"Iron Man: Armored Adventures" Review: A New Twist With Great Potential

It only makes sense that Marvel would want to capitalize on the success of “Iron Man” by returning the character to the world of animation.

But if you’re expecting “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” to tell the same old Tony Stark story, you’re in for a big surprise. Notice I didn’t say that you’ll be disappointed because I can’t see anyone being disappointed with this fun, fresh animated series.

This Tony Stark is a teenager. Tony is living a privileged life as his dad is the wealthy owner of Stark International. Instead of going to school like normal kids, Tony spends his days in the lab working on amazing inventions. His latest invention is a suit of invincible armor.

But before Tony can show his dad his latest creation, tragedy strikes, taking Tony’s father’s life and nearly taking Tony’s life as well. Now, Tony’s life is turned upside down as he is forced to move in with his best friend, Rhodey, and go to school. But Tony is anything but a normal teenager since he is a genius who memorizes his textbooks and teaches his teachers how to teach.

And when Tony learns from Pepper, a classmate whose father is an FBI agent, that there may be more to his father’s death than what he thought, Tony decides to complicate his life even more by donning his suit to investigate. And when the media and public turn him into a hero, Tony decides to fully embrace the new persona of “Iron Man.”

However, being new to the hero game, Tony makes more than a few mistakes. Fortunately, he’s got Rhodey and Pepper to help him. And that help will come in handy when a mysterious and powerful villain rears his ugly head.

Although I’m not a fan of the animation style, I am a fan of the writing as the idea of a teenage Iron Man is pretty appealing. And even though the family tragedy story has been done MANY times before, it still works here. I’m a little unsure of the big bad guy, but having read what’s ahead for him, I think that will get worked out.

The show reminds me a little of “X-Men: Evolution” with its high school element, but I mean that as a compliment. It was when that show got out of high school that it lost its way. Hopefully, that won’t happen here, because I think “Iron Man” has got great potential.

“Iron Man: Armored Adventures” premieres Friday, April 24th at 7 p.m. with back-to-back episodes on NickToons Network. You can also see the first episode on TurboNick…

Photos Credit: Marvel