Statistically, you have probably seen this movie at least 3 times by now.

The world has spoken with their collective wallets, and The Avengers all just got really rich. SHIELD easily has enough to fund their future operations without worrying about rising gas prices, the retainer costs for a group of super heroes, or any money spent on national defense (they basically cornered that market). However, the present state of Hollywood is based on the principal of complete one-upmanship. Lets not forget that Avatar was really cool not that long ago, but we all kinda forgot about that when we heard Titanic was coming out in 3D. Christopher Nolan just got really pissed.

Yup, Nolan looks just like this.

Mr. Nolan is now in the enviable position of taking the crown from the reigning kings, and I think he has a legit shot at it. The most recent trailer for The Dark Knight Rises was released slightly ahead of time on the Monday before The Avengers came out, after previously being announced that it was to be a trailer in the theaters alone. I was still super pumped about The Avengers, but I had Bane in the back of my mind the entire time. The Avengers may be casting the bigger shadow right now (most likely from the big, green, angry guy), but I would not be surprised to see the Hollywood machine make The Dark Knight Rises even more lucrative. It was just announced this week that Mountain Dew and Warner Bros. have teamed up to give movie goers a digital experience that seems quite a bit more impressive than the partnership between The Avengers and Acura. (And hopefully slightly less obnoxious.) The campaign includes the new flavor, Mtn Dew Dark Berry, and a website, DEWgothamcity.com (set to release June 18th), will be releasing exclusive content and story lines.

Either way, I am already riding the 5 Hour Energy high from The Avengers baditude, and can not wait to jump on the DEWness of The Dark Knight Rises.

Another X-Team, just what we needed.

First of all, calling this team “The First X-Men” doesn’t make much sense. I don’t need to tell you that the X-Men are Xavier’s creation, and the team didn’t exist before he created it. More importantly, the X-Men aren’t just a stand in for any mutant get-together. They are the followers of Xavier’s dream. That’s what separates an X-Man from something like Magneto’s Brotherhood. The only reason to use the X-Men in the title is to clearly brand this as part of the franchise. As a result it feels derivative and lazy, rather than something fresh and new.

This is a similar problem shared with the series “Avengers 1959”. Yeah, the idea of an old school Nick Fury black ops squad is cool. Very cool in fact. It just has nothing to do with the Avengers legacy. The Avengers were formed when the founding members (Thor, Iron Man, etc) came together to fight a foe no one hero could oppose alone. Since this earlier group had no impact on that event, they just have nothing to do with the Avengers legacy. Just because you say a team is the Avengers or the X-Men doesn’t actually make it true. There are some cases where you can stretch or subvert a title (Dark Avengers is a good example), but it usually doesn’t serve any story purpose.

We also have the issue of making Wolverine the be-all-end-all of the mutant race. Now, Wolverine is awesome, and has proven himself to be one of the most interesting characters in comics. His story also illustrates how governments treated mutants as weapon and experiments, bringing in a rich layer to the mythology of the race. But when you start saying that Wolverine was there since the beginning and has served every function possible, the story of the X-Men starts feeling like the story of Wolverine. Wolverine should be important, but he isn’t the main character of the mutant race. If anyone could claim that title, it would be held by Professor X and Magneto. 

Or possibly Skin, the beloved mutant with 6 feet of extra skin.

I will say that the core concept of the team is a good one. There would certainly have been some kind of mutant activity before Xavier, and I even like the idea of Magneto being involved. I just don’t like the way it’s packaged and the inevitable slew of continuity issues. This book does have potential, but has somewhat of an uphill battle ahead of it.

Short answer yes, long answer maybe. There are plenty of reasons why a Justice League movie could happen, and I see two ways of going about the franchise.

Option One: Follow the Avengers.

This could take a while if every Justice League member gets a movie.

Give each hero a solo movie before building up to the big crossover. One of the joys of the Avengers was seeing these unique heroes who each had their own individual mythologies and styles meet together despite coming from entirely different genres. The challenge was that each solo movie had to work on its own right. If any of them had failed, it would have seriously jeopardized the team up. The up side was that Marvel had a blank slate, where they could build from the ground up with few complications. They had an opportunity, produced a series of quality movies that lead up to their mega event.

DC is at a bit of a loss here since they don’t have that blank slate. Their first real attempt at crafting a wider universe failed with Green Lantern. One way or another, they’re going to have to seriously reconsider how they approach the character. On the other hand, Nolan’s unprecedented Batman saga has been so good it almost gets in the way of the Justice League. This incarnation of the character just doesn’t work in a world of superheroes, but with the trilogy coming to a close they might move forward with a version of the character that does.

The key to this pathway is going to be Henry Cavill and Man of Steel. If DC can revitalize Superman, this would be an excellent foundation for their larger than life characters. The problem is that Nolan insisted on making Batman a solo hero, one who’s story and mythology wasn’t complicated by the rest of the DCU. DC also has to figure out how to finally adapt Wonder Woman and the Flash before the whole team gets together.

Even though this is the most satisfying option, there is just too much to juggle here. Batman and Superman are off doing their own things, and Warner Bros just can’t figure out how to capture the rest of the team.

Option Two: Straight to the Justice League

Big names like Batman, Superman and Flash need no introduction. Cyborg probably does.

Ignore the crossover factor, and just go straight into the Justice League as its own continuity. Bring in new versions of each character (mostly) and create a unique, new mythology for the team. In terms of visual style, I recommend something close to Jim Lee’s work on the New 52 version of the team. Each character has their own style, but the repeated design elements brings everyone together in a fun way.

Is this the ideal solution? No. But it’s one that can work and has potential. If this is the case, I suggest that DC avoids an origin story. Have it be an early version of the team, but the origin story itself for the Justice League never really mattered. We all understand the concept of the team and don’t need an extensive explanation. And honestly, I’m nervous an updated origin would be an inferior rip off of the Avengers’ team issues. DC heroes were always a bit less flawed, and although there will be conflict on the team, we shouldn’t see as much as the Avengers.

Regardless of which option they choose, the most important ingredient is having a unified vision. Not that each movie needs to fit a certain mold, but some coordination is in order. And for the Justice League itself, a special director is going to be needed to handle such a huge showing. Joss Whedon was someone who understood the Avengers and knew exactly how to handle each character. DC needs a director and writer with that same understanding of the characters and how to make them work together. It’s a tough request, but it can be done.

Spoiler: Hulk gets angry. 

There was a lot of speculation before The Avengers about the fate of fan favorite Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson. Many fans thought that Joss Whedon’s reputation for killing off popular characters meant that Agent Coulson wouldn’t survive the movie. It turns out fans were right, as Loki turned Coulson into a human shish kabob. The scene itself was actually pivotal to the movie, serving as the catalyst that brought the separate members of the Avengers together as a team. Despite the logical necessity for this move, there has still been a lot of talk about how Joss Whedon has done it again. The only problem is that it might not have been Whedon’s decision after all.

We miss you already, Phil.

According to MTV’s Splash Page, Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, is the one who decided Agent Coulson had to die. Whedon was quoted as saying:

“In our first meeting Kevin Feige said, this is what we’re gonna do and I said, ‘Oh but you have to go out there and tell everybody that it was your idea because this is going to get me so much s—. Because they are all going to be like, “Oh he did it again!”‘ It was stipulated from the beginning, and I completely agree that it was the right thing to do, and so did Clark. Who said in the early days, when I was busy apologizing for it, ‘In a movie like this, with what’s going on if there isn’t some toll, it’s just irresponsible story telling.’”

This is very interesting for several reasons. First off, we have to wonder how much convincing it took for Whedon to agree to kill off such a popular character. His reputation is certainly deserved, as every Firefly found out in Serenity when Wash came to a similarly skewered end as Coulson did in The Avengers. This could just be Whedon deflecting some of the heat, but things get very interesting if Feige was the on who decided Coulson had to die.

Kevin Feige has been working with different directors for about 5 years now making Marvel movies that have led up to The Avengers. The man certainly has some practice at creating lead-ins to the next installment of Marvel’s steady stream of blockbusters. Whedon said that Feige decided on Coulson’s death in their first meeting, which makes me wonder how much of the story had been decided on at that point. Maybe Feige had already decided that Coulson had to die to bring the Avengers together, but it could also lend some support to the popular fan theory that Coulson will be brought back as Vision, an android member of the Avengers. If feige has indeed planned on introducing Vision to later movies, this does seem like a good way to introduce him to the team. Coulson was a valuable SHIELD agent with ties to various members of the Avengers, so fitting him in on the team would be simple way to add a new character. Hopefully this is the plan, because life is always a little brighter with Phil Coulson around.

Coulson’s face is red because he saw Cap changing.

A superhero should have a better secret hideout than this.

The sequel will have to start shooting in August, with plenty of shake ups in the production crew. Replacing Matthew Vaughn will be Jeff Wadlow, whose resume includes Never Back Down and not much else. Wadlow will also be writing the movie, which really doesn’t fill me with much hope.

I’m really not that big a fan of the original movie. I know Kick-Ass has plenty of admirers, but the movie didn’t do much more me and was kind of forgettable. It’s a movie that relies mostly on shock value, awkwardly being a satire of the superhero genre and pretty bland characters. Mark Millar’s material always struck me as being edgy for the sake of edgy, and I can’t really tell what the overall message of the movie is. Nevertheless, plenty of people thought it was fun, so there is some fan interest. The movie was fairly profitable, making almost $100 million off a $30 million budget (actually a lot more when marketing is taken into account).

My biases aside, little of this news inspires a ton of promise. We have a director with a short (and poor) resume. The writers of the first movie won’t be involved. Chloe Moretz might not be able to return based on other commitments. And to top it off, the source material is weak. Kick-Ass 2 is a significantly inferior comic when compared to the original, and is going to need a lot of work in the script stage. I suppose the premise becomes somewhat relevant since it deals with the introduction of superhero teams, which people now have more exposure to after the Avengers.

The film is due for next May. Although considering this is a Mark Millar project, expect it to be delayed at least six months.

The Wasp

The team could use some more eye candy.

Of all the founding Avengers, only Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym were left out. I don’t blame Whedon for the decision: they have odd power sets that might be tricky to establish, especially without a solo movie to set them up. But if Ant-Man does indeed get a movie soon, I would be shocked if one of the pair doesn’t make it to the team. Which is great for me, since my dream team is the movie roster plus the Wasp. Whedon openly expressed his desire to include Janet in the current outing, so she seems like a somewhat likely choice. Ant-Man could also join the team, but if I had to choose between the two then Wasp makes the cut. Consider her the most likely option.

Nova

If we are going off his comic book track record, it’s probably best to just let him stay in space.

Okay, so he was only on the team for about five minutes before things went horribly, horribly wrong. I get that. But if the Avengers are going to face big, cosmic level threats, it would useful to have someone more familiar with that realm. Nova is a great character who could add new layers to the mythology of the team, opening new story possibilities. How does he join the team? Nova comes to Earth to warn our heroes about the arrival of the team’s latest threat.

It’s also worth noting that he has an awesome costume and powers that would look great on screen.

Now, Quasar might seem like a better candidate with his longer history on the team, but I have a feeling he’ll be seen with the Guardians of the Galaxy first. He just seems to mesh better with Peter Quill and company if you ask me.

The Vision

We must know if robots can love.

He might not be a founding member, but Vision is as close to classic Avengers as you get. The Avengers is a team that works because of its diverse roster, and adding an artificial intelligence would spice things up nicely. Not to mention are some fun fan theories about how the Vision could join in the team if you want spoilers. Vision is an important part of the team’s legacy, and if Marvel ever decided to use Ultron as a villain then he will make for a great part of the team.

Captain Marvel

Is it cheating for Marvel to use a character named Marvel?

The Marvel Universe is getting bigger, and it’s only a matter of time before more alien races starting getting taking a look at our planet. One such race is the Kree.  If the Kree are involved in the sequel (either as invaders or allies), then it would be useful to have a sympathetic face. Adding an alien to the team would really change up the dynamic, and Captain Marvel could offer some cool new conflicts for the group. An alternative is Carol Danver, or Ms. Marvel. Her origin would have to be retooled and streamlined, but I can see this working.

Honorable mentions: The Black Panther and Dr. Strange are two characters that would make excellent additions to the team, but they really deserve solo introductions first. The story of Wakanda needs more time than the Avengers 2 can give it, and jumping into the world of magic suddenly might be a steep step. But if they do get solo movies, consider them locks for Avengers 3, which we’re all assuming will happen anyway.

Swimming pools filled with gold ridiculous. 

Why exactly did this movie make so much more money that analysts were predicting? The answer is quite simple actually. The movie is really, really good. Initial estimates didn’t take into account much people would love the superhero ensemble, which has spurred on excellent word of mouth and even repeat viewings in its first weekend.

America just can’t get enough Hulk now.

Right now, the big question is can the The Dark Knight Rises top this? If you had asked me even a month ago I would have predicted this as a certainty. Now I’m not so sure. Not that I doubt TDKR making bank, but it’s hard to imagine ANY movie getting this much money.

Suck it, Katniss.

Characters

They are awesome.

Captain America- Chris Evans did solid work the first time around, but this time the character really benefits from his costars. The straight laced, old fashioned Captain America feels much more fleshed out when surrounded by such madness. It was incredibly satisfying to see him start to take on a leadership role towards the end, which is something I thought would be left out. The “Man Out of Time” element wasn’t overdone, more focusing on his efforts to bond with the team. This will give Cap’s sequel plenty of room to explore that theme in more depth. We also see Whedon take a little bit more advantage of Cap’s physical abilities, making his powers feel much closer to their comic book levels.

Iron Man- Robert Downey Jr. is still in top form. His banter is better than ever, and Stark shells out a steady string of one liners. What else needs to be said? He’s probably the most complex character on the team

Thor- Hemsworth was a ton of fun in to watch Thor, but this time it’s a more tempered performance. Our beloved thunder god isn’t quite such a dick this time around, and we miss out on some of those spectacular from the solo film like smashing a coffee mug. Luckily, Hemsworth looks a lot more natural on screen, and handles the more mature Thor quite well. The result? The noble warrior straight from the comics.

Hulk- The hero people can’t stop talking about, Ruffalo might have stolen the show. Easily the best Bruce Banner on film, he’s full of nervous energy but somehow feels like he’s keeping his composure. And of course, when “the other guy” is unleashed, he has some of the best moments in the whole movie. By making him part of an ensemble rather than the solo protagonist, they really let the Hulk be a monster. Considering this time the Hulk shares Banner’s likeness, the result is a winner.

SHIELD- I’ll lump all them into one category. Hawkeye doesn’t get a lot of time to shine, sadly. Renner has fun with it, but hopefully in future installments his character can be fleshed out. Until then, agent Barton remains a bit of a mystery, a casual mix of the Ultimates and classic versions of the character. Black Widow on the other hand, was given a lot more focus and plenty of special moments, but ScarJo doesn’t really do it for me. The whole “dark past” angle never interested me, and not much else about her stands out. Samuel L. Jackson finally gets some stuff to do as Nick Fury, and even though the character has some Machiavellian tricks they make him far more sympathetic than the Ultimates version. That works for me, since if we don’t believe Fury is a good man then it casts doubt on the entire Avenger Initiative.

A special shout out goes to Agent Coulson. He has one of the most memorable scenes in the movie, and one that really fits the function of the character as the connective tissue of the Marvel U.

Loki- Our villain, this Loki is far more feral and wild. Although he claims that freedom is a lie and that subjugation is humanity’s preferred state, clearly these are hollow words to him. The invasion is little more than a big temper tantrum, a way of expressing his anger and pain. This is the evil Loki we know from the comics, but one that’s not far removed from the last time we saw him. Even though we’ve seen him as a villain twice, there is still plenty more that can be done with the character in Thor 2.

As for his army? Basically Whedon chose the Chitauri as a generic alien race, a blunt tool. They’re pretty much a new creation, loosely based on Marvel’s Skrull-like aliens in the Ultimate Avengers series. This is fine by me. The aliens aren’t important. I care about the team.

Hmm, an alien. Yawn.

The Movie

One of the least action packed moments in the movie.

The Action- This is easily the most action packed marvel movie. By far. The entire third act is an epic attack on New York, and it’s pretty spectacular. The fighting is briskly paced, not overly fast and jarring like a Bourne movie but not burdened by never ending slo-mo.

The Story- In some ways the weak spot of the movie. Sort of. The plot is rather basic, and we don’t see too many twists and turns. Then again, this isn’t a horrible thing. The basic set up is so tricky that it benefits from a simple, epic scope. The story gives the characters plenty of room to breathe as Whedon’s script explores what makes each of them tick. While the overall structure is basic, this doesn’t  make it any less of a rollercoaster.

Final Thoughts- Yep, the Avengers is a blast. If at times it feels long, it more than makes up for it with witty dialogue, great characterization and huge action set pieces. Much like how the only word to describe The Dark Knight was “intense”, the only word for the Avengers is “awesome”. Still, I do have to say that this is not a truly great film. Yes, it’s extremely entertaining, but didn’t walk away feeling like there was a great meaning or emotional journey. Certain scenes are emotional, but at time it feels like maybe things go too fast or without enough gravitas to truly sink in (with one very notable exception). This is a big directorial step for Whedon, and if the inevitable sequel can gain some more dramatic tension and deeper meaning, then we will have a truly perfect superhero movie. Until then, go enjoy the wonderful spectacle that is The Avengers.

My opinions on the trailer are a tiny bit mixed. All of the footage looks fantastic, and Nolan has really upped the scale of the story. We see bridges getting blown up, and massive fight scenes on the streets of Gotham. Much more of Batman’s scenes have him in the light of day, unlike the past two installments. Any worries about Bane being inaudible can be forgotten, and the villain is suitably menacing. Even Anne Hathaway as Catwoman is starting to grow on me. I don’t love the overall look of the character, but I did enjoy her moments on screen. It did sound a bit like she was imitating Michelle Pfieffer, but she’s a quality enough actress and seems to pull it off. I just think the trailer wasn’t perfectly put together, and ended on a bit of a flat note. Even though the trailer didn’t blow my mind, I have no reason to doubt the movie and it’s going to be a surefire hit.

Who wouldn’t pay to see this?

The trailer also gives us lots of nice plot details. As expected, Bane is going beat the hell out of Batman at one point. It’s kind of his thing. Catwoman definitely seems to have uncertain allegiances, although at the end of the day she probably seems like she’ll follow Batman. Most interesting to me are the Joseph Gordon-Levitt scenes. Out of all the non-costumed characters, he had by far the biggest presence in the trailer. I have no doubt he’ll be one of Batman’s closest allies, maybe even his successor. The trailer did allude to Batman’s possible death, so it is certainly possible Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a version of Azrael, the man who took over for Bruce Wayne after his infamous encounter with Bane. Although Batman is considered a murderer and criminal by the city after the events of TDK, it looks like his image is becoming a symbol of resistance once again.

Much of the story is still uncertain, but this is shaping up to be a fitting finale to Nolan’s Batman saga.

Loki is very disappointed in you.

In a wonderfully written blog post for “The Guardian“, actor Tom Hiddleston spoke at length about the pride he takes in his role as Loki, and the power superhero movies can hold in the imagination and in the canon of strong cinematic characters. The Hulk is our anger, and Bruce Banner our shame of that anger. Bruce Wayne is Hamlet, forever trying to avenge the death of his parents. Captain America is the paradigm of military pride, and his placement in a time not his own, challenges his belief in himself and his country. All of these characters show an amount of depth that could challenge any actor, and in the case of Robert Downey, Jr., redefine a career.

I believe his career is now defined as “being awesome”.

Some may scoff at this, and bring to the conversation the CGI and use of special effects as taking away from what could be a moving story if it wasn’t lost in the muddle of too much grandiose computer work, but Hiddleston reminds us that the first moving film in 1895 put us on a path to where we are right now. What we are doing with movies now would shock and amaze the minds of the past. Perhaps the depth of superheroes is distorted by the colors and movement, but perhaps it also puts a magnifying glass up to the spectacle of flawed individuals who just happen to be able to fly.