The setup for the show is that a decade ago, The Cyclonian Empire took over Atmos because of a betrayal in The Sky Knights that led to the annihilation of the organization's top squadron, The Storm Hawks. Now, the last heir to the Storm Hawks legacy has reclaimed the squad's air-ship, The Condor, and reassembled a new Storm Hawk squadron, and the show starts up with Aerrow taking his team to be officially recognized as a Sky Knight squadron. The first episode, a two parter titled "Age of Heroes", has the team approaching the Sky Council only to be rejected because of their young age.
Just as the squad leaves, the Sky Council is invaded by a rogue Sky Knight squad and the most powerful crystal ever, The Aurora Stone, is stolen and brought to The Master Cyclonis who plans to use it to bring a massive storm across all of Atmos. When the rest of the Sky Knights are defeated, the Storm Hawks believe they have what it takes to save the world, and maybe in return they will be officially recognized as a Sky Knight squadron.
Not only does this episode introduce the new squad to Master Cyclonis (a woman about the age of the Storm Hawks), but it also introduces them to us. Aerrow is the leader of the squad and the one who is trying to revive the Storm Hawk name. At his side as co-pilot is a small furry creature called Radarr. Aerrow's wing-man and marksman goes by the name of Finn, while their mechanic and strong guy is a Wallop called Junko, and The Condor's pilot is a pessimistic doom-seeking character by the name of Stork. Finally, there is the team's only female member, Piper, who specializes in navigation, tactics and fancies herself a master at mixing various types of crystals.
The other episode on this DVD that I liked was called "The Code"; in it the Storm Hawks have to go through a series of challenges against another Sky Knight squadron, the Rex Guardians (rumored to be the oldest squadron), in order to try to win a Phoenix Crystal. Something is up, however, when even though our heroes seem to win every challenge, some technicality disqualifies them and the Rex Guardians, while claiming to be honorable, seem to be cheating their way to victory.
As for special features, there are two brief features that showcase various aspects of the series in montages. "The Storm Hawks Squadron" goes through each member of the team and shows them doing what they do best, while "The Storm Hawks Weapons" focuses on the tools of choice that each character uses (like Junko's Knuckle Busters or Finn's Energy Crossbow).
While this series has only been on for a season or so, it seems to have generated a good amount of momentum. Its unique visual style has a 3D cel-shaded feel to it that really helps it to stand out. If you've had a chance to see this show on Cartoon Network, and you like it or want to see how it all began, then definitely look into picking up Storm Hawks: Vol. 1 Hawks Rise Again. It's a fun ride.
