The Avengers Origins: Assemble! and Avengers Origins: Hulk apps from Disney Publishing Worldwide, read by Stan “The Man” Lee are, in a word, glorious!
For the child, both apps are the perfect introduction to the Assemble story and the Hulk story. Not only is Stan Lee a great narrator, reading in such a fashion as to excite and entertain your small child, but the interactivity of both apps allows your child to become part of the story.
In the Avengers Origins: Assemble! app, your child gets to match accessories with each hero, help unfreeze Captain America, help battle and defeat the Atlanteans and Namor, and more, while learning about the epic beginnings of the Assemble crew.
In the Avenger Origins: Hulk app, your child gets to punch through walls, throw a vehicle, roar like the Hulk, save a teenager, transform into the Hulk, and more, again learning how Bruce Banner eventually became the Hulk.
The animation and illustrations for both of these apps are amazing. The interactivity is also simple enough, while remaining fun, so that you can leave your young child alone as they learn the marvels of these stories.
However, I did have a small issue roaring like the Hulk. The interactivity in Avengers Origins: Hulk app is a little bit trickier than the Avenger Origins: Assemble! app. The Assemble! app requires very basic tapping and running your finger along the screen to complete the different tasks. The Hulk app requires a little bit more trial and error for a couple of the tasks. For instance, it took me four attempts throwing the vehicle before I didn’t overshoot. But I found that to be a lot of fun, and like I was playing a videogame, while having Stan Lee tell me a story. And if your child becomes stuck on any task, in either app, they can tap an arrow to move forward with the story, avoiding frustration when stuck.
Despite having one small issue with the interactivity of the Hulk app, I found that story to be my favorite. As a parent, there is something very comforting about Stan Lee telling your child that Bruce Banner was a bit of a weirdo, but he grew up to be a hero! It made both the geek parent in me and the weird child in me feel so extremely accepted and like I was a wonderful individual when I heard Stan Lee narrate:
Bruce kept all his feelings buried deep inside him. Reading books always took his mind off of things. Bruce’s favorite subject was SCIENCE.
Seriously, I wanted to fist-pump the air, and jump all around, hearing Stan Lee emphasis the word “science.” I think Bruce’s story is one all children, whether they are 4 or 99, need to hear.
Even though the Hulk app was my favorite, because I was–and at times, I still feel like–a young Bruce Banner, the Assemble! story is great tale of camaraderie and teamwork. It beautifully tells the tale of how the Hulk, Ant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Wasp and Captain America became a team.
I also had to contain my squee, every time Stan Lee exclaimed, “EXCELSIOR!” while he read the Assemble! Story.
I think having Stan Lee read the story is more of a bonus for the parent who realizes the full awesome that is Stan Lee, than it is for the child. The bonus for the child is the superb job Stan Lee does narrating these stories.
These apps are the perfect introduction to this part of the Marvel universe. Engaging, fun, with a very easy to follow story, wonderful animation, and simple interactive interface, you’ll want to hear these stories read to you, and your child, over and over again.
Stan “The Man” Lee read stories to me and it was glorious!
Avengers Origins: Assemble! and Avengers Origins: Hulk apps are for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. They each cost $1.99 and are rated 4+.
The apps were provided for the purposes of this review.
