He did it! Joss Whedon took 4 major movie franchises and married them into an amazing film that has won critical praise and soared past the 1 billion dollar mark. Will Joss Whedon re-assemble a sequel to The Avengers?
“You know, I’m very torn,” Whedon told The LA Times Hero Complex before the film’s U.S. opening. “It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.”
For the entire interview (I highly recommend this site too) here’s the Hero Complex link.
One of the many reason I love Whedon and loved The Avengers is his gift for writing and directing strong female characters – that’s why I named Black Widow my MVP.
Avengers vs. X-Men #4 Wolverine chose the Avengers. Now Logan is abandoned on his own rogue agenda. Hope is flaring up with violent bursts of power – she already deep-fried Wolverine! The Phoenix Force is bearing down on Earth and Thor could make the ultimate sacrifice to stop it.
AvX Vs #2 Spider-Man against the Colossal Juggernaut, Captain American against Gambit. Those are the fights on the awesome cover but are we going to see the aftermath of the Iron Man/Emma Frost battle?
Winter Soldier #5 Bucky and Black Widow versus machine gun armed super gorillas and a squad of sleeper agents trained by the one time Captain America as they face to prevent all out war in the homeland Doctor Doom.
Manhattan Projects #3 A twisted tale of science fiction and alternate history. Creating the atomic bomb was nothing compared to the infamous government think tank’s creations in Jonathan Hickman’s series that pushes storytelling to a new level.
Nightwing #9 Showdown at Gotham City Hall as Nightwing must prevent an assassin from reaching its target. Bruce and Dick’s friendship has been tested by the exposure of a long kept secret but will any of the heroes survive the Night of the Owls.
This Geek’s Opinion: The Avengers exceeded all my expectations! Joss Whedon delivered an action packed epic with drama, humor and big surprises. The entire cast delivered pitch perfect performances but if I had to pick an MVP, I keep thinking how much I loved Black Widow.
I knew Natasha would kick ass in the action scenes I loved getting more of her back story. Joss Whedon and Scarlett Johansson crafted a multi-faceted, fractured and fascinating Natasha Romanoff. They gave us enough of her haunted past to make us connect with the Widow. The two ‘interrogation” scenes were the skillful marriage of script and acting. I never expected Natasha to take on Loki one on one.
Hawkeye & Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers courtesy Marvel
I’m not sure a Black Widow solo movie will happen but I’m still hoping for SHIELD movie with the Widow, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and I definitely hope Scarlett will be in Captain America 2.
If you want to see Black Widow at her sexy super spy best then you should definitely read The Winter Soldier series.
You may have heard a little something about a movie called The Avengers. You can’t escape the promotion. Hype is high. It’s the first time this many iconic super heroes from other blockbusters are in the same big movie. Here’s what you need to know if you’re never seen opened an Avengers comic book or seen the previous Marvel films: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America or Thor.
Spoiler Warning: this guide gives away the endings of those previously named movies.
1. SHIELD is an international agency charged with protecting Earth led by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson.) The Avengers Project is a gathering of super powered heroes to fight the global threats no single hero can handle alone – that big threat is here.
2. Captain America: The First Avenger Chris Evans plays Steve Rogers, a skinny, weak Brooklyn kid with a big heart who wanted to serve his country in World War II. Steve volunteered to be part of a top-secret experiment to create Super Soldiers. Steve was chosen because “a weak man knows the value of strength” and he became Captain America. Cap stopped a rogue Nazi scientist known as the Red Skull. The super serum transformed the man into an insane monster. Cap saved America from the Skull’s flying superweapon by crashing it into the arctic. Cap was frozen. SHIELD scientists discovered and revived Steve who was shocked to learn decades of his life are gone. He’s alone in a modern world he doesn’t understand.
Iron Man from Marvel.com
3. Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is an arrogant genius inventor/playboy. Tony was kidnapped in Afghanistan and learned that his company’s weapons were being sold on the black market against the terrorists that U.S. forces were fighting. While in captivity Tony builds a suit of armor to escape his captors and protect the world as Iron Man.
4. Thor What the Vikings hailed as Norse Gods were mighty beings from a mystical realm called Asgard. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was the God of Thunder and son of Odin, King of Asgard. Thor’s arrogance ignited an ancient war with the Frost Giants (a rival race that almost destroyed Earth eons ago) and Odin stripped Thor of his powers and sent him to Midgard or Earth. Thor learned lessons of humility, love and what it meant to be a true hero.
Marvel’s Avengers The Hulk courtesy Marvel Studios
5. Hulk Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is a scientist exposed to an experimental treatment that turns him into a monstrous, childlike Hulk. Anger triggers the change so Bruce has tried to live a secluded existence while trying to discover a cure. Bruce will be recruited back to use his brains and Hulk like strength to fight the alien army – the big question – how do you control a rampaging Hulk?
6. Black Widow Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is a Russian super spy recruited to SHIELD by Nick Fury. She has no super powers but is highly skilled in combat and weapons. Natasha was working undercover as Tony’s assistant in Iron Man 2. In the comic books, Natasha has dated Hawkeye.
Hawkeye & Black Widow in Marvel’s The Avengers courtesy Marvel
7. Hawkeye Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) is a tough, resourceful SHIELD agent and an expert archer. You saw Barton briefly in Thor. In the comic books, Clint is a former criminal turned good guy with a sarcastic sense of humor.
7. SHIELD Agents Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) is the no-nonsense government operative who appeared in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America. Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) is Nick Fury’s second in command.
8. The Big Bad Guy =Loki Thor’s half-brother is the treacherous Loki (Tom Hiddleston.) The God of Mischief is a master of manipulation and sorcery who orchestrated Thor’s banishment. Thor defeated Loki but the spiteful brother refused to let Thor save his life so we last saw him falling out of Asgard into deep space. Loki is back and has declared war on Earth and he’s allied with an army of aliens – this leads to the formation of the Avengers.
If you’re in the Seattle area like myself and want to catch up SIFF Cinema presents Avengers Assemble! You can see all the previous Marvel movies each night! The Incredible Hulk Monday, Iron Man I & II Tuesday, Thor in 3D Wednesday and Captain America: The First Avenger in 3D Thursday. Each night members of the cast (and local heroes) of Citizen Heroeswill be introducing the films.
You don’t have to be an Avengers expert to enjoy the movie – just come, have fun and feel like a kid again! Hope you have a great time!
If you have any Avengers related questions please contact me by leaving a comment, email or following me on Facebook or on Twitter @comicsblend.
By Editor – thanks to Marvel for the images, the characters and for making this movie happen!
Updated: How do these characters tie together? Captain America. The Red Skull was obsessed with myths and the supernatural. He recovered a lost Asgardian artifact called the Tesseract (in the comic books it’s called the Cosmic Cube) that fueled his super army’s weaponry. The artifact is in SHIELD custody. Another fact: Tony Stark’s father Howard was a part of the team that helped turn Steve Rogers into Captain America.
Scarlett Johansson is smoking at Black Widow in Marvel’s The Avengers. The actress apparently took a beating while making the flick. On the red carpet before the world premiere Johansson revealed talked about her stunt work and almost revealed a spoiler to MTV News.
“The stunt sequence that I’ve been the most proud of is probably my fight with…” Johansson stops. “Actually, I don’t know if I can say!”
She looks at someone off camera and asks, “Can I say? I don’t know if I can.”
When MTV News asked her if it’s Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Johansson replied, “No,” and her eyes became playfully shifty as she continued, “All I can say is that I had to fight someone else in this film, and they beat the crap out of me in stunt rehearsals. I have to say I could not believe it.”
This Geek’s Opinion: Wouldn’t it be a cool sequence if Loki -being the trickster that he is – turns Black Widow and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) or Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) against each other?
A God. A Super Soldier. A Genius in a High-Tech Suit of Armor. But Earth’s Mightiest Heroes need more than just the big guns to get it done. When the Avengers need stealth and razor-sharp focus – they can count on Black Widow and Hawkeye.
Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson play the Avengers born without super powers but are still power players on a mission. The two stars are featured in a new interview on Marvel.com
“We are humans with high skill sets,” Renner said. “[Hawkeye and Black Widow] fight well together…and they complement each other.”
“Both of us fight hand-to-hand…but we’re fighting in a different way than everybody else. We do a lot of fighting on the ground,” added Johansson.
In the comics, Hawkeye and Black Widow are currently starring in Rick Remender’s Secret Avengers. Hawkeye leads the covert team. Both characters will appear in Avengers Vs. X-Men and AvX: Vs.
Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner on sete in The Avengers courtesy Marvel.com
Scarlett Johansson will reprise her role as Black Widow in Iron Man 3 according to Latino Review who have a cast list. Black Widow was an undercover SHIELD agent posing as Tony Stark’s assistant in Iron Man 2. The third solo movie starring the armored Avenger starts filming in North Carolina this May.
In a previous interview Johansson expressed her willingness to star in a Black Widow solo film. This post also looks at great stories that could make a cool film.
This photo below is one of ten new Avengers pictures on Marvel.com.
