A Forgotten Marvel TV Series Turned The Avengers Into Power Rangers

Superheroes thrive in animation. The medium is uniquely positioned to capture the visual possibilities and sheer imagination of comic books without having to compromise anything. It's the reason the highest-rated superhero show of all time on IMDb is a cartoon. As we have seen time and time again, from the masterpiece that is "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" to the gripping drama of "X-Men '97," animation can serve these stories in a way that live-action can't.

Still, that doesn't mean every effort is a home run. For every "Batman: The Animated Series," there's a "Batman Unlimited." While the '90s saw plenty of masterful cartoons based on superheroes, even Marvel ones with "X-Men: The Animated Series" and "Spider-Man," there was still something missing — The Avengers. So, in the late '90s, Fox Kids decided to fix this grave mistake and create an Avengers cartoon. Before the show could get greenlit, however, Marvel Comics went into bankruptcy, halting the development of every project in the works.

After Marvel resolved its bad finances (check out "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" for more on this), the project that would eventually be called "The Avengers: United They Stand" got revived. Though originally plotted and developed by Marty Isenberg and Robert N. Skir ("Gargoyles," "Transformers: Beast Machines"), the final project would be spearheaded by former "X-Men: The Animated Series" story editor Eric Lewald and his wife Julia.

This is a wild show, and far from the best superhero cartoons of that decade. Still, "The Avengers: United They Stand" has two things going for it: The series uses the West Coast Avengers team that doesn't always get the spotlight, and it gives the team futuristic armor and transformation sequences straight out of "Sailor Moon."

Kids in the '90s hoping to see Captain America, Iron Man, or Thor finally appear in a cartoon together may have been tremendously disappointed by "The Avengers: United They Stand" when — despite being in the intro — the characters didn't appear in the show itself outside of a cameo (which Thor didn't even get). Instead, the cartoon's roster found inspiration in the West Coast Avengers lineup, led by Ant-Man and his wife, The Wasp. The team also included Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, and Tigra, with Vision and Falcon joining after the first episode.

Meanwhile, the team faces off against many big comic book villains, from Ultron and Kang the Conqueror to Egghead and the Masters of Villains, while also featuring characters like Namor and Agatha Harkness.

Similar to other animated shows of the time like "Batman Beyond," "The Avengers: United They Stand" has a very futuristic production design that gives the cartoon an unusual look and feel (not necessarily for the better). This also applies to character redesigns, as Kang in particular gets changed so much that he looks more like Annihilus, with a big futuristic armor that covers his whole body and makes him look more generic.

Even though the cartoon features episodes written by comics legends Len Wein and Jan Strnad, it just pales in comparison to the writing quality on shows like "X-Men: The Animated Series." The most jarring part of the show is the decision to give characters heavy armor like they are in "Mass Effect" or "Starship Troopers." This is particularly weird when it comes to a character like Hawkeye, whose armor makes him look extra clunky. Still, the transformations, akin to ones you might see on something like "Power Rangers" or "Sailor Moon," are fun if you grew up with those kinds of shows.

Sure, "United They Stand" is not a great Avengers cartoon, and it hasn't aged that well visually, but if you're curious to see a different kind of Marvel animated show, you can catch this on Disney+.