Squad Show. It's no small job protecting Super Hero City from the wild, weird (& even wacky) villainy of Villainville's infamous baddies… but Iron Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Thor and the Falcon are always up for the job.

Shouting "Hero Up!" as they rush into battle, the Squad must keep Dr. Doom's minions from gathering pieces of the Infinity Sword. Otherwise, Doom will use the Sword to rule the universe! Luckily, the City is filled with Marvel super-hero guest-stars to help out in a pinch. These brave heroes totally deliver the action – but with plenty of humor on the side.

And here is the sneak peek, sorry for the abysmal quality: