The Marvel Animated movies live in a universe unto themselves, where the rules of storytelling and building tension don't exist. Take the newest entry, Next Avengers. The 78 minute production is little more than one battle after another after another after...well, you get the idea. That's not completely bad, mind you, but when the story is working largely with characters the audience doesn't know, there has to be an attempt to build empathy between those on screen and the audience. The only old faces we see here are Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), Bruce Banner (aka Hulk) and Betty Ross. The children of the Avengers, the enemy...all brand new to this universe.
After the Avengers fall to a being called Ultron, Tony Stark saves their children from doom by sequestering them in an arctic hideout. Unfortunately, one day far too soon, Ultron finds them, forcing the kids to grow up faster than Stark intended. In doing so, Ultron unleashes a brand new force...and when Iron Man and Hulk join the battle, can Ultron retain control of the world?
There seems to be a missing movie between Ultimate Avengers 2 and this outing in which we see the romantic pairings happen, kids be born and the Avengers die. We're told of this backstory at the outset of Heroes of Tomorrow, which is all well and good, though it is a story worth pursuing unto itself. But even aside from that nitpick, the entire plot feels like a rerun, something we've seen before. And for good reason: these kids have to learn in a hurry how to be their own people, not to live in the shadow of their parents and think quickly. I could have sworn we saw that in the first two Avengers films...
Writer Christopher Yost says in the extras this was an attempt to bring in the younger viewers to the universe. By making the main characters kids, there is a natural bonding to children in the audience. A funny thing happens, though, as the movie wears on. The adults start to understand the characters on screen and like them, even if only a little bit. A common complaint, though, can be leveled at this film: it goes by too fast and focuses on the action instead of the characters. Despite a beautiful visual look, Next Avengers comes off being warmed over Avengers.