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Two of the biggest Heroes from the Marvel
Universe team up in “Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United,” the first
full-length, direct-to-video CG animated feature from Marvel Animation Studios.
Featuring the voices of Adrian Pasdar (TV’s “Heroes,” “Marvel’s Ultimate
Spider-Man”) as Iron Man and Fred Tatasciore (TV’s “Marvel’s Hulk and the
Agents of S.M.A.S.H.,” “Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man”) as Hulk, this groundbreaking
Marvel movie experience is available only on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital
platforms December 3, 2013.
In this action-packed adventure, the invincible
Iron Man and the incredible Hulk come together to save the Earth from its
greatest threat yet! When two HYDRA scientists try to supercharge a Stark Arc
Reactor with Hulk's Gamma Energy, they unleash a being of pure electricity
called the Zzzax - and he's hungry for destruction. Together, Iron Man and Hulk
are the only force that stands in the way of the Zzzax's planetary blackout.
But first the Super Hero duo will have to get through snarling Wendigos, deadly
robots and the scaly powerhouse, Abomination. Can two of Marvel's mightiest Heroes
find a way to work together without smashing each other before time runs out?
Eric Radomski (TV’s “Marvel’s Ultimate
Spider-Man,” “Batman: The Animated Series”) is Supervising Creative Director of
“Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United,” with Leo Riley (TV’s “Mad,” “The
Ricky Gervais Show”) serving as Supervising Director. Executive Producers are Alan Fine (Marvel’s
The Avengers, Thor, Iron Man 2), Dan Buckley (TV’s “Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble,” “Marvel
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.”) Joe Quesada (TV’s “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble,” “Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man”) and
Jeph Loeb (TV’s “Marvel’s Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D.”). Written by Henry Gilroy (TV’s “Animatrix,” “Batman: The Animated Series,” “Batman Beyond”) and
Brandon Auman (TV’s “Iron Man: Armored
Adventures,” “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”)
Choosing Super Heroes: Developing “Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk:
Heroes United”
For the team at Marvel Animation Studios, the
decision to pair Hulk and Iron Man together for the studio’s first
feature-length, direct-to-video adventure, was largely inspired by current fan
interest. The film’s Executive Producer and Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph
Loeb states, “We tend to keep an eye on who folks want to see more of.”
Marvel’s decision to feature Iron Man followed
the enormously popular appearance of the Hero in the “Iron Man” franchise and the
blockbuster hit “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which currently stands as the third
highest grossing film in U.S. history and the number one release from Walt
Disney Studios.
The Hulk’s breakout role in last summer’s
“Marvel’s The Avengers,” provided creators with the next Marvel Hero. Loeb
attributes the overwhelmingly positive response to Hulk’s appearance in that
movie to the fact that its creators finally gave long-time Marvel fans the
opportunity to see the character as “a Hero, not a monster.” Loeb assures fans
that, with this feature-length animated release, the Marvel Animation Studios
team set out to depict Hulk “with that same kind of thought and expectation.”
A Smashing Duo: The Chemistry of Iron Man & Hulk
If the decision to pair these two enormously
popular characters made sense on paper, the result is a smashing duo with
combustible on-screen chemistry. The secret to this chemistry is, of course, the
spark-inducing interactions between two heroes with nothing in common other
than a shared capacity for heroism.
Loeb defines the fundamental difference between the
two Heroes as follows: “Tony Stark is a man who thinks first and then acts second.
He surrounds himself with technology and builds himself a suit of armor and any
kind of tool and weapon that he needs. On the other side is his sort of polar
opposite, and that’s the Hulk, who acts first and contemplates his actions
later. He believes that the best way to handle things is through SMASHING.
We’re talking about a character whose tremendous power comes from who he is
without any kind of enhancements through technology,” the Executive Producer
says.
That’s not to say that these two distinct
characters don’t influence each other’s heroic styles during the 72-minute run
time of “Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United.” Loeb assures fans that,
during the course of their first feature-length pairing, the two “learn a
little from each other and borrow tricks from one another.” Together, Hulk’s brute
strength and Iron Man’s high-tech intellect combine to form an ultimate
avenging force that’s ready to take on whatever villains - or should we say
villain-z - that come their way!
Villainz with a “Z”: Foiling Iron Man & Hulk
In their first feature-length animated pairing,
Iron Man and Hulk take on fan-favorite villains from the Marvel Universe. The
principal antagonist is long-time Hulk enemy Zzzax. “We’re very excited because
this is the first time that we’ve been able to do an entire storyline centered
around him,” says Loeb.
The fact that Zzzax is a being composed of energy
allowed the film’s creative team to hint at real world environmental and energy
issues. According to Loeb, “There’s a little bit of a moral story that’s being
played out, given what’s going on with our own Earth, but that’s just a little
fun Easter egg for people to find as they go along.”
Other villains featured include the scaly green
monster Abomination, a creature with twice the strength as Hulk, and the
Wendigos, massive, fur-covered humanoid beasts with fangs and razor sharp claws.
Super Heroic Voices: Casting Iron Man & Hulk
To capture Iron Man’s sardonic wit and Hulk’s roaring
power, Marvel relied on the voice talents of actors Adrian Pasdar and Fred
Tatasciore. Like the choice to pair Iron Man and Hulk, the decision to cast
these two long-standing members of the Marvel Animation Studios family was easy.
Loeb traces each actor’s rich history bringing their
respective characters to life: “Adrian Pasdar, who’s been playing Iron Man
since about the fifth episode of ‘Ultimate Spider-Man,’ is one of our regulars
in the Marvel animated universe, so we’re delighted to have him on board.
Similarly, Fred Tatasciore, who plays Hulk, has probably played the character
more than any other person who’s ever played Hulk and we know that that’s a
role that’s been around a long time, going all the way back to Bill Bixby.
Fred’s been our Hulk on everything from ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ through ‘Marvel’s
Avengers Assemble,’ ‘Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.’, as well as numerous
other projects that were worked on prior to Marvel Animation Studios forming in
the first place.”
A Marvel Animation First: Computer Generating “Marvel’s Iron Man &
Hulk: Heroes United”
The production of “Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk:
Heroes United” marks the historic first occasion Marvel Animation Studios has completely
utilized computer generated technology in order to create a Super Hero
adventure. The use of CG animation results in a visually groundbreaking tale
that brings stunning and vibrant new life to the animated Marvel Universe.
The decision to use CG technology was made after the
film’s Supervising Creative Director, Eric Radomski impressed his Marvel teammates
with a test demonstrating the effect of combining CG technology with 2D mapping.
According to Loeb, “The test that Eric showed us was extremely promising and we
green-lit it off that - no gamma pun intended - in order to move forward.”
Loeb expresses enthusiasm for continued use of CG
animation going forward. “It’s exciting when we get to use a new kind of format
and see where we can go. What we’ve learned from this first experience is going
to really show up with some neat stuff in the future as well.”
Something to Cheer About: Experiencing “Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk:
Heroes United”
Amidst all the holiday cheer this December,
Marvel fans everywhere will be cheering for the blockbuster pairing of two of
the most iconic Super Heroes Marvel’s first completely CG-animated feature,
“Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United.”
Executive Producer Jeph Loeb promises fans “a
huge epic story with great characters and an awful lot of fun. They’re two of
Marvel’s most popular characters going up against great villains. It’s a
terrific looking feature. It’s not often we get to do full-length animated projects
and this is a 72-minute epic that we know people will not want to rent, but
own.”
Loeb also hints at the possibility of a surprise
at the end of the movie. “I can tell you that, as Marvel fans know, it’s always
worth staying until after the credits and that holds true even on this
made-for-DVD.”
“Marvel’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United” is available
only on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital platforms on December 3, 2013.
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