The Avengers are currently one of the biggest names in superhero fiction, but that wasn't always the case. For a long time, Earth's Mightiest Heroes were essentially just an also-ran team in the Marvel Universe. And there's no greater example of what low regard the property was once held in than the cartoon, The Avengers: United They Stand, which ran for one 13-episode season from 1999 to 2000.
Though it was at least superficially tied to the Marvel Animated Universe, the show didn't share any of the quality of that franchise's more popular entries. Instead, United They Stand took Marvel's main superhero team and filled it with B-listers, all of whom were poorly written and amateurishly animated. With bad designs, weird armor and characters and stories unworthy of the Avengers name, it's no wonder the series is considered one of Marvel's worst productions ever.
Avengers: United They Stand's Team Was Unexpected
The show, as its name suggests, was focused on Marvel's premiere superhero team, but it was notably missing a few key members. Though they appear in the opening credits, the Avengers trinity of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor do not have much of a presence on the show. Cap and Iron Man both make full appearances in only one episode, and the God of Thunder never has so much as a cameo outside of the intro. This meant that the show's roster -- which included Vision, Falcon, Hawkeye, Tigra, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch and Wasp -- was essentially comprised of members from the comics' West Coast Avengers.
The lack of more popular heroes was already a big mark against the series, especially considering that, back then, Captain America, Iron Man and Thor weren't even hugely popular. Even worse, though, is the fact that the heroes who were present were horribly written. Despite coming after landmark shows such as X-Men and Spider-Man: The Animated Series, both of which gave their heroes and villains levels of depth unseen in previous cartoons, the heroes of United They Stand are one-dimensional at best and flat out unlikable at worst.
For instance, Tigra's origin was completely changed; she was reimagined as an Olympic athlete who intentionally underwent a procedure to become Tigra simply so she could become more competitive. Hawkeye was also incredibly unsympathetic, although he was a key member of the team.
Avengers: United They Stand Had Awful Costumes
The most visibly off-putting aspect of the show was its art style. Angular and drastically different from the acclaimed Marvel shows from earlier in the '90s, United They Stand's designs were essentially primitive predecessors to the animation of Transformers: Animated and Spectacular Spider-Man. Those shows at least overcame their controversial art-style and became critically acclaimed. On the other hand, United They Stand was anything but, and the simplistic and weird designs were made even uglier by the fact that each Avenger (with the exception of Vision) would wear Power Rangers-esque armor into battle.
This armor was obviously an attempt to bolster the toyline, much like what was attempted with the equally reviled Iron Man: The Animated Series. The end result, however, were costumes that looked nothing like the heroes from the comics, divorcing the series even further from what fans felt an Avengers cartoon should be. The armor was also included to give the show a more futuristic look, as Marvel misguidedly thought of United They Stand as its answer to the much better received Batman Beyond.
The cartoon's plotting wasn't any better than the show's other elements, featuring dumb stories more at home in '80s cartoons that were wrapped up with contrived bows by episode's end. Though plans for a never-produced second season sounded somewhat promising, at least in comparison to Season 1, the show that exists definitely deserves its poor reputation. The only contemporary Marvel cartoons that were in the same league were fellow failures like Iron Man and Fantastic Four. Sadly, it wouldn't be until 10 years later, after the MCU catapulted the classic team to stardom, that the Avengers finally got a worthy cartoon adaptation.