The Fantastic Four: The Complete 1994-5 Animated Television Series (review)

There are moments of ironic wit and cleverness among the 26 episodes of the TV adaptation of the longest-running comic-book series. There just aren't enough of them. One "action-packed" story is fairly indistinguishable from another as Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing battle supervillain Doctor Doom -- there are only so many different ways Fantastic can stretch out more than humanly normal, Invisible can go invisible, Torch can burst into flame, and Thing can crunch stuff before it all gets a bit tedious. Shows like this are meant to be doled out an episode at time, one per Saturday morning, and savored over a bowl of Sugar Corn Pops while half asleep, not devoured in a cascade of DVD viewing -- a marathon only shows how repetitious it is. Extras include exclusive introductions to episodes by comics legend and Fantastic Four creator Stan Lee.