Here Comes ‘Iron Man’—But For Preschoolers?
In the Marvel Comics, superhero Iron Man hasn’t always been all that heroic. Tony Stark was an industrialist who mostly developed products for the military. During the Vietnam War, he went overseas to see mini-transistors he’d created were being used there. But a bomb went off, and with shrapnel embedded close to his heart, it looked like Tony’s days were numbered. He was captured by a North Vietnamese warlord, who said the shrapnel could be removed, but only if Tony would develop weapons for the North Vietnamese.
Tony complied, to a point. What he really built was the first suit of Iron Man armor, which would protect his heart as well as giving him superhuman strength, the ability to fly, use repulsor beams, and whatever other needs the Marvel writers came up with at any given time.
Even with the suit protecting him physically, Tony still had serious issues. At first, he used his suit only to protect his own Stark Industries investments and to battle Communists. He was a raging alcoholic on two separate occasions. The second time, he lost everything and wound up living on the streets. The U.S. government eventually declared him an outlaw. At one point, he had his brain taken over by the villainous Mandarin, and he teamed up for a while with the infamous Dr. Doom.
Sounds like a perfect setup for an animated series aimed at preschool children, right?
Disney is All-In
Disney seems to think so, because on August 11, the animated series Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends premieres on the Disney Jr. pay-TV channel. The show airs later that day on the original Disney Channel, and later on Disney+ and Disney Jr. on Demand.
On July 14, Disney will prime the pump with the release of some animated shorts featuring the main cast: Iron Man, Ironheart (Riri Williams), and Iron Hulk (Amadeus Cho). In the comics, Amadeus Cho is the Hulk-like character Brawn, but apparently Brawn wasn’t kid-friendly (or Iron-friendly) enough. The shorts will also showcase guest appearances by Captain America (Sam Wilson), Black Panther (T’Challa), and Iron Spider (Aña Corazon), all of whom will make occasional appearances in the series.
That’s a Lot of Iron
Iron Man, Ironheart, and Iron Hulk will each have an iron suit to enhance their strength and allow them to fly. Together, they’re referred to as the Iron Friends, and the series will showcase their adventures and comical misadventures as kid superheroes. They’ll be voiced by Mason Blomberg as Iron Man, Kapri Ladd as Ironheart, and Aidyn Anh as Iron Hulk. Among the villains they’re face are Ultron, Swarm, and Absorbing Man.
The series will, of course, be accompanied by loads of merchandise. Count on action figures, books, soundtrack albums, and more.
Turning Tony Stark into a kid hero might sound a little strange. But apparently Disney and Marvel figure that if it worked for Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021), then it might well work again. We’re pretty sure Peter Parker was never a war profiteer or a homeless alcoholic, but these are different times.
