Last weekend, DC premiered DC Nation, their hour-long block of comic-based cartoons on Cartoon Network. Only two days later, DC rival Marvel announced their official line-up for Marvel Universe, their hour-long block of comic-based cartoons on Disney XD. While browsing their listing, I quickly noticed similarities between the two programs.
Again, both Marvel Universe and DC Nation are hour-long blocks featured on the weekend (DC took Saturday, Marvel took Sunday). Both programming blocks feature two half-hour shows and a slew of comic-themed shorts to mingle between commercials. On top of that, the two half-hour shows on both sides include an already established show with an ensemble cast (Young Justice for DC, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for Marvel) and a new show with a single lead hero (Green Lantern for DC, Ultimate Spider-Man for Marvel). Even the “Universe” and “Nation” in their names are similar.
Now, this isn’t the first time that very similar programming is created at the same time on different networks, but the formats seem far too similar to be coincidence. To Marvel’s credit, more than half of the shorts listed aren’t cartoons like in DC Nation, but instead looks into the animation process and beyond. “What Would it Take?” actually looks like a Mythbusters-eque challenge to recreate the technology from the Marvel Universe into real world applications.
As far as the cartoons themselves, I am interested in seeing them. I haven’t watched it yet, but The Avengers has been on Disney XD for a season — showcasing the cartoon’s second season right before the Avengers film premieres is a smart move. The ’90s Spider-Man cartoon will always have a place in my heart, but Ultimate Spider-Man looks promising for its cast alone and it’s another way for Marvel to connect their TV projects to the upcoming films. Tara Strong is Mary Jane Watson, Tom Kenny is Doc Octopus and Clark Gregg is reprising his role as Agent Coulson from the Marvel films — according to Wikipedia, Coulson will be undercover as Peter’s Principal. But perhaps my favorite choice of cast is the incomparable J.K. Simmons coming back as old-timey newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson. Also, the voice of Stan the Janitor will be played by Stan Lee … no, I’m not making that up.
With cartoon icon Paul Dini as creative consultant and writer for the showcase, Marvel Universe does look promising. It starts Sunday, April 1st … will you be checking it out?
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Mar 08, 2012 @ 19:20 EST5EDT
