The teaser trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron is here.
The sequel directed by Joss Whedon reassembles Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against one of the greatest villains from comics and introduces two of the most controversial characters in the Marvel Universe.
In the tradition of Avengers For Virgins – a quick hit of what you need to know if you’re new to Marvel via the movies or a longtime comics reader who wants a reminder – here’s some of the coolest moments in the trailer to catch up and keep you in the know.
Ultron! James Spader (The Blacklist) is the malevolent voice you heard coming from the metal monster who is one of the greatest, most relentless Avengers villains. Ultron starts out an artificial intellience capable of expanding its intelligence and ability to download itself into one or more suits of armor. Tony Stark will develop Ultron and the Iron Legion as an army standing for law and order until the A.I. evolves into pure evil. I will never think of Pinocchio the same way again thanks to Whedon and Spader!
Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver! Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson play powerhouse twins last seen in the post-credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier as prisoners/experiments of Hydra’s Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) In comics Wanda and Pietro are mutants – children of Magneto who first appeared in X-Men as members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The twins reformed and became fan-favorite Avengers. In the movie universe the twins may have received their powers from Hydra experiments and will become pawns of Ultron against the heroes. Scarlet Witch has a “hex power” to alter probabilities and becomes a master of “Chaos Magic” and Quicksilver can move at super-speed. (Yes, there was a Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past.)
Iron Patriot no more? I watched multiple times trying to figure out if Ultron is tossing the Iron Patriot armor (worn by Don Cheadle in Iron Man 3) about when he invades Avengers Tower. It could just be one of Stark’s Iron Legion units but how ironic if Stark’s creations killed one of his best friends?
Hulkbuster Armor! Tony Stark gives his armor a major upgrade in the sequel. The Hulkbusters are a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit built to battle the Hulk. It looks like Stark built armor ready to take on the Green Goliath as a contingency plan.
Andy Serkis as? The master of motion capture acting (Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) plays himself and looks pure evil. I suspect Serkis could be a Hydra operative but the more I thought about it…he could make a great Baron Mordo – arch rival of Doctor Strange – soon to be a Marvel movie!
Black Widow’s past. The brief ballet shot is a hint we’ll learn about Natasha’s life before she was recruited into the K.G.B. and then S.H.I.E.L.D. Scarlett Johansson may play scenes of a younger Natasha during her years as a ballerina before training in the Red Room earning the “red” in her ledger as an assassin.
Thor shirtless. It may not be just to show Chris Hemsworth’s natural special effects. Thor just lost his ability to wield the mystical hammer in the comics so the movie version of the Odinson could become unworthy in the sequel.
Captain America’s broken shield. Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier) and Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson aka Falcon) are both signed for long-term deals. Bucky took over for Steve Rogers when he “died” and Falcon just became the new Captain America. Could one of those comic book transitions happen in this or future Marvel movies?
Turning On Tony! Hulk and Thor both strike Iron Man in the teaser. If it turns out Stark really unleashed Ultron he could become public enemy number one. News that Robert Downey Jr. will join the cast of Captain America 3 made fans think the plot would be based on Civil War. Between the Hydra infiltration and collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Stark’s role in unleashing Ultron – the world could be ready to put the hammer down on heroes and the government passing the Superhero Registration Act setting the stage for Steve Rogers vs. Stark.
Here is is again in case you know you want to see it:
Avengers: Age of Ultron arrives May 1, 2015.
There’s still much more including a first look at the Vision (Paul Bettany) so stay tuned Avengers fans.
What was your favorite moment from the trailer? Do you have a question? Give us a comment or join the conversation on Twitter.
By Editor