Tag Archives: Iron Man

Movie Trailers

‘Iron Man 3’ Gets a Teaser…for the Trailer

Leave a comment

On Tuesday, October 23rd, we will get a teaser trailer for the Iron Man 3. But because marketing are bunch a teases, like that hot catholic chick you knew in high school, we only get a peek of the goods until the big shot says so apparently. Here’s the teaser of the teaser trailer:

Soooo yeah. Pepper Potts apparently is in danger riding a roller coaster judging from the harness she’s in, Iron Man is saving falling people, paparazzi are bitches, and the back of the Mandarin’s head is…there. We’ll probably just have more questions when we see the actual trailer but for now, time to get your nerd boner up.

Thoughts? I know the director Shane Black thing is getting Dr. Kronner excited and after Iron Man 2, which sucked ass, this could be a new breath of fresh air. It looks good but that’s what a trailer does. I guess we’ll see on Tuesday so we can speculate more and hopefully, geek out a bit more. Hopefully I’ll have more educated guesses on what’s going on other than Gwyneth Paltrow riding the Millenium Force or something.

TV

Agent Coulson Lives!

Leave a comment

Last night, if you weren’t distracted by baseball or football, you might have heard something from the northeastern part of this great country that sounded a little bit like the shriek of a schoolgirl.

Actually, it was a shriek, from not schoolgirls, but rather fangirls. And fanboys. And just fans in general. Why would millions of fans squeal in communal delight? The answer is simple:

That’s right friends and neighbors, the fan favorite, Agent Phil Coulson has become the first confirmed member of Joss Whedon’s upcoming ABC pilot, S.H.I.E.L.D.

The reaction to Agent Coulson’s death in The Avengers was one of heartbreak. All around the world people huddled together in comfort for the loss of a character who was beloved from his first appearance in 2008’s Iron Man. He was probably most loved by the man who portrayed him, Clark Gregg. Gregg is a self-professed geek and lover of comics and of course, Agent Coulson. So you can only imagine how it felt to sit at the Marvel panel during the New York Comic-Con and watch an “In Memoriam” tribute video to the character. Reports are that Gregg was actually moved to tears. Can’t say that I blame him.

A video of Joss Whedon started playing, saying that they had always wanted Gregg as “part of the Marvel Universe… even after his death,” and as if sent by the angels himself, Kevin Feige entered, wearing a shirt that read “Coulson Lives” and announced that Gregg would indeed be reprising the role of Agent Coulson in S.H.I.E.L.D.

Why is this such big news? Well it’s always fun to hear about our favorite characters that we all believe have died, only for them to come back to life, or find out they never died in the first place. But I think with Coulson it’s a little bit more than that. I think it’s because he is one of us. He’s a fan. Watching him meet Captain America and having that awestruck look on his face, I don’t think there’s many people who, when meeting their heroes, wouldn’t have the same reaction. Then to watch him “die” trying to protect his hero and company, I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to go out like that?

On top of that, after the massive success of The Avengers with Joss Whedon at the helm, it is exciting just to hear any news about the new show. Geeks have experienced both the highs and the lows of Whedon television shows. On one hand you’ve got the success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, on the other hand you’ve got the great losses of Dollhouse and of course, Firefly. So when news comes out like this, a major character in a wildly successful movie blockbuster is part of the cast of the TV show, we just hold our breaths and hope that it’s enough to convince the network to stick with it.

So there you have it- Agent Coulson lives to see another day. Are you excited as I am?

Uncategorized

Comic Rack: Grant Morrison’s Multiversity, Stan Lee Is NOT Dying, & Ghosts!

Leave a comment

Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

Grant Morrison’s Multiversity Is Coming

via [Newsarama]

I sure do loves me some Grant Morrison. It’s not exactly a secret, but I tend to think the man is a genius, and I’ve said so a bunch of times here on Comic Rack. I think he’s one of the few guys who really truly gets superheroes, what they mean in a contemporary social context, and does them well. I know I’m the one who is usually clamoring for writers to stick to their own original projects first, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it when geniuses like Hickman, Lemire or Morrison work on mainstream stuff by the Big Two. I’m probably one of the 10 or so people who LOVED Final Crisis and thought it a complex, densely intricate and beautiful story that is best told in one go, rather than in a serial format. To me, Morrison knows how to handle universal concepts, and the fact that he’s now working on Multiversity has me intrigued.

For those who don’t know, Multiversity was meant to follow-up 52 and Infinite Crisis a few years back, but never showed up for some reason or another. Presumably the reason is because he had to re-write it in planning for the New 52, but who knows how long DC really had the New 52 in planning before they executed it. My personal guess is not very long at all, from the rumblings I hear of how things are managed. Regardless, I’m totally stoked for Multiversity. If there’s one guy who knows how to do stories that span across universes, it’s Grant Morrison. You can read more about the actual plans for the title here, and a fascinating interview with him about it here.

Here’s some very cool art from Multiversity released by Frank Quitely this past weekend:

Johns & Lemire Add Their Names to ‘Ghosts‘

It’s finally that time of the year where all things morbid, spookifying and Halloweeney are celebrated. As a kid I always looked forward to Halloween, because it led to Christmas. Nowadays that anticipation for Christmas is replaced with jaded cynicism, and my love for all things horrifying, along with my love for Halloween. It was a real surprise to me then, to find out only just this week about a Halloween anthology project that gathers some of my favorite comics writers and artists of all time. The project is a one shot called Ghosts, that looks to be goddamned amazing from its talent line up and subject matter.

via [CBR]

A revival of the publisher’s 1970s horror series of the same name, the 80-page one-shot boasts also includes stories by the likes of Gilbert Hernandez, Paul Pope, Phil Jimenez, David Lapham, Amy Reeder, Mark Buckingham, John McCrea, Rufus Dayglo, Toby Litt and the late Joe Kubert, with covers by Dave Johnson and Brendan McCarthy.

I don’t often say this, but ZOMFG!1!!one! Look at that list of talent! All of those people are artists whose work I specifically look out for based on their name alone, and somehow, someway, I’VE MISSED THIS UP UNTIL NOW? I feel like I’ve failed my dying, withered and emaciated inner child. The fact that Lemire and Johns are adding a story to it just sweetens the pot, and makes me drool in anticipation for this thing to come out. Can you imagine an anthology novel written by these guys? 80 pages isn’t NEARLY long enough for me. I demand they make this book an anthology of anthologies. Let’s see Ghosts 2 through infinity. Let this thing spin-off into a whole series of horror related books that involve all of my favorite comics authors and artists, endlessly working to make material that appeals to me as perfectly as this book does. You can check out more preview art for the project here & here. That Hernandez panel looks goddamned awesome. Holy hell. I can’t wait to read this thing.

Stan Lee is NOT Sick Or Dying!

Recently Stan Lee has had to cancel a lot of public appearances, and until now he hasn’t revealed exactly why. As the cancellations piled up, rumors started to spread. Frankly, the guy’s up there in age, and it didn’t seem to bode well for his current state of health. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that nobody really knew what was up. Thankfully, he’s broken the silence and filled us in on whats the haps.

via [CBR]

“Attention, Troops! This is a dispatch sent from your beloved Generalissimo, directly from the center of Hollywood’s combat zone!” Lee wrote on the POW! Entertainment website. “Now hear this! Your leader hath not deserted thee! In an effort to be more like my fellow Avenger, Tony Stark, I have had an electronic pace-maker placed near my heart to insure that I’ll be able to lead thee for another 90 years. But fear thee not, my valiant warriors. I am in constant touch with our commanders in the field and victory shall soon be ours. Now I must end this dispatch and join my troops, for an army without a leader is like a day without a cameo!”

Well that’s certainly comforting, made all the better by the way it was written. I dare you to try to read that and not have Stan Lee’s voice echoing in your head. In all seriousness, I was pretty relieved to find out the guy’s gonna be okay, but for a moment there I remember thinking that I’d have to end up writing up rumors about his imminent death. Which believe me, is nothing I want to do. I may rag on Marvel here and there, and I’ve probably talked a bit of trash about Stan in the past in comparison to Kirby, but I do have massive respect for him. The man’s an icon for god’s sake, who the hell doesn’t wish him a long and happy life? You’d have to be a total shit head to be all “GOOD. HARUMPH. I HOPE HE DIES SOON”. I know, I’m probably extrapolating a bit far in terms of fan reaction, but this is the Internet. People are terrible here.

Disabled Artist, Writer, Writes & Draws Comic Using Only His Mouth

Normally I’d try to avoid a semi-sensationalist descriptive title like the one above, but in this case it’s pretty necessary to point out what a feat it truly is. Larime Taylor is a disabled artist and writer who well, manages to do with only his mouth what some folks cant with two hands and a whole writing staff working underneath them.  He has a congenital condition where the muscles and joints in his body are pretty profoundly affected. The guy is working on a book called Dark Zoey that I can’t wait to read. Listen, I don’t often go for the feel good kind of stories, or anything even remotely mushy, but as I’ve grown older I’ve conversely become softer and simultaneously more jaded towards a lot of things in my life. This sort of thing is one of the ones I’ve become more soft towards. A younger me would simply not have cared, but now I find stories like this awe-inspiring.

The man’s determination is resolute, and his humble nature make me realize how much I take for granted in my everyday life as a writer. I don’t know if I’d have the strength to overcome the odds he has, nor the tenacity to continue pursuing my own goals as he has. The guy’s story is really something to behold, and a fascinating read. Basically he’s writing this book using Kickstarter, and the donations will go towards helping him produce the book so everyone out there can read it. Aside from his own personal story though, is the book’s story. Which is summarized on the Kickstarter page, and it sounds exactly like the kind of story I’d love:

Some people become killers. 

Zoey was born that way. 

Ever since she can remember, Zoey Aarons has felt the urge to kill. For eighteen years she resisted those urges and fought to be someone better than her base instincts would allow. In a moment of weakness and anger, however, she let go and took a life. That hazy Seattle summer day still haunts her, and as she begins college far away from home, she’s afraid that she will kill again. 

She’s right to be afraid. 

Instead of leaving that fateful day behind her and starting a new life as a college freshman, Zoey’s about to be tested and face temptation in ways far greater than she could ever imagine. The prestigious women’s college that she’s attending on a full academic scholarship is in Cutter’s Circle, California, and Cutter’s Circle has a dirty little secret: it has the highest population of serial killers in the country. The town is up to its proverbial severed head in murderers.

I’ve barely only scratched the surface of it all, and you owe it to yourself to go and read the whole article over at [Newsarama], or donate to the Kickstarter page itself.

New Thunderbolts #3 Cover Has A Red Leader

The new Thunderbolts book coming out is gonna have an interesting gimmick applied to all of the covers. The gimmick being a red tint to all of them, that has some vague sort of story related reason for their particular hue. Notable out of all of them is a cover featuring The Leader, who is now noticeably redder than we’re used to. In the past, all Hulk related things becoming red usually meant bad things for all those involved. The thought of The Leader getting super-red-Hulk powers sounds pretty bad, but perhaps there’s more to it.

via [Newsarama]

Interesting. Perhaps he’s just really sunburnt?

Here’s some of the other covers themselves. I suppose the red tint is going to get explored in the story itself. So why are they red? My first and safest guess is it represents some thematic sort of thing. Vengeance, anger, blood. All that sort of thing. What do I hope it is? Hoo boy.

I hope it’s some kind spectacular foreboding message to all of the enemies of the Thunderbolts. They start wearing red as a warning, particular the Punisher. The whole thing is representative of the “blood” they’ll carry on their hands, as they start taking down evil motherf–ks left and right. Eventually, they’ll all decide the only way to continue their blood feud is to all become Red Hulk versions of themselves, and of course some of it gets into bad guys hands like The Leader. They then somehow get into space, and use their Red Hulk powers to blow up entire evil planets. Red Hulk actually takes the Red Hulk powers and becomes Double Red Hulk, and uses his Double Red Hulkness to split the fabric of reality and space-time, until they end up in an entirely new reality. They cross through The Bleed, and end up transubstantiating their collective consciousness into one singular unified being, and project themselves outward into infinite, reversing all socially accepted constructs of what color “is”. Along with that, they also blow up the Death Star.

Or maybe it’s just to make them look real tough. Whatever.

POP CULTURE

“Iron Man” Nazi Statue News Plagiarized?

Leave a comment

Yesterday, science and science fiction sites alike exploded with the news that German scientists had found out some interesting information about a carved Tibetan statue originally discovered by Nazis in the 1930s.  The Nazis were definitely not known for their interest in Buddhist-type religions, yet the swastika-like symbol on the statue’s chest is probably what drove the Nazis to bring it back with them to Germany.  But this is not the main reason scientists find the statue that they name “Iron Man” to be so interesting.

Remember, I mentioned that science fiction sites also had this news posted?  Normally, science fiction involves matters of space, like aliens.  Well, it turns out the “Iron Man” sculpture happens to be from space.  The German scientists studied the material the figure was carved from, and it’s made of a substance called ataxite, a rare form of iron with high levels of nickel (thank you, Wikipedia).  After more investigations, the scientific team surmised that the statue was carved from a Chinga meteorite fragment, a field of which had been discovered around the Mongolia and Siberia borders in 1913 (near modern-day Tibet).

Currently, “the Iron Man statue is the only known illustration of a human figure to be carved into a meteorite,” said lead researcher Elmar Buchner [Gizmodo].

As quick-catching as this news is, I found it interesting, but nothing to get worked up over.  I realize that carving into a very, very hard form of meteorite metal was a feat in and of itself, but many people have accomplished incredible feats throughout the centuries; this is just one more to appreciate and add to the book.

I think the reporting of the story is what made it seem so hyped to me as an ethically-trained journalist who believes you tell the truth as accurately as possible.  All the news stories made the story seem a little sensationalist, using titles with words in them such as extraterrestrial and alien origins.  If you take those words at their literal definitions, they 100% fit the description of the statue being made from something not organic to this Earth.  However, since extraterrestrial and alien have very science fiction-y connotations of other beings existing in the universe, these stories’ titles initially made it seem like the statue was originally carved by these beings before arriving (or being “sent”) to Earth.  That’s good marketing, but definitely misleading reporting.

“Yeeeeess, I carved that statue you found, you insignificant Earthlings.”

Also, I found it curious that after the plagiarism scandal by Time editor-at-large and journalist Fareed Zakaria, that much of the news stories I found yesterday regarding the “Iron Man” statue were bordering on their own plagiarism issues.  For example, the Gizmodo article about the “Iron Man” starts, “No, it isn’t the plot for the next Indiana Jones movie” [Gizmodo].  And take this opening line from The Mary Sue: “It’s like Indiana Jones, Marvel and 2001: A Space Odyssey all in one story” [The Mary Sue].  Or what about this line from the Huffington Post: “It sounds like a mash-up of Indiana Jones’ plots” [Huffington Post].

Fareed Zakaria
Fareed congratulates you “Iron Man” reporters on plagiarizing each other’s ideas.

And this isn’t stealing each other’s ideas… how?  If Zakaria can take another author’s ideas and simply reword them and be called out on plagiarism, all of these articles’ authors seem to be doing the exact same thing in regards to the Indiana Jones reference.  I realize that it’s getting harder and harder to be original on the Internet when you’re racing to get news out, but it seems a little too ironic that all of these authors would be thinking about Indiana Jones as they wrote their articles (or maybe they’re just more geeky than I realize).

Speaking of ironic and all this iron meteorite talk, I’m going to end on a quote for you to consider from our beloved Caboose: “I think it would be ironic if we were all made of iron.”

Caboose
I like me.
Uncategorized

Comic Rack: All New X-Force, Possible Return Of Marvelman, & Captain America Is Elected President?

Leave a comment

Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

Iron Man Gets New Armor.

via [Newsarama]

Frankly this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Iron Man gets a new armor every other week. That dude is constantly fiddling with his armor, always looking to improve or maintain it in some new way. He’s like that kid you knew in school, who kept modifying his toy models, or appliances, until they barely even resembled what they were anymore. Sure man, you added a series of remote-controlled LEDs, spring-loaded shelves, touch sensitive paneling, and an automatic motion sensor, but goddamnit it’s just a TV, now every time I walk by it turns on at max volume, the shelves fly out and I get hit in the calves. Did anyone else know that kid? Do you know what I mean? No? Right. Well regardless, his “new” armor, doesn’t really look that new.

It looks like a bigger, dumber version of his Hulkbuster armor. And we all know how successful that was at busting Hulks. Wait, what’s that? How many Hulks did he bust? Zero? Zero Hulks busted? C’mon Stark, get it together! Stop putzing around with your armor and get your head in the game! I WANT THOSE HULKS BUSTED NOW.

Cerebus Possibly Being Re-printed By Fantagraphics?

via [ComicsAlliance]

When you tell people about Cerebus, it’s one of those things you almost don’t believe. A guy wrote a parody fantasy epic, about an Aardvark, that becomes an example of a fantasy epic that it’s parodying, spirals into a societal and political satire, mutates into an insane polemic, and eventually becomes a document of its own author literally going insane, writing and drawing his own mad ravings into a published comic? So when people tell me they want to read it, I tell them that not only is it all of those things, but it’s incredibly LONG. How long? 300 issues, 6000 pages long. It’s a daunting task to try to read it, and even if you had the will, the books are hare to find, because there’s 13 of them. Even if you did feel like reading the slow, steady descent into madness by a comics writer/artist, you’d be hard pressed to find all 13 for the complete story.

Which is why it’s interesting to hear that Fantagraphics, a publisher long known for their brilliant, eclectic line up of independent comics, has been trying to get Dave Sim to commit to letting it be repackaged and republished. He’s being non-committal at the moment, but seems to be going back and forth on letting it happen, or never allowing it ever. Fantagraphics wants to republish it, hopefully in an attempt to get it into a form that’s a bit more manageable than 13 goddamn thick ass books you could kill a small dog with. If you haven’t read Cerebus, I don’t blame you. It’s dense, it’s weird, and towards the middle it’ll almost definitely offend in one way or another, but if you like insane ideas, concepts, and insane polemic stories that revolve around an animated Aardvark, I suggest you track it down.

Captain America, Our New President!

via [Newsarama]

Yes that’s right. Captain America has been elected into office. Why? I’m not sure exactly, but Sam Humphries, the writer of The Ultimates, has said this:

“Captain America is not going to behave like any other president behaves… He takes the oath of office and barely takes a breath as he goes to hot spots. . . . Cap is out there because he’s so concerned about the state of the Union that he doesn’t have time to think about the State of the Union.”

Which is a statement that the more I read, the less sense it makes. Cap is so worried about us, he can’t worry about us? What kind of backwards motivational logic is that? In no way am I trying to slam Cap. In fact, I think his character is one of the best, and his sense of non-jingoistic, true patriotism, love for civil freedom and all of the things that America should stand for, but currently doesn’t, are what make his character great. In a real life situation, of course I’d elect a man like Steve Rogers for president, but unfortunately, men like him don’t exist. It’s fitting that something like this would only happen in a comic book, because it’s just as realistic as shooting lasers out of your eyes, or having adamantium bones. I have no doubt that Cap will be the president the marvel universe needs, rather than the president the marvel universe deserves, (everything can go back to Batman, FYI), but the thought in and of itself, in a vacuum, is quite humorous. What is he gonna throw his shield around when discussing foreign policy with a bunch of diplomats? Punch a skrull in the face hard enough that Health Care Reform happens?

Plus, Mr. President America doesn’t have the same ring to it, if we’re going by military rank.

Scoot’s Marvel Mashup!

Supascoot, here, I’m jacking some of CheeeeEEEEEeeesssse’s space because I am sickened by his disdain for Marvel and feel the need to represent a little bit. There, I said it. Now I apologize for my aggressive behavior as it’s very un-Canadian of me. Where was I? Right, Marvel stuff. Pretty much all the teasers Cheesebadger told you about last week are explained here. By me.

Cable makes his triumphant return along with a brand new X-Force written by Dennis Hopeless with art by Salvador Larocca and Frank D’Armata. I have always loved Cable, and by extension X-Force. This is good news. And an interesting lineup for the team. Domino (An X-Force Alum) Colossus (De-Juggernauted), and Doctor Nemesis (From the X-Club). It was also the WANTED teaser that was released last week. This makes me assume they are wanted for some reason. They will be hunted by the Uncanny Avengers, who are actually led by Cable’s uncle, Havok.. You gotta love time travel. Would you like to know more?

So what’s to come of Uncanny X-Force? Remender is moving on from the title and a new creative team and story is on its way. Sam Humphries and artist Ron Garney will be bringing us Psylocke and her team of ‘killers’ (yes, this was the KILLERS teaser released last week) in a story that takes place 6 month’s after the end of Remender’s run. On the team will be Storm (not a killer), Puck (Alpha Flight… not a killer), and Spiral (from any tale involving Mojo or Longshot. She’s a killer) with a few additions in the future. It also features the return of Bishop as the villain of the book. Would you like to know more?

Another series by Hopeless and artist Kev Walker will be Avengers Arena. Originally presented as the SURVIVE teaser last week, Avengers Arena is basically Battle Royale with Avenger’s Academy, The Runaways, Darkhawk and more all flung together on Arcade’s Murder island. Sound’s awesome right? Even better? The cover is a homage to Battle Royale, so you can put your nerd claws away and stop telling people they stole the idea. Would you like to know more?

And finally, the LIGHTNING teaser from last week which Badger thought was Punisher and I thought was the Thunderbolts turns out to be… a team of Thunderbolts that feature the Punisher. Put together by the Red Hulk, it also features Elektra, Venom, Deadpool, and a few more to be announced when the issues drop. This sounds like a great team book full of death. Written by Daniel Way with art by Steve Dillon, the team will be, well killing stuff I would assume. Lot’s of stuff. I can’t wait. Check out that cover. Would you like to know more?

That does it for me. You can have your article back now.

Thanks Scoot, but you forgot one teaser. In fact, it’s potentially the most important one of all:

The Return Of MarvelMan?!

Another in a series of teasers for Marvel NOW!, this one is a bit more current. The word on the street, so to speak, was that it was hinting at the return of the fabled Marvelman/Miracleman character. For those unfamiliar, Marvelman was a superhero that had some brilliant stories written by both Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, and for reasons I don’t entirely understand, has been stuck in legal limbo, unable to be re-published for all to enjoy again and again. Issues of the original run are hard to find, and some can be costly, so the thought of bringing back his character, either into the current Marvel Universe, or simply just releasing a trade collection of those seminal Moore/Gaiman stories, would be AMAZING. Unfortunately, that may not be the case, and the teaser is probably having to do with Spider-Man. Current writer Dan Slott has said that what he’s planning to do for Spider-Man #700, will be referred to as the “Most Shocking Book Of 2012”. Considering the teaser, it’s release date of January, which lines up with the time Spider-Man #700 will be coming out, it’s most likely gonna be goddamned Spider-Man. I know, it’s not popular to dislike Spider-Man, but I just find him so uninteresting lately. I liked him a lot when I was younger, so maybe he’s a superhero geared towards the young? Maybe I am just some terrible asshole hater? Either way, if this teaser turns out to be Marvelman, I’d be happy.

I’m gonna copy Scoot’s weird, Starship Troopers/Propagandistic thing here, and say; Would you like to know more?

Movie News & Opinions

Your Writer/Director for The Avengers 2 is…

Leave a comment

Joss Whedon, come on down! You’ve just been chosen to continue on the path of greatness and while adding to your god-like status amongst the human population! According to several news sources, ranging from the Hollywood Reporter, EW.com, Newsrama etc., Joss Whedon is back in the saddle as your writer and director for Marvel’s The Avengers 2.

In the deal, Mr. Joss “I Own The World, Bow Before My Awesomeness” Whedon, signs a deal with Marvel Studios that keeps in the fold through the end of June 2015. In that, he will cover his duties as director and writer for The Avengers 2, as well as helping develop a live action series for ABC and, according to the Marvel Studios’ press release, “will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.” Basically, as I have read it, he will take the Jon Favreau role in making sure that the universe that Marvel Studios has cultivated will be ushered into the next set of movies, culminating in The Avengers 2 movie. You can bet that the TV show will deal in the Avengers universe and it is safe to say that it is NOT the Guillermo del Toro Hulk series being developed for ABC apparently. Excited much? Yessir. Let us face it, Joss Whedon knows his characters and his television. While not successful all the time in terms of nielsen ratings, his television shows always are great and at least will cater to the cult crowds and die hard geeks his drops his wisdom on. Plus if it’s set in the Marvel Universe, umm, insta-hit?

A live feed from the Whedon household after the deal

From a Hollywood perspective, this should be zero surprise of course. The Avengers has made 1.5 BILLION worldwide. A large part is because not only the commercial acclaim of putting together the most brilliant way to market your movie (uhh, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger? Yeah, those were basically marketing teasers for that movie, profitable ones too at the very least), but the critical acclaim that got people coming back for more. The onus on Whedon and Marvel was making sure the characters were enjoyable to watch and developed to where they both electrified the screen individually AND as a team. Whedon solidified the Marvel Studio’s universe in this movie because he made sure this ambitious project did not implode like a dying star. With egos and sheer enormous size of this project, this could have been an unmitigated disaster with everything that was going on but instead, Mr. Firefly himself controlled the movie and its stars (and the future of this universe) and made sure the next several movies are events flicks that people of all walks and sizes will need to see.

So let’s recap, this will be Joss Whedon’s universe for the next three years and with Iron Man 3 for May 3rd, 2013; Thor: The Dark World in November 8th, 2013; Captain America: The Winter Soldier for April 4th, 2013; Guardians of the Galaxy launching on August 1st, 2014; with possibly Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man figuring into the equation too, this will probably confirm Avengers 2 hitting theaters in 2015, right when the contract ends. Not too mention the TV show that, crossing my fingers and just a hypothetical guess, will probably be S.H.I.E.L.D. related? Excited? You know it baby. So much that this ScarJo pic will be used to match the badassness of this news.