Review - 7th Portal (2000)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. We all love the works of Stan Lee, don't we? The plethora of characters he created for Marvel Comics are still beloved to this very day. But, in the late '90s and early 2000's, Stan Lee also created a quartet of flash animation web series, with the most notable of these series being called 7th Portal.

       So, in the universe of 7th Portal, the universe is made of seven dimensions, with the most dangerous of them being called Darkmoor. Ruling over Darkmoor is the evil Lord Mongorr, who is joined by his army, the Nullifiers: Vendetta, Bearhug, Whipsaw, Krog, Slyme, and Vultura. To protect the Earth, which is the last dimension Mongorr needs to conquer, a mysterious man named Izayus gives an international group of Beta Testers a game disc for a video game called The 7th Portal. These six Beta Testers, the Data Raiders, choose their respective superhero avatars, which gonas follows: Peter Littlecloud from the U.S becomes Thunderer, with the power of superhuman breath, Rikio Minamoto from Japan becomes the speedster The Streak, Anna Nehue from India becomes the shapeshifting Imitatia, Ozubo Monduma from South Africa becomes the mystical Conjure-Man, Greta Brecht from Germany becomes the ghostly Gossamer, and Roberto Diaz from Brazil becomes the incredibly strong Oxblood. 

        Now, it isn't just that the six Beta Testers are playing a video game and these are their avatars. No, Izayus literally brings them INTO the world of Darkmoor, and they transform into their superhero forms to combat Mongorr, the Nullifiers, and the robotic Decimators. Unfortunately, the powers of the Data Raiders are tied to each of their life meters. Using too much of their powers drains their life meters, which can recharge while they sleep. That's kinda clever. 

          And, I'm sure that many out there will probably see the animation style as archaic and static, but let's clarify. For an internet project from the year 2000, and on the long-since defunct Macromedia Shockwave, this flash animation style was pretty cutting edge back then. Again, this was a years before the creation of YouTube, so the style of animation seen in series like Helluva Boss was pretty much exclusively on television. The flash animation style of 7th Portal was cutting edge for the internet at the time. And besides, it's an original series by Stan Lee, which is awesome. Now, the vocal talent that worked on this series was really good for the time, and it was great that Stan Lee himself voiced Izayus in the series. 

       But, what most will probably remember about 7th Portal is that it was adapted into a 3D movie ride showcased in several amusement parks. Luckily, the ride film, along with all twenty-two episodes of 7th Portal, is available to watch on YouTube, so check 'em both out and see what you think. As for what can be done with the concept in the future? Well, I would honestly like to see the series get made with a more update animation style, more in the style of the new series My Adventures with Superman. I think something in an anime style would be truly fitting for the 7th Portal franchise. 

        Anyway, that's gonna do it for now, and I will see you guys later.