November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12) – March 20, 2020 (2020-03-20)
Marvel's Hero Project is a documentary television series by Marvel New Media for Disney+ streamed from November 12, 2019.[1] The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023.[2]
Premise
The series follows the young heroes who are making remarkable and positive change across communities by dedicating their lives in selfless acts of bravery and kindness.[1][3] Every kid who features in the show will have their own Marvel comic.[4]
In life, it doesn't take wearing a suit of iron, carrying a mythical hammer or swinging from spider webs to be a real hero. Sometimes the person who can make a positive difference in the world is the person who simply sees a problem and has the passion to find a creative solution.
Jordan Reeves, who was born with a limb difference, created a prosthetic arm that can shoot glitter called "Project Unicorn", conducted support activities for people with disabilities, allowing them to make their own inclusive designs, and co-founded an organization for supporting people with disabilities called Born Just Right with her mother.
11 year old Elijah Lee heard that his friend was abused by her parents, told her to get help, started learning more about child abuse, and spread awareness by hosting sermons and organizing child abuse awareness marches.
Adonis Watt, who was born into a sporting family lost his eyesight due to congenital glaucoma when he was five years old shattering his dreams of becoming a football player. However instead of giving up his dreams he quickly adjusted to the circumstances and became a national sensation when he scored two touchdowns being his team's running back in 2018.
12 year old Hailey Richman created a volunteer group called Puzzle Time that bring kids and Alzheimers patients together with puzzles. after seeing her grandmother battle with Alzheimer's disease. She also launched Kid Caregivers, a resource that offers support to kids taking care of family members with Alzheimers and which connects young volunteers with dementia patients.
5
"Mighty Rebekah"
Rebekah Bruesehoff
LGBTQ Community
December 6, 2019 (2019-12-06)
Rebekah, a 12 year old trans girl, transitioned at the age of 8 with the help of her parents. She became actively involved in LGBTQ support when the Trump administration took a firm stance against rights for trans students. She also championed LGBT-inclusive education in New Jersey.
Braden travels the world delivering hearing aids, just like his own, to those who need them.
9
"Radiant Jayera"
Jayera Griffin
Community Service
January 3, 2020 (2020-01-03)
Jayera works to level the playing field for those who could use support in hard financial times.
10
"Spectacular Sidney"
Sidney Keys
Literacy services for African American youth
January 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Sidney empowers other boys, encouraging literacy and bringing awareness to African-American stories.
11
"Thrilling Tokata"
Tokata Iron Eyes
Storytelling to empower indigenous youth
January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17)
Tokata advocates for other indigenous youth, amplifying their voices through storytelling.
12
"High-Kickin' Izzy"
Izzy Green
TBA
January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24)
Izzy proved everyone wrong to become a taekwondo champion, and still gives herself to teach others.
13
"Soaring Seamus"
Seamus Casey
TBA
January 31, 2020 (2020-01-31)
Seamus wants to give back to those who serve–the men and women who are willing to risk everything to ensure his freedom. He created a fundraising organization that taps into his love of rock-climbing to raise money for the families of fallen and wounded soldiers, so they can keep climbing towards their own dreams. Seamus is already a hero, but now, he's about to become a Marvel Super Hero.
12 year old Indian-American Gitanjali Rao is curious by nature, when visiting India she had a question as to why people were drinking water after warming. When Flint water crisis arose she thought of developing a sensor for detecting Lead based on an MIT paper using Carbon tubes for detecting air poisoning and named it THETHYS for which she won 2017 3M Young Scientist Lab. She also participates actively in teaching Kindergarten students STEM and her innovations.
19
"Astonishing Austin"
Austin
Growing food to end Hunger
March 13, 2020 (2020-03-13)
Austin knowing scarcity of food from his experience, started to grow a garden where people are allowed to take what ever people need.
20
"High-Flying Hailey"
Hailey
Community Support for Cognitive diseases
March 20, 2020 (2020-03-20)
Hailey when realized her twin sister Livy's ongoing medical care was putting a strain on her family's finances, she with help from her parents and community, Hailey founded a kids' organization to provide community outreach and support for families with kids having Cognitive diseases.
Development
The series is announced as one of the two documentaries by Marvel for Disney+ on April 10, 2019.[5] The editors at Marvel Comics found some innovative ways to include these kids as superheroes and to surprise them by revealing they are immortalised in Marvel Comics.[6][7][4]
Anyone can watch this show and feel like they can go out and do something. It helps families talk about difficult issues.
— Sarah Amos
Release
The first episode of the series launched on November 12, 2019, as one of the first titles for Disney+ with a new episode on every Friday.[1] The series has 20 episodes in total.[6]
Promotion
At D23 Expo the series conducted a panel and explained about the series and revealed the release plan.[1] On October 1, 2019, the first full trailer was released by Disney+.[7] At New York Comic Con in early October, the first episode was screen by Marvel featuring Jordan Reeves, creator of Project Unicorn.[8] Later on the day an exclusive clip was released online from the first episode.
Comics
The comics will be available on Marvel Unlimited and Marvel Digital Comic Store for free concurrent with the episodes.[7][4]
Reception
Critical reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 7.90/10, based on 13 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A heartwarming and powerful glimpse into the lives of some real life heroes, Marvel's Hero Project finds inspiration in a new generation of innovators."[9]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[10]
Dave Trumbore writing for Collider said, "The non-fiction show reveals the remarkable, positive change 20 young, real-life heroes are making in their own communities. These inspiring, driven and engaging kids have dedicated their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness, and now, Marvel celebrates them by welcoming them into Marvel's Hero Project."[11] Joel Keller of Decider found that the documentary provides inspirational stories, claiming it demonstrates how differences can become beneficial, while saying that the show empowers the audience and encourage creativity.[12]CNET's Bonnie Burton declared, "Marvel's Hero Project on Disney Plus spotlights real kids making a difference."[13] Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media rated the documentary 5 out of 5 stars, stating: "Marvel's Hero Project is an uplifting series that profiles heroic tweens and teens who are taking leadership roles in their communities and proactively trying to making a positive difference in the world."[14] Matt Fowler for IGN rated the series 7,5 out of 10 and wrote: "Marvel's Hero Project is a well-intentioned and nicely-presented packaging of profiles featuring some uniquely inspiring young warriors willfully making the world a better place. It's not entirely suited for a 30 minute format, and you can often feel the strain, but it's never not uplifting."[15]
