The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume 1 DVD Review

The Super Hero Squad Show Volume 1: Quest For The Infinity Sword! was released on July 13, 2010. I received a copy from Shout! Factory a couple weeks ago (but with us moving our office, I fell a little behind). The show has run it's first season and this DVD includes the first seven episodes.
 
When the show was first announced, I have to admit I had serious reservations. I was, and still am, a huge Mini-Marvels (by Chris Giarrusso) fan. I always felt that Mini-Marvels should've been made into a cartoon. With Super Hero Squad, I felt it was a more kiddie version of the idea and with a show, the chances of a Mini-Marvels show happening weren't good. Of course I'd give the show a chance. When it was revealed that the show would have a huge and impressive voice cast, I started looking forward to it.
 
After watching the first season, I have to admit, I've become a fan.
 == TEASER ==
The great thing about the show is you have such a wide range of characters that can appear on the show (except for Spider-Man, who does appear in the video game, perhaps this will change since Spectacular Spider-Man isn't getting a third season). The main characters are Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor, Silver Surfer, Falcon and later on, Reptil. The idea seen in the pilot episode changed a little. Originally the "Squad" formed for each mission would depend on the danger present and which heroes would be best suited to handle it (there was a device called the Starkutron 3000 that would form the Squad). The show mainly focused on those set heroes but each episode would have "guest stars" that included characters like Captain America, Ms. Marvel, the Thing, Storm, Wasp, Luke Cage and others. Time has gone into developing each character to give them their own unique personality that is often a little different than their normal comic book counterparts. What you get is a feeling that Marvel is totally fine with poking fun at themselves from time to time. 
 

The premise of the show is simply, Doctor Doom was trying to get his hands on the Infinity Sword. In a battle, it ended up shattering and now the pieces are scattered all over the place. It's up to the Super Hero Squad to try to retrieve those pieces before Doom and his evil minions ( MODOK, Abomination and others) from getting them first. Contact with a piece has different (and often funny) effects. 
 
Volume 1 contains the following episodes:

• And Lo...A Pilot Shall Come!
• This Silver, This Surfer!
• Hulk Talk Smack!
• To Err is Superhuman!
• Enter: Dormammu!
• A Brat Walks Among Us!
• Oh Brother!

Bonus features include a new interview with Stan Lee (who also provided the voice of the Mayor of Super Hero City), a music video (with the theme song that will get stuck in your head), The Super Hero Squad Show trailer, The Super Hero Squad Show Online trailer and THQ's Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Guantlet Game trailer. I'm not normally a fan when shows are released in "volumes" rather than a complete set. The first season had 26 episodes. This volume retails for $14.93 (and can be found closer to ten bucks online). Despite this, the DVD is still worth picking up. I have been converted. I do like this show. I have been waiting for news on the second season.
 
I would give this release a solid 4 out of 5. It's not the complete first season and the bonus features are okay but it's the show that makes this fun. It's a show that that is good for all ages (and not just younger viewers). You can see that the direction changed slightly from the pilot episode ( Mole Man was having gas issues when dealing with the different pressure from down below and on the surface). It's a fun show that, as I mentioned, will poke fun at itself. It's a great way to introduce new viewers to the Marvel Universe and for old viewers to get a kick out of seeing the different characters work together.
 
Here's some profiles on characters we've posted before to get an idea what they're like here.