I was just going to call it Mighty 7, but unfortunately Stan Lee’s is always ahead of that part. I will admit that adding his name is sure to help the film do well and it’s a pretty epic name, but Mighty 7 would have been an even better title. Ah well, time to see how Stan Lee successfully shows us that we can still have a happy superhero adventure!

The plot of the film is essentially what you would expect from a superhero film. Aliens have decided to invade Earth and it’s up to Stan The Man Lee, AKA, Super Stan, AKA, Stan Smashing Lee to save the day! He was driving and thinking of new ideas when a spaceship crash landed near him. After some hasty introductions, Stan helped the aliens get to his friend’s mansion that is near the beach. The heroes are going to have to learn to follow Stan Lee’s advice if they are going to have any chance of defeating the powerful aliens!!

The main villain is Xanar and his power levels are definitely considerable. It’s not unreasonable to assume that he could defeat several of the heroes in a one on one fight. He’s essentially the Lizard…so he’s a pretty uninspired character. I can’t say that I cared for the villain and I’m hoping that he doesn’t come back for the sequel. He can jump around a lot, but that’s basically all that he can do.

The real villain is Mr. Cross and he’s a member of the government! He seems to think that he’s doing the Earth a service by taking the heroes down, but he has misinterpreted the situation. He actually captures Stan The Man Lee at one point, but things don’t go very well for Cross. One simply does not try to capture someone like Super Stan! Still, this is someone that I can root for as a villain and if the ending is anything to judge by, he’ll definitely be back. I can’t wait to see him defeat Strong Arm and then take on Stan Lee.

Unfortunately, the main team of aliens aren’t very likable. Strong Arm is the leader of the group and he acts as the hero. Unfortunately, he actually turns out to be one of the meanest heroes and he isn’t likable. He doesn’t want to protect Earth since it’s outside of his jurisdiction and he’s always trying to show the world why Lazer Lord is a villain. Strong Arm thought that he saw Lazer Lord commit a criminal act, but he was probably seeing things. He’s just not someone that you can root for. He’s certainly not the next Captain America, but I suspect that the writers were trying for us to dislike Strong Arm. If so, they succeeded!

Lazer Lord is another one of the big players and he used to be a respectable hero. The only problem was that he was framed for destroying someone and then Strong Arm made sure that he was taken to court. Lazer Lord escaped and that’s how we get to the Earth subplot. He wants to save the planet from the aliens, but Strong Arm and the other heroes quickly stop him. To their defense, he didn’t bother to tell them that he was after an alien and they just thought that he had cracked. He definitely could have explained things a little better! He does have the best power (aside from super speed) and he’s definitely one of the tougher members. He’ll be critical in the sequel!

Silver Skylark is Strong Arm’s partner, but that doesn’t mean that she’s quite as petty or annoying. Silver Skylark is always willing to give people a second chance and while she’s not the best fighter of the group, she definitely seems to be more of a hero than Strong Arm. She hasn’t gotten that much development yet, but we’ll likely learn more about her in the sequel. She’s a decent character overall.

We also have Lady Lightning, who has the power of super speed. It doesn’t even need to be said that super speed is one of the greatest powers of all time. She should be invincible right? Relatively speaking, nobody can really match her in this film. Unfortunately, she gets an unneeded origin that doesn’t help her toughness, but it’s tragic……(This film didn’t need any tragic elements to it!) It’ll be tough for any of the villains to realistically fight her in the sequel, so I’m already guessing that they’ll just use plot hax.

We’ve also got Kid Kinergy and Micro. They get to share a paragraph because it’s easy to mix theme up. They’re probably as bland as a character can get personality wise. Micro is decent since he accepted his name so quickly, but it’s hard to root for him. I can’t really root for either of these guys and their origin story didn’t help matters. All teams have their weak link and these guys would be that link. (If not for Strong Arm) Kid Kinergy does have useful powers, so at least that’s a plus.

We can’t forget about Roller Man……yeah, that’s really his superhero name! I’m guessing that he didn’t give Stan the proper respect. He’s all right at best, but he’s basically a Bouncing Boy ripoff. There isn’t really anything that makes him unique and that’s always a bad sign. I do like his voice a lot since it’s about as annoying as a voice can get. He’s essentially mocking the other characters whenever he talks. It’s usually intentional, which just makes things worse for everyone else. Although, the drinking from the toilet scene was pretty unnecessary. (You may want to back away from the TV for that scene!)

(Super) Stan (The Man) Lee is one of the main characters and I can easily tell you that he’s the best character. Stan Lee isn’t a noble hero and he’s only helping the others so that he can get rich and famous. He always looks out for himself and he’s realistic. At one point, he lets Strong Arm know that he can’t help them save the world because he has bills to pay. That’s a man who knows his priorities! Stan’s best line is when he says, “Fear isn’t in my vocabulary!” as the aliens “threaten” him. I gained a lot of respect for Stan in that scene and that’s tough since I’m already a huge fan!

Stan Lee has a pretty incredible car and he doesn’t let anybody badmouth it! One of the very rude heroes tries to do so, but Stan puts him in his place right away. Stan Lee is definitely a likable fellow and he always speaks his mind. If the sequel is to be as good as this one, Stan Lee will definitely have to play a critical role. Seriously, just about every line that he uttered was priceless! Stan Lee even gets his own car chase scene and we see how he handles an interrogation. This guy is definitely made of sterner stuff!

The Animation may definitely take some getting used too for most. It reminds me of the little cutscenes that you may find in a book or a Burger King/McDonalds video game. I’d say that it’s classic 80’s animation and while it’s definitely no DBZ, it can hold its own against today’s modern entertainment. (Hulk Agents of Smash) Hulk may be better in fight scenes, but at least the teeth don’t glare out at you. There is a really sped up scene where the heroes escape from a burning ship, but it just didn’t work. The scene felt artificial as if the writers wanted the viewers to feel a sense of danger. That definitely did not happen!

There aren’t really any fight scenes in this one so I can’t gauge that too well, but it’ll have to rank as the worst fight scenes in a “serious’ superhero film. Teen Titans Go has better fight scenes and that’s a comedy with a little action. It shows you how bad the fight scenes and animation have become in recent years. DC manages to stay strong, but Marvel and even Stan (The Man) lee can’t stop themselves from using animation that gets out shined by media from over 30 years ago. I would go more into the big animation conspiracy in America, but that would get us off topic very quickly and it’s tough to say in a short manner.

So, the target audience throws the film off a bit. They don’t want to really show any fight scenes, but at the same time, we get some tragic back stories. (None of them were necessary btw) The heroes also have the generic moment where they get surrounded by a lot of enemies and then the screen cuts away as they’re easily knocked out and thrown into a prison cell. I never liked that kind of scene because I want to see the heroes fight. Getting knocked around like that makes them look pretty sad to be honest.

Overall, this was a fun throwback to the old days of superheroes. It was pretty fun and I’d say that it was more entertaining than the current Marvel programs on TV. They may have better fight scenes, but the writing wasn’t quite as good as this film. I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel and I’m hoping that Super Stan will get some more screen time. He definitely stole the show in this film and he singlehandedly kept it afloat. I’m also hoping that we get some more fight scenes in the sequel and that the main character looks better. (If not, then he should be written out of the franchise) One problem that probably won’t be addressed is the fact that none of the characters are really likable aside from Super Stan. Still, I highly recommend this film if you enjoyed the good ole days of Superfriends, Scooby Doo, or the 1960’s Marvel cartoons. If you’re looking for something a little more modernized, then check out Batman The Brave and The Bold Justice League.

Overall 6/10