Iron Man Battles Mandarin
If you’re a fan of those 90s cartoons — including X-Men, Spider-Man, The Tick, and several others, it’s pretty easy to enjoy the Iron
Man series from 1994. Running for two seasons, with the first season animated by Rainbow Animation Group and the second season by Koko Enterprises, the Iron Man series was never outstanding, but it was always a solid bet for entertainment. The show was full of original stories that didn’t borrow from the comic series and most episodes were self contained. Iron Man’s nemesis, Mandarin, was always leading a group of minions including Grey Gargoyle, Hypnotia, Living Laser, Blizzard, and my favorite, Dreadknight with his horse, Nightwing. And, who can forget MODOK, the genius killing machine who works with Manardin to steal Tony Stark’s technology. Mandarin and MODOK are determined to discover the secrets of Iron Man’s tech and use it for world domination.
Iron Man isn’t alone in his fight to stave off the constant attempts of Mandarin and MODOK. At his side are Century, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Spider Woman, and the ever-trustworthy War Machine. With such a great cast of characters, it’s a shame that more time wasn’t
spent on exploring character origins or really developing the characters in any way. The first episode of the season throws viewers right into the middle of what feels like an episode that should have aired much later in the series. No introductions are made for this eclectic collection of characters. Additionally, most episodes are self contained adventures that, for just over twenty-minutes, have Iron Man and his crew squaring off against Mandarin and his forces.
The show is entertaining enough but it lacks depth and substance which keeps it from being one of the more interesting and classic cartoons of the time. Take Batman: The Animated Series that was loaded with great character development and superb plots, in
contrast, for example. What Iron Man did isn’t wrong by any means as it still appeals to children and even adults, but it’s worth pointing out that it’s not as profound as some of its ‘peers’ at the time. Ultimately, the Iron Man cartoon is fun, but it’s not the most satisfying series nor one that warrants a lot of replay.
On DVD
This three disc sets comes packaged in shiny, eye catching DVD case. On it you’ll see MODOK on the left, Iron Man in the center, and
Mandarin with his evil grin on the right. The removable jacket has the same front and back artwork as the actual hard case. Inside, each disc has a basic gray label on it with the Iron Man show logo printed on it and the disc number. Each disc snaps securely into place with discs one and two being on those ‘page’ inserts that many multiple disc cases have.
As for the presentation, it’s exactly what you would expect from a cartoon from the 90s. It’s presented in full screen and even says
“In Stereo Where Available,” as it would have on TV. From a technical standpoint, I didn’t expect anything different. As for the animation itself, it’s not the best but it’s okay. There are some brief sequences of 3D animation, like when Tony Stark puts on his Iron Man suit, that are sorta neat in that old school kind of way. The audio is also fine and good. Subtitles and French and Spanish language tracks are included.
Sadly, there are no extra features at all, just the episodes. With that, let’s get to the summary…