The god-like villain is beginning to realize a long time goal of his, possessing the Infinity Gauntlet and the six gems that will give him total control over the Universe. So how do our heroes from Earth get sucked into this inter-galactic problem? Well, it seems Thanos starts his quest by taking out Captain Marvel, a hero who was supposed to be in peace talks between the Skrull and Kree empires. When Ms. Marvel, whom followers of the last season will easily recognize, learns that her boyfriend is missing, she gathers the heroes back together in the hopes of finding the Captain, as well as stopping the impending fight that will put Earth quite literally in the crossfire.
What follows is a series of episodes that has the Squaddies trying to stop Thanos from getting various gems. One has Thanos controlling the Time Gem and sending the Scarlet Witch, this season's replacement of The Silver Surfer, into the World War II era where she teams up with a younger Captain America and his team, the Invaders.
Thanos also comes across the Space Gem in this volume. Unfortunately for the evil alien, it is quickly taken by his older sister, Nebula, and she attempts to escape sending herself, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four's android H.E.R.B.I.E. into the Negative Zone. This episode is rather funny primarily because it points out the fact that Wolverine has teamed up with pretty much every Marvel hero during his tenure, and making H.E.R.B.I.E. his backup is just another tick on Wolverine's long list. This episode also features Annihilus, a creature from the Negative Zone who seems to think everyone is after his Cosmic Control Rod.
Thanos isn't the only enemy in The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet Volume 1. Dr. Doom, M.O.D.O.K. and Abomination aren't completely forgotten about, they are just neatly tucked away in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison being watched over by Captain America. Pretty much every time we see Dr. Doom, he is attempting another prison break.
This volume also features a Thor-heavy episode where Odin and Zeus decide to pit their sons against each other in order to decide which is the better Sky-Father. Zeus, of course, sends in Hercules and the pair must compete in a series of tasks to prove their worth. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Super Hero City has asked Invisible Woman to film the event so it can be broadcast via Pay-Per-View in order to refill the city's coffers.
Possibly my favorite episode in this collection is "Whom Continuity Would Destroy!" Here, Thanos and the Grandmaster decide to have a bit of a competition. Thanos wants Grandmaster's Mind Gem and, well, Grandmaster just wants to have some fun. Each character chooses a team of three and they fight it out. Thanos chooses Iron Man, Hulk and Scarlet Witch, while Grandmaster grabs a trio of lesser-known Marvel characters that are actually spoofs of DC Universe characters. These characters are Nighthawk (voiced by Adam West), Hyperion (Travis Willingham) and Power Princess (Susan Eisenberg who played Wonder Woman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited). This is just an all around fun episode.
Like the past volumes of The Super Hero Squad Show, there aren't a lot of special features on this disc, but it does have an interview with Willingham, who not only voiced Hyperion, but also portrays Hulk and Human Torch in the show. In this particular volume, he also took on the role of Zeus.
The Infinity Gauntlet Volume 1 is just a good way to kick off the show's second season and its a pretty good buy for any young fans of the show who will want to see these zany characters doing what they do best, kicking bad-guy butt.
