Marvel Super Hero Adventures: "Frost Fight"

Premiered December 11, 2015

"Santa Claus is beloved, celebrated, songs are sung in his name.  Hmm…using him to dominate the very beings that adore him…well that is just too devious to resist."
-Loki

The Avengers defeat Loki (Troy Baker) and his frost giant ally Ymir (Fred Tatasciore) in their latest attack on Earth.  But their victory isn't achieved without problems.  Reptil (Antony Del Rio), a teenaged Avenger-in-training, hasn't fully grasped the concept of teamwork.

Meanwhile, Ymir and Loki plot their next move.  Ymir suggests they steal the powers of Jolnir (Steve Blum), who is known on Earth as Santa Claus.

Jolnir has the ability to bend space and time, which is how Santa is able to deliver toys to children all over the world in just one night.

Loki falsely accuses Jolnir of multiple crimes and places a very high bounty on his head. 

In New York, the Avengers learn of this and decide they will journey to Alfheim, where Jolnir resides.  Team leader Captain America (Matthew Mercer) tells Reptil he isn't ready for a mission such as this.  Captain Marvel (Grey Griffin) thinks Cap is being a little hard on the kid.  Reptil begs Cap to change his mind, adding that he's a huge fan of Santa Claus.  Iron Man (Mick Wingert) vouches for Reptil (partially to get under Cap's skin) and Captain America changes his mind.

Hulk loves Christmas!

Hulk (Tatasciore again) and Thor (Travis Willingham) stay behind in case they need to fill in for Santa.  They visit a toy store and buy the store's entire inventory (charging it to Tony Stark).  The store manager is named Nick and bears as rather striking resemblance to Santa/Jolnir.

Nick is afraid of heights!

At the same time, elsewhere in the galaxy, Rocket Raccoon (Trevor Devall) and his friend Groot (Kevin Michael Richardson) are in need of quick money for spaceship repairs.

Rocket learns there's a bounty on Santa's head and decides to visit Alfheim to cash in.

The Avengers arrive safely in Alfheim where they encounter cranky warrior elves, a monster called the Eurokraken and of course, Loki and Ymir lying in wait for them.

Rocket and Groot arrive separately and have their own run-ins with zombie gingerbread men and Mrs. Claus (Jane Singer)!

Will Loki succeed in stealing Santa's powers and ruin Christmas for all time?  Can the Avengers, Rocket and Groot stop them and save the day?

J.A. Morris says:

We had no idea this brand new special existed when we began our "Christmas with the Superheroes" series.  What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be!

Loki and Ymir's scheme to take Santa's power and destroy Christmas puts them right up there with the Grinch and Mr. Potter in the Christmas Villains Hall Of Fame.

One of the best parts is Hulk, Thor and Nick's attempt to substitute for Santa.  Hulk talks about his love for Christmas and even performs "Deck The Halls" with modified lyrics. We also see touching moments where Captain Marvel, Reptil and Captain America tell stories about receiving presents from Santa in their youth.

Captain America remembers when Santa brought him a baseball bat.

Like many Christmas movies, Santa/Jolnir is shown to be more powerful when people say they believe in him.  Reptil is a character I hadn't seen before Frost Fight.  He ends up playing a crucial role, since he is closer to childhood than the other Avengers.

Of course it's not all Yuletide sentimentality.  We get several thrilling super-powered fight scenes where the heroes do battle with Asgardian gods, archer elves and even a dinosaur!

All of the voice actors do a great job in Frost Fight.  Fred Tatasciore is especially great doing double duty as Hulk and Ymir.

Nick confronts Loki.

Troy Baker manages to make a vile character such as Loki seem almost likeable, with a little bit of humor mixed into his evil monologues.   Kevin Michael Richardson, as Groot, only gets to say "I am Groot" over and over again.  But each time he manages to convey Groot's emotions and keeps the character interesting.

If I have any problems with Frost Fight, it's that some scenes feel like padding.  There's also a battle between the Avengers and the Eurokraken that's only shown in silhouette. This feels like it was done to save time and money on animation, and viewers are robbed of a good chance to see the Avengers in action.

Frost Fight is available for streaming on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play.

If you love the recent movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and enjoy Christmas programming, Frost Fight is a no-brainer.  This special is recommended, superhero fans won't be disappointed!

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5

3 and a half candy canes.

RigbyMel says:

This Marvel adventure is a rollicking good time overall.     We've got a nefarious plot by the deliciously wicked Loki to steal Santa's powers.    We get Hulk singing -- and referencing A Christmas Story with his "fa ra ra ra ra"s.

Hulk explains Santa to Thor.

We also get to see the Avengers acting like a family that bickers and doesn't always see eye to eye -- a feature of most Avengers tales, but well played here.

Our heroes have to "hug it out" to avoid being blown away by Ymir's icy winds!

We get to see Rocket and Groot do battle with zombie gingerbread and then encounter Mrs. Claus.    Mrs. Claus causes Rocket to freak out when she takes his spaceship for a spin too -- which is pretty amusing.

We even get sweet holiday memories from some alongside a plot that hinges partly on Iron Man's LACK of belief in Santa and Reptil's youthful enthusiasm for Mr. Kringle.

Captain Marvel helps deliver presents.

It's also nice to see Captain Marvel show up in an animated Avengers adventure.   This is the first time I recall seeing her in the Marvel Animated Universe.   It would have been nice if she'd had a bit more to do in the episode, but it was still good that she was present.

We get an interesting take on Santa/Jolnir's origin in this episode -- apparently he is half elf and half frost giant!   I find it intriguing the way that the writers tied Jolnir into the world of Thor.   After all, here in Midgard, there are some that trace Santa's roots to Norse mythology and Odin, the white bearded ruler of the Nine Realms who travels through the sky on an eight-legged horse named Slepnir.  (Often on Yule -- Yule/Jolnir -- get it?)

So, Frost Fight appeals to the mythology geek as well as the superhero fan and Christmas afficianado in me, and I suspect, it will appeal to others.

Loki gets what he deserves for the holidays.

As J.A. Morris mentions above, there are some extra scenes (one involving dinosaur drool) that, while fun, feel like they are mainly there to pad out the running time and there are occasions where the animation is sometimes a bit constrained by budgetary concerns.   However, the main story is so much fun that it almost doesn't matter.

Frost Fight is lively and entertaining and well worth sharing with the superhero and holiday fans in your life.

RigbyMel's rating:

.5

3 and a half candy canes.

X-Men Evolution: "On Angel's Wings"

Premiered December 15, 2001.

Beast: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” 
Professor X: "Shakespeare?"
Beast: "The Bible." 
Professor X: "Ah, indeed.  Although, I don't believe this angel is of the heavenly variety."

In New York City, during the week of Christmas, a young man named Warren (Mark Hildreth) sits alone and watches a house burn down on the local news.

We discover that he has wings like an angel, which enable him to fly to the house and rescue a woman from the fire.

Outside the city, the X-Men are having a holiday party at the Xavier Institute.

Professor Xavier (David Kaye) hears about this "angel" and sends Cyclops (Kirby Morrow) and Rogue (Meghan Black) to seek him out.

They believe he's a mutant and want to help him deal with his powers and provide emotional support.  Rogue also wants to go so that she can have some fun in the big city.

The Angel becomes a sensation for saving lives.  During an accident on the Brooklyn Bridge, he saves a little girl named Hayley who falls in the East River.

After the rescue, another super-powered man interferes and sends the girl back off the bridge.  Angel saves her again, but the public turns on him and blames Angel for the accident.

The people turn on Angel, as Magneto (wearing a hat) eggs them on.

Warren goes to the hospital where the little girl is being treated after her fall and encounters Rogue & Cyclops. They attempt to pursue Angel so they can tell him about the Xavier Institute,  but Warren eludes them.

He later goes to a church where the little girl's parents are praying for her recovery, only to be accosted by the mysterious stranger from the bridge.   This stranger turns out to be the mutant known as Magneto (Christopher Judge), master of magnetism.  He wants to recruit Warren.

Magneto tells Angel that humans will never accept him because he's different.  He tries to pursuade Warren to join his war against humanity.

While Warren is conflicted about his mutant powers,  he's not sure he wants to join Magneto ... or anyone else!

Will Warren/Angel be seduced by Magneto's line or will Rogue and Cyclops convince him to give the X-Men a chance?


RigbyMel says:

I am a fan of the X-Men generally, but am not quite sure how I feel about X-Men: Evolution based solely on this episode.   The series chooses to de-age some of the characters, which sorta kinda works, seeing as the X-Men really is about adolescence.

There are some nice Christmas-y interludes and it's fun to see teenaged Nightcrawler flirting with Kitty Pryde using mistletoe.   But,  I would have liked to see more of what the other X-Men get up to on their holiday break with their families.  For example, we get to see Kitty Pryde (who is my favorite X-Men character in the comics) lighting a menorah with her folks for all of (maybe) 10 seconds.

There's also a little teenage drama subplot involving a nascent triangle between Jean Grey, Cyclops and Rogue.

Warren is having a hard time dealing with his new mutant abilities  (let's face it, big honking wings are difficult to conceal),  but his impulses to use his wings to help others are most definitely admirable.

When Warren catches a falling Rogue, she wonders if he really is an angel.

That being said, although there seems to be a lot of potential for drama, I don't feel like this episode quite manages to capitalize on this as well as it could.   It rings a teensy bit hollow, but maybe that's because I haven't seen more of the series.

"On Angels Wings" has been released on a DVD titled X-Men Evolution:Powers Revealed.  It's also available for streaming on Amazon and iTunes.

If you're a fan of the X-Men, "On Angel's Wings" is worth checking out at least once, but I wouldn't call it a holiday classic.

RigbyMel's rating:




2 candy canes.

I'm going to part with my co-blogger on this episode.  I haven't seen many episodes of X-Men:Evolution, but I was a huge fan of X-Men comic books when I was a kid.  Angel has always been one of my least favorite X-Men.  In comics, he's basically a spoiled rich kid who can fly.  "On Angels Wings" made me care about Angel, since it depicts him as a selfless character who simply wants to help people in need.

Angel chases a thief through a snowy Central Park.

It's appropriate that Magneto serves as the antagonist of "On Angel's Wings."  The central story line of the X-Men (in any medium) has always focused on Xavier's belief that mutants must protect humankind and act as superheroes and Magneto's contrasting view that mutants (meaning Magneto himself) should rule the world.  In this episode, that conflict plays out with Angel caught in the middle of the two philosophies.

We get some nice scenes of  snow-covered New York locations at Christmas time, including Central Park, Washington Square and Rockefeller Center.

There are also more references to the spiritual side of Christmas than we usually see in cartoons aimed at children.  Cyclops wonders aloud if Warren really is a guardian angel. The Beast quotes a passage of the Bible (from Hebrews 13-2) and the climactic battle takes place inside a church.  

We get plenty of Christmas scenes of X-Men interacting with each other and their families.  Beast (Michael Kopsa) and Xavier spend Christmas at the mansion, showing that for some, your close friends sometimes become your family.  Wolverine is invited by Xavier to spend the holiday at the mansion.  He declines and we're later shown Wolverine by himself at a billiards hall.  A reminder that some, for better or for worse, spend Christmas alone.

If I have any problems with this episode, it's that we see very little of Storm,Wolverine and Kitty. They're three of my favorite Marvel characters but they're mostly in the background here.

"On Angel's Wings" is recommended Christmas time viewing and I think it's also a good introduction to this series.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 candy canes.