EDITORIAL: The Avengers.. How we got here and where I hope the journey continues

The pathway that led us to the release of the Avengers felt like an extremely long wait for Christmas. Five movies building to the ultimate collaboration that in many ways never seemed like it could truly succeed.
I'm going to look back and rank the build up to the Avengers, and with each movie I will also give my thoughts on where i hope they take each character and the villains that we might hope to see. It has been an exciting achievement for Marvel and each movie gave us an entertaining ride along the way.

In order of my favorites with rankings.

1. Iron Man - 9/10
A great cinematic representation of Tony Stark and Iron Man, that hits on almost all the beats that one would hope out of a comic book movie adaptation. Missing only a truly breathtaking climax and a bit more depth to Obadiah Stane, Iron Man was a huge success and in my opinion the best of the MCU to date.

2. Thor and Captain America - tied 8.5/10
In my eyes Thor was the biggest surprise of the MCU to date. It seemed like the movie that could fail the easiest, but in many ways it hit closest to the mark at the heart of who Thor can be. It lays out the foundation for what can and hopefully will be great adventures with the God of Thunder in the Nine Realms and on Earth. Kudos to Marvel for finding both Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston to bring Thor and Loki to the screen with such magnificence.

Captain America is the movie that is closest to hitting everything on point, but with the missing pieces too big for it to be considered the best of the bunch. The lack of development of Red Skull and the relationship with Caps Howling Commandos leaves a big gap in the story that would have not only given further brilliance to this excellent introduction to Cap, but also enabling much more depth to the impending sequels.

3. The Incredible Hulk - 8/10
A successful if not slightly off the mark take on the big green rage monster. Too much sulk for the hulk in this movie for me and too much of a roid rage CGI to have this completely hit the mark. This movie, though entertaining and exciting, left me wondering if the Hulk is meant to be a scene stealer, rather than the main attraction in the MCU.

4. Iron Man 2 - 7.5/10
Introduction to the Avengers falls flat partially b/c it spends too much time setting up the Avengers Initiative and too little time developing the main villains. It also doesn't take advantage of the opportunity to truly understand Tony's fear in his impending death due to the Palladium and that being the direct cause of his actions. An enjoyable action movie, missing the meat of character and development it hits the mark of being entertaining, but falls quite short of attaining the quality of its predecessor.


Where each character should go.

Thor - A grand adventure in the Nine Realms, epic in scale, grounded in Norse legend. I would love to see Enchantress and the Executioner as the main villains. I'm slightly on the fence if i want to also see an opportunity for some redemption for Loki. I also hope that Sif and the Warriors 3 play a major role in this grand adventure. There must be some time on earth with Jane and furthering that part of the story, but only to move the story, not to keep Thor on earth. I hope that Alan Taylor gives Thor 2 a bit of the on location feel of Game of Thrones.

Captain America - A spy/adventure movie with Cap working closely with Shield. The movie will have various flashbacks to his days with Bucky and his Howling Commandos, but mostly take place in the present as he works with shield to take down a new and current version of Hydra, perhaps with Baron Zemo and a hint at the Masters of Evil. Cap will continue to come to terms with his place in this new world.

Iron Man - We have all heard about Extremis and the possibly casting news of Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce. This all is extremely intriguing and I look forward to seeing who they will be playing when all is said and done. One thing I would like to see from Iron Man in the MCU is the introduction of Ezekiel Stane and Ghost. I feel Ezekiel would give an interesting follow-up after what happened in the Original Iron Man and Tony killing Obadiah. It would also lend to the technological thriller side of things that Shane Black has been hinting at. Someone using Tony's own tech against him and against the world.

Also, leading into the next Avengers movie, I would love to see an introduction to both Hank Pym, Wasp,and Black Panther, I think each can bring a new and interesting dynamic on things that have been briefly touched upon in each of the movies. I hope that the Ant Man movie from Edgar Wright is something that leads into the movie, with perhaps Wasp being introduced in that, while the Black Panther somehow plays a small role in one of the other movies. Perhaps part of Cap's adventure takes him to Wakanda where he forges the beginnings of a relationship with the Panther.

Thanks for reading. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts in the comments. Rankings and where each of you would like to see these characters go in the sequels along with new characters and movies yet to be announced.