The Condor (film)

The Condor is a 2007 American animated superhero film. It is based on a character created by Stan Lee and was released under his Stan Lee Presents banner. The voice cast includes Wilmer Valderrama, María Conchita Alonso, Kathleen Barr, Michael Dobson, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Cusse Mankuma. The story was developed by Stan Lee, with a script by Marv Wolfman. The film was directed by Steven E. Gordon.

The plot follows Tony Valdez, a college dropout and professional skater in San Diego. After a criminal called Taipan uses a mind-control device to cause an old man’s death, Tony receives a condor amulet from his mother. He later overhears his parents discussing a research error with their business partner, Nigel Harrington, and storms off, believing they are criminals. During a skating competition, his board is sabotaged, and his parents are killed in a crash caused by mind-controlled skaters. Tony is paralyzed but recovers with help from a therapist named Dogg. He creates a superhero identity, the Condor, using enhanced boots given by his friend Sammi. Tony eventually discovers that Taipan is Valeria, a woman he had been flirting with, and that she killed his parents. After a series of fights, Tony defeats Valeria, who falls into a fire. He later enters a relationship with Sammi and a new competition. In a post-credits scene, a mysterious clan retrieves Valeria’s body and her mind-control device.

The film was originally titled *El Lobo*. It is set in the same world as *Mosaic*, another Stan Lee Presents film, and its events apparently occur before that film. It does not take place in the Marvel universe. The Condor was released on DVD on March 20, 2007, and aired on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block later that month.

Critical reception was poor. Frederick Luis Aldama praised the film as the first animated feature-length narrative to focus on a Latino superhero, but other critics were harsh. Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed called the villain’s plan convoluted and Tony Valdez selfish and obnoxious, noting that Valderrama’s voice acting sounded bored. Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk also found Tony unlikeable and described his superhero abilities as “actually pretty lame,” with Tony simply skating and punching without finesse. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received negative reviews from three critics.