"The Ultimate Avengers" DTV Speculation Thread (Spoilers)

[screw on head]

Avast Ye Avid Evo Fans!

Hot of the heels of Lions Gates annoucing thier 9 Direct To Video animated features, Steve Gordon, of X-Men: Evolution fame announced 2 days ago this on his website, Updates Page: (http://stevenegordon.com/index_steveg.html)

Something that has been brewing for awhile has finally happened. It's turned into an offer better than I originally imagined. My friend Boyd Kirkland (the producer of X-Men: Evolution and much more) has landed a gig producing a series of Direct-to-Video features for Marvel and LionsGate. The deal to make these videos was announced a little bit ago so I don't feel I'm saying anything that many of you don't already know (or, at least, those of you who follow these types of things) and they offered me a chance to co-direct and do character design work on, at least, the first two - it was an offer that was hard to resist and DreamWorks was very gracious in letting me accept this opportunity.

At this time I can't go into anymore details about the projects accept to say many will be thrilled and delighted with what is planned. I am.
Nice piece of news, eh? I'm glad Boyd Kirkland and Steve Gordon are back at it again, and I'm sure they'll be cooking up another great Marvel translation. I'm willing to bet that they'll be traditionally animated features, can't wait for these.

Comments?

[Obsidian]

Sweeeeet. I really hope at least one is Evo-related(fingers crossed!), but honestly I'll take any feature that has Boyd and Steve involved. :D

[Nick K.]

Pretty cool news. Evo was pretty good, so I don't see where these DTVs can go wrong now... Well, maybe I can, but they won't go wrong.

[EJill34]

Good news. I'll be sure to pick these up, especially with the lack of DCAU DTVs. Damn The Batman.

[Spider-Man]

Do we have any ideas on what some of these DVDs will be and what characters we can expect? Has anything been remotely confirmed?

[Wayman Tisdale]

Avast Ye Avid Evo Fans!

Announced 2 days ago on his website, Steve Gordon mentioned the following on his Updates Page: (http://stevenegordon.com/index_steveg.html)

Nice piece of news, eh? I'm glad Boyd Kirkland and Steve Gordon are back at it again, and I'm sure they'll be cooking up another great Marvel translation. I'm willing to bet that they'll be traditionally animated features, can't wait for these.

Comments?We'll see, I just hope if they do a Captain America project Boyd Kirkland gives Captain America an actual speaking voice this time. His appearance on X-Men Evolution(Operation Rebirth), if anyone noticed he didn't utter ONE WORD the whole episode. VERY STRANGE.

[Icer]

Good, hopefully one of them is an X-Men: Evolution DTV.

[Mysteryinfoman]

A X-men Evo DTV would be very cool, Boyd and Steve, good team. Also not just one but at least 2, sounds even better.

[GL2k2]

So can someone tell me what this guy worked on other than X-Men Evolution?

[Spidey2099]

So can someone tell me what this guy worked on other than X-Men Evolution?

Boyd Kirkland? He's worked on Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles, as well as other series.

Steve Gordon's work can be seen on the link listed in the first post.

[Batgirl Beyond]

I hope they change their mind regarding animation style and do ALL the DTVs in 2D animation in the X-Men: Evo style. I'd love to see the X-Men: Evo universe expanded on through other superheros, and I'm hoping for some continuity through out all the DTVs.

[Spider-Man]

It would be neat for them to use X-Men: Evolution as a groundbase to spin off further animated Marvel comics. I really think Marvel needs to have a set universe for their characters. I do want to see a new version of Spider-Man eventually but I want to see some other heroes get the spotlight first. What characters do you think will get spotlihgt in these DTVs?

[Spidey2099]

What characters do you think will get spotlihgt in these DTVs?An Avengers 'toon seems like the most obvious step for Kirkland and Gordon to take. They'd give it that nice clean style just like they did for Evo.

[EddieTheEditor]

An Avengers cartoon in the Evo style would be fantastic!And the Guest stars they could have! I can see it now...

"The Howard the Duck Saga: Part one: The Cosmic Squish Principal"
"Part Two: And a Duck shall lead them!"
"Part Three: Trapped in a world he never made"

And let's not forget the other possibilities!

"The Mutant Saga P. 1: Enter The X-men!"
"P.2: God Loves, Man Kills"

And everyone loves a little:

"The Spider-Man Saga: The Menace of The Goblin!"
"The Spider-man: There can only be Six!"

And maybe a bit of:

"Slapstick:How Bizarre!"
"Illuminator: We're not making this religious, really!"
and
"Moon Boy: Now we've gone too far."

I went a little nuts on that last batch.

[bigddan11]

Marvel has so many potential projects thatthey could do including:

X-Men spinoffs
Spider-Man
Captain America
Iron Man
Fantastic Four
Silver Surfer
Blade
Avengers
the list could go on forever. Which project would do the best though? I think a Spider-Man series made for Toonami would be great, but Turner probably doesn't want there rivals on their networks.

[EJill34]

Over at www.superherohype.com (http://www.superherohype.com) they posted news about the first of these DTVs. It will be a 66-minute Avengers film starring the heavy-hitters like Captain America. It's currently being scripted and should be out in early 2006. Everything sounds good so far.

[Wayman Tisdale]

Over at www.superherohype.com (http://www.superherohype.com/) they posted news about the first of these DTVs. It will be a 66-minute Avengers film starring the heavy-hitters like Captain America. It's currently being scripted and should be out in early 2006. Everything sounds good so far.GREAT POST MAN, good lookin out! That makes my week, this sounds so cool! My only concern is I'm a tad circumspect about the "Ultimate" in the article. I hope it stays true to regular continuity and stays away from the Ultimate universe which doesn't do anything for me.

[Spider-Friends]

I hope it stays true to regular continuity and stays away from the Ultimate universe which doesn't do anything for me.
Don't count on it. The article says:

The animated feature, based on the Marvel Comics series "The Ultimates," is still in the script phase.

I'm a HUGE fan of The Ultimates, so I'm thrilled!! :D It sure would be nice to get some confirmation that this is what Mr. Kirkland & Mr. Gordon are working on.

[Spider-Friends]

I'm a HUGE fan of The Ultimates, so I'm thrilled!! :D It would be nice to get some confirmation that this is what Mr. Kirkland & Mr. Gordon are working on.

[screw on head]

I'm very pleased with this announcement. Glad to hear their sporting the big guns for this DTV, rather than going up with second tier characters, not that there's anything wrong with that ;).

I do hope that Kirkland and Gordon are working on this, because if so, it's going to be a stunning interperatation of the characters, potentially the best translation of the characters ever. I haven't read any of the Ultimates in a long time, so I can't really judge that material, but from what I have read, it won't be a bad foundation to base the movie on.

All in all, Great news to hear :).

[EJill34]

I'm really excited about these. This Avengers DTV should kick ass. Now, I'm hoping for a Punisher DTV with Garth Ennis writing the script. That would be a dream come true.

[Fone Bone]

If it's in continuity with the 90s Spider-Man and X-Men shows, I'll pick it up (I know, fat chance). Either way I hope it's family friendly for some reason. The TVY7 cartoons from the nineties were better than the TVPG Spider-Man Chronicles for one thing. Maybe cause they were made for kids AND adults instead of Generation Y. I'm sorry, but the last Spider-Man had VERY limited appeal to anyone outside of a narrow demographic. I hope Marvel remembers that.

[Fone Bone]

Personally? I'd prefer if they were in continuity with the mid nineties Spider-Man and X-Men rather than Evolution.

But I guess not either way. I have no idea what an "Ultimate" is but I hope it's good.

[Mynd Hed]

Hmm... I'm wondering what exactly "based on the Ultimates" means. I mean, I like the Ultimates and everything, but they're definitely NOT what I'd call kid-friendly, between the spouse-abusing Pyms, the cannibalistic Hulk, and all the political stuff that would bore the kiddies to tears when it doesn't just fly right over their heads.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to get to see a dark superhero tale aimed at adults, but given Marvel's shaky track record with animated properties, I'm not sure how much financial sense it makes, and I'd rather have ten good DTVs aimed at kids rather than one really good adult-aimed DTV that also happened to be a spectacular financial failure which would likely kill off all plans for any others.

[Fone Bone]

Hmm... I'm wondering what exactly "based on the Ultimates" means. I mean, I like the Ultimates and everything, but they're definitely NOT what I'd call kid-friendly, between the spouse-abusing Pyms, the cannibalistic Hulk, and all the political stuff that would bore the kiddies to tears when it doesn't just fly right over their heads.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to get to see a dark superhero tale aimed at adults, but given Marvel's shaky track record with animated properties, I'm not sure how much financial sense it makes, and I'd rather have ten good DTVs aimed at kids rather than one really good adult-aimed DTV that also happened to be a spectacular financial failure which would likely kill off all plans for any others.
Hear, hear.

Do anyone know if there is ANY chance of them continuing the stories of Spider-Man '94 and X-Men '93? Since they're owned by Disney I doubt it, but both series ended on a cliff-hanger (especially Spidey) and I'd like some resolution. X-Men: Evolution ended perfectly, so I don't want to see a return for that although The Avengers Evo style would be acceptable.

[Spider-Friends]

I'd rather have ten good DTVs aimed at kids rather than one really good adult-aimed DTV that also happened to be a spectacular financial failure which would likely kill off all plans for any others.I've got a feeling it will be adult-oriented just like the comic. This will really be the FIRST time that Marvel has had complete freedom with an animated property and I bet they are going to want to see if the HUGE success of the comic can translate to a DTV feature. Keep in mind that it has been stated that Steve Gordon is set to co-direct TWO direct-to-video features for them. I'm sure Marvel has enough business sense to not be making both of them adult-oriented.

And I just thought of something...how cool would it be if they could get Samuel L. Jackson to do the voice of Nick Fury?

[oranthal]

I'm very pleased with this announcement. Glad to hear their sporting the big guns for this DTV, rather than going up with second tier characters, not that there's anything wrong with that ;).I agree with you except about the second tier characters a la "Avengers" cartoon a few years ago that ran on Fox. I've a huge problem with having "Avengers" without the Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor. The inclusion of these characters is a huge plus.

In the other thread, it said that "The Avengers" DTV would be only 66 minutes long, and I think it is a little disappointing. When I first read the subject line on the News Page, I was automatically assuming the minimum runtime would be 70-75 minutes. It could be a very good 66 minutes, but I still want the movie to be a little longer. And how can we let them know that we want a longer movie?

This might be too early to ask this but will it be in WS? And I hope it isn't CG. I'd much prefer traditional 2D cell animation.

[Icer]

It could be good if it's not aimed for children, because The Ultimates are not.

[AdamYJ]

I don't like The Ultimates. Why can't The Avengers be based on The Avengers? There's nothing wrong with the regular MU version of these characters. I also like the "second tier" characters better than the big shots most of the time. I hate the term "second tier". Guys like Wonder Man, Hawkeye and Vision are just as good, if not better than guys like Iron Man and Thor. Thor's as boring as dry toast, and this is coming from someone who's also a big mythology buff.

Sorry, but I don't really think this is for me.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I really don't see how you could call something with Hulk and no Scarlett Witch the Avengers.

[Spider-Friends]

I really don't see how you could call something with Hulk and no Scarlett Witch the Avengers.
I know what you're trying to saying but you do realize the series started WITH Hulk and NO Scarlet Witch, right?

[Nick K.]

An Ultimates dvd... hmmm... That rules!!! :D

[AdamYJ]

I know what you're trying to saying but you do realize the series started WITH Hulk and NO Scarlet Witch, right?
Yeah, but the Hulk quit about an issue later and then teamed up with Namor to try and destroy the Avengers.

The series didn't really get that good until Wanda, Pietro and Clint joined. That's when it really started to be like a Marvel book.

There are so many great Avengers out there and we only get the boring founders. Look at some of these names:

Hawkeye
Quicksilver
Scarlet Witch
Vision
Hercules
Wonder Man
Tigra
Captain Marvel/Photon
Black Knight
Black Panther
Ms. Marvel/Warbird
Falcon
Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
The Beast
Sub-Mariner (he made a better Avenger than Hulk did)
Spider-Woman
She-Hulk
Swordsman
Moondragon
Black Widow
Starfox
Justice
Firestar
Jack of Hearts
Silverclaw
Quasar
Stingray
Firebird
Living Lightning

And there are about a million more. Who can look at that list and say that some of those people (heck, most of those people) are more worthy of being called Avengers than some of the founders.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I know what you're trying to saying but you do realize the series started WITH Hulk and NO Scarlet Witch, right?
And X-Men started with Cyclops, Marvel Girl etcetera as teenagers and Magneto as a cardboard cutout villain.

Hulk was an Avenger for like 4 issues, Wanda' s been an Avenger for more than 400 issues. Besides, Captain America didn't join the team until after Hulk quit.

[staticblue]

so who do you guys think should voice the team? you can even throw out people that havent been confirmed yet, like the list of avengers above. Until the cast is confrmed, any of them could be on the team

[thanos28542]

I don't understand why Marvel always disses us "old school " Avengers fans in favor of todays kids who are only familiar w/"Ultimate Avengers"! The Hulk was in Issue 1 & then quit in issue 2! Cap joined in issue 4 & has been there ever since! I was hoping/praying that the DTV would feature the George Perez era Avengers consisting of the big 3, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Vision, Scarlet Witch & Yellow Jacket! It would've been mind blowing if they could've done a 60-70 min adaption of either their battle w/Ultron in issues 160-161 or their big throw down w/a super powered Count Nefaria (the 3 issues that Nefaria fought them in escape me at the moment). Or they can do 1 DTV of the Ultimate Avengers for those fans & a DTV of the Perez era Avengers for us old school fans! One things for sure, the villain has got to be either Ultron,Thanos or Nefaria! IMOP those are the only 3 that can go toe to toe w/the Avengers & hold their own!

[Spider-Man]

But I guess not either way. I have no idea what an "Ultimate" is but I hope it's good.
Maybe these DTVs will adopt the Ultimate universe and be an animated take on them. That way a continuity could be established even if it is based on a seperate unvierse.

[Mynd Hed]

I have no idea what an "Ultimate" is but I hope it's good.
Marvel's "Ultimate" universe is a comics line set in an alternate universe which reintroduces most major Marvel characters from the begining. (Think X-Men: TAS vs. X-Men Evolution or 90's Fox Spidey vs. MTV Spidey-- same characters, different universe and continuity.) The idea is to update the characters' origins for the 21st century (example: Peter Parker is now the Bugle's webmaster, not a photographer) and avoid the continuity tangles that plague the mainstream Marvel universe. How successful it is depends who you ask-- I think most Ultimate titles are great, but a surprising number of continuity errors have already cropped up considering how new it is.
Anyway, if you want the best example of the Ultimate universe, check out the "Ultimate Spider-Man" comic. If you just want a look at the title that's likely to have the most influence on the upcoming DTV, check out "The Ultimates," which is the Ultimate universe answer to the Avengers. It ranks as my personal close second-favorite behind Ultimate Spidey, but a lot of mainstream Marvel true believers disagree with me.

[GL2k2]

No offense to anyone who likes the Ultimate universe, but I have reason to believe this is what ruined Spider-Man mTV. It was geared to fans and true fans didn't appreciate all the stupid updating.

[Stu]

No offense to anyone who likes the Ultimate universe, but I have reason to believe this is what ruined Spider-Man mTV. It was geared to fans and true fans didn't appreciate all the stupid updating.

First of all, take pity on a guys eyes! Bright green text! :o

Second, what's wrong with the update. The odd screw up aside, there's nothing wrong with Ultimate Spider-Man. I consider myself a "true fan" and I've nothing but love for Bendis/Bagley's updated version.

The princepals are the same, it's simple he's a teenager once again, and they can use who they like, without having to worry about issues that happened over 40 years ago.

[GL2k2]

First of all, take pity on a guys eyes! Bright green text! :o

Second, what's wrong with the update. The odd screw up aside, there's nothing wrong with Ultimate Spider-Man. I consider myself a "true fan" and I've nothing but love for Bendis/Bagley's updated version.

The princepals are the same, it's simple he's a teenager once again, and they can use who they like, without having to worry about issues that happened over 40 years ago.
A lot of fans like the Ultimate-verse, but I stopped reading comics years ago because of the constant updating. The original Spider-Man comics that some people like my father actually read over the years growing up with the character is what most people are familiar with. It's been done in the cartoons, and series, and the mTV version updated it. That's cool, but something's should not change. Also, I'm not a fan of X-Men Evo either.

Color fixed.

[Mynd Hed]

No offense to anyone who likes the Ultimate universe, but I have reason to believe this is what ruined Spider-Man mTV. It was geared to fans and true fans didn't appreciate all the stupid updating.
MTV Spidey had its own problems, namely shoddy writing, needlessly attempting to maintain continuity with the movies, and animation that looked more like a video game cinematic than a cartoon. Personally, I didn't notice many similarities between MTV Spidey and Ultimate Spidey, but that's just me.

[GL2k2]

MTV Spidey had its own problems, namely shoddy writing, needlessly attempting to maintain continuity with the movies, and animation that looked more like a video game cinematic than a cartoon. Personally, I didn't notice many similarities between MTV Spidey and Ultimate Spidey, but that's just me.True, Ultimate has him as a thirteen year old. But the villians were Ultimate-esque.

[Mynd Hed]

True, Ultimate has him as a thirteen year old. But the villians were Ultimate-esque.Nitpicker Man Says: Fifteen, but who's counting? (-:

But how do you mean, "Ultimate-esque"? I don't think any of the villains from the Ultimate universe were repeated in the show-- no Sandman, Doc Ock, Goblin, etc.-- so which villains did you think were "Ultimate-esque" and why?
I could be wrong about the no shared villains thing-- it's been a while since I watched MTV Spidey.
I'm just curious, 'cause I've never seen anyone draw a parallel between Ultimate and MTV Spidey before.

[GL2k2]

Nitpicker Man Says: Fifteen, but who's counting? (-:

But how do you mean, "Ultimate-esque"? I don't think any of the villains from the Ultimate universe were repeated in the show-- no Sandman, Doc Ock, Goblin, etc.-- so which villains did you think were "Ultimate-esque" and why?
I could be wrong about the no shared villains thing-- it's been a while since I watched MTV Spidey.
I'm just curious, 'cause I've never seen anyone draw a parallel between Ultimate and MTV Spidey before.I never read the Ultimate comic books, but the villians that appeared on the show were Electro and the Lizard. And the show was developed by Bendis. So that's what gave the show an Ultimate-esque feel to it.

[Mynd Hed]

I never read the Ultimate comic books, but the villians that appeared on the show were Electro and the Lizard. And the show was developed by Bendis. So that's what gave the show an Ultimate-esque feel to it.
That's right, I'd forgotten about those two-- but MTV Electro and Ultimate Electro were about as different as two different versions of what is ostensibly the same character can be. Ultimate Electro is a thug with superpowers, and MTV Electro is a retelling of the age-old "Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Girl isn't ready to get into that sort of thing with boy. Boy gets superpowers and chaos ensues." story (see also: the Batman Beyond episode "Gotham Golem" or the X-Men Evolution episode which introduces Blob).
I dunno, I still don't see it-- I mean, both were updates which place Spidey squarely in the 21st century, but they did it in really different ways.

[Spider-Man]

I have no problem basing the animated feature of The Ultimates. Does it matter what they use for source material? It's just going to be spun into it's own thing by the time the movie is completed. It may be based on that take of the characters, but it's not going to be exactly like it down to the last fine detail.

[Bryangst]

I think it's great they're starting the dewal off with something Avengers based. It's actually one of the things I was hoping for first from it.

I was kind of disappointed when they said it'd be out in 2006 instead of 2005, like it was originally slated for. Oh well.

[Spider-Man]

I dunno, I still don't see it-- I mean, both were updates which place Spidey squarely in the 21st century, but they did it in really different ways.

I wouldn't say "Ultimate" feel, just a more modern one. And just becuase the Ultimate books also feature a modernized version of the characters does not make these series they same. They're just two different modern take on these characters as far as I can tell. Mynd Hed hit is right on.

[Spider-Man]

I think it's great they're starting the dewal off with something Avengers based. It's actually one of the things I was hoping for first from it.
Me too. They were Marve's first team comprised of already established superheroes. They had the Fantastic Four, but this was their answer to DC's JLA. I think that's part of the reason this is the first movie selected. This could be an alternative to Cartoon Network's JLU cartoon.

[Stu]

Hey,

Since the announcement of the Ultimates DTV, we've heard very little about the feature, beside from the odd post from Boyd Kirkland here and there.

So basically, what would you like to see? Who do you want to see? Talk about your Ultimate fangasims here!

[Donald Duck 12]

I'd like to see Ant-Man animated. I know he was in Avengers, but I haven't seen that. And I'd like to apologize for forgetting about the project. I really am expecting good things.

[Eddie G.]

I don't want to see a staight adaptation of the Ultimates, I would rather see a story that takes place some time after or in the middle of the first series. Basically I'd like something that actually takes place in the Ultimate continuity. I would like to see someone or something not used in the Ultimate-verse yet, a new bad guy.

And for something I don't want to see, Ultimate Hulk.

[randomguy]

The first thing I'd like to address is tone. I think using the setup from The Ultimates is really smart. That is to say, I think making the Avengers a government-sponsored super-team is a very wise way to go. It's more plausible and more believable than the standard "a bunch of superheroes team up just because they can" approach. It makes a lot of sense within the context of the Marvel Universe. I like the idea of the Avengers having a massive, hi-tech headquarters like The Triskellion, so I'd keep that aspect. I love Iron Man's armor requiring as much maintenance as an aircraft carrier. In other words, I think The Ultimates is an ideal launching point for a cinematic adaptation of the Avengers, animated or otherwise.

But here's the thing: The Ultimates is dark. It's dark, it's bitter, it's cynical, it's over-the-top sexualized and violent, and it's depressing. Now, that works fine in the comics, because I can go pick up an issue of The Avengers and have the lighter, more heroic tone. But in the movies, where I don't have that alternative, I wouldn't want the video to have the tone of The Ultimates. So basically, what I'm saying is, stay true to the letter of The Ultimates, because it's a damn good letter. But in spirit, skew closer to The Avengers. Make the story lighter, lessen the shock tactics of The Ultimates (which I've always considered on of Millar's biggest weaknesses as a writer), and make the heroes more heroic. Have the setup of The Ultimates, but the tone of the classic The Avengers series. I think that's the real key to success, and the most important thing to address. That means no Hulk eating people (the dumbest of all Ultimate revisions), and no Hank Pym trying to kill his wife with an army of ants.

I agree with BW that it shouldn't be a straight adaptation of Volume 1 of The Ultimates, because that'd be boring. However, I don't think it should be set in comic continuity, either. Setting it before The Ultimates #1 isn't really a possibility, and setting it after that would confuse new audiences who wouldn't be familiar with the characters. What I'd recommend is dedicating the first twenty minutes or so to the team's formation. That would be a rather faithful adaptation of The Ultimates #1-3. Then, move into the villain conflict, which could be something new for fans to enjoy. Don't use The Hulk as the main villain, because he's not sufficient enough for a main villain (he's strong enough, but there's no motivation, and nothing happening other than him smashing stuff). The Skrulls, Ultron, Kang, and The Red Skull all strike me as strong possibilities.

I would've liked the lineup to consist of the original five Ultimates, but since Black Widow's been confirmed to be in it, here's my ideal line-up:

-Captain America
-Hank Pym (work in the Ant-Man helmet for the fans, like in issue #2)
-The Wasp
-Iron Man
-Thor
-Hawkeye
-Black Widow

In other words, I'd keep Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver out of it, because in a 66-minute film, you wouldn't have time to address all the mutant politics those two characters entail. It worked in the first volume of The Ultimates because we already knew their history from Ultimate X-Men, but in the DTV, you wouldn't have the time to go into their background as mutant terrorists and liabilities to the team, etc. And you wouldn't have time to get into mutant prejudice either, because the movie's got enough ground to cover as-is. So leave them out of it.

Hawkeye's a tricky character to sell to an audience. He's badass beyond all reason, but it's not readily apparent. So I'd probably take the same route that Timm took with Batman in Justice League, and actually overpower him a bit... to really sell him as a threat. Give Hawkeye some really badass arrows, and give him a chance to present his markmanship with everyday items (a la Bullseye). If you really play up the "he can turn anything into a lethal weapon" angle, he'll work well. And give him a sense of humor. I like Ultimate Hawkeye, but I miss the joking, easygoing demeanor of the 616 version.

Nick Fury is confirmed to be in it, which I think is wise. Ultimate Fury is a fantastic supporting character, and he steals every scene he's in. Smart choice on that one. I'd like to see him get at least one chance to kick some butt. Fury deserves an action sequence.

Of course, for The Ultimates' formation to make sense, there has to be a precedent for superhuman activity. That's the whole point of The Ultimates... that the team has been formed as a response to a changing world. So you need to at least allude to the mutant phenomenon, and superhumans like Spider-Man or The Fantastic Four. Setting The Ultimates in a world without other superpeople destroys the whole concept. You don't need to show other Marvel heroes, but mention or allude to them.

Finally, action. Lots of action. Stuff blowing up.

And yeah, that's my contribution.

[Crash]

The first thing I'd like to address is tone. I think using the setup from The Ultimates is really smart. That is to say, I think making the Avengers a government-sponsored super-team is a very wise way to go. It's more plausible and more believable than the standard "a bunch of superheroes team up just because they can" approach. It makes a lot of sense within the context of the Marvel Universe. I like the idea of the Avengers having a massive, hi-tech headquarters like The Triskellion, so I'd keep that aspect. I love Iron Man's armor requiring as much maintenance as an aircraft carrier. In other words, I think The Ultimates is an ideal launching point for a cinematic adaptation of the Avengers, animated or otherwise.

But here's the thing: The Ultimates is dark. It's dark, it's bitter, it's cynical, it's over-the-top sexualized and violent, and it's depressing. Now, that works fine in the comics, because I can go pick up an issue of The Avengers and have the lighter, more heroic tone. But in the movies, where I don't have that alternative, I wouldn't want the video to have the tone of The Ultimates. So basically, what I'm saying is, stay true to the letter of The Ultimates, because it's a damn good letter. But in spirit, skew closer to The Avengers. Make the story lighter, lessen the shock tactics of The Ultimates (which I've always considered on of Millar's biggest weaknesses as a writer), and make the heroes more heroic. Have the setup of The Ultimates, but the tone of the classic The Avengers series. I think that's the real key to success, and the most important thing to address. That means no Hulk eating people (the dumbest of all Ultimate revisions), and no Hank Pym trying to kill his wife with an army of ants.

A-men!

I was going to answer with 'NOT the Ultimates,' but your sentiments are much more specific.

[Mynd Hed]

I'm mostly with randomguy. I wouldn't mind if they went a little darker than he seems to want, maybe because I always read The Ultimates as more of a dark comedy than a seriously bitter drama and maybe because I'm just a dark and depressing guy, but other than that, I'm with ya. (-:
One thing I do hope they keep from the Ultimate line is the "take" on Thor. I like how everyone reacts to him-- not quite sure whether to take him at face value or dismiss him as a kook, but generally inclined at least to humor him because, real deal or not, he sure can kick ass and it might be nice to stay on his good side. It makes a lot more sense than everyone being instantly ready to believe that there's an actual Norse god in their midst, and it also makes for some great comedic potential.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Finally got around to reading all of Ultimates Vol. 1 over the weekend (thank you, West Windsor Public Library). randomguy covered most of what I wanted to see (update the Avengers for more modern sensibilities without the, IMO, gratuitious shock-value aspects to the title). The only other thing I'd definitely want to see would be the bit with Captain America dealing with the WWII vets still alive, and the challenges he faces there. The voice acting sample sheet has a line in it that suggests this is included, which is cool with me.

One thing that would be funny in the DTV that didn't carry off as well as it could have in the comic was the "who'd play me in the movie?" bit.

Also agree with dumping the Hulk in his horny eating-people incarnation, and I wouldn't be too upset if they skewed closer to Betty Ross from the movie or the comics than the self-absorbed annoying little twerp from Ultimates.

I also don't quite know how I feel with Tony Stark in Ultimates. On the one hand, I think the idea that he's a businessman who crosses the mercurial nature of Steve Jobs with the utterly ruthless business tactics of Bill Gates is pretty cool. On the other hand, I think Millar way overplayed the alcohol bit, which made Stark less mercurial and more irresponsible and reckless.

Finally, I want to see the widescreen kick 'splode fall-down-go-boom from Ultimates. Let's see LOTS of that.

-- Ed/Ace

[Spider-Friends]

I'd take a straight up adapation of Ultimates V.1. Icing on the cake would be if it was done in a realistic (Bryan Hitch) style. I do think it will be much lighter in tone though. (Story AND animation wise.) Either way, I know Boyd Kirkland will make sure it is enjoyable.

[Eddie G.]

I agree with BW that it shouldn't be a straight adaptation of Volume 1 of The Ultimates, because that'd be boring. However, I don't think it should be set in comic continuity, either. Setting it before The Ultimates #1 isn't really a possibility, and setting it after that would confuse new audiences who wouldn't be familiar with the characters. What I'd recommend is dedicating the first twenty minutes or so to the team's formation. That would be a rather faithful adaptation of The Ultimates #1-3. Then, move into the villain conflict, which could be something new for fans to enjoy. Don't use The Hulk as the main villain, because he's not sufficient enough for a main villain (he's strong enough, but there's no motivation, and nothing happening other than him smashing stuff). The Skrulls, Ultron, Kang, and The Red Skull all strike me as strong possibilities.
I agree with most of what you said which was more or less what I would've typed if I wasn't so damn lazy. However I would like to disagree this point, I don't think that the Ultimates are at all that hard of a concept for people to understand. Superheroes that work for the gov't, all you need is Nick Fury leading them into some sort of introduction fight scene before the credits and I think most people can fill in the blanks for themselves. Thor and Capt. might need some further explanation, Capt. especially since I'd like the war hero sixty years in the future aspect of the character to be included. Besides making explanations and intros for the characters minimal would lead to a better more fleshed out main story.

[Pyro]

Most importantly, I want to see remarkable animation. I want to see full out epic battles with striking fluidity and earth shattering explosions. I want to see great character designs and just the right amount of detail. I've always thought superheros would translate well to animated films where the budget could allow more than a TV show. I was so hoping X-Evo would get a movie, though I never actually thought it would happen. This is why I'm hoping the Incredibles will blow my mind. I'm loving the live action superhero movie craze(excluding things like Catwoman) but animation is where I'd really like to see it go.

Secondly I want a good story. I never cared much for the Avengers. I only own one Avengers comic book. I want this movie to make me care about the characters and get interested in the comics. Randomguy had some good suggestions on how an adaptation should be. However, the story could suck and I'd still buy it if it had mind-blowing animation.

Finally, I would like to see good bonus features on the DVD. This is direct to video right? They should be able to slap a bunch of good behind the scenes stuff on there.

Is this going to be traditionally animated or CG? I think either could do the job if done the right way... You know, I don't think this movie is going to turn out to be like I imagine it... When I say that I mean, I don't want to see an hour and a half Avengers(Ultimates) version of X-Men: Evolution. I don't want to see Steven Gordon's character designs, really. Not that I don't love them, it's just, I'm hoping for something more feature film quality, compared to TV show quality. It's hard to explain what I'm envisioning, but I can tell you I'm probably not going to get it. I can't wait until we see some of it's production.

[Stu]

Hey,

Since we're getting 2 Ultimates DTV features, which are said to be a mix of the Ultimates and the classic Avengers.

This lead to me thinking about the designs, presumably to be done by Steve Gordon, which lead me to this question.

Would you rather have the classic suits, or the new Ultimates one? Or something completly new?

[screw on head]

I wouldn't mind if they go with the Ultimate outfits. I haven't read any Ultimate issues yet (for shame?!?), so all I've had to go by has been the various Wizard spotlights on Bryan Hitch, and various other solicitation images, etc.

It'll be really interesting if Steve translates the Ultimate Giant Man outfit. What really surprised me about X-23's outfit in Evo was that Steve's style really gelled with the look of that movie style outfit, and I think Ultimate Giant Man's similar attire would fit nicely as well.

I like the Ultimate Iron Man design, so I wouldn't mind if that carries over too. I like his helmet, has a Season 2 Iron Man feel to it, but overall he's got a really nice design. I haven't seen too many mechanical designs from Steve, so I can't really gauge what he'd bring to it, which is cool, because I know it'll look great.

As far as the rest of the team goes, I really don't have much preference, well just as long as Cap Am doesn't have a big Wolverine nose like he did in Evo :p. I do hope Steve gets to do some actual animation in these films, that'd be fantastic.

[Donald Duck 12]

You can't top regular Cap or Iron Man's costume. Keep Black Widow and Thor's ultimate costume. Either or for Ant-Man, Fury, and Hulk. A new, fairly memorable Wasp costume. If Quicksilver, Hawkeye, and Scarlet Witch keep Hawkeye in regular (Ultimate one will work too) and the mutants in a new costume. The Ultimates look cool, the Avengers look cool, you really can't screw up.

[Stu]

I think a mix of both would be great. I don't like a lot of the more modern Iron Man armours, I think they cracked it in the mid 90's. Damn you, Heroes Reborn!

Cap's Ultimate digs are so much cooler. Hawkeye doesn't feel right without purple. Thor's pretty even.

So a nice mix of both. Hopefully we'll get a nice toyline too. :)

[Spider-Friends]

I think a mix of both would be great. I don't like a lot of the more modern Iron Man armours, I think they cracked it in the mid 90's. Damn you, Heroes Reborn!

Cap's Ultimate digs are so much cooler. Hawkeye doesn't feel right without purple. Thor's pretty even.

So a nice mix of both. Hopefully we'll get a nice toyline too. :)I think you're right. A mix would be best. Here's what I would prefer:

Cap - Ulitmate
Thor - Ulitmate
Wasp - Ulitmate
Giant Man - Ultimate
Hawkeye - Marvel Universe
Hulk - either universe
Black Widow - either universe

I'm not so sure about Iron Man. Though I like it better, I think the Marvel Universe version is a little too much of a traditional superhero look. The Ultimate version makes the team look more diverse, so I guess I would go with that.

[Stu]

Hey,

According to the site which must not be named, Greg Johnson, story editor of X-Men: Evolution and writer for the Iron Man animated series, will provide the scripts for the 2 direct to video Avengers movies.

Comments?

[screw on head]

Huh, I'm surprised Boyd Kirkland isn't scripting it himself, but I'm sure he'll have enough say in it of course. Greg Johnson is fine by me, as I am a big fan of his writing on Beast Wars :anime:. His scripts in Beast Wars were very focused and strong, such as --Equal Measures, which was lean but very entertaining, --Gorilla Warfare, which is a personal fave episode of mine, awesome character driven episode and --Bad Spark, which had a great display of great character interaction in a pretty limited setting.

I just recently picked up one of the 'Marvel Must Haves: The Ulimates Issues 1-3', which wasn't bad at all. Yep, I'm getting more and more pumped about these DTV's as each new piece of news rolls by...

[Stu]

Does anyone know which episodes of Evo Mr. Johnson wrote? I've liked his work on Iron Man, but can't recall any specific episode of X-Men: Evolution that he wrote.

[Zebi]

Does anyone know which episodes of Evo Mr. Johnson wrote? I've liked his work on Iron Man, but can't recall any specific episode of X-Men: Evolution that he wrote.
Greg is listed (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080564) on IMDB.com as having written the following episodes:

102 - "The X-Impulse"
107 - "Turn of the Rogue"
113 - "The Cauldron, Part 2"
202 - "Bada-Bing Bada-Boom"
206 - "Adrift"
306 - "X-Treme Measures"
308 - "Self Possessed"
401 - "Impact"
406 - "Cajun Spice"
407 - "Ghost of a Chance"
408 - "Ascension, Part 1"
409 - "Ascension, Part 2"

You can also find writing credits for the episodes on the TV Tome page (http://www.tvtome.com/XMenEvolution) for X-Men: Evolution.

[Steve G]

I vote for a mix too. ;)

[Nick K.]

I vote for a mix too. ;)
Looks like we have an answer...:D

[Stu]

I hope Mr. Gordon will be doing the designs. With most of the Evolution crew on board, we should be getting some very pretty visuals to go along with the DTV. Hopefully, it will be aimed at a slightly older audience too.

And let's hope Hulk doesn't eat people. ;)

[Spider-Man]

Greg is listed (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1080564) on IMDB.com as having written the following episodes:

102 - "The X-Impulse"
107 - "Turn of the Rogue"
113 - "The Cauldron, Part 2"
202 - "Bada-Bing Bada-Boom"
206 - "Adrift"
306 - "X-Treme Measures"
308 - "Self Possessed"
401 - "Impact"
406 - "Cajun Spice"
407 - "Ghost of a Chance"
408 - "Ascension, Part 1"
409 - "Ascension, Part 2" A bit of a mixed bag there, but most of those episodes are pretty sharp. I think he'll turn out something really great if he sticks properly to the material. This is Marvel's first real DTV right? I hope they're able to make quite a splash with it.

[Stu]

He wrote some good episodes. As he was also a producer, I'm sure he had a hand in some of the other episodes too.

Hopefully we'll learn a little more soon!

[Stu]

Behold the power of merging threads! :)

Since this was announced a few months back, we've seen/heard very little from...anyone, besides Mr. Gordon and a few bits here from Mr. Kirkland.

Has anyone heard of anything else? Will the likes of Frank Paur and Curt Geda be joining the crew?

[Spider-Man]

In a recent press conference, Avi Arad said this about the upcoming Marvel Animated DTVs movies (courtesy of Marvel Gateway (http://www.digitalentropy.net/Internapse/MM.html)):

Marvel (http://www.marvel.com/) and Lions Gate Films (http://www.lionsgatefilms.com/) will make animated films as previously announced, with Avengers being the first movie to be out in Q1 2006, based on "The Ultimates". Peter Cuneo has seen the early work of the film, and is very excited about the animated project. Lions Gate will handle distribution with Marvel being the creative consultant. The movies will be Direct-to-Video, and about 70 min long. According to Arad, the movies will be of high quality and really captures the art of animation in comics. The studio is currently developing #3 now, which is expected to be Iron Man.

[Stu]

Cool. I wonder if this 'early work' will eventually turn up online. We've yet to see any designs, yet they're already beginning work on Iron Man. Everyone seems to be keeping things hush-hush.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Hopefully they at least stick closer to the heroes of the Marvel Universe rather than the Ultimate characters which take Marvel characters and remove all their positive character traits.

Iron Man should be cool if they handle the character properly. Stay clear of Alcoholism, at least for the first feature about him. Stick with the succesful weapons contracter with a weakness for women.

[Conekiller]

I don't think they'll be able to keep the Hulk eating people...>ick<

[Spider-Man]

Some tidbits from the recent "Hollywood" issue of Wizard:

-The entire Marvel Studios crew gathers in the conference room to watch a rough cut of Marvel's animated direct-to-DVD Ultimate Avengers feature, planned for early 2006.

"It's the print of the film before it's animated." says Kyle. "It's the storyboard cut together with the voice-over to give you the timing of the scenes and the flow of the movie. When you look at this version, you're basically watching the film. It's a huge piece of the puzzle."

-With the release of the animated Ultimate Avengers DVD still almost a year away, Kyle goes over design work for the main characters, villians, and some of the backgrounds with the design team.

"We just saw a test from our overseas studios that holds alot of promise," says Kyle."We think this is going to raise the bar in every way: visually, storytelling-wise. Superhero fans look to Batman: The Animated Series as the bar for superhero animates, and I think this is going to change that."

-With the recording for the first 70-minute Ultimate Avengers animated film complete, voice recording for the second feature begins. Based on the second arc of The Ultimates, the film is planned to be darker and much more mature than previous Marvel animated ventures such as X-Men: Evolution. Kyle checks in with the recording studio, which is working with top voice-over talent, including a brief cameo role by Mark Hamill.

[Stu]

Interesting. They're being very quiet on the newsleaks, especially as the entire thing is now cast, and we've heard nothing as to who's playing who. It also appears we're getting villians in the movie, rather than the books fight with The Hulk. Maybe we'll get both? And Mark Hamill! Awesome!

[Donald Duck 12]

Some tidbits from the recent "Hollywood" issue of Wizard:

-The entire Marvel Studios crew gathers in the conference room to watch a rough cut of Marvel's animated direct-to-DVD Ultimate Avengers feature, planned for early 2006.

"It's the print of the film before it's animated." says Kyle. "It's the storyboard cut together with the voice-over to give you the timing of the scenes and the flow of the movie. When you look at this version, you're basically watching the film. It's a huge piece of the puzzle."

-With the release of the animated Ultimate Avengers DVD still almost a year away, Kyle goes over design work for the main characters, villians, and some of the backgrounds with the design team.

"We just saw a test from our overseas studios that holds alot of promise," says Kyle."We think this is going to raise the bar in every way: visually, storytelling-wise. Superhero fans look to Batman: The Animated Series as the bar for superhero animates, and I think this is going to change that."

-With the recording for the first 70-minute Ultimate Avengers animated film complete, voice recording for the second feature begins. Based on the second arc of The Ultimates, the film is planned to be darker and much more mature than previous Marvel animated ventures such as X-Men: Evolution. Kyle checks in with the recording studio, which is working with top voice-over talent, including a brief cameo role by Mark Hamill.

This really is not much to go on. Mark Hammil is great, but just a cameo? Villains? Who'll those be? Hmm...

[Spider-Friends]

Mark Hammil is great, but just a cameo? Villains? Who'll those be? Hmm...
Putting 2+2 together here:

Mark Hammil in a cameo + A second Avengers DTV has been mentioned = Hammil is playing someone prominent in the second one.

You don't get Mark Hammil for just a cameo.

[thanos28542]

All I know is that both Avenger movies better not just be based on the ultimate versions! I want a classic Avengers DTV Movie based off the Avengers battles w/Ultron or their throwdown w/either Count Nefaria when he had Superman type power or when they fought the Masters of evil & Hercules got beat into a coma by the wrecking crew, Mr Hyde, Tiger shark & evil Goliath! WTF is this fixtation on the Ultimates? Gimme classic Avengers anyday! Same goes for X-men, I wanna see a DTVmovie adaptation of the classic "DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" Chris cleremont-John Byrne storyline! That would rule!

[Crossdive]

Sweeeeet. I really hope at least one is Evo-related(fingers crossed!), but honestly I'll take any feature that has Boyd and Steve involved. :D
amen to that.

[tedcassidy]

I would also love to see the Claremont Byrne "Days of the Future Past", and the "Dark Phoenix" story line's developed for these animated DVD's, but I imagine that with the Dark Phoenix storyline being used for the X-Men 3 movie, they probably won't use those stories for these animated versions. Personally, I'd like to see the Juggernaut be the main villain in X-Men 3. But, not some guy in a stupid suit, like the Thing in the Fantastic Four movie. They would need to use CGI to capture his massive size, and power, IMHO.......

[thanos28542]

After watching "Sky Captain & the world of tomorrow" there is no reason why Sentinels cannot be the main villians in X-men 3! The CGI used in "Sky Captain" to make their huge robots come to life was totally awesome! Realisticaly, Sentinels are the most logical choice for X-3 cuz the govt now knows they exist & in thier minds are a threat to normal humans thanks to Magneto & co. GGI Sentinels would rock!

[spyke]

All I know is that both Avenger movies better not just be based on the ultimate versions! I want a classic Avengers DTV Movie based off the Avengers battles w/Ultron or their throwdown w/either Count Nefaria when he had Superman type power or when they fought the Masters of evil & Hercules got beat into a coma by the wrecking crew, Mr Hyde, Tiger shark & evil Goliath! WTF is this fixtation on the Ultimates? Gimme classic Avengers anyday! Same goes for X-men, I wanna see a DTVmovie adaptation of the classic "DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" Chris cleremont-John Byrne storyline! That would rule!I agree with everything you said. I would also like to add, that the REAL AVENGERS would be a hell of a lot more marketable and appealing to kids/all ages then their psycho counterparts, the Ultimates.

[Crossdive]

After watching "Sky Captain & the world of tomorrow" there is no reason why Sentinels cannot be the main villians in X-men 3! The CGI used in "Sky Captain" to make their huge robots come to life was totally awesome! Realisticaly, Sentinels are the most logical choice for X-3 cuz the govt now knows they exist & in thier minds are a threat to normal humans thanks to Magneto & co. GGI Sentinels would rock!
i do and don't agree, but then we are getting off-topic, so...:sweat:

[thanos28542]

I agree with everything you said. I would also like to add, that the REAL AVENGERS would be a hell of a lot more marketable and appealing to kids/all ages then their psycho counterparts, the Ultimates.


And I agree w/everything you said as well! A DTV movie featuring the "REAL" Avengers would be more marketable/appealing to kids & make them wanna collect all the ML figures based on the Avengers! My favorite Avengers teams, & story lines were in the George Perez(both runs) & John Byrne eras although the Stern/Buscema run was great as well. Man, I really miss my classic Avenger teams!

PS Sorry to go OT about the CGI Sentinels. Just hoping they incorporate them into the live X-men movie franchise cuz the do have the technology to do them right now.

[Spider-Man]

All I know is that both Avenger movies better not just be based on the ultimate versions! I think they have said a couple times these two DTVs will be based on The Ultimates and I have no problemwith that. I thought the comic was pretty well done although there is alot of stuff in them that I doubt they'll be able to translate. Maybe they will touch upon some of the classic stuff in the future but it looks like newer material is what they want now. But I wouldn't be surprised if both prperties are mixed.

[thanos28542]

Well I think it sucks that both DTV Avenger movies will be based on the "Ultimates"version! Why do all us "classic" Avenger fans always get the shaft when it comes to ever seeing our favorite version of Avengers in animated form? The animated "Avengers unlimited" piece of crap from 99' doesn't count as that trash excluded the big 3 from being in it! All I know is that one of those 9 DTV Marvel movies better be about classic Avengers or I'm gonna blow a gasket!:mad:

[Hypestyle]

I hope they get into some characters who haven't yet been mined for animated TV movies, etc., yet--

Blade/Tomb of Dracula
Daredevil
Power Man & Iron Fist
Moon Knight
Cloak & Dagger
New Mutants/X-Force

[thanos28542]

I hope they get into some characters who haven't yet been mined for animated TV movies, etc., yet--

Blade/Tomb of Dracula
Daredevil
Power Man & Iron Fist
Moon Knight
Cloak & Dagger
New Mutants/X-Force



Those would all be cool DTV movies except for Cloak & Dagger, replace that w/ a Deathlok DTV animated movie & that would be cool. I still want my classic Avengers in a DTV Movie !:mad:

[Spider-Man]

Well I think it sucks that both DTV Avenger movies will be based on the "Ultimates"version! Why do all us "classic" Avenger fans always get the shaft when it comes to ever seeing our favorite version of Avengers in animated form?
I think you nailed the "problem" right there. Classic. The audience Marvel is trying to get doesn't want classic. They want new. Marvel thinks this is the best approach and they're probably right. There's a bigger chance kids will know the characters from The Ultimates comics than the classic stories from the original The Avengers comics.

Besides The Ultimates is a pretty good comic book.

[spyke]

I think you nailed the "problem" right there. Classic. The audience Marvel is trying to get doesn't want classic. They want new. Marvel thinks this is the best approach and they're probably right. There's a bigger chance kids will know the characters from The Ultimates comics than the classic stories from the original The Avengers comics.

Besides The Ultimates is a pretty good comic book.BULL

Let me let you in on a little secret, MOST kids have NEVER even heard of the Ultimates,.

[Stu]

I'm not even sure that these are for kids.

And the press releases, hell, even Boyd and Steve have both mentioned that these features will be a mixture of the classic Avengers and The Ultimates. The name "Ultimate Avengers" is also a pretty big hint.

[thanos28542]

BULL

Let me let you in on a little secret, MOST kids have NEVER even heard of the Ultimates,.

Very true! It's beyond me why people assume that it's just the kids that the ultimate universe is for? I bet the majority of readers are the ones that collect the regular MU & just wanna see what the heck is all the hype behind this "hip" version of the MU. Personaly I'll stick to the regular MU as I just don't have the $$ to be spending on comics based on alternate versions of characters I love just as they are. I miss the days when Marvel just had like 20 titles out & you just got 5 or 6 of your favorite hero or team. No multi Spidey/Wolvy titles, uncanny X-men was the only title to buy if you wanted your mutant fix, man, those Claremont/byrne X-men storylines/art were IMO the best ever! There's just too much crap out there on the shelves & much of it sucks!

[Spider-Man]

I miss the days when Marvel just had like 20 titles out & you just got 5 or 6 of your favorite hero or team. No multi Spidey/Wolvy titles, uncanny X-men was the only title to buy if you wanted your mutant fix, man, those Claremont/byrne X-men storylines/art were IMO the best ever! There's just too much crap out there on the shelves & much of it sucks! I know alot of people will agree with you on that. Comics are quite different then they were years ago. And maybe we'll get to see some of those classic tales revisted but for now it seems like they want the DTVs to be more modern.

[Spidey2099]

I wouldn't get too worried about whether it's classic or ultimates. They're going to make it their own creation anyway like they did Evo.

[Spider-Friends]

I wouldn't get too worried about whether it's classic or ultimates. They're going to make it their own creation anyway like they did Evo.
I don't think it will be as far removed from the comics as X-Evo was. Boyd Kirkland said himself that the concept of X-Evo was a result of being a network kids show. Since it is being released as a DTV, Ultimate Avengers doesn't have that pressure to conform. I'm expecting a nice blend of the Avengers and the Ultimates.

[Stu]

From you-know-where, it's been said that Frank Paur (X-Men: Evolution, Batman: The Animated Series) is hard at work on Marvel's 3rd DTV, Iron Man.

From the sounds of things, he could be directing the feature.

[Spider-Man]

So we now have three stories confirmed:

-Ultimate Avengers 1
-Ultimate Avengers 2
-Iron Man

So that leaves how many afterwards? They gave the greenlight for at least eight right? So maybe we'll get a chance to see Daredevil back in animated action.

[Spider-Friends]

This should answer the question of who the villains will be. Mark Millar posted this at the Bendis (http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=16704&page=2) Board:

"It's called Ultimate Avengers and it's pretty much an adaptation of our first thirteen issues. There's some subtle differences and the wife-beating is missing, but it's otherwise pretty faithful."

I'm thrilled...but I'm guessing you non-Ultimate fans aren't going to be. :)

[Spider-Man]

I'm thrilled...but I'm guessing you non-Ultimate fans aren't going to be. :) I'm excited too. I just read the first two trades for The Ultimates and loved it. It wasn't perfect but it was a gutsy take on the characters. I'm looking forward to see how it holds up in animated form. I just wonder how it's going to look.

[Spider-Man]

A small update! Marvel and Lions Gate will preview the Ultimate Avengers animated movie at Wizard World Chicago.

[Stu]

Coolness! Hopefully, we'll see most of it make it's way online. I'm dying to see what these characters look like!

[Movie-Brat]

A New avengers sounds interesting, what characters are going to be added?

[Steve G]

Coolness! Hopefully, we'll see most of it make it's way online. I'm dying to see what these characters look like!
They look great!;)

[screw on head]

Stu just alerted me to an Ultimate Avengers poster that's posted up at Toy News Int'l. Here's the link (http://afigures.com/g/?mode=view&album=2005_SDCC%2FToy_Biz%2FMarvel_Legends&pic=100_3673.jpg&dispsize=800&start=0). Mind you, it's only a logo and a release date, and has no character pics, but it's still pretty cool. I like that the logo doesn't scream the "Ultimates", and has a nice inbetween feel to it.

Thoughts?

[screw on head]

I came across an interesting bit of info while browsing Mark Millar's forums. I started reading a thread about the Ultimate Avengers Panel at Wizard Con Chicago, and Brian Hitch had this to offer:
You know, this is actually pretty good. The script's very strong, a faithful adaptaion of our first six issues (though not slaved to it by any means, it's still got a life of it's own) and heavily character based. The action is also well scripted and "feels" like Ultimates so that's groovy. The designs are based pretty much solely on Ultimates with only marginal tweaks to make them easy to animate; make no mistake though this is Ultimates not Avengers.

I've been working on a series of images to lead the ad campaign and today I'm drawing the DVD box cover. I have to say the whole thing looks great and I really hope it finds the success it deserves so we get all four on our shelves!

HitchyIf you'd like to view the thread yourself, I'm afraid you're going to have to go to page 2 of their 'Industry News, Reviews, and Rumors' forum. I won't link to the thread itself given the rather dicey language that's can go on there :p. Again, read the actual thread there at your own risk.

Hitch's endorsement sounds good to me!

[Spider-Man]

Hitch's endorsement sounds good to me!
Same here! I like the fact that he's doing the cover art for the release. This project is really starting to sound like a confident loyal Marvel project. I think this is definitely one that fans will be able to get behind when it hits the streets. I really hope images start to leak out soon. I have been dieing to see what this looks like.

[Stu]

Hey,

Apprantly, Marvel is going to be showing off some of (or possibly all) of thier upcoming Ultimate Avengers Direct To DVD feature. Please keep all news from the event here!

Could we finally be seeing the designs? :)

[Mugen]

Oooh, I can't wait for screenshots! It's been a while to get excited for a Marvel animated property.:)

[screw on head]

According to Saturday's schedule (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/_gfx_/conventions/chicago/ch_SATURDAY.jpg), the Ultimate Avengers panel will be held from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, consisting of a Q&A with Craig Kyle and Lions Gate's Ken Katsumoto and a preview of the movie.

[Stu]

From www.wizarduniverse.com

Ultimate Avengers debuts at Wizard World Chicago

Craig Kyle and Ken Katsumoto from Marvel Studios and Lions Gate previewed and discussed the upcoming "Ultimate Avengers" full-length DVD to a packed crowd at Wizard World Chicago. Taken right from the first six issues of Ultimates Vol 1, fans were treated to an exclusive clip of the film, featuring the awe inspiring throwdown from Ultimates #4 where the team must battle the Hulk in the streets of New York City.

The clip faded in from black with the Hulk's massive breathing providing the voiceover. Then it the scene cut to the posh NYC restaurant where, if readers can recall, betty Brant was having dinner before an enraged Hulk climbed to the floor where the restaurant was and smashed through the windows. Giant Man quickly entered the scene and smacked the Hulk like a he was crushing a bug, but the Hulk retaliated, knocking Giant Man across several buildings.

Iron Man stepped up next, rocketing his way onto the scene and tossing Hulk into a busy Grand Central terminal. Again, the scene looked as if it was cut and paste directly from the Brian Hitch's work. Next Ultimate Thor appeared amidst a fury of lightning and special effects before cutting to the awe inspiring one-on-one between Captain America and the Hulk. After trading blows for a few seconds the Hulk lets out one final scream and the clip faded to black, again with the massive breaths providing the voice over.

Kyle went on to describe the process behind translating the book to animated film.

"There will be moments in this film where you can literally see it having been cut and pasted panel for panel. There were moments however we had to expand on some things so it's not entirely panel for panel. [But] we did our best."

Kyle went on to describe Hitch's prominent role in developing the movie's look.

"Brian Hitch had a heck of a role. We went to him first and said 'What would your take on this character be?'"

Ken Katsumoto also followed that story is being told from Captain America's point of view and that many supporting characters from the first six issues are involved.

For an in-depth interview with Kyle and Katsumoto and more on "Ultimate Avengers" check out Wizard 168 - on sale August 31st

Comments?

[Spider-Friends]

Another report from comicbookresources.com (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5718)

They show Bryan Hitch's one sheet but not any designs from the actual cartoon.

"...and a fourth animated feature that they were coy about discussing. Of the latter, they did say that it is a lesser-known Marvel character, that it would be an origin story, and that the character is not an Avenger."

The fourth animated feature has already been reported to be about Dr. Strange. Those clues don't deter that at all, but I wish they did. I'd SO much rather have the fourth one be about the Hulk.

[Stu]

The complete article from www.comicbookresources.com

Hytch's one sheet for the release can be seen here. (http://images.comicbookresources.com/cons/wwc2005/marvel/ultimateavengers_dvdposter.jpg) That may or may not be the discs cover, but it's damn cool! And the rest of the news;

With Wizard's Richard Ho moderating, Marvel's Craig Kyle and Lion's Gate Family Entertainment's Ken Katsumoto sat down with an over-capacity audience at Wizard World Chicago Saturday afternoon to discuss the first of a proposed series of direct-to-DVD animated releases featuring Marvel properties. Taking several pages directly from the books, "Ultimate Avengers" is slated to be the first release, in February 2006, based on the first six issues of "The Ultimates" by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. The film will run 75-80 minutes with letterboxed format, will be recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1. sound and be aimed at PG/PG-13 audiences. With availability at all major retailers, the price point has not been settled on yet.

After the prerequisite "this company is great" material from both parties, they discussed the new studio MLG, where they used a "fantasy league" styled method of cherry picking talent to try and make the best product possible. "Doing these straight-to-DVD in an animation allows us to keep them as true as possible to the comics," Kyle said, "and keep the kind of emotion and look and feel you love from the books. I think we're coming very close, it's an exciting opportunity and it's for you guys." Katsumoto mentioned a meeting with Avi Arad where this first project was likened to the NBA All-Star game, with huge talents finding a way to work together. Look for Nick Fury (based on the Ultimate design), Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Giant Man and the Wasp, among others.

"Avi's mandate was not 'make a good animated movie,'" Kyle said, "it was 'make a great movie.' We're all dying to deliver, you guys have huge expectations. We're doing our best to deliver. If they do well, there's no reason we can't continue. "

They wanted to get Hawkeye in the film, but Kyle said, "We couldn't give him the screen time. We just didn't want him to be in the background once, with an arrow, and everybody's like 'hey, Hawkeye!'" They also said the film would not stray too far from the source material, with the World War II segment as the opening scenes. "As close as we get to 'Saving Private Ryan,' we tried," Kyle said. "There won't be any of that 'ooh, he missed,' 'they all make it to shore' stuff. Broken glass, violence, romance. This is not Saturday morning stuff."

There will be some deviations, though. "There are moments of this film where you can grab a panel from the book and hold it up to the screen. To fill the time of the movie, we had to expand upon it and build upon it. We tried to grab specific shots." But some things just went too far, even for this treatment.

Don Wu will be doing the animation work on this film, and they called on the talents of many veterans of "Batman: The Animated Series" including Frank Parr on design, producer Bob Richardson, and Kurt Geida ("Return of the Joker") and Steve Gordon as co-directors. "Steve took Bryan's designs and opened them up so we could animate them," Kyle gushed.

The films will not all be "Ultimate" based -- "We're not planning to say these all synch up," Kyle said, and the "Iron Man" feature will be based on the classic Marvel Universe version. "There are places that we thought if a hero were to do that in a moving picture, it would be hard for the audience to come back to them. Victimizing women, it's just when you cross that line ... we try to make the smart choices. Everything in our film is motivated. I think you'll find as you watch the film that everything makes sense. We had a good script and we built from there."

Also, there's no need to look for the current American president in this film, nor any overt political statements. "We think that it has to go and be organic in the story," Katsumoto said. "There are some political aspects, more in the second film than the first, but we're not really trying to make a statement about today's affairs. We never move forward with that kind of intent, but if it happens that way, great."

They were also not willing to disclose voice casting, but promised there would be no stunt casting. "We found the best voices possible," Kyle said, "it needs to sound like Captain America, not Julia Roberts. We know we can never cast the voices as well as you do, we could never feel the explosions as much as you do. That's the beauty of comics. You finish the journey."

"Ultimate Avengers" is the first of eight proposed character-based films, focusing on Captain America as the through line (as well as in the sequel, based on Millar and Hitch's second six issues). There will be a second "Ultimate Avengers" feature in the second quarter of 2006, an "Iron Man" one (written by Greg Johnson and produced and conceived by Frank Parr) for the third quarter, and a fourth animated feature that they were coy about discussing. Of the latter, they did say that it is a lesser-known Marvel character, that it would be an origin story, and that the character is not an Avenger. After a considerable lag time, the film will be released for prime-time broadcast viewing with a partner they were not willing to disclose.

The promotional plans for the project will ultimately include television ads and the like, but their first instinct was to bring the work "to the fans. If we haven't gotten our core, we haven't done our jobs," Kyle said. "Wizard's helping a lot, at each 'con coming, we're going to have a different one-sheet release that Bryan [Hitch]'s working on." They are open to toys and soundtrack CDs, but there's no concrete plans now, as they're still hiring the composer and orchestra to score this film.

So no Hawkeye, and Dong Woo animating? Interesting that the next Iron Man DTV apprantly won't have anything to do with these Ultimate Avengers releases...

[Spider-Friends]

Not letting anybody but Toonzone have the hits today are ya Stu?! ;)

[Mugen]

Nice to see that Ultimate Avengers will get a television broadcast eventually. Hopefully(depending on the tone of the movie) it'll be aired on Adult Swim.

[Stu]

Not letting anybody but Toonzone have the hits today are ya Stu?! ;)
I resent that!

It's Toon Zone! ;)

Seriously though, I like having everything here in one thread. Apprantly, you know where is going to have some more information on the release on Sunday sometime. :)

[Spider-Friends]

I resent that! Just messin' with ya! It's nice for them to be permanent here.

[Spider-Man]

Wow! I am getting really excited about thios. I'd love to hear more desciptions on the clip though like what kind of animation style was it. Was it something like Bruce Timm's work or more like a translation of Bryan Hitch's artwork onto the screen. Having just read the first The Ultimate series not too long ago I can't wait to see how this works out.

I just wonder if they'll keep the "HULK HORNY!" and "HULK STRAIGHT!" quips from the book series. I could see those crossing the lines but did those ever get a chuckle out of me.

[randomguy]

Well, most of the news so far has been reassuring, although I'm irritated that we didn't get any screens or clips so we could actually get a sense of the DTV's visual style.

Still, though, I think it sounds very promising. It sounds like it's taking the parts of The Ultimates that worked (updating the Avengers for a contemporary mindset) while tossing out all the over-the-top stuff (Hank trying to kill Jan, horny people-eating Hulk, etc.) I'm somewhat concerned that it'll be too close an adaptation of The Ultimates and we won't get enough genuinely original content, but with an eighty-minute run-time they should be able to beef up the story signficantly.

Plus, seeing the Ultimates vs. Hulk battle from issue #5 should be a blast. And widescreen! Pretty cool, if you ask me.

[Stu]

More news, this time from Superhero Hype (http://www.superherohype.com/news.php?id=3379)

The movie is due (straight to dvd) in February of '06. According to the panel from Marvel and Lions Gate (the new MLG Studio) this is the first of many films to come. The idea is to make full length animated movies based directly from story arcs. The clip shown was one-minute of test footage that came straight out of the pages of The Ultimates first story arc as they're taking down the Hulk. The art was exact except for Captain America who looked like he usually does.

The clip had a real mature feel to it, we are far from Spider-Man and His Amazing Fiends here. The one-minute of footage was a "world premiere" and was conceived by an overseas studio that was given the first story arc of The Ultimates (Marvel Comics) and told to "bring it to life." The result was breathtaking.

The concept as the panel described it is completely targeted to the fanboy crowd. They want to make dreams come true and feel that they can do it at a profit by releasing the movies straight to dvd. Imagine McFarland's "Torment" storyline from Spider-Man or "The Dark Phoenix Saga" being presented true to form, right down (in some cases) to their original artistic stylings. This could really start off something big for all comic companies. We'll never see "The Dark Knight Returns" live-action, but imagine an animated version...

Anyway, enough dreaming, you get the concept. The footage ran like this:

- blackout, heavy breathing.
- man's face looking stressed, closes in on his eye which lights up green.
- growling, roaring, screaming as Hulk happily torments a city's downtown.
- Hulk beats up a building, pan back over the shoulder of Giant Man.
- Giant Man carefully walks through the streets stepping over buildings.
- Giant Man squishes Hulk like a bug into the building.
- Close-up on Hulk's squished face, he smiles.
- Hulk takes it to Giant Man ending with a knockout blow that drops him.
- Shield flies and nails Hulk.
- Captain America attacks, toe to toe.
- Hulk gets the upperhand and is about to nail Cap.
- Boom! Hulk is lit up by lightning.
- We see Thor winding up for another and...BOOM!
- Blackout and heavy breathing.

This clip looked like it was pulled right out of the Ultimates book. Captain America looked like himself in the regular universe, but here's hoping they adjust him as well.

The movie will be out in Feruary of 2006 and it's potential looks incredible so far.

So Captain America is in his traditional costume? Interesting...

[Quazerdale]

Now that was what I wanted to hear about. The visuals. It all sounds fantastic now. I know it's test footage but it sounds great. Now what about that soundtrack?

Captain America looked like himself in the regular universe, but here's hoping they adjust him as well.

I personally like his Ultimates uniform or better yet the most recent one on Ultimates Volume II.

[Spider-Friends]

The clip had a real mature feel to it, we are far from Spider-Man and His Amazing Fiends here. *$#&! THEY REALLY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO THERE!

[Spider-Friends]

Now what about that soundtrack? One of the articles states that the music hasn't been put together yet.


I personally like his Ultimates uniform or better yet the most recent one on Ultimates Volume II. Ditto. I'm disappointed to read that he'll be in the traditional costume. I hope he at least has the Ultimate costume used in the WWII sequence for those scenes.

[Mister Intensity]

I'm kind of disappointed. It seems that Ultimate Avengers continues the Marvel animation tradition of adapting the comic books instead of just taking the best elements of the different eras of the comics and distilling it into something that works on the screen. I want something a little more original than an adaptation of Ultimates story arcs.

Mister Intensity

[krazymed]

Same here. I want something new, not a rehash. That's why I was hopeful for the MTV Spider-man show. No adaptations.

I'm more worried that Dong Woo is animating this, as their stuff with the DC Toons has been mediocre at best. I mean, they've done all of the shows, but the better job has been done by the "other" studio (DR Movie - JLU, TMS - Superman, Lotto - Teen Titans, etc.).

[ShadowDemon]

This project won't get my money...the Ultimate Avengers are a travesty and an insult to the name Avengers. They're jackbooted lackeys of a facisitic government that is a bigger enemy than any metavillain they fight. The characters are NOT heroic in any sense.

Can ANYONE tell me that the REAL Captain America would kick a defenseless man in the face? If the REAL Steve Rogers ever met that guy in a crossover, he'd beat him like a rented mule and strip him of his shield and costume.

I'll save my money for BETTER projects!

[thanos28542]

More news, this time from Superhero Hype (http://www.superherohype.com/news.php?id=3379)

The movie is due (straight to dvd) in February of '06. According to the panel from Marvel and Lions Gate (the new MLG Studio) this is the first of many films to come. The idea is to make full length animated movies based directly from story arcs. The clip shown was one-minute of test footage that came straight out of the pages of The Ultimates first story arc as they're taking down the Hulk. The art was exact except for Captain America who looked like he usually does.

The clip had a real mature feel to it, we are far from Spider-Man and His Amazing Fiends here. The one-minute of footage was a "world premiere" and was conceived by an overseas studio that was given the first story arc of The Ultimates (Marvel Comics) and told to "bring it to life." The result was breathtaking.

The concept as the panel described it is completely targeted to the fanboy crowd. They want to make dreams come true and feel that they can do it at a profit by releasing the movies straight to dvd. Imagine McFarland's "Torment" storyline from Spider-Man or "The Dark Phoenix Saga" being presented true to form, right down (in some cases) to their original artistic stylings. This could really start off something big for all comic companies. We'll never see "The Dark Knight Returns" live-action, but imagine an animated version...

Anyway, enough dreaming, you get the concept. The footage ran like this:

- blackout, heavy breathing.
- man's face looking stressed, closes in on his eye which lights up green.
- growling, roaring, screaming as Hulk happily torments a city's downtown.
- Hulk beats up a building, pan back over the shoulder of Giant Man.
- Giant Man carefully walks through the streets stepping over buildings.
- Giant Man squishes Hulk like a bug into the building.
- Close-up on Hulk's squished face, he smiles.
- Hulk takes it to Giant Man ending with a knockout blow that drops him.
- Shield flies and nails Hulk.
- Captain America attacks, toe to toe.
- Hulk gets the upperhand and is about to nail Cap.
- Boom! Hulk is lit up by lightning.
- We see Thor winding up for another and...BOOM!
- Blackout and heavy breathing.

This clip looked like it was pulled right out of the Ultimates book. Captain America looked like himself in the regular universe, but here's hoping they adjust him as well.

The movie will be out in Feruary of 2006 and it's potential looks incredible so far.

So Captain America is in his traditional costume? Interesting...
I'm all about Marvel making DTV movies based on certain comic book story arcs that run 75-80, heck even 90 mins! The one story arc they must do before I die is the "Days of future past" arc by Claremont/Byrne. To see Sentinels based on Byrne's art, animated by some kick butt animation studio & throwing down with the X-men would blow my mind! The "classic" Avengers DTV movie I would love to see them do is the 80s storyline where the Masters of evil led by Baron Zemo, overun the Mansion & Hercules almost gets killed by Goliath & the wrecking crew, Tiger Shark & Mr Hyde! The other "CLASSIC" Avenger DTV option is a George Perez animated version of the Avenger's battle with Ultron in issues 161-162 if I'm not mistaken. Or their throwdown w/Nefaria! Ohh they're too many great classic Avenger battles that I'd love to see get an animated movie made out of!

[Fuujin]

It seems that Ultimate Avengers continues the Marvel animation tradition of adapting the comic books instead of just taking the best elements of the different eras of the comics and distilling it into something that works on the screen.
Actually, that's exactly what the Ultimate universe is - and it's a damn god pick for a DTV if you ask me.

[Ian]

Ya, but why pay to see a movie when I already paid for the original version--which has infinitively-better voice acting, btw? Be more original in the future, Marvel!

[Spider-Man]

Ya, but why pay to see a movie when I already paid for the original version--which has infinitively-better voice acting, btw? Be more original in the future, Marvel!
I'm not sure what you mean by this. Are you coming Ultimate Avengers to the The Avengers: United They Stand show? And how can you judge voice talent when they haven't even announced the cast for the DTV yet? Regardless I'm really excited for this project and can't wait to see it next year!

[screw on head]

'The site that cannot be named' has its own editted transcript of the Wizard panel, but sadly there are no images from the footage that was presented. It's mostly the same old same old, but there's still some interesting little bits of discussion there. I liked what Craig Kyle had to say here, in terms of the advantages DTV format offers:

Question: If this does well, is it possible you might turn it into a television series?

Kyle: I think anything's possible. I'm really excited about these being films because, like I said, as soon as you move to television, it's like, "This has to sell toys" and "My 6-year-old doesn't understand it. Why are these characters kissing?"

I love my job, and we've got a great FF series right now that's going to hilarious and fun and cool, but do you guys really want to catch this on Saturday morning? We're trying to get something you're going to get excited about. You see the books, you see these great relationships, you see this great action. We really want to give that to you.FYI, If you don't know who 'the site that cannot be named is', please refer to the very bottom of Karkull's Justice League Watchtower (http://jl.toonzone.net/) site for an explanation as to why it cannot be directly linked to here.

[Ian]

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Are you coming Ultimate Avengers to the The Avengers: United They Stand show? And how can you judge voice talent when they haven't even announced the cast for the DTV yet? Regardless I'm really excited for this project and can't wait to see it next year!
No, I'm talking about the Ultimates comic book, which this is based on.

[Hypestyle]

hopefully the producers will follow through on similar PG/PG13 releases for future toons..

maybe Hulk will get a good animation movie out of this..

[Spider-Man]

No, I'm talking about the Ultimates comic book, which this is based on.
I can understand Marvel's position on the book. Some readers wanted a more 'The Authority'-like take on the characters and we got them. Besides, I honestly don't think a classic team like The Avengers would work in the Ultimate Universe.

Besides it looks like they'll be mixing the designs of The Ultimates and The Avengers into one look for the movie which I think is pretty interesting. The Ultimates is a widescreen action book and that's going to translate perfectly to the DTV. I think they made a great choice for the first Marvel DTV.

And be more original? How could they be more original if they do as you say and base it off the original Avengers comics? Isn't that essentially what they're doing here but with The Ultimates instead?

[screw on head]

The latest issue of Wizard has an article about the adaption.

It's mostly what we've heard before. There are obligatory Avi Arad statements, but some of it consists of interesting info, some of which is here:

"We think this is going to be amazing. It's so good you'll see people projecting it theatrically. We could have done it as an animated feature, it's that good."

"The animation style is classical with a 3-D effect. We want to capture the great art we all love and enhance it with computers. If you pause these movies, it should look like a panel from the comics. We are going all out. We did some nice stuff for Saturday morning animation, but this is head and shoulders above that."It'll be interesting to actually see what he means in terms of computer enhancements, that is if they're at all noticeable... maybe a softening/blur to the shadows on characters? Either way, with the talent attached to this, I think the quality will be at the level Avi's boasting.

Ultimate Avengers is featured in a full page ad for Wizard World Texas (Nov. 4-6), as another "Exclusive Ultimate Avengers Presentation with Lions Gate and Marvel Studios." Since the next Wizard Con after that falls in March after the DTV's debut, maybe we could be seeing some designs debut at the Texas con., or in a Dec. issue of Wizard maybe, if not before then...

[Spider-Man]

Despite the usual Avi Arad statements that article actually has me pretty excited to see just what this animation is going to look like on the cartoon. It really does sound like they're trying something new and I hope it does work out for them. I think this is something that will definitely be a hallmark for Marvel Animation. This could really set the bar in the terms of comic animation.

[Ian]

And be more original? How could they be more original if they do as you say and base it off the original Avengers comics? Isn't that essentially what they're doing here but with The Ultimates instead?
I can't believe I neglected this.

You misunderstood me. When I refer to "the original version" I'm talking about the original The Ultimates comic book. If the 'toon is going to be a retread of that, why watch it? I already have the books, which, like I said, have infinitively better voice acting (none).

[Spider-Man]

I already have the books, which, like I said, have infinitively better voice acting (none). Ah...ok...

Anyways it looks like the DVD for Fantastic Four will have a look this cartoon. At DVD Answers they have a rundown of extras for the DVD and it says tt will include a trailer for "the Marvel Avengers."

http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?r=0&s=1&c=7383&n=1&burl=

[screw on head]

The Monday, Sept. 12 edition of [the site that cannot be named] has some Ultimate Avengers news by way of Ken Katsumoto:

"The first animation is just coming back and it is amazing looking," Katsumoto said. "This is feature story telling at work."

While Ultimate Avengers will be released on DVD first, Katsumoto said there will be a teleivision element.

"the film would come out as we intended in its entirety to the fans first. And then it would have a long gap between that and broadcast platform," he said. "It won't be Saturday morning, I can assure you that.

"When we made the deal with broadcaster, they were extremely cooperative and said, 'We got the kind of film that we want. This is not going to be watered down for Saturday morning. This will be prime-time viewing.'"
We should be seeing casting news pretty soon!

[Spider-Man]

We now have a release date! February 21st, 2006!

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/_gfx_/conventions/boston/friday.jpg

[Stu]

A few small updates, courtest of Marvel.com (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=39), including our first synopsis!

EARTH, 1945. Humanity was on the brink of annihilation. Sinister forces pushed to seize control of the free world, and only one man rose up to stop them. A man who sacrificed his life to save us all. History remembers him as our one and only Super-Soldier.

We know him as Captain America.

When a nuclear missile was fired at Washington in 1945, Captain America managed to detonate it in the upper atmosphere. But then he fell miles into the icy depths of the North Atlantic, where he remained lost for over sixty years. But now, with the world facing the very same evil, Captain America must rise again as our last hope of survival, and lead a strong-willed team of today's superheroes:

IRON MAN, the billionaire bachelor used to doing things his own way.
THE HULK, the destructive force Bruce Banner hopes to turn into a useful member of the team.
THOR, a hero who has responsibilities to both the world of man and the world of gods.
WASP, a petite powerhouse who sees the team as a fresh start for her and her husband, otherwise known as:
GIANT MAN, sixty feet tall with an equally large chip on his shoulder.
And CAPTAIN AMERICA, a star-spangled idealist resurrected from a 60 year deep-freeze because this team needs a super-soldier to lead them.

It also states we'll be seeing a series of postes. We've seen Cap and Iron Man, can Hulk and Thor be far behind?

[Spider-Man]

The more I see and hear about this project the more excited I get for it. I'm hoping we'll be seeing some animation soon. I can't wait to see how they translate these comics into animation. I'm also pretty curious about who they're picking for their voice cast.

[randomguy]

You misunderstood me. When I refer to "the original version" I'm talking about the original The Ultimates comic book. If the 'toon is going to be a retread of that, why watch it? I already have the books, which, like I said, have infinitively better voice acting (none).That's a fair point, but the movie's supposedly going to have a number of new scenes and extra bits of character development that didn't appear in the first six issues of The Ultimates. I figure that, coupled with the sheer coolness value of seeing the issues in motion, will probably make the DVD worth picking up.

Anyhow, I get more and more excited about this project as time goes on. It sounds like they're really doing something different and unusual here, and that's pretty cool in my book. I like the new Iron Man design (a nice mix of the old and the new), and I'm looking forward to seeing some footage hopefully very soon.

[Hockey Mask]

Don't hate me but I am a HUGE DC fan...or should I say a HUGE SuperFriends/Justice League fan. I love the massive team up concepts in the animated form. I am not a big comic fan and my Marvel knowledge is lacking. What is the equivelent of Justice League in Marvel and have we seen it animated before? Avengers? Please help.

[Spider-Man]

What is the equivelent of Justice League in Marvel and have we seen it animated before? Avengers? Please help. Yup! This is pretty much the equivilant although some would argue the New Avengers is more equal to DC's JLA than The Ultimates are. The Avengers had a pretty terrible cartoon in the 1990s which I'm sure you could find pics and info from online. This DTV looks to be the first real stab at these characters with quality writing and animation and being a huge Marvel fan I can't wait!

[Hockey Mask]

Thanks for the info. I'll dive it a try when the DTV is released. Who knows? Maybe I'll start liking Marvel.

[Spider-Man]

A new poster for the movie has been released and Iron Man looks damn awesome!

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/news/articles/2324.asp



http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/news/comic-news/ult_av_IM_lg.jpg

[Alpha Flight]

See how much more attention this Avengers thread is getting than any of the other Fantastic Four threads. I'm not trying to diss the Fantastic Four, or offend any of their fans! The Avengers just seem to be really popular and I think that Marvel would have benefited from a quality television series a long time ago. I think that it would be even better if they released a DTV on "The New Avengers" instead of "The Ultimate Avengers." Hopefully we'll see an Avengers T.V. show soon.

[screw on head]

The Saturday October 2nd edition of 'site that cannot be named' has a round-up of the Ultimate Avengers panel at Wizard Con Boston, where the Ultimate Avengers trailer was shown. The trailer will be appearing on the Fantastic Four DVD.

Here's the meat of it, mostly same old same old, no screen caps unfortunately:

* Why was Ultimate Avengers chosen as the first animated Marvel/Lions Gate film? "We really wanted to make sure we came out of the gate with a movie that connected with as many fans as possible," Kyle said. This has got some of our biggest heroes in it. And why we specifically chose Ultimates, it was just such a cinematic story that it was a natural fit with the types of stories we hope to do in these films."

* Johnson said in adapting the comics he had to look at what would work cinematically.

* Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are not featured in the two Ultimate Avengers movies. "The only reason was is that we're not going to put him in and then not use him or just have him walk through a scene," Kyle said of Hawkeye. "It's a waste of an important character. If we're going to bring him in, he's going to make a difference and he's going to matter."

* Johnson said that Captain America's story is the "guiding light" of the film. "He not only starts the movie, but his impact is felt by everyone around him throughout the movie," he said. "His decisions dictate the direction of the plot, and ultimately the resolution rests on his shoulders, which is a little bit of a stronger spine for the movie that we needed to keep the urgency and the threat alive and keep Captain America as the focal point throughout. As much as it's an ensemble, it's really Captain America's story."

* Johnson said it was liberating work on the straight-to-DVD project, as opposed to writing for a Saturday morning show.

"It's more than just the fact that we ignore some BS&P standards that dictate the things you can and can't do on television -- and we got to do that. But it was more of a freedom, more than let's swear and show some risque shots of Black Widow because we can -- and we did.

"It also impacts the way we tell the story. The scenes are a little longer. The dialogue has got a certain cadence in it that you would see in a more mature storytelling device like a film.

"In (television) animation, you are dictated by the act breaks, because here is where the commercials go. You have 22 minutes to tell your story and finish all the story arcs of all the characters involved. Here we have lots of time to really explore some things that we haven't gotten to do before."

* The Marvel/Lions Gate animation films will come out every four to five months. Following Ultimate Avengers are Ultimate Avengers 2, Iron Man and Doctor Strange.

* Bob Richardson, producer of Fox Kids' Spider-Man series, is producing the Ultimate Avengers film. Frank Paur, whose credits include Batman: The Animated Series, Spawn and X-Men: Evolution, is producing Iron Man and Doctor Strange. Both the Iron Man and Doctor Strange films will be origin stories.

* The Ultimate Avengers was chose because of its contemporary take.

"I think regardless of which versions of the Avengers you tell, it's the basic story of a team getting together, letting their differences come in their way, having them overcome their differences to work together to accomplish a goal," Johnson said. "I think that's what the Avengers are about, and I think that's what Ultimate Avengers strives to do."

* Kyle said there will be DVD extras. "The specifics are still being work out," he said.

* Kyle said the second film will feature a character who has not been in the Ultimates comics. "With that design, we went to Bryan (Hitch, Ulimates artist) and said, 'Look, we need you take a pass at it, so we would take what you would have done with this character and translate it to the movies.' We're really happy with the way that one came out."

* Johnson on the Iron Man movie: "It's his origin, updated, It isn't based on anybody's specific run. There are some surprises in that I think are going to thrill the fans because it's a great origin story."

* Kyle said the Iron Man movie will feature several suits. "We have the big refrigerator, too," he said. "He didn't always have that streamlined beauty."

* Johnson said Hank Pym was his favorite character to write. "Very complex character. We got to deal with some anger issues, as you saw in the book," he said.

* Johnson on a difference between the books and the film: "What we wanted to do in the story is create a threat that brings the team together, as opposed to the ongoing threats out there that prompted the team in the books. There is something that crystalizes this, that brings this Dirty Dozen together and forces them to work as a team together. So that threat continues through the entire film."

* Like the book, the film will start with Captain America during World War II. "That was one of the more excited things about the movie, to go back to his past," Johnson said. Also, CBR has an article about the panel (http://comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5985) and some additional interesting info, more so about the other DTVs than this one.

[Spider-Man]

Have there been any screen caps leaked out by any chance or have any images somehow found their way online? Surely some fans in the audience must be able to provide a report of the animation.

[screw on head]

The Sunday edition of the 'site that cannot be named' reports that Grey DeLisle, "who has performed more than 100 voice roles in animated series and video games over the past eight years" is voicing Wasp.

[Stu]

In addition to Wasp, The Black Widow, who makes her animated debut here, has also been cast. She'll be portrayed by Olivia D'Abo, who's probably best known around here as Morgan Le Fay and Star Saphire from Justice League, and The Royal Flush Gang Member 10 from Batman Beyond.

With the aforementioned ladies and Mark Hamill confirmed thus far, this is sounding like a quality cast. I can't wait to hear more!

[James Harvey]

Also take note that Bryan Hitch, whose designs are being used in The Ultimate Avengers 1 and The Ultimate Avengers 2, will be part of Marvel's latest presentation for the direct to video feature at Wizard World Texas. Further voice cast information, a new poster, and more animated clips are expected highlights in the The Ultimate Avengers 1 presentation. The Wizard World Texas convention will be held Nov 4th - 6th. As usual, Wizard World (http://wizarduniverse.com/) has more information.

[mr jinx]

THOR

Edit: Image removed. No linking to that site please.

from the site than must not be named

[Stu]

http://marvel.toonzone.net/Stu/thor.jpg

There's the poster, it looks awesome. I can't wait to see Hulk!

[Cheetatron]

Have we heard anything about fury and shield as far as this movie is concerned?

[Spider-Man]

If you check out the new Wizard magazine they have pictures of Nick Fury and Black Widow from the movie. The designs were done by Steve Gordon and they look really sharp. Steve Gordon even has a few comments about working on the movie and adapting Marvel character's and Hitch's artwork.

[Stu]

A quick search online found a scan of the article, sorry the interview is slightly cut off

http://marvel.toonzone.net/Stu/ultimatenfbw.gif

[screw on head]

Steve Gordon has posted both designs in some mighty high resolution on his blog (stevenegordon.blogspot.com) which can be found through his website (stevenegordon.com).

They look very cool. It'll be interesting to see how things look on screen, but they don't look all that far off from Evolution's color stylings. I'm pretty psyched to see these designs in action...

[Spider-Man]

They look very cool. It'll be interesting to see how things look on screen, but they don't look all that far off from Evolution's color stylings. I'm pretty psyched to see these designs in action... I don't know what Gordon did to them but his designs look slightly more mature than his work on X-Men: Evolution. And I don't know why but it's almost a pleasure to see a real handgun/weapon in these designs that aren't modified or made into lasers.

[blue21252125]

GORDEN SHOWS THE FIRST LOOK OF THE ULTIMATE AVENGERS ON HIS SITE!!!!!!!!!

www.stevenegordon.com (http://www.stevenegordon.com)

[Spider-Friends]

Steve Gordon has posted both designs in some mighty high resolution on his blog (http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com/) which can be found through his website (http://stevenegordon.com/).I'm absolutely dying for this to come out! Looks perfect!

[Spider-Man]

Mark Millar said on his message board that he's recorded some extras for The Ultimate Avengers DVD:

http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=54931

I'm really hoping for a DVD with a nice set of extras.

[Nuage]

Will Scarlet Witch be in this DTV? I would love to see her in this movie.

[Robin]

I'll admit that I'm not the biggest Marvel fan, I only know the common knowledge info and what I see in some of the cartoons and movies, but this image makes me want to pick up The Ultimates. I saw the new poster for this cartoon on Comic Book Resources and it looks amazing:

http://www.marvel.com/globals/view_generic.htm?filename=/publishing/stories/ult_av/thor.jpg

I'd love to see this artist do some DC work.

[Spider-Man]

There's a new article at Wizard World about the Ultimate Avengers presentation at this weekend's Texas Convention:

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/conventions/texas/WW20051105-ult.cfm

HULK SMASH
Fans get a first look at the “Ultimate Avengers” with special guests Craig Kyle, Bryan Hitch and Producer Bob Richardson exclusively at Wizard World Texas.

“I’m on the DVD telling everyone how good it was and I hadn’t even seen it, yet!” artist Bryan Hitch joked with a packed crowd at Wizard World Texas , before producer Bob Richardson interjected, “We never let the originators the project view it before making that statement.”

He needn’t worry. If the reaction from the crowd at the Jim Aparo room was any indication, Ultimate Avengers will be riding high come February.

What you see here is what we expect will be an exciting finished product when it’s released,” producer Bob Richardson told the crowd. “Obviously the graphic page is not the same as the movie, but we did capture the spitirt behind it. We had a great team of artists working on it and they did a great job.

Artist Bryan Hitch worked closely with the production team as well according to VP Craig Kyle. And the book is based on the first six issues of Ultimates. The decision to do Ultimates as the first of the marvel DVDs was simple.

“We wanted to explore something that had a lot of characters,” Kyle told the audience. “It’s largely Cap’s story but the other characters come along his journey and we get to see their story as they come along. There’s places in this film that we took completely from the book and matched panel to screen shot. Wherever we could keep those moments alive we did.”

They then went on to show a seven minute clip from the DVD which entailed the battle with the Hulk. It starts with the Hulk tearing up what appear to be aliens and Captain America coming over to calm him down and congratulate Hulk.

“Dr. Banner, we did it,” Cap says before an enraged Hulk smacks Cap clear across the screen. Iron Man is next as Hulk plucks him out of the sky and tosses him off the building rooftop where they stood. Giant Man tries to reel him in but Hulk quickly punches Giant Man’s kneecap, doing serious damage and reiterating that what the producers spoke of when they said they did not make this for the Saturday Morning Cartoon crowd. The Wasp tries to no avail to slow the Green (in this version he’s the green hulk) Goliath, but she too is quickly dismissed.

But not all the Ultimates go down so quickly, as Thor steps forward and does battle next. An intense fight breaks out between the two as Thor uses his Hammer to knock Hulk clear upside down. But the Hulk eventually overpowers Hulk and after several moments of trying to lift it, uses Thor’s hammer against him.

Giant Man gets back into the action, trying to squeeze Hulk in his palm, but Hulk breaks free and starts choking Giant Man, despite the size difference. Just as he’s about to deliver what might be a killing blow, the Wasp flies by and zaps the Hulk down before Captain America comes back and jump kicks the Hulk down. Iron Man starts focusing his blast toward Hulk but he’s knocked away yet again as well as Captian America. Nick Fury (not voiced by Sam Jackson) and Black Widow fail to have any effect by shooting at Hulk, before Betty Banner returns with the medicine that might cause the Hulk to revert to human form.

Cap tells Wasp and Iron man to distract the Hulk, (who lets out an amusing “sure”) Cap tries to get a shot off but Hulk quickly makes his way through the Ultimates again, knocking the medicine to the ground where Natasha picks it up. She injects Hulk, who is still rampaging, with the serum and Betty Banner stops him to calm him down. The Hulk reverts back to normal and the clip fades to black.

Following the clip fans asked a multitude of questions to the producers and to hitch. Here’s a sampling of what they asked:


What other DVGD’s are in production and when are they going to be out?

KYLE: Ultimate Avengers hits stores February 21st and the second Ultimate Avengers hits stores two to four months after. Then we’re doing an Iron Man then a Doctor Strange DVD.

When you’re trying too adapt something with a lot of characters how do you decide who to keep and who to cut?


RICHARDSON: Ultimately, you can’t do everything so there were some characters we had to cut. You pick and choose, but the thing you don’t want to do is to have so many characters that you don’t cultivate what they’re about.

What was Mark Millars input?


KYLE: We sat down with both of them (Hitch and Millar) and we gave them scripts and asked for input. Largely, the work they did prior is what we tried to preserve. Bryan also did some extra designs for this piece - I can’t say what – but he did some character work that was exceptional.

How long is the video?

RICHARDSON: About 75 minutes or so

Where’s Thor’s beard?

That was one of the changes we had to make for the film. I’m sure you’re all in love with it and it can still be found in the pages of The Ultimates.

Are the adult themes that was present in Ultimates, like the spousal abuse between Giant Man and Wasp going to be found in the DVD?

When you have a longer amount of time, when you have 70 minutes the crack of a man’s fist against a woman’s face is tough to redeem by the end of the film. This wasn’t made for Saturday morning, but there were some places we had to pull back because we just didn’t have enough time. Trust me [Hank] is the prick you guys were expecting and it is absolutely playing to the story you guys know.

What kind of Iron Man are we going to see? Classic Iron man? Ultimate?

KYLEClassic Iron Man. Ultimates is its own world, Iron man is it’s own world. It’s going to be the classic tale.

What kind of Special Features will it have?

RICHARDSON: That’s still in process, but there will be some extras.

HITCH: They feature me in the studio. I draw something. Mark talks about stuff that I have no idea what he’s saying and I agree.

The core audience is going to love this movie, but what steps are being taken to get the ordinary person interested?

RICHARDSON: Its got a lot of heart an that will appeal to a larger audience. I’m glad that you say that the core audience is going to enjoy it because it was made for you guys. Lions Gate has done a terrific job getting it out there and I think your kids will enjoy it. [At the same time] there will be stuff they don’t get. We’re going to try to hit everybody, but its for you.

Will it be Rated?

KYLE: Its not rated yet and we don’t know if they are. We targeted PG to PG-13.

(To Bryan) What’s going to happen in Ultimates and how far along on your next project are you?

HITCH: I have a project that’s going to take a year or so lead time and it’s so big you’re not going to hear about it until summer 2006.

I just got the script for issue eleven before I left and issue eleven to twelve is wall to wall action. We don’t know what the page count will be [for the last issue], but twelve might be a little longer.

[Pyro]

I'm so glad to see Steve Gordon's character designs! I'm really looking forward to this movie! I don't understand what the problem was with Thor's beard. They know we like it, and it shouldn't have been too hard to animate. Ah, well, I won't complain.

[Bobbywoodhogan]

They should also do a DTV of Captain America set in World War II

[Spider-Man]

A shot of the group poster for Ultimate Avengers is now online and so is a new Q & A at the site that cannot be named from the panel from this weekend's Wizard World Texas con.

http://www.comicboards.com/avengers/view.php?trd=051107235131

Bob Richardson, producer/director of the Ultimate Avengers animated movie, said that the film features four major battles. "Which is a lot to put in a 70-minute movie," he said on Saturday during the Ultimate Avengers panel at Wizard World Texas.

A clip of one of those battles was shown, as Captain America, Giant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Nick Fury and Betty Ross try to control a rampaging Hulk.

Richardson was joined on the panel by Ultimates artist Bryan Hitch and Craig Kyle of Marvel Studios. After the clip, they fielded questions from the audience.

Following are highlights:

* Hitch, who saw the animation for the first time along with the fans, did design work for the film. "The script was fantastic," Hitch said. "It had all the elements of the comic -- the angst, the characterization and the intensity."

* Hitch's group image will be used as the box art for the DVD.

* The first four direct-to-DVD Marvel animated films -- Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2, Iron Man and Doctor Strange -- will be released about three months apart, with Doctor Strange targeted for February 2007.

* Richardson on adapting the comic to film: "We wanted a nice through-line and build it in a certain way, so construction of it has a nice pace to it. Ultimately, with time on screen for the characters, you have to pick and choose. The thing you don't want to do is have so many characters that you can't cultivate them in a nice way."

* Richardson said extras for the DVD are still in devlopment.

* Kyle said that the Giant-Man/Wasp abuse element from the comics was toned down because there wasn't time in the film for Giant-Man to redeem himself.

[Spider-Friends]

A shot of the group poster for Ultimate Avengers is now online... Huh. In that Wizard interview you posted, Kyle says he used a "classic" Iron Man. I guess he just meant storywise because that sure looks like the Ultimate design to me in the poster. Either way is fine; Both designs are cool.

I'm REALLY thrilled they are using a green Hulk. It would just seem unnecessary to non-comic fans if they used the grey one.

[Nuage]

The characters look awesome but I didn't like the Iron Man armor used much.. Btw Scarlet Witch will not be in this movie, right?

[screw on head]

Through a link at Steve Gordon's blog (stevenegordon.blogspot.com), apparently The Character Design Blogspot (characterdesign.blogspot.com) conducted an interview with him last Monday. It's a very interesting interview and along with it comes various images from Steve, including Evo art and the aborted 'Teen Hulk' designs. To read the interview, which yes does make some mention of the DTV, click here (http://steve-gordon-nterview.blogspot.com/).

[James Harvey]

It looks like we have our first review, courtesy of The Beat (http://209.198.111.165/thebeat/):

t was a full-length animated film that is based on the comic The Ultimates and is the first in an eight-movie deal with Lions Gate. Each film in the deal will be animated and be straight-to-DVD. I was actually surprised at how close the movie stayed to the source material (the first arc of The Ultimates). Maybe this is a sign of how Marvel will produce the movies in their new production studio? The biggest surprise, however, was that the animation quality was greatly lacking. Maybe I'm used to the uber-detail in Hitch's drawings and the interesting animation in Justice League Unlimited and anime but I thought the quality of animation was much too simplistic for a series that had strived in creating realism.

A couple other interesting notes:

In the credits in the press packet it lists the Music Publisher as Marvel Music, Inc. I've never heard of this before and a quick search yielded nothing. Does Marvel now have a music line?

The opening credits said ...Based on the charcters created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. This took me as bit of a surprise since you rarely see companies so liberal with singling out people with credit, let alone the people that reinvented the characters....The voice cast was void of any big time stars, but it does feature Olivia d'Abo (the Wasp) who played the older sister on The Wonder Years.
"The Ultimate Avengers" Official Website (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=39)

[Alpha Flight]

It sounds good!

I also think it would be great if they released a Captain America DVD.

[Spider-Friends]

The biggest surprise, however, was that the animation quality was greatly lacking.
I have now gone from "elated" to "seriously worried". :sad:

[Jon T]

I have now gone from "elated" to "seriously worried". :sad:
I really hope this movie looks good, but I share your sentiment.

The fact that no screenshots of any description have been shown so far for something that is due to be released fairly soon has left too many question marks over the actual animation quality for me. I had thought the makers were simply just pushing for (extreme) secrecy, but maybe this has been a deliberate choice for other reasons?

In any event, I only hope that those possibilities are not the actual case and that it does look good.

[Conekiller]

Maybe that's why it's 3 months away from release and pretty much all we've seen is some character art in Wizard and a bunch of posters that are in the comic's style.

EDIT: what Jon T said ^__^ :p

[Stu]

I really hope this movie looks good, but I share your sentiment.

The fact that no screenshots of any description have been shown so far for something that is due to be released fairly soon has left too many question marks over the actual animation quality for me. I had thought the makers were simply just pushing for (extreme) secrecy, but maybe this has been a deliberate choice for other reasons?

In any event, I only hope that those possibilities are not the actual case and that it does look good.

It's still to early to tell, due to the fact that very little has been released. Marvel seems to be keeping very tight lipped about the whole feature, hopefully, more will come after the trailer is released on the Fantastic Four DVD.

From the sounds of it, the source could be dissapointed that the film doesn't look like Brian Hitch's artwork, which is forgiveable, it's too detailed to be animated. Dong Wong are usually a more than stellar animation company too.

Now I'm really anxious to see that trailer! Only a few more weeks!

[Jon T]

From the sounds of it, the source could be dissapointed that the film doesn't look like Brian Hitch's artwork, which is forgiveable, it's too detailed to be animated. Dong Wong are usually a more than stellar animation company too.
I guess my main reservations about the possible animation quality of the movie stem from the fact that I'm not entirely clear who's animating it. I had recently heard it was being done in Korea (Dong Woo/Dong Yang???), but this goes against info stating that it was being done in France. Knowing who did it would be a (admittedly very general) indicator of how good it might look on-screen.

Have I missed some obvious piece of info, or does anyone know exactly which studio was to animate this particular movie?

[Stu]

According to a post earlier in the thread (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=1854490&postcount=118) with "Don Wu" animating. I wouldn't be surprised if that was one of the two you previously mentioned, Jon, as they also incorrectly spelt Curt Geda's name in the very same paragraph.

I don't believe there's ever been any mention of France regarding Ultimate Avengers. Perhaps we're getting confused with the new Iron Man/Fantastic Four cartoons which are apprantly being animated over there? :)

[Jon T]

According to a post earlier in the thread (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=1854490&postcount=118) with "Don Wu" animating. I wouldn't be surprised if that was one of the two you previously mentioned, Jon, as they also incorrectly spelt Curt Geda's name in the very same paragraph.

I don't believe there's ever been any mention of France regarding Ultimate Avengers. Perhaps we're getting confused with the new Iron Man/Fantastic Four cartoons which are apprantly being animated over there? :)
"Don Wu" probably is Dong Woo... Their work on the most recent Turtles and He-Man series has seemed pretty good to me in passing, so they should be up to the task of providing some impressive-looking animation. Like you say, can't wait to see the trailer!

I only mentioned France since that's what The Beat reviewer mentioned on his blog! It seems he's the one who was actually confusing Ultimate Avengers with the new Marvel shows in development, even after watching the movie!

[blue21252125]

never mind what i stated above

I wanted to said that who will be the villian in this DTV anyways?
And will captain america be the x evolution style one?

[Conekiller]

IN the "edit post" section there is a box you can click to delete that post. I think you might want to get aquainted with it ;)

[James Harvey]

The site that cannot be named reported the following:

In addition to the previously reported Grey DeLisle as Wasp and Olivia D'Abo as Black Widow, the voice cast of the direct-to-DVD Ultimate Avengers animated movie will include Justin Gross as Captain America, Marc Worden as Iron Man, Dave Boat as Thor, Fred Tatsciore as Hulk, Michael Massee as Bruce Banner, Nolan North as Giant-Man and Andre Ware as Nick Fury.

[Spider-Man]

In addition to the previously reported Grey DeLisle as Wasp and Olivia D'Abo as Black Widow, the voice cast of the direct-to-DVD Ultimate Avengers animated movie will include Justin Gross as Captain America, Marc Worden as Iron Man, Dave Boat as Thor, Fred Tatsciore as Hulk, Michael Massee as Bruce Banner, Nolan North as Giant-Man and Andre Ware as Nick Fury.
I can't say I recognize any of these names. Does anyone recognize them from previous projects?

[Stu]

Most of the above actors have had 'bit parts' in both animation and video games. The guy playing Nick Fury previously voiced him in the Fantastic Four video game, did a pretty good job too if I remember.

Steve Gordon has updated his blog (http://www.stevenegordon.com/index_steveg.html) with a little bit of news regarding the feature

Today's the day that we should finally get the animation back from overseas. I'm not too worried...(ptoo...ptoo...ptoo - warding off the evil eye) , after all I've seen a few test scenes already and they were very well done and I've worked with this company before. We're using Mook - the same company that did half the animation for X-Men: Evolution - so I know what to basically expect. I hope...

So it appears Mook is animating the project, not Dong Woo. Anybody know which episodes of X-Men they worked on?

[Jon T]

So it appears Mook is animating the project, not Dong Woo. Anybody know which episodes of X-Men they worked on?
From what I've seen, Mook is a pretty good Japanese animation company; far better than Dong Woo.

A couple of eps I know of for certain that they animated are "Mindbender" and "Blind Alley". Also, here's a quote from Craig Kyle regarding Mook's animation quality:

"They do the best animation for us"

Now that all sounds far more encouraging!

[Stu]

From what I've seen, Mook is a pretty good Japanese animation company; far better than Dong Woo.

A couple of eps I know of for certain that they animated are "Mindbender" and "Blind Alley". Also, here's a quote from Craig Kyle regarding Mook's animation quality:

"They do the best animation for us"

Now that all sounds far more encouraging!

Mindbender had some of the best animation I've ever seen! I screengrabbed the episode just this week, and I never noticed how stunning it was to look at. Given how dark this thing is supposed to be, I can't wait to see what they pull off here. Will Marvel finally top the Mindbender fight scene in the rain?

For those with fuzzy memories, here's some shots from the episodes.

http://marvel.toonzone.net/Stu/47.jpg

http://marvel.toonzone.net/Stu/58.jpg

This is going to be awesome! :D

[Pyro]

Mindbender and Blind Alley both had some great animation. Those episodes were particularily well animated. This makes me even more excited for this movie.

[blue21252125]

Mindbender and Blind Alley both had some great animation. Those episodes were particularily well animated. This makes me even more excited for this movie.

Yes, Mindbender had one of the best animation in Evo cartoon and same company using the same kind of animation for Ultimate Avengers will be great.

In X Evo ' Walk on the Wild Side' was also well animated. Had Mook done the animation for this ep as well?

[Spider-Man]

Mindbender had some of the best animation I've ever seen! I screengrabbed the episode just this week, and I never noticed how stunning it was to look at. Given how dark this thing is supposed to be, I can't wait to see what they pull off here. Will Marvel finally top the Mindbender fight scene in the rain?
This episode probably had the best animation of the entire series so I'm really glad to here this will be the team that is handling this movie. I was a bit worried about the comment in a previous post about the lacking animation but I hope that was just rough animation or something. I really have my fingers crossed for this release although Mook doing the animation is good news to hear.

[James Harvey]

It appears like we have an early look at the artwork for the DVD release, or at least an early mock-up of it, courtesy of DavisDVD.com (http://www.davisdvd.com):

http://davisdvd.com/images/covers_big/ultimateavengers.jpg
http://davisdvd.com/images/covers_big/ultimateavengers.jpg

[J-Ranger]

Awesome news! So is this Avenger team made of the current one and not the classic one? And is this possibly a pilot for a new Avengers cartoon series

[James Harvey]

With the above cover art, the full specs for the DVD have been released. The disc is set to contain 1.77:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1, with supplments including a trivia section, a feature on the cast, a DVD Rom game "Which Avenger Are You?" and a sneak peak at the sequel. You can bet we're try to cover this release in as much detail as we can (and as much as the public relations at Lion' Gate will let us). Thanks to DavisDVD.com (http://davisdvd.com/news/animation.html) for the heads up.

Lion's Gate subsidiary Maple Pictures will release this DVD in Canada.

[Spider-Friends]

The disc is set to contain 1.77:1 Anamorphic Widescreen...With the collage look of the cover having no proportion to size for the characters, I can't help but wonder if the average consumer might think that Giant Man is Daredevil. :shrug:

And can someone with extensive knowledge explain to me what exactly is the difference in "Widescreen" & "Anamorphic Widescreen"? I recently purchased a widescreen TV and am having trouble with this. From what I read on the internet, "anamorphic" should mean that the picture is squeezed together (in width)...then stretches out on a widescreen TV to proper proportions. Which makes sense...the problem being that not a single one of my anamorphic DVDs is squeezed! To fill up the screen on my new TV I have to zoom in on my "anamorphic widescreen" DVDs in the same way I do my regular widescreen DVDs. Anyone? Help?:o

[screw on head]

That's some very cool looking cover art. That pic kind of makes me think it's a slip cover case but I'd be surprised if that's really the case.

For those of us wondering about who's doing the animation for it, Steve Gordon made a blog post Saturday trying to clear up any confusion from his Nov. 8th post:

I just realized (mostly by going to the Toon Zone Forum) that some might have misinterpreted my post from Tuesday Nov 8th and thought I was talking about the Ultimate Avengers' DTV. I wasn't. I was anxiously awaiting footage to come back from Mook for the DTV that I directed for IDT/FilmRoman - Stan Lee presents The Condor.

Let me clear up a couple of things:
1) I was co-director (with Curt Geda) on the first Marvel/Lionsgate feature DTV The Ultimate Avengers and I was the designer for that DTV as well as its sequel. I have not seen any footage from this film.
2) I am currently working at IDT/FilmRoman on a series of feature DTVs called Stan Lee presents. This was the footage that I was anxiously awaiting to see.
And I don't mean to imply anything about the quality of animation in the Ultimate Avengers DTV. I haven't seen it so I don't know anything about it and can't comment on it.So when Steve was talking about the animation studio Mook, that was in reference to 'Stan Lee presents The Condor'. So I guess that means Dong Woo is animating Ultimate Avengers, as was previously reported.

[James Harvey]

Thanks for the clarification, Steve! The Condor, hunh? Hmmmm . . . . Now back on topic, the site that cannot be named has an update focusing on The Ultimate Avengers 1:

Justin Gross, the voice of Captain America, in both Ultimate Avengers direct-to-DVD animated movies, told The Continuum he was "sort of familiar" with the character before he got the role.

"I had read old comic books and read a 'history' of the character at one time," Gross told The Continuum. "It was part of a class I took on American Culture. But I didn't have an in-depth knowledge of the character from being a 'fan' of the comic series."

Therefore, Gross said, he didn't bring many pre-conceived attitudes about the character.

"I had some time with the script before we did the recordings," he said. "I studied the script and sort of fell in love with the story. It's a very nice script, very theatrical, not typical 'cartoon' fare at all."

Greg Johnson, writer of the films, said the first movie is very much Captain America's story.

"He not only starts the movie, but his impact is felt by everyone around him throughout the movie," he said. "His decisions dictate the direction of the plot, and ultimately the resolution rests on his shoulders, which is a little bit of a stronger spine for the movie that we needed to keep the urgency and the threat alive and keep Captain America as the focal point throughout. As much as it's an ensemble, it's really Captain America's story."

Gross said his commitment to the character was that of Steve Rogers.

"He's having all of these human experiences but also happens to be a superhero," Gross said. "But underneath it all, he's very real and human. I thought about the situation in Iraq and the fact that Steve Rogers is the same age as our soldiers there. He's a committed soldier and committed to protecting freedom and is this larger-than-life superhero, but he also has these emotional episodes from his past and sort of reacts to things the way a young guy like himself would.

"I guess what I'm saying is that the key to being Captain America is finding Steve Rogers. That's what I found."

Gross has dozens of commercial voice work credits and is one of several Ultimate Avengers cast members who provided voices for The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction video game.

Ultimate Avengers is scheduled for release on Feb. 21

[Pyro]

Spider-Friends, Widescreen and Anamorphic Widescreen typically mean the same thing. Anamorphic basically means that your DVD will appear on a widescreen tv correctly. It contains the digital information needed to fill the area of a widescreen tv as opposed to a non-anamorphic widescreen dvd which would display the image as if it were on a full screen. Not only would it still have the black bars, but gray bars on the sides also.

So, anamorphic widescreen is what you want. Most DVDs either list it as "Anamorphic Widescreen" or "Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions." If it doesn't list that, then it's most likely your DVD isn't digitally formatted to fill up a widescreen tv. Plain "Widescreen" is just a term that differentiates your DVD from a "Fullscreen" version.

Anamorphic Widescreen only looks squeezed in if it is played on a fullscreen with incorrect dvd player settings. You don't want your anamorphic DVD to look squeezed. If you wanted a non-anamorphic widescreen movie to fill up your widescreen tv, then you would have to zoom in.

I hope that helps. Check out this website if you want to learn more: http://www.widescreen.org/dvd_anamorphic.shtml

[Spider-Friends]

Anamorphic Widescreen only looks squeezed in if it is played on a fullscreen with incorrect dvd player settings.Ah! So I DO have to change the DVD player settings. That was what I thought initially but I've gone all through my player settings and can't find anything related to aspect ratio. This was a pretty expensive DVD player and it is only a couple of years old so I can't imagine that it doesn't have the setting. I'll try again tonight! Thanks Pyro!!!

[James Harvey]

I've read a few reviews for the Dec. 6th Region 1 release of Fantastic Four and none, despite the trailer being listed in menu screens, have mentioned anything about the trailer for this feature. Also, DVD Review (http://www.dvdreview.com) has posted up release information for this direct to video movie featuring a bit more information.

The first full-length movie directly from Marvel is coming to DVD in February through Lions Gate Home Entertainment. Ultimate Avengers is an animated movie featuring some of Marvel’s best-known superheroes, and marks to be the first in a series of eight films to be produced jointly by Marvel and Lion’s Gate.

A world in crisis. Age-old enemies on the verge of attack. So a mighty team is recruited, and Earth's ultimate hero is sought to lead them - Captain America. Unfortunately, he's been frozen in ice for over sixty years.

Inspired by Marvel's best-selling book, "The Ultimates," this is the extraordinary story of six very independent heroes who, like it or not, must fight as one to save the world. Little did they know that their biggest threat would emerge from within their very own ranks - The Incredible Hulk!

The release will sport a 1.78:1 widescreen transfer that is enhanced for 16x9 TV sets and feature a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital audio track. As extras, Lions Gate has prepared a Featurette called “Assembling The Avengers” for you as a Featurette on the search that was conducted to find the proper voice talent for each of the superheroes. “What Avenger Are You?” is a DVD-ROM Game that is alos included on the release while a First Look Teaser will give you the chance to get a sneak peek at the upcoming “Ultimate Avengers II.” The release will also contain a selection of Trailers.

“Ultimate Avengers” will be in stores on February 21 with a suggested retail price of $19.98. A UMD version of the film for your Sony PSP will also be released on the same day.

[Spider-Man]

Over onthe DVD board a poster named Aximilli got the Fantastic Four DVD early and mentioned the trailer for this movie. He says that there is new trailer for the upcoming Ultimate Avengars DTV Movie and that looks pretty cool especially if you've been following The Ultimates comic book. Hopefully he'll add more to that later. I can't wait to see this trailer!

[LazyReaper]

Yup, Spider-Man's right. I did get an advanced copy of The Fantastic Four two days ago. Anyways, inside the dvd is a trailer for the "Marvel Avengers" with the other two F4 trailers. It's a fairly short trailer (about 50 seconds) but I took as many screenshots as I could to let you guys take a look at what's to come. They are linked below:

Admin Note: Incase of increased traffic resulting in the images going offline, they can be viewed at the Marvel Animation Age (http://www.marvel.toonzone.net/) site. If the images have vanished from this post, please click the link below to be taken to the special The Ultimate Avengers Vol. 1 page:

The Ultimate Avengers Vol. 1 trailer screenshots (http://marvel.toonzone.net/avengers/)

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2803/menutrailer5dc.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7780/trailer018zi.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6995/trailer028wq.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9483/trailer033bk.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3002/trailer040aj.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8339/trailer059rk.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9718/trailer066ct.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9395/trailer075jp.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/695/trailer083sx.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3518/trailer094vf.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1733/trailer109jm.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7159/trailer115so.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6720/trailer127wk.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6407/trailer136dp.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8795/trailer148of.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4715/trailer158aq.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2567/trailer161jn.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4268/trailer179bg.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1059/trailer183xc.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2192/trailer194pw.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/845/trailer205ms.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8084/trailer216ox.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2258/trailer224is.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4418/trailer236ic.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6150/trailer241uw.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/552/trailer255uu.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/191/trailer266sq.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2965/trailer272ua.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7268/trailer285xe.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8751/trailer293aj.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/501/trailer303hn.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1567/trailer315ww.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/149/trailer327ye.jpg

From what I saw of the trailer, the movie seems to revolve around the first arc from the comic books when Nick Fury is trying to band a super powered group together, only to have the Hulk let loose in New York City.

Hope that helped out. :)

-Aximlli-

Want to comment? View and reply to this thread! (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=116551)

[Sketch]

That looks awesome. I want a TV series instead of just a movie!

[J-Ranger]

Nice

[Nate Palm]

Wasn't expecting Cap's shirt to be solid blue. Looks very odd. Hopefully it will look better in motion.

[Chris Johnston]

Yup, Spider-Man's right. I did get an advanced copy of The Fantastic Four two days ago (mainly because of the fact that I work at a video store). Anyways, inside the dvd is a trailer for the "Marvel Avengers" with the other two F4 trailers. It's a fairly short trailer (about 50 seconds) but I took as many screenshots as I could to let you guys take a look at what's to come. Here they are:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/menutrailer.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer01.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer03.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer04.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer06.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer07.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer08.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer09.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer10.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer12.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer13.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer15.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer16.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer17.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer18.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer19.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer20.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer21.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer22.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer23.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer24.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer25.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer26.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer27.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer28.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer29.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer30.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer31.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer32.jpg

From what I saw of the trailer, the movie seems to revolve around the first arc from the comic books when Nick Fury is trying to band a super powered group together, only to have the Hulk let loose in New York City.

Hope that helped out. :)


-Aximlli-

Excuse me while I wipe my eyes.

*goes to wipe eyes, then returns*

That is some sick animation. I cannot wait for this.

[Spider-Man]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/Aximlli/Avengers/trailer18.jpg Thank's Aximlli!

These screengrabs look great! It looks like Captain America doesn't have the red and white stripes around his waist which look a little odd. Is this the same as the Ultimate version or is this unique to the DTV? Regardless these shots look amazing and I can't wait to see the trailer for myself on Tuesday!

[Pyro]

:D :D :D It looks even better than I imagined! And my expectations were pretty high anyway! I think it's so cool that they animated some scenes exactly the way they look in the comics. I'm also a little surprised by some aspects of the character designs like Captain America and Thor, but I'm not worried. I'm sure I'll love this movie.

[randomguy]

It looks like Captain America doesn't have the red and white stripes around his waist which look a little odd. Is this the same as the Ultimate version or is this unique to the DTV?That's definitely unique to this DTV. While the screengrabs would seem to indicate that the WWII version of Cap's outfit has stripes, the modern costume looks to be a solid blue. It's kinda weird, and I don't really know why they did it, but it's not a huge deal.

Anyhow, this looks really, really solid. Many of the frames are lifted straight out of The Ultimates, including Iron Man smashing Hulk into Grand Central Station, Giant Man slamming the Hulk into a building, and Thor's first appearance. Iron Man looks to be in his standard Ultimate armor, just with a more classical color scheme, and I think it looks good. I'm a bit disappointed that the backgrounds have the same "no hard lines" quality that Justice League's do, but I suppose it's not a big problem.

There are some curiousities, though. Hulk is apparently gray, even though supposedly he was going to be green in this, and there appears to be some sort of weird alien in the beginning of the trailer, which I'm guessing is a Skrull and ties into The Ultimates' second storyline.

Looking forward to seeing this in motion.

[screw on head]

Based on the cover art (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=1986010&postcount=197), I think it's a very safe bet that Cap will have the ol' red and white stripes on his belly, regardless of what we see in this trailer. Remember, they got Bryan Hitch to do the cover art... he's not among the likes of artists that produce DVD cover art akin to 'Return of the Joker's'. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these shots are from the 'working test animation', and have some details that still need to be added. Given the cropping in this promo, it's really not a big deal if they did use a few test animation shots. I very much doubt that Hulk will be gray too...

It looks very, very cool. It looks like they're going for soft outlining rather than black lines, which is cool because it resembles hitch's art even more. Everything I've seen so far looks great though, I really can't wait to see this!

[Spider-Friends]

There are some curiousities, though. Hulk is apparently gray, even though supposedly he was going to be green in this...

Looking forward to seeing this in motion.
It definitely has my money. Not too sure what to think yet though. Fury looks great. Cap looks REALLY anime-like in one shot. And a grey Hulk? Everything we'd read said he was going to be green. Can't help but wonder if this is footage from the test reel the animation company did instead of footage from the actual movie.

[LazyReaper]

Thank's Aximlli!

These screengrabs look great! It looks like Captain America doesn't have the red and white stripes around his waist which look a little odd. Is this the same as the Ultimate version or is this unique to the DTV? Regardless these shots look amazing and I can't wait to see the trailer for myself on Tuesday!Yeah, for most of the trailer, I saw Captain America with that solid blue costume, however, if you look at the pictures before Iron Man comes flying in, you'll see that Captain America is wearing a red and white striped look too. Maybe he changes his costume a third into the movie, but I really have no idea why they did that either.

It's still not something I'm gonna end up complaining about though, because it was just amazing to see how fast Captain America flew around his kicks and punches on the Hulk in combat, especially in that last shot. The animation for most of the trailer seemed very fluid so I think most of you will like it a lot. :)

[Wag]

The framing of those screengragbs have me a bit concerned. Is the DVD going to be full widescreen/anamorphically enhanced 16:9? If it's 4:3 letterboxed I won't buy it.

Edit: Ah, I see from an earlier post it will be anamorphic. Now, can someone share if it was originally animated for widescreen or fullscreen?

[James Harvey]

It’s great to see some quality shots from The Ultimate Avengers Vol. 1 trailer. I’m really looking forward to seeing this trailer in action, and hope that they decide to release it online as soon as possible. This could be a huge turning point for Marvel Animation if the company plays it right, and it’s be great to see more of the Marvel library animated for the fans. We should be seeing more updates on the project very soon, thanks to the debut of the trailer.

[Silly McGooses]

The captures look very nice. Maybe the animation won't turn out so hot, but the style looks really cool. :)

[Conekiller]

Impressive, consider my previous worries smashed.

[ShockDingo]

This looks really nice, I'm looking forward to it a lot

[ShadowDemon]

The stills look great, no doubt, but this still won't get my money. The Ultimates is a sick perversion of what the Avengers are supposed to be. They're nothing but jack-booted thugs, and in the REAL MU would be considered villains.

When Marvel gets its head on straight and does the REAL Avengers, then I'll buy...not before!

[Stu]

The stills look great, no doubt, but this still won't get my money. The Ultimates is a sick perversion of what the Avengers are supposed to be. They're nothing but jack-booted thugs, and in the REAL MU would be considered villains.

When Marvel gets its head on straight and does the REAL Avengers, then I'll buy...not before!
Once again, the film is a cross between The Ultimates and The Avengers. Hence the title "The Ultimate Avengers". The film's characters are a hybrid of both versions of each character, which means that they may not be the "thug" like versions that people complain about in The Ultimates books.

With that out the way, these screen captures look awesome. The region 2 DVD of Fantastic Four doesn't have the trailer, so hopefully it will become available online soon, because I can't wait to see this in motion, as the captures look stunning!

I can't wait to see this film!

[Duke]

For some reason the animation reminds me of "Heroscape." I dunno why, but it does.

Please let this go on Toonami...

[James Harvey]

Please let this go on Toonami... Avi Arad did say that this movie would be premiering on television shortly after it bows on video, so there’s a good chance it’ll end up on Cartoon Network. I can’t think of anywhere else they could air it, anyways, given the supposed PG-13 content.

[ShadowDemon]

Once again, the film is a cross between The Ultimates and The Avengers. Hence the title "The Ultimate Avengers". The film's characters are a hybrid of both versions of each character, which means that they may not be the "thug" like versions that people complain about in The Ultimates books.

With that out the way, these screen captures look awesome. The region 2 DVD of Fantastic Four doesn't have the trailer, so hopefully it will become available online soon, because I can't wait to see this in motion, as the captures look stunning!

I can't wait to see this film!
I'll be fair...IF what you suggest is in fact the case, then I might be persuaded to change my mind. I'd really like you to be right, because I've been waiting a long time to see the Avengers get their animation debut...but the Ultimates book has just really soured me...time will tell.

[thanos28542]

I just saw the trailer on my FF dvd & to tell you the truth, all they showed was the screencaps at superspeed! I swear you really couldn't get a good look at the animation cuz everything was going like on fastfoward! It looked all right but I still wish that it was based on the classic 616 Avengers & on either George Perez art or John Byrne's. I hope we get a future DTV classic Avengers movie featuring Thor, Cap, IM ( yellow/gold armor), Black Panther, Scarlet Witch & Vision in their classic costumes fighting Ultron or Nefaria!

[S.C.B]

Very, very nice... but I find the lack of feathers on Cap's head vaguely... disturbing. But that's more a qualm with his Ultimates design than the footage itself. And Iron Man is emitting a dangerous amount of awesomeness.

I just hopes this shows the big wigs at Marvel the market for 2D superhero cartoons. A small hope of mine is that if these are popular enough, they may consider making a TV show out of one of them, or perhaps a character that isn't getting DTV... *cough*Spider-Man*cough*cough*.

[J-Ranger]

Oh man I really want to see this trailer, I hope someone uploads it soon

[James Harvey]

With the trailer now "officially" released on the Fantastic Four DVD (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=156083), expect the official Lions Gate Entertainment (http://www.lgf.com/index_flash.php) website to be updated with it very soon. Even with their direct to video features, they do a good job providing at least a serviceable website.

[Spider-Man]

Gordon did the character designs for these right? Well wow they really beefed them up it seems. I was going through the screengrabs and I can see the influence especially in Nick Fury. The part with Captain America fighting looks more anime-ish than Gordon's work. But I'm used to only his X-Men: Evolution work so maybe he changed it up a little bit.

[James Harvey]

The MPAA has handed down a rating to The Ultimate Avengers Vol. 1. The feature will be rated PG-13 for action violence.

[Spider-Friends]

Suh-weet!

[Spider-Man]

PG-13? Excellent! I hope that was the rating they were gunning for. So what sequences do you think will be left in for the movie and which ones dropped?

[James Harvey]

Wizard Magazine recently chatted with Bryan Hitch about The Ultimate Avengers Vol. 1. Below is an excerpt from the interview (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazines/wizard/WZ20051212-five.cfm):

Moving on to the Ultimates DVD. How did it feel to have your work taken by animators and created into a different media altogether?

It’s very exciting. I see what I draw as moving anyway. It’s actually quite frustrating to have to pick a static image for every shot because there are little touches I can’t do such as (in the DVD) when Thor’s hammer slides into the grip of his hand [before a fight]. That’s a moment I can never get into a comic. It just doesn’t work doing those little miniature movements, but [the animators] can fit those details in.

You got to watch a clip at Wizard World Texas recently. Are you happy with what you saw so far?

Absolutely. It was very exciting. I was a bit apprehensive because I’d never seen it and the last thing you want to do is be disappointed. But far from disappointed, I know that that was just the tip of the iceberg. The epilogue, if you like, is the Hulk fight, so it gives you some idea of the scale they’re dealing with on this.

For a description of the clip Hitch is talking about, recently shown at Wizard World Texas, click here (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/conventions/texas/WW20051105-ult.cfm).

[Wag]

Any hint about a release date?

[Stu]

Any hint about a release date?
February 21st, 2006 is the confirmed release date. :)

[James Harvey]

Wizard Magazine recently chatted again with Bryan Hitch about The Ultimate Avengers Vol. 1. Below is an excerpt from the recent interview (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazines/wizard/WZ20051219-five.cfm):

How is it different than the original comic?

They’ve included some stuff in there which makes overall more sense. What they’re trying to do of course is have scenes of mass destruction in New York, which is something there’s still a bit of sensitivity about. So they’re playing it in the world they create, which is the [Triskelian] island, the center of the military stuff. A lot of the action takes place there, but by no means diminishing the scale of the overall story.

[I]I hear you and Mark Millar are on one of the special features...

They hired a film crew to come to Mark’s office up in Glasgow and my studio up in London. That was kind of good fun. They said “Eh, it’ll take about 45 minutes.” It took all day. They asked us both essentially the same questions because they wanted to cross-cut between our answers so we’re both talking about the same subject. It was interesting. There was a lot to talk about.

[Spider-Man]

Has anyone picked up the new Wizard magazine? They have screen grabs and comparison shots from The Ultimate Avengers? Damn it looks so friggin' cool!

[screw on head]

Steve Gordon has updated his blog (http://stevenegordon.blogspot.com/) yet again:

The big news, since I last posted, is that I went to the Ultimate Avengers screening Saturday night. Without giving too much away I can definitely say that the fans will be very saitisfied. It definitely achieves a higher level of animation and storytelling than either X-Men:TAS or Spider-Man:TAS. One of the things I most feared was whether or not the overseas studio would be able to handle my character designs - I breathed a huge sigh of relief. While I might quibble about certain specifics I think overall they captured the feel of what I designed.Make sure to read that blog post to get a look at the character design for Black Widow (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3211/1437/1600/smallWidowFrontModel.jpg)!

"Higher level of animation and storytelling than either X-Men: TAS or Spider-Man TAS?" With Steve Gordon and Boyd Kirkland at the helm, I think that goes without saying! :p

[Spider-Friends]

...achieves a higher level of animation and storytelling than either X-Men:TAS or Spider-Man:TAS.I hate to speculate on something I haven't seen but am I the only one who is reading between the lines that this is not as good as X-Men:Evolution? Why else would he pick those two shows but NOT one that he worked on?

:confused:

[screw on head]

Steve's updated his comments with a little clarification to clear up any confusion:

The big news, since I last posted, is that I went to the Ultimate Avengers screening Saturday night. Without giving too much away I can definitely say that the fans will be very saitisfied. It definitely achieves a much higher quality level of animation and storytelling than either X-Men:TAS or Spider-Man:TAS and equal or better in many ways to X-M:E too (and you know how high a regard I hold that show). On this board, the TAS's and Evo are regarded pretty highly by most, so if Ultimate Avengers manages to be comparable to the standards set by those, which I'm betting it will, I think we'll all be happy campers :).

[Spider-Man]

It's weird how his comment sin his blog are almost identical to what the site that can not be named put up:

"Without giving too much away I can definitely say that the fans will be very saitisfied," said co-director/designer Steve Gordon. "It definitely achieves a much higher quality level of animation and storytelling than either X-Men:TAS or Spider-Man:TAS and equal or better in many ways to X-M:E too -- and you know how high a regard I hold that show.
That's pretty odd. But here is the full piece of info the site had up:
The Ultimate Avengers movie was recently screened, and those involved with the project came away happy.

"I finally got to see the finished product, and loved it," writer Greg Johnson told The Continuum. " Great care and attention was given to the production, and watching it in high def with the stellar music and powerful sound design made it a real treat. It's definitely a must-have for any Marvel fan."

"Without giving too much away I can definitely say that the fans will be very saitisfied," said co-director/designer Steve Gordon. "It definitely achieves a much higher quality level of animation and storytelling than either X-Men:TAS or Spider-Man:TAS and equal or better in many ways to X-M:E too -- and you know how high a regard I hold that show.

"One of the things I most feared was whether or not the overseas studio would be able to handle my character designs - I breathed a huge sigh of relief. While I might quibble about certain specifics I think overall they captured the feel of what I designed."

Johnson is currently working on the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series, and Gordon is working on the direct-to-DVD Stan Lee Presents The Condor from IDT Entertainment/Film Roman.

[screw on head]

I finally picked up the latest issue of Wizard, which as Spider-Man mentioned previously, has comparison shots between Ultimate Avengers and the comic, with commentary by Supervising Director Bob Richardson. Click on these thumbnails for larger images. As you can see in the third shot, Captain America is sporting his usual red and white stripes around his belly, so we can all rest easy. These look fantastic, I can't wait for this film!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00thorthumb.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00thor.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00giant_hulk_thumb.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00giant_hulk.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00cap_choke_thumb.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00cap_choke.jpg)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00cap_am_thumb.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00captain.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00giant_cap_thumb.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/triumphdog/00giant_cap_resize.jpg)

[Desifoxy]

I am really dissappointed. The style is very different from the comic...I am glad that they are thinking about the kids but why did they have to pick this project to be considerate?!

I hope they dont cut "WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS LETTER ON MY HEAD STAND FOR?! FRANCE?" :shrug:

[J-Ranger]

Wow that looks awesome. I can't wait for this movie.

[gnd]

Wow, these are fantastic! I can't wait to see the animation. It has a really 80s feel to it somehow which I dig :D

[Stu]

I love that Captain America design! I wasn't too thrilled with his costume in the trailer images, but this one looks great. Glad to see they kept those silly wings off his mask (helmet?) too.

I'm getting more and more excited as I see more... it's out next month too!

[screw on head]

The 'site that cannot be named' reports that Marc Worden will be voicing Iron Man in both Ultimate Avengers films and the upcoming Iron Man DTV in October. The site says that the solo Iron Man origin film will not be connected to Ultimate Avengers.

This guy must be a great fit for Iron Man if he's used for both projects!