Broken Frontier

As we've seen with Ask Dr. Eldritch, action figures can make a compelling case for storytelling, but the trend doesn't stop at webcomics. In the wake of the "Get a Mac" commercials with Justin Long and John Hodgeman, you may remember I'm a Marvel … and I'm a DC running amid a flurry of similar parodies. ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's web series has evolved way beyond the boundaries of its station premise – but has it evolved just a bit too far?

With Marvel/DC: After Hours, the web series expanded its view from two super-heroes to twenty heroes – and their villains. Like I'm a Marvel… and I'm a DC , the premise had comic book characters uniquely aware of their franchises and marketability at the box office. But with great power also came great complexity – which, like its comic counterparts, can prove to be a curse and a blessing.

As season 2, entitled Happy Hour, debuts, the problems facing the series become more apparent. From the lengthy opening to the downright sinister Joker, the series is just becoming too serious. There's certainly some funny moments – Spider-Man driving the Batmobile, Green Goblin pining over Harley Quinn and Superman commenting on the unrealistic expectations about the Justice League movie – but comedy and continuity seem to run at two mutually exclusive directions, as opposed to other web series, like the popular machinima Red vs. Blue, where humor exists in concert with the storylines.

Ultimately, Marvel/DC: Happy Hour is well-worth your YouTube time. The time between each episode is clearly well spent, the voices are extremely well-picked and the special effects well-realized. But the show still requires more work achieving the comic timing of its comic book roots in order to truly soar.