Iron Man, Iron Man... does whatever a spider can?

The question is why? Not why there's a new animated series – last year's blockbuster made that inevitable. Not even why Nicktoons chose do go with a cel-shaded CGI style that's reminiscent of the failed MTV Spider-Man series from a few years back. No, the question is why they decided to ignore the chronology of the hugely successful movie and rewrite Iron Man as Spider-Man Lite.

This show doesn't follow the established billionaire industrialist path for the character, instead reimaging Tony Stark as a Doogie Howser-esque wunderkind that takes up the teenage mantle of Iron Man when his father dies. I get that it's a kids show, but still... you've already got that kids show. It's called Spider-Man.

Also questionable is the animation style. It's inconsistent in that the money was clearly spent on the action moments as opposed to character designs or dialogue scenes, and it's inappropriate in that the overall softness of the look doesn't really fit a suit that's supposed to be made of, well, iron. And the theme song is a slice of pure unadulterated cheese.

Overall, Iron Man: Armored Adventures isn't completely without appeal – kids will likely respond to the action animation – but it just feels sorta inessential. Unlike The Clone Wars, which stylishly tells canonical stories of the Star Wars saga, this feels like an effort to sell more action figures. Pass.