These seven episodes not only set up the locations of Super Hero City and Villainville, but also the constant combat between the Super Hero Squad and Dr. Doom's Lethal Legion in order to obtain all of the broken pieces of the Infinity Sword known as fractals. The core characters in this war include Doom, MODOK and Abomination as well as Iron Man, Thor, The Silver Surfer, Hulk, Wolverine and Falcon.
Each episode features another battle between the two groups as they discover a new fractal and introduce one or two new side characters. Some of the heroes that make appearances include Captain America, Storm, The Thing, Dr. Strange and a semi-regular squaddie, Reptil. Meanwhile Dr. Doom brings in baddies like The Wrecking Crew, Mole Man, Fing Fang Foom, Toad, Sabertooth, Loki and Juggernaut.
One of my favorite episodes is "Hulk Talk Smack!" where Hulk gets a hold of a fractal piece and becomes an intellectual, but also a bit useless in a fight. In "A Brat Walks Among Us!" the two teams have to deal with a little girl who has take possession of a fractal and throws a massive tantrum across the city. The collection ends with Thor's brother, Loki, joining up with Doom in order to defeat Asgard.
The Super Hero Squad Show is obviously geared to the same young audience that the toys are made for. The most notable aspect of this is the over-exaggerated personalities of the various characters. Thor is very vain, Hulk is even denser than normal, and Captain America, whose odd quirks are by far my favorite, seems to be stuck in the early 1900's.
Most of The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest For The Infinity Sword, Volume 1's special features include music videos and trailers for various Super Hero Squad products, but the one tidbit that was amusing is an interview with Stan Lee where he talks about taking on the role of the Mayor of Super Hero City.
The Super Hero Squad Show is great for kids of any age, and while "hardcore" Marvel fans might find it dumbed-down to the point of insulting, most people will get a good bit of enjoyment out of this show. Volume 1 gets the ball rolling and should really get young true believers into some super hero action that is both fun and family friendly.
