Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes S01E25 Review: Nine Realms of Yggdrassil

Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Season 1, Episode 25: The Fall of Asgard

The second part of the three-episode climax has the Avengers scattered across the Nine Realms, and it's pretty damn fun! Sure, Muspelheim sits this one out, being conspicuously omitted from Loki's monologue or the Nine Realms Tour Extravaganza that the Avengers find themselves in, but I suppose what we get is pretty fun enough. Of course, some of the Avengers that we follow don't really get much to do. Black Panther, for instance, just jumps around and dodges weird dark elf wraiths in Svartalfheim before finding a random, convenient magic well that has him meet up with Hawkeye. That's easily the weirdest bit of the episode -- especially since the show has already introduced Malekith as a pre-existing villain that could've easily had a brief cameo there. Mind you, Hawkeye's adventures in Alfheim with the elven archer Legolas Faradei isn't much to write home about either, beyond it fitting with the whole "obtain allies, march unto Asgard" theme that ran throughout this entire episode. 

But, of course, we start this episode off with a huge villain motive rant on the part of Loki, who binds Thor in chains and rants about his diabolical master plan. He has been manipulating all the events -- the Masters of Evil, the Breakout, even his own imprisonment to the Island of Silence -- so that he could assault Asgard when Odin was sleeping and undefended by Thor, and gain control of the "Odinforce". I've always find it somewhat odd and way-too-convenient that Odin's powers can apparently just be transferred to anyone, but eh. It makes for an easy plot device for Loki to gain enough power to rival anyone, and also allow for an obvious "off" switch at the end of this three-parter. Although Loki's content to sit a good chunk of this episode out sitting on his throne and gloating over Thor, while his huge, huge army from Niflheim and Jotunheim go around invading all the other realms. 

We've mentioned Hawkeye and Black Panther -- two genuinely unimpressive sequences that end with the same "we got an ally out of the mix" sideplot that the other Avengers go through. Ant-Man and Wasp, meanwhile, find themselves battling frost giants in Jotunheim, with Giant-Man being, of course, well-suited to fighting these giants. We also get to see the Casket of Ancient Winters make a brief reappearance, held by the lead frost giant (Ymir?) and while the two of them have a neat little fight, they end up being rescued by Sif and a group of Valkyries. Hulk, meanwhile, finds himself in Vanaheim and charges straight into battle with a bunch of trolls enslaving the Vanir, and after a brief action scene, meets up with Thor's allies, the Warriors Three. Both of these are fairly more decently paced, and also a fair bit more badass because both Sif and the Warriors Three are characters that at least have made appearances in the show, unlike Legolas. 

Not that the show couldn't do tremendous work with new characters, mind you. Iron Man, sans armour, finds himself in the dwarven realm of Nidavellir (a name that would definitely be familiar for anyone who watched Infinity War earlier this year), where Tony Stark has to use nothing but his wits and a single repulsor beam to rescue the dwarves and their king, Eitri, from the ravages of one of Loki's minions -- the giant troll named Ulik (I know a bit of Marvel comics). It's always a pretty badass moment to see Iron Man fight without the armour, and that moment of bravery allows Tony Stark to have the respect of the dwarf king Eitri. We also get teased something awesome as Tony asks Eitri to help him craft a suit of armour.

Meanwhile, we get an equally compelling new character as Captain America finds himself in hell. Or, well, with Hela, anyway, as he is in Niflheim, the realm of the dead, where he is confronted with the (seeming) ghosts of his dead World War II comrades who try to get the Captain to give up the fight and join them. It doesn't quite get very deep, but it's definitely a creepy and well-executed scene as Hela is a constant, cool-but-creepy presence in the area, and seeing Steve have to quite literally face the ghosts of his past in a way that he's never quite done in this cartoon series is definitely pretty well done. And unlike the other Avengers, who basically go through their "beat up an enemy, gain allies" quota, Cap doesn't actually finish his side-quest just yet.

Overall, while it does feel a bit like a distraction and somewhat mis-matched, I think the episode does a pretty decent job at introducing new characters like Hela and Eitri, giving most of the Avengers some neat screentime, and making Loki really feel like he has everything in control and that the Avengers are insignificant single enemies compared to his overwhelming might. Definitely a fun and thrilling, if slightly distracted, second act.