'Avengers Assemble' first trailer, episode available online

While Marvel is blazing a trail in theaters with "Iron Man 3" and the upcoming "Thor: The Dark World," their animated counterparts are set to make fires of their own in the upcoming "Avengers Assemble."

The first official trailer is at last here for animated adventure series, showing heroes Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk and newcomer The Falcon in action. "People will be blown away," said head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb. "Our job is to create stories that make your heart race, to re-create that feeling you get when you first open the comic book."

Indeed, executive producers on the series reads like a murderer's row of Marvel writers, including Joe Casey (Uncanny X-Men), Joe Kelly (Deadpool), and Steven T. Seagle (Alpha Flight) as well as artist Duncan Rouleau. The four producers are the brains behind previous animated efforts "Ben 10" and "Generator Rex" through their collective Man of Action Studios.

Kelly said of the series, "These are big stories and big villains. They all have a rich history as far as their individual back-stories. There are definitely guests stars that appear. Like a lot of shows, we spend a lot of our time in the beginning of the first season just focused on our core cast and what those dynamics are like... it's inspired by the movie [but] it's also different because of who our audience is. Getting to know the animated universe versions of these characters is a lot of fun."

Loeb continued, teasing a rogue's gallery for our heroes to tangle with. "We have the opportunity to face down some of the greatest villains that exist in the Marvel Universe, and Red Skull plays a huge part."

Reportedly, Red Skull and M.O.D.O.K. are primary members of a group of villains who unite in opposition of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Quesada said, "There's an interesting blend of characters here. At the end of the day, what makes the Cabal the most formidable threat we could think of is that these are immensely powerful and evil villains in their own right. We can't give you details about who else is in the Cabal, but I assure you they're all level 10 villains."

Check out the trailer below -- "Avengers Assemble" will officially kick off July 7th at 11AM on Disney XD. In the meantime, fans can check out the first episode for free on iTunes right here!