|
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is a direct-to-video animated film. It is the fifth in a series of animated films based on Marvel Comics by Lions Gate Entertainment. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 2, 2008. The project was originally announced under the title Teen Avengers and later changed to Avengers Reborn. It was then referred to as Next Avengers before being given its full title. A preview of the film (under the Avengers Reborn title) was included on the DVD of the Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme animated film. It is the first of the Marvel animated films to be rated PG as opposed to PG-13. The film is a very loose sequel to the previous Ultimate Avengers movies.
After five of the eight active Avengers die facing Ultron, Tony Stark takes their children - James Rogers, the son of Black Widow and Captain America; Pym, the son of Giant-Man and the Wasp; Azari, the son of the Black Panther and Storm of the X-Men; and Torunn, daughter of the absent Avenger Thor - to a refuge hidden in the Arctic Circle. He raises them for nearly thirteen years before Ultron discovers their existence. When the Vision emerges after a 12-year absence and reveals that he survived - albeit barely - the attack from Ultron, Stark learns that Francis Barton, son of Hawkeye, is also alive. Unfortunately, while the kids are spying on Stark, trying to figure out who the Vision is and what's going on, they accidentally set off the launch of a series of robots designed in the Avengers' image. As a result, Stark's base is revealed to Ultron. Fortunately, Stark stalls Ultron long enough for the kids to escape, but he is ultimately captured.
Heading to rescue Stark, the four young Avengers meet Barton (whose father survived the initial fight that killed the other five, but was recently killed by Ultron), and team up with him to rescue their guardian. The five then escape Ultron's citadel, (along with an aged Betty Ross), heading for the desert, where former Avenger Bruce Banner, alias the Hulk, is hiding out. After he refuses to help them, James devises a plan to lure Ultron there so as to bring out the Hulk, who can then destroy him. Fighting a losing battle against mechanical doubles of the six fallen Avengers and Thor (whom it is revealed had left to rule Asgard before Ultron surfaced), the young Avengers manage to awaken the Hulk, who fights and ultimately destroys Ultron, ripping him in two. Torunn then flies his body into space to ensure that he can't rebuild himself, and nearly dies in the process. As a result, her father appears to her and explains his reasons for leaving her, and invites her to enter Asgard. Torunn chooses instead to return to her family on Earth, which Thor accepts, telling her that he's proud of her and sends her back in a copy of his own armor.
In the final scene, the five young Avengers prepare to return to Ultra City, to deal with Ultron's remaining forces and rescue any survivors.
|
