I will just admit early on, I have been a life long Marvel Zombie, and one of the things that has always driven me crazy about Marvel is their HORRIBLE track record when it came to television. I have always understood why Marvel has never really attempted to break television in live-action form becuase they had a medicore track record (The Incredible Hulk show as good, but Mutant X and the Incredible Hulk television movies were terrible), but their history of cartoons and animated features is horrid.
A few examples:
1. Spider-Man and His Amazing Firends (1981)--The art and voice overwork were terrible even for its day, and the characters involved made no sense, why was an X-Man being used in a Spider-Man cartoon? The only thing that really came out of that was Firestar (Amazing Friends was her first appearance).
2. Iron Man (1994)--This trainwreck of a show only lasted one season, and if you have actually watched it you can undertand why. The artwork and vfx work left a lot to be desired, and again the casting made no sense. Can anyone explain to me why M.O.D.O.K. (A Captain America villain--and a dumb one at that), is doing in an Iron Man cartoon? Not to mention the fact that this was more a West Coast Avengers cartoon with Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and the rest always showing up.
3. Avengers: Earth's Mightest Heroes (2010)--I have watched this show and it makes me want to throw something at my computer everytime I watch it. The cast is to big and confusing. The art is so-so, and I am not to thrilled with the voice work.
There have been a few good cartoons over the years (The 90's Spider-Man and X-Men cartoons, for example), but the brutalness of the majority of Marvel's cartoon work greatly out weighs the positives.
The same is true of their animated features:
The only one of those that I can say I really enjoyed is The Next Avengers. The Ultimates, Dr. Strange, and Iron Man movies feeling disappointed.
I am hopeful for future projects with though with the appointment of Mr. Loeb as the head of the television division. I am hoping to see not only great animated projects in the future, but great live-action shows as well.