MarvelKids

Review

Common Sense Media says

Marvel dials down the violence (a little) for young fans.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this somewhat toned-down Marvel site is "for the youngest of Marvel fans." There's still a lot of larger-than-life Super Hero action (some may say violence) and over-the-top body images, but it's all presented in a format that tweens and slightly younger kids can navigate and have fun with.

  • Positive messages0
    Super Heroes being who they are and doing what they do (even in the name of battling sinister foes), the features on this site often include a lot of growling, slamming, pounding, and other behavior that younger viewers may try to translate into real life.
  • Violence3
    As with most comics, blasting and pounding and slamming is par for the course, all in the name of a greater good, of course. For example, in one game called "Hulk Bad Attitude" players build up Hulk's "Rage Meter" for more power. Some of the dramatic, foreboding music and intense scenes could be scary for younger viewers.
  • Sex3
    The "Create Your Own Super Hero" game has over-the-top images of Super Hero bodies (male and female) for kids to dress up. The ultra-thin super-buxom female character (who makes Wonder Woman look flat-chested) and super-muscled male images may promote unhealthy body image ideals to young kids, especially girls.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
  • Consumerism3
    Ads for brands like Marvel digital comics, Lucky Charms, and McDonalds appear. Some of the games are offered as free trials with an option to buy. A disclaimer states that users are supposed to be 18 to purchase anything from the site.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
  • Privacy & safety2
    The site practices sound privacy policy and does not collect information from users younger than 13. It doesn't offer places to disclose personal information, like user pages or chat rooms. The site has a special message to parents providing detailed site guidelines for usage.
CloseExpand to see more details

What's it about?

MARVELKIDS.COM is action-packed fun for tween fans of Spider Man, Iron Man, Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and other larger-than-life Super Hero characters. The games, videos, and comics (viewed in a cool page-turning digital reader), are colorful, fast paced, and full of loud, blasting battles of good vs. evil. Some of the games and comics require a much more solid command of reading than others. There's an incredibly long list of games to try for free, but many then must be purchased. Kids under 13 must have parent approval via email to join the site.

Is it any good?

 

With games like "Armory Assault" and "Hulk Bad Attitude," Marvel.com presents graphic concepts that some parents will classify as "action" and some will put in the "violent" category. Parents need to gauge whether their younger comics fan can handle this rather intense action and can separate that kind of action from real-life play with their friends on the playground. Some parents may want to steer younger fans to the downloadable coloring pages, mazes, and word challenges. Some material on this site may not be appropriate for impressionable kids who haven't yet learned to distinguish between what's okay for Super Heroes to say and do and what's OK behavior for themselves.

Online interaction: The site says it offers the ability to send friends a "postcard," but that might be a feature they're intending to add later.

Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about why Super Heroes can do things that real people cannot. Talk about the outrageous super powers, words and actions that these characters exhibit that make them fun to watch -- not imitate. What are the good qualities in Super Heroes? Not so good? Are people ever supposed to look like Super Heroes? Talk about real healthy, strong bodies and how they look compared to the Hulk, for example. How can you be a real-life Super Hero, doing things that help people and fight off bad things? What are some real-life super powers (like kindness, giving, standing up for kids who are bullied)?

This review was written by Dana Villamagna
Kid, 13 years old
August 31, 2009
AGE
6
 
I used to use it but moved up to Marvel*.
It's all really a fun website but it's not as good as Marvel*. Even though Marvel* is NOT ok for kids.
Was this review useful?
Helped me decide (12) | Had useful details (8) | Read my mind (8)
Flag as inappropriate 
See all user reviews
This review was written by Dana Villamagna
Topics:superheroes
Genre:Fan Sites
This review was written by Dana Villamagna

Contact us to give us more feedback on our learning ratings.

 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Tell us what you think about our new Learning Ratings. We value your feedback.

About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
Our child development rating guidelines

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

More cartoon sites
For kids who love being entertained
Browse more websites
 

vote now

Will you visit MarvelKids?

Absolutely
Maybe
No way

Already visited it? What do you think?

I recommend it
It's a pass
 
More from Common Sense Media
Age-appropriate reviews
Top advice and articles

Been There? Tell us about it