First off, Marvel needs a new movie-naming team. To recycle movie title phrasings within the same year is pretty bad.

This movie picks up in the aftermath of the first movie. While the bad guys were defeated, there were prices to pay. Intercut this with the introduction of a small African nation and our newest hero, Black Panther. We also see the aliens from the first movie, meaning that our heroes were not entirely successful. From here our story takes off.

Again, I was pleased with the animation and storytelling, even if it did seem like parts of “Independence Day” and “War of the Worlds” had invaded the story. In watching this one and its predecessor, it felt like I was watching the comic book. The widescreen aspect and the 5.1 sound mix again adds to the movie.

DVD features include a feature on the Ultimates, a funny gag reel, and first looks at the next two animated projects (Iron Man and Dr. Strange).

My advice: Well if you listened to me on number one, then you will be happy with this sequel.

A few months ago, I was wandering through BJ’s Wholesale Club when I noticed an interesting DVD box set: 3 Marvel Comics animated movie discs and a bust of Iron Man, all for the low price of $20. So, being the superhero geek that I am, I grabbed the set. It was a no-brainer, since two of the three movies were already on my wish list. The 3 movies in the set are:

• Ultimate Avengers: The Movie
• Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther
• The Invincible Iron Man

For this review, I am focusing on the first movie, Ultimate Avengers.

I originally watched this on Cartoon Network. It was a quiet release and I only knew about it from happening to read Ain’t It Cool News that day. I was impressed with what I saw then and nothing has changed now.

So I fired up the DVD after watching the Fantastic 4 DVD. Marvel got it right with these animated movies. The story was kept simple, but not too simple. The animation was in the traditional 2-D style, but not anime-style. I felt like I was watching Saturday morning cartoons again. As such, the characters feel more human because of the hand-drawing.

The story has to cover a few areas: some origin aspects, as well as the threat of a new danger. This movie could have easily been about Captain America, with some guest stars. The movie starts off in WWII, with Cap battling against Nazis that have teamed up with aliens in an effort to win. Cap helps to beat them and is then carried away by a nuclear missle. After defusing the nuclear arms part of the missle, Cap is thrown unconscious into an iceberg.

The credits roll by as we move forward to present-day. S.H.I.E.L.D. is on an expedition to find Cap’s body, which they do or else it would be a short movie. Turns out General Fury needs samples of Cap’s DNA to replicate the super-soldier formula.

From this point on, we are introduced to the familar members of the Avengers team (as well as Marvel Comics, in general):

• Black Widow
• Giant-Man
• Wasp
• Thor
• Iron Man
• Hulk

Needless to say, we see the typical storylines of people trying to form a team when they all used to work alone. There are a number of good plot points and the movie ends on a satisfying note, as well as one that sets up for sequels.

The DVD extras are pretty good, with a trivia “pop-up” track and a feature on how the Avengers were created in comic books.  They also mixed the sound in 5.1, which makes it even more fun.

My advice: if you like this genre, then definitely check out the movie — you will not be disappointed.