Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and we continue the Summer Blowout with Mission Marvel.
Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of this cross over. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's my least favorite episode of the entire series Ferb Latin exists but out of all the episodes, we will be looking at, this is the one that frustrates me the most. Let's just say there were a couple of these throughout the episode.
Hold it, we need something more fitting....
That's better. Now, here's the thing I have nothing against Marvel as I've seen all of the MCU films in theaters and I like superheroes for the most part (one of my favorite shows is The Flash) but here's the thing, this was announced not too soon after Disney bought Marvel and aired in 2013, only a year after the first Avengers came out. And the entire time, I was watching it, I never felt like was watching an episode for Phineas and Ferb but rather an advertisement for these Marvel characters. Because if I'm to be frank, some things in this special make no sense and okay, I need to address one of my biggest pet peeves before we even get into the review proper. This is one of the actual lines from the episode.
I hear you. None of the women superheroes showed up, so it's all about testosterone and...powers and...fighting, which... (shrugs) yeah.
Just because you addressed the problem, doesn't mean it goes away. And more importantly, why didn't anyone ask Marvel if they could use some of the women from their roster? Heck, this special was capitalizing on the fact that people probably knew these characters from The Avengers movie. And do you know, who was in that movie?
Black Widow and it wouldn't have been hard to include her because S.H.I.E.L.D. was in this special. I'm not trying to get on a feminist tirade here but it's really dumb that the special didn't include any of the women from Marvel's roster. If they didn't want Black Widow, there's Squirrel Girl (Which from what I've seen of her would've been hysterical), Storm, Captain Marvel Wasp, and much much much much more to choose from,
As evidenced by this picture and here's the thing, Phineas and Ferb was a show that attracted children of both genders. I'm pretty sure that girls watching this special would have loved to seen female superheroes taking part in the action. I mean it wouldn't have been that hard to justify any of these great women being in the special. I'm sorry but this bugs me more than anything in this special. Now, that I've addressed the biggest issue, let's get onto the review proper.
The Plot
We start the special with Phineas, Ferb and friends surfing in space. They get to a space station shaped like Phineas' head and dock.
Okay, I'm getting a Power Rangers In Space vibe form this.
Alright, I just had to get that outta my system. Meanwhile, we see that Perry has already been trapped by Doof and learn of his latest invention, Power-Drain-inator. Which is where one of my biggest issues. Doof wants to use it to take the power away from his brother, the mayor. But you see Agent P destroys the machine and it the Marvel heroes while fighting their foes in NYC as we have a battle Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man fighting Red Skull (Where's Cap?), Venom, Whiplash, and Modok. And it's during this battle, where the heroes lose their powers.
And this is where one of my biggest issues comes in. Okay, look I understand that superhero is a bit skewed but I was confused by something, I get Thor and Spidey being weak but I was left confused by Tony and Hulk. I'll admit that I've never read an Iron Man comic before in my life but I thought Iron Man's powers came from the arc reactor and I didn't think that this should have effected him but I'm willing to let that one slide more than Hulk.
Shouldn't Hulk have turned back into Bruce Banner? I mean, perhaps I'm overthinking it but it seems like it would have made more sense. Anyways, back in Danville, the kids arrive back home and as if on cue, Candace wants to show Linda, the latest invention but it disappears as Buford mentions that he's hungry. So, she prepares a snack and on the Helicarrier, the heroes are informed by Fury that the beam that caused them to lose their powers from the Tri-State Area. Meanwhile, Norm (Doof's robot minion) cleans up the debris from the fight as Doof wonders where the beam hits and just the TV news reports that it hit New York City. Back at the house of our main characters, the heroes arrive to figure what happened to their powers.
Candace has been left in charge as their mom is going a walking tour of the town. You live there, why? Oh well, it really doesn't matter. The heroes join the kids for their snacks and Spider-Man questions as to whether or not, they sole their powers. Candace comes down to her usual I'm in charge routine and notices Spider-Man and makes nothing of it at first but then faints and just then, Iron Man falls down. No one thought to get Tony out that armor. I mean how did this machine have the power to shut down Iron Man's suit. That's the thing, they are so loose with what this inator can do and normally that wouldn't bug me but when bringing these superheroes, it just doesn't make sense. Meanwhile In Agent P's Lair, Nick Fury is using the big screen to inform Perry of the mission. Okay, I do like how he's thrown off by Perry being a platypus. That was funny.
And we start another annoying running joke of Monogram copying Fury's style. Which got really old really fast. Back at Doof's, the Marvel villains arrived not too long after Doof mistakenly posted a blog about how he stole the powers of the Marvel heroes and Doof shows the villains around.
Red Skull is confused as to where the machine that took the powers of the heroes is. It was destroyed by Perry. And here we get a repeat joke that Fury did asking if Perry has any superpowers. It wasn't funny the first time and it's not funny here. Red Skull tells Doof to rebuild the machine and he does but first he has some errands to run. Meanwhile, Phineas unveils S.H.E.D.
Get It? Get It? Do you get it? However, it seems to have taken inspiration from the Tardis as it's small on the outside but big on the inside. Thor notices The Beak suit, which is from a prior superhero special (that was also bad). Okay, there is a cute moment where Candace is just so starstruck by the heroes as she apparently had to do research for a comic cross over between the Marvel heroes and her favorite thing in the world, (that's not Jeremy), Ducky Momo And she asks the heroes to read her fan-fiction but Spider-Man tells her that they aren't allowed to read unsolicited material.
This was pretty funny. Meanwhile, the villains and Doof spend time doing evils things via song montage.
Back at S.H.E.D. (Ugh), the heroes step onto a platform to get their powers back but things go awry because Candace is too eager and presses the button and it causes the heroes to get each other's powers as Thor now has Spider-Man's powers. And Hulk now has Tony's business skills. Huh? I get that's supposed to be a joke but it's not really that funny as it doesn't make sense. Meanwhile, the villains continue to do many evil things. Back at S.H.E.D., the heroes discover more about the mixed up powers such as Iron Man having Thor's powers but this does not make him worthy to wield Thor's hammer. Candace and Phineas get into an argument and she decides that she should leave. The heroes head to the mall, where the villains are causing so much mayhem but it's no match until Perry in his superhero outfit, which is pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, Candace, Buford, and Baljeet are working on the machine that'll restore power to the heroes but Candace ends up plugging the machine into early and thus causing Baljeet to turn into a Hulk like monster. At this, Phineas revokes Candace's S.H.E.D. access. Okay, this is something I need to address, Phineas comes off a really mean in this special towards Candace. I get things are at stake but this doesn't feel like Phineas. And the way, the special treats Candace as a clumsy fan girl that can't do anything right is no better.
I don't get the special's need to bring these attitudes in as we've never seen the characters this harsh towards each other before. Meanwhile, Doof is hard at work on the second of the power draining machine and after he finishes it, the Marvel villains trap him as they have no use for him any longer and they plan to completely destroy the Tri-State Area and take the powers of all the superheroes worldwide. Perry tries to stop them but is trapped by Venom. And meanwhile Baljeet in his Hulk form is rampaging through the town.
Back at the house, Candace is up in her room lying on her bed feeling dejected and that leads into the line that I talked about at great length at the beginning of this review. Meanwhile Buford is chasing Baljeet in Hulk form and critiquing his style. At City Hall, Red Skull proclaims the end of the Tri-State Area. Red Skull makes the heroes come down to fight to protect the citizens and they agree to, even though they're powerless. Because as Thor put it.
"Being a hero isn't the armor you wear, but the metal in your spirit and the steel in your resolve
Though Spider-Man undercuts the moment with a quip. So, they were doing that long before Ant-Man. Phineas and Ferb try to finish up their Beak suit after it got busted in the last duel with the villains. And just then Candace and Isabella come into help but they're just brushed off as Phineas doesn't think they have time to listen as they need to get going. And the heroes arrive to face the villains and they are trapped just as soon as they get there. Though the battle, the heroes get their powers back after Isabella realizes that they cannot be lost, only transferred. But they before they can fully get them back, they find other ways to fight the baddies. Doof is now trying to find a way to stop the baddies. Candace and Isabella return to the space station and try to find a way to get the powers back to the heroes. And thanks to some thinking on the part of Candace, the heroes get their powers back and after a lengthy duel with the villains, they all sign off and say goodbye to the kids in their various ways. Which is sweet but doesn't make up for how bad, this special was.
Characters
Main Characters
Phineas voiced by Vincent Martella
Look, I get Phineas' anger but it was really uncomfortable to watch most of the time on this special.
Candace voiced by Ashley Tisdale
I don't get what the special was trying to do by making Candace so clumsy as that hasn't before nor was it seen after it aired.
Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Hulk, & Spider-Man voiced by Travis Willingham, Adrian Pasdar, Fred Tastsciore, & Drake Bell
While it should have been fun seeing the heroes in this special, it really wasn't as there was just so much logic thrown by the wayside that their appearance really didn't make much sense. And it never seemed like they were on equal footing with the main characters.
Supporting characters
Perry voiced by Dee Bradley Baker
Perry was a bit fun and I liked his superhero get up.
Ferb, Buford, Baljeet, & Isabella voiced by Thomas Sangster, Bobby Gaylor, Maulik Pancholy, & Alyson Stoner
It really didn't feel like the other kids had much to do in this special. Oh sure, Bajeet turned into a Hulk but other than that, they felt sidelined.
Music
Surfin' Asteroids
A fun opening number that has nothing to do with the rest of the special at hand.
My Streets
This song is pretty fun, what you can make out of it and does go nicely with the battle. Oh, and hi Stan Lee cameo.
My Evil Buddies and Me
There is admittedly something funny about seeing Doof hanging out with Marvel villains causing mayhem but I dunno, this also leads to another problem, I have. It felt like they were trying to force these two different styles to work and it just didn't.
Only Trying To Help
Do I need to repeat what I said up top? Just because you address the problem, that doesn't mean it goes away. And just because you set it to a sad song doesn't mean I'm going to brush it off. This song is frustrating in that regard.
Feelin' Super
I don't remember this song and I think I'm okay with that.
Feeling Froggy
This is a pretty fun number but not one that I'd come back to. And at least the siblings finally apologize to each other.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz voiced by Dan Povenmire
While Doof was a lot of fun, he felt out of place with the Marvel villains.
Red Skull, Whiplash, Modok, & Venom voiced by Liam O'Brien, Peter Stormare, Charlie Adler, & Danny Trejo
This was perhaps my biggest issue, the villains felt out of place with Doof as you knew they were going to turn on him as soon as they showed up and at the same time, they never felt like a real threat either. It's like they were just there.
My Final Thoughts
While I personally have nothing against Marvel or Disney trying other ventures with the Marvel properties, I just thought this was really bad. I get the desire to want to use these characters but they just felt so forced in. Ah well, we go from one franchise that Disney bought to another as next time we look at the much better...
Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars
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