Its like every comic book nerd and geek dream come true. A collection of their favourite marvel heroes coming together in one big blockbuster movie that before being announced, could only be imagined, read in comics, or seen in animated films and a television series. In 2012, The Avengers in a first will combine a host of characters from different films and bring them together to form the almighty super team.
Sure, we've seen films such as X-Men, and Fantastic Four where there are teams of superheroes, but this is something more. No disrespect to the films I just mentioned. But the heroes in this film have all had their individual films or two and have been successful solo.
Captain America
Steve Rogers. A super soldier perfectly frozen and 'thawed out' in modern day society. The last Avenger to have a film, and the original Avenger if you like. And if you think about it, Cap' is the Avenger that ties all the others together.
There is the appearance of Iron Man/Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark who is responsible for creating his costume and indestructible shield. There is also the Stark Expo which makes an early appearance. Then there is the Cosmic Cube which the plot of Captain America is centered around which makes it's link the magical world of Thor and we even catch a glimpse of Asgard when a portal is opened and we are able to catch a glimpse of Thor and Loki's world. There is also a link to the Incredible Hulk through the use of the super soldier serum General Ross makes reference to, and uses to give to Emile Blonsky that transforms him into Abomination.
If the comics are anything to go by, Captain America will be leading the team on the field and will mist probably clash with Tony Stark over leadership and decision making. And it will be very interesting to see how he is able to lead such a big team, and how the team will react to his leadership and 'out-dated' values and ideas.
There is the appearance of Iron Man/Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark who is responsible for creating his costume and indestructible shield. There is also the Stark Expo which makes an early appearance. Then there is the Cosmic Cube which the plot of Captain America is centered around which makes it's link the magical world of Thor and we even catch a glimpse of Asgard when a portal is opened and we are able to catch a glimpse of Thor and Loki's world. There is also a link to the Incredible Hulk through the use of the super soldier serum General Ross makes reference to, and uses to give to Emile Blonsky that transforms him into Abomination.
If the comics are anything to go by, Captain America will be leading the team on the field and will mist probably clash with Tony Stark over leadership and decision making. And it will be very interesting to see how he is able to lead such a big team, and how the team will react to his leadership and 'out-dated' values and ideas.
Iron Man
Arguably the most successful character movie of all The Avengers. Robert Downey Jr. has literally made Tony Stark his own character, bringing charm and charisma to the eccentric billionaire playboy. Starting from Howard Stark down to Tony, the Starks and the Iron Man films are responsible for bringing in the technological side of the Avengers world. From the Iron Man suits to the Stark Expo and its collection of advanced technology ideas, it will be a lot easier to believe some the weapons and other contraptions that we will see in the movie as we have come to know of them already.
Tony Stark himself has played a pivotal role in The Avengers as we learned at the ends of both Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk that he is more than just a team member. At the end of the Hulk movie we saw him confront General Ross on his Hulk problem and says to him "We're putting a team together", and at the end of both Iron Man films is seemingly the first recruited Avenger and has become a consultant for them.
Thor
A surprise success, as Thor is one of the least popular members of The Avengers to fans. I was worried while the film was in progress as I thought they might make him speak in the dialect that he spoke in the comic books and would be off putting for the rest of the film. But they managed to create a Thor character who was arrogant but spoke in a toned down version of his comic book self. There was also the worry that it might be too much of a fantasy film and would easily derail, but I think it is safe to say that it was a good balance between fantasy and realism.
Bringing the magical element to the Avengers world, Thor showed us a magical world in Asgard, an brought about different elements of that world to the Avengers universe. And it seems that we will see more of that as his brother Loki is the villain and is looking to abuse that magic. If we're to follow the timeline in all the Avenger related movies the Captain America is the first of all of them. And from that movie is where we first learn of any magical existence and the use the Cosmic Cube that is featured in the the movie. Red Skull even refers to it as "the jewel of Odin's treasure room". Further down the Avengers timeline, the cube makes an appearance in 'Iron Man 2' in the research notes Howard Stark leaves for Tony. Even further along, the cube makes a final appearance in 'Thor' at the end of the credits with Loki discovering it's location. And due to this magic and Loki, we have a villain and his use of magic to look forward to in The Avengers.
Bringing the magical element to the Avengers world, Thor showed us a magical world in Asgard, an brought about different elements of that world to the Avengers universe. And it seems that we will see more of that as his brother Loki is the villain and is looking to abuse that magic. If we're to follow the timeline in all the Avenger related movies the Captain America is the first of all of them. And from that movie is where we first learn of any magical existence and the use the Cosmic Cube that is featured in the the movie. Red Skull even refers to it as "the jewel of Odin's treasure room". Further down the Avengers timeline, the cube makes an appearance in 'Iron Man 2' in the research notes Howard Stark leaves for Tony. Even further along, the cube makes a final appearance in 'Thor' at the end of the credits with Loki discovering it's location. And due to this magic and Loki, we have a villain and his use of magic to look forward to in The Avengers.
Hulk
After the disaster that was 'Hulk', Marvel decided to another movie that wasn't a sequel but wasn't a reboot either. And it turned out to be a genius move because it was one of their better movies. How Hulk will play out in the film will be interesting to see because at the end of The Incredible Hulk, it seemed like either Banner had managed to control his transformations or he has lost of it all together. But from the teaser, Banner is on board the helicarrier with the rest of the Avengers so we can assume he does have control.
A downer is that Ed Norton who played the character in 'The Incredible Hulk' won't be back to play Bruce Banner, but instead has been replaced for Mark Ruffalo. A positive to come out of this is that Hulk will be a motion captured character this time, rather than being complete CGI and will be using none other than Lou Ferrigno, the original Hulk of the 80's TV series.
In comics and animation, Hulk has always had a rivalry with Thor and have clashed on multiple occasions. Add to that the fact that the villain of movie is Thor's brother, Loki, who has manged to stir things between the two and even control Hulk at one point and you can't help but wonder if there will be any friction or rivalry on screen. And this may stretching, but a possible on screen fight seeing as Thor is one of the few who can go toe to toe with Hulk.
Black Widow
Making her first appearance in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanov has already made her presence and role known. Working as an undercover agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Black Widow has displayed her skills as a martial artist and weaponry, as well as her skill for undercover covert work.
In that appearance we also see her as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent as she was used undercover to scout Tony stark to see whether or not he was suitable for a role on The Avengers team, and giving Nick Fury a report on him.
With any luck we'll see more of her displaying her skills on screen and more of a development of her character.
In that appearance we also see her as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent as she was used undercover to scout Tony stark to see whether or not he was suitable for a role on The Avengers team, and giving Nick Fury a report on him.
With any luck we'll see more of her displaying her skills on screen and more of a development of her character.
Hawkeye
Clint Barton is a character that I liken to the Green Arrow arrow from the DC Universe as they are both similar in the fact that none of them have any powers but both are masters of archery. Making his first appearance in Thor in a cameo, Hawkeye will be an interesting addition to the team and movie as he hasn't displayed any of his skills and only teased the use of his crossbow in his cameo.
Well known for his range of different arrows and weapons, which of these he will actually use in the film and what other skills he will display will be intriguing.
Well known for his range of different arrows and weapons, which of these he will actually use in the film and what other skills he will display will be intriguing.
Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D
Samuel L. Jackson. Known as one of the coolest actors on the planet is Nick Fury. And based on the version from The Ultimates, there is no one else who has the look or persona to pull of a convincing General Fury.
Making cameo appearances in all the pre-Avengers movies, Nick Fury has been the one other character besides Agent Coulson that links the Avengers together. But now we will see him have a bigger role and longer screen time which is exciting for me or anyone for that matter.
The even more exciting thing is that we will see a lot more of S.H.I.E.LD and the way they operate. From the teaser trailer, there is a shot of the character on board the Helicarrier, the base of operations for S.H.I.E.L.D. Interestingly there is the appearance of Maria Hill who for a brief period replaces Fury and commander of S.H.I.E.L.D. Another character who makes a return and is likely to have a bigger role is Agent Coulson who played a fairly large role in Thor, and made cameos acroos the other films.
Making cameo appearances in all the pre-Avengers movies, Nick Fury has been the one other character besides Agent Coulson that links the Avengers together. But now we will see him have a bigger role and longer screen time which is exciting for me or anyone for that matter.
The even more exciting thing is that we will see a lot more of S.H.I.E.LD and the way they operate. From the teaser trailer, there is a shot of the character on board the Helicarrier, the base of operations for S.H.I.E.L.D. Interestingly there is the appearance of Maria Hill who for a brief period replaces Fury and commander of S.H.I.E.L.D. Another character who makes a return and is likely to have a bigger role is Agent Coulson who played a fairly large role in Thor, and made cameos acroos the other films.
The official teaser trailer:
A very good fan made trailer:
