The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

Synopsis

Tony Stark, in his heroic identity as Iron Man, captures several members of the criminal organization AIM. When he delivers them to the SHIELD "super prison" known as the Vault, he is approached by Vault director Jimmy Woo about increasing the Vault's security after a recent incident. He tells Woo to call his assistant Pepper Potts, figuring that the meeting can wait one day.

At another high-security SHIELD facility known as the Cube, prisoners that have been exposed to gamma radiation in the past are subjected to various research. Dr. Leonard Samson tries to tell one prisoner, Bruce Banner, that they can cure him of his violent alter ego, the Hulk. Banner is skeptical however, and tells Samson that the Cube is more interested in weapons than cures.

In New York City, Thor is visited by a fellow Asgardian, Baldur the Brave. Baldur informs Thor that his father Odin has slipped into the Odinsleep, a week long rest that restores the ancient kind of Asgard. In the meantime, Asgard is more vulnerable to attack and Thor's assistance would be appreciated. Baldur urges the thunder god to return to his home realm, but Thor rejects his pleas, stating that Earth needs him more than Asgard. Before Baldur can continue to argue, Thor jumps off to rescue paramedic Jane Foster at the last possible moment. Thor admits to Foster that he admires her ability to help those who are weak, despite how fragile they may be. The two share coffee and discuss Thor's relationship with his father.

Aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier, a miniature prison known as the Big House is run by Dr. Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man. While Pym interviews one of the Big House's prisoners, Agent Maria Hill reminds Janet Van Dyne that SHIELD Director Nick Fury offered both her and Pym official positions as members of SHIELD. While Wasp is interested in the possibility, she also admits that the serious and confidential nature of SHIELD makes her hesitant.

Almost immediately after Wasp mentions that SHIELD might be too "dramatic" for her, the lights on the Helicarrier flicker and soon partial power is lost, including the security protocols within the Big House. Simultaneously, both the Cube and the Vault's power fails as well. Before long, a full-scale jailbreak is occurring at each location.

Aboard the Helicarrier, the Big House quickly expands. This causes major damage to the flying headquarters of SHIELD, and it soon begins to crash in the New York Harbor. Several SHIELD agents, along with Ant-Man, Wasp and Pym's assisting Ultron robots, attempt to quell the ensuing riot. The crashing Helicarrier catches Thor's attention, and causes him to leave his conversation with Jane Foster early as he flies to the scene of the crisis.

Iron Man, on route back to New York City, gets word via his AI assistant JARVIS that an incident has occurred at the Vault, and that it is likely that several prisoners have escaped. Returning to the Vault, Iron Man is initially able to overpower some escaped criminals, but the sheer number and their organized effort causes him to be overwhelmed, especially once the Crimson Dynamo shows up. Luckily, Hawkeye (a previous prisoner of the Vault himself) rescues Iron Man and allows him to tap into the Vault's security protocols and activate the buildings self-destruct sequence. Iron Man flies out just as the building explodes, even though several dangerous criminals had already escaped.

At the Cube, an explosion causes Dr. Samson to be exposed to gamma radiation and Banner to be buried under some rubble. Samson, seeing the need to save Banner, showed surprising superhuman strength and freed Banner. Banner was able to turn into the Hulk, and proceeded to fight the escaped monstrous prisoners of the Cube. He soon realizes that he needs to get Dr. Samson to safety, and leaps away from the heavily damaged Cube. He leaves behind Samuel Sterns, the Leader, who claims the building as his own personal headquarters.

During all of the chaos, Nick Fury informs Maria Hill that the location he is most worried about is the fourth, secret super prison known as the Raft. Collecting a small group of SHIELD Agents, Fury hurries to the raft in hopes of containing it before its prisoner can escape. He proves to be too late however, as the entire facility is lifted out of the ocean and high into the air. Soon he is caught in the air and lifted, coming face to face with the psychotic Graviton, the most dangerous of the escaped prisoners.

To be continued...

Production Notes

This is the first episode of the series. It is the first of a two-part story, with the second episode premiering immediately after it as a one-hour premiere.

While this episode was the first to be broadcast on television and is thus the series premiere, it was preceded online by a "micro-series" of online shorts. These online episodes provided background into the animated Marvel universe, so several storylines were already in progress at the beginning of this episode (Iron Man attempting to collect his stolen technology, Thor's appearance on Earth, the previous jailbreak from the Vault, etc.).

The micro-series would later be combined and turned into episodes 3-7, serving as functional "prequels" after the two-part premiere. These composite episodes have since been packaged as being the earliest episodes of the series for DVD and Netflix streaming, but in terms of television broadcast, the Breakout episodes are the first two.