Ultimate Avengers II

The Avengers are one of Marvel Comics' most prestigious superhero teams. In current comic continuity their leader, Captain America, was killed. Naturally, a megacorp like Marvel will never bring this legendary, heroic and hugely marketable figure back and so this DVD may be, ahem, your last chance to see Cap in action. The plot here sees our heroes taking on the shape-shifting Chitauri (again) for control of the vibranium deposits of Wakanda. Sounds crazy? Maybe (spellcheck certainly thinks so), but it's very faithful to the comic storyline. That said, these comics are clearly more intelligent than this cartoon, which is obviously aimed at younger children. The animation is fantastic, but the action sequences are unoriginal. These sequences are also unusually slowly paced, as if dwelling on the quality of the artwork. Still, this is an entertaining slice of superheroic lunacy, though probably not worth more than a single watch. [Keir Hind]