So I’m browsing through the Netflix browser a week or so ago and figure I’ll look for some new cartoons for the kids. They’ve watched all of the Spiderman variations several times over by now, as well as X-Men: Evolution and a few others, including an more recent Ironman cartoon.
So, for something different, I did an Ironman search. A few choices popped up and the one that caught my eye was one called Ironman: Extremis. I read the description, it was definitely animated and seemed like it might be interesting. There was only 6 episodes though, so assuming they were interested in it, it was going to be over with quickly. So I put it in the instant queue and left it at that.
The next morning, the boy found it and started it up. Curious, I started watching it with him for a bit. The first thing I noticed was that the animation was weird. Not objectionable in and of itself, but the characters were much more life-like than typical cartoon animation. Plus, it looked like the characters were layered on top of the background.
Then, a character was injected with some kind of serum into the back of his neck followed by him vomiting blood and seemingly dieing, rather graphically. The second thoughts about my cartoon choice settled in almost immediately.
Things seemed to settle down, though, as the scene shifted to a science lab of some sort with a scientist sitting at a desk. Bear in mind, there had still been no sign of Ironman or Tony Stark to this point. Any chance of continuing to watch ended with what happened next. The scientist put his papers down, pulled out a gun, and place it to his head.
As soon as he pulled the gun out, I knew what was going to happen and right then, I told the boy to turn it off. He hesitated for a second, not understanding why I’d asked him to do it. Not unreasonable since every other superhero cartoon has a gun in it at some point, that in and of itself wasn’t a reason to get excited, as far as he was concerned. He didn’t really know what was coming next.
But I did. And I really didn’t want him watching it.
Subsequent research revealed that Ironman: Extremis is an animated comic and, as I’d realized by that point, most definitely not for kids.
I ended up watching all 6 episodes one night. It’s a good story- essentially it tells of the rebirth and remaking of Ironman- it’s a parallel story to the original Ironman origin story. The “extremis” is a serum that can rewire the human body. The guy getting infected with it in the beginning becomes superhuman as a result and mortally wounds Stark as Ironman. In order to survive, Stark modifies the extremis serum and takes it himself. He recovers, with all the benefits of it, plus some enhancements. He goes on to defeat the bad guy in a climactic battle.
As far as letting an under-10 kid watch it, though, well- not on my watch. When the bad guy is originally revealed, he goes on a violent rampage killing people in an office building in graphic, brutal fashion. The initial confrontation with Ironman is equally graphic, with Ironman getting mauled: he suffers a shattered knee, a crushed hand through his armor and a crushed chest plate while he’s still in the suit. Even the scene where Stark is injected with the extremis serum is objectionable, with Stark vomiting blood repeatedly due to his internal injuries. Finally, the climactic battle is way overboard- with the baddy getting his head blown off. Literally and graphically.
It’s seems ironic that we could let the kids watch The Avengers several times now yet I won’t let them see this anytime soon. There was plenty of violence in Avengers but it was all cartoon violence, despite it’s not being animated. Contrasted that with Ironman: Extremis, a cartoon with graphic violence to such an extent that we deemed it unsuitable for the kids.
So if you like Ironman and comics and cartoons, I’d definitely recommend the story to you. But there’s no way I could recommend it for a young child.