As I mentioned earlier this morning, Disney confirmed this week during upfront presentations that The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series will debut this fall on Disney XD, the successor of sorts to Toon Disney.

Announced in October 2008, the 52-episode series from Marvel Animation targets viewers ages 9 to 14, and will help in the marketing buildup to The First Avenger: Captain America and Thor feature films in 2011 and The Avengers in 2012.

According to a Disney press release, a 20-part "micro-series" will focus on the back story of each Avenger -- Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Giant Man and Wasp -- followed immediately by the series premiere.

The trailer and series description for The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes can be found after the break.

"The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" -- Further aligning the strength of Marvel's hugely popular characters and stories with the burgeoning Disney XD brand and global reach, an all-new animated series, “The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes,” will debut in fall 2010 on Disney XD and DisneyXD.com. Beginning with the “Iron Man” and “Incredible Hulk” movies in 2008, the release of “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” follows Marvel’s overall “Avengers Assemble” strategy introducing the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe through various content platforms, including the upcoming feature films “Iron Man 2” in May of 2010, “Thor” in May of 2011 and “Captain America” in July of 2011, all building up to the Avengers theatrical film in 2012. Produced by Marvel Animation, the animated series features 52 episodes targeted at kids 9-14, starring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Giant Man and Wasp -- who form the Avengers, a team assembled when no single hero's powers can save the world. A 20-part "micro-series" that focuses on each hero's backstory will roll out in fall 2010 on Disney XD, immediately followed by the series premiere on Disney XD in the U.S. and, shortly thereafter, around the world. Disney XD, the single largest distributor of Marvel content around the world, currently showcases approximately 20 hours of Marvel series (including "The Spectacular Spider-Man," "Fantastic Four" and "Iron Man") each week.