Iron Man Cartoon

After almost losing his life in a plane crash that killed his father and saw control of his massive corporation shift to ruthless businessman Obadiah Stane, teenage genius Tony Stark (voiced by Adrian Petriw) moves in with his best friend and enrolls in high school. But while things may seem normal, Stark has a secret: his last major project before Stane took over was an amazing suit of powered armor that transforms him into the superhero Iron Man.

This version of the popular comic book character is aimed squarely at kids and is a lot more fun than the live-action movies. The series is animated primarily using computer-generated imagery in a style similar to MTV’s Spider-Man and Nicktoons’ original series Skyland. The animation is a little rough around the edges but the characters have a lot of personality.

The characters are mostly teens and the action is fast-paced, but the show also manages to have some heart. For example, when the Mandarin zombifies his submarine crew, Stark isn’t impressed and calls him out on it. And when he discovers that a supervillain is using his technology, he goes on a crusade to disable every piece of armor he can find.

But despite all the fast-paced action and fun humor, there’s also plenty of drama and suspense. During the first season, Iron Man got involved in a big battle with the Inhuman Ulysses, who could see crimes and events that were yet to happen. When he was defeated, it left him in a coma. In his absence, an A.I. version of Tony helped young genius Riri Williams create a new suit of armor so she could fight as the hero Ironheart in his place.

Other highlights of the season include the two-part “The Origin of Iron Man” which recounts a modified and modernized version of his comic book origin story. The season also featured a very young Rachel Carpenter as the girl versions of Iron Man and War Machine and added the villain Hypnotia to add some more female power to the rogues gallery.

One of the things that makes this version of the character work so well is that it never takes itself too seriously. Iron Man has a ton of wry wit and even tries out his own comedic acting skills in some episodes. In fact, he’s the only superhero who does this.

In addition to being a lot of fun, the show has some good lessons about science and ethics. For example, the episode where the Mandarin reflects his rings to destroy his Makluan dragons shows him getting a reality check. And when the season 2 finale has him uploading a virus into Hammer Industries computer systems to erase all records of their armored tech, he apologizes and notes that it was a bit reckless. It was a nice touch that rounded out the season nicely. And the voice actors all do a great job as well, especially Adrian Petriw and Mackenzie Gray.