AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES S1x011

"PANTHER'S QUEST"
Written by Paul Giacoppo | Directed by Sebastian Montes

The Plot: As the Avengers watch footage of Ant-Man saving Captain America's life, they're suddenly interrupted by a perimeter alarm. The Panther himself storms into Avengers' Mansion's courtyard and after testing the group in battle, requests their help in liberating Wakanda from M'Baku the Man-Ape. When the Panther shows the Avengers that M'Baku is in league with Hydra, the team agrees to help him. However, as soon as they enter Wakandan airspace, their Quinjet is shot down. Black Panther abandons the Avengers to hunt down M'Baku, and Iron Man dispatches Cap to follow him.

Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp are attacked by the Wakandan army, while in Wakanda's vibranium mine, Ulysses Klaw and M'Baku demonstrate the power of the metal for Grim Reaper. Soon after, Black Panther appears before M'Baku and challenges him for leadership. In the mine, the Avengers attack Grim Reaper. When Klaw blasts a Hydra agent who accidentally shot the vibranium mound, the Reaper knocks Klaw into the metal. Somehow, Klaw's sonic weapon interacts with the vibranium and turns him into a creature of pure sound. Grim Reaper orders a Hydra retreat, while on the surface, Black Panther battles M'Baku's Dora Milaje bodyguards. When they gain the upper hand, Captain America comes to the Panther's aid. M'Baku attacks the Panther directly, while Cap fights the Dora Milaje.

M'Baku, attacks Black Panther with a sonic weapon, and as he's about to finish the Panther, an explosion bursts out of the mine, distracting him. Black Panther defeats M'Baku and is recognized as the king by his people. Meanwhile, Ant-Man and Iron Man work to stop Klaw while Wasp distracts him. Iron Man flies into Klaw, disabling him with a jury-rigged vibranium device. Later, Black Panther tells his people that Wakanda can no longer hide from the outside world, and announces his intention to join the Avengers.

Meanwhile, Hulkbusters arrive at the Cube, where they're quickly taken out by beings inside as the former prison is covered by a green force field.

Continuity Notes: For the second episode in a row, the group lineup at the end of the opening credits depicts Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Ant/Giant-Man, and the Wasp.

Thor doesn't appear in this episode, though it's not stated where he is. (Iron Man does try to ring him up on the communicard a few times, though.)

A few threads from earlier episodes come together here, with Iron Man referencing his fight against Hydra in "Iron Man is Born", and Ant-Man talking about his prior encounter with Klaw in "The Man in the Ant-Hill" -- plus, of course, the resolution of Black Panther's plot as established in that same episode, and an explanation for why the Panther was skulking around for the first episodes of the series proper: he was spying the Avengers to make sure they were capable of helping him.

Do I Know That Voice? Aside from Mark Hamill's return as Klaw and Kevin Michael Richardson reprising M'Baku... nope.

My Thoughts: I can't say I dislike this episode, but it's probably my least-favorite installment to date. Wakandan politics have never really done much for me, whether in comics, movies, or animation, so the episode is on a shaky premise to begin with. Add to that the fact that I also have never cared much for Klaw, except as a team-player in the Master of Evil, and you have another reason for the episode to not really appeal to me.

But, as is the case in an ongoing comic book, it's the sub-plots that keep me interested in a less-than-stellar installment. And in this case, as noted above, we have some callbacks to earlier episodes, plus the resolution of Black Panther's storyline. (Hey, even though I don't love it, I do like seeing it tied up.) On top of that, we have the Avengers gaining a cool new member, plus further machinations by Hydra -- just what are they up to? They're working with AIM, they're working with Klaw, they're doing something with Hulk's blood... I honestly don't remember how this storyline shakes out, so I'm excited to see what happens.

There are also some nice character moments, as has been standard in these early episodes, for our heroes. A couple involve Captain America: he takes his very first flight on a Quinjet and compares it to something out of science fiction, which is a neat little bit. Also, when Iron Man orders him to follow Black Panther into the jungle, Cap starts to object, knowing full well that Stark's plan is not a good one -- but then he checks himself and accepts the command, like the soldier he is at heart. This is another plot that I don't really remember all that well from the show. I have this recollection that, for some reason, Iron Man remains the team leader all the way through, but Cap becomes the group's strategist. I guess we'll find out whether those memories are correct.

Next week, the Hulk returns in "Gamma World Part 1".