I, like many of you, am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, which are scheduled to debut in the summer of 2011. However, I am even more interested in seeing those two together with Iron Man, the Hulk, and whoever else makes the final cut (more of my thoughts on that shortly) in The Avengers, slated for release in 2012. I have compiled a list of five things I'd like to see in the movie. Wanna' hear it? Here it go:
1. The Helicarrier- Do I really need to explain why? I’m sure I am not the only fan who looks forward to seeing the massive aircraft carrier/mobile base of the agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. floating across the screen in The Avengers. Even if it debuts in one of Marvel’s 2011 releases, it needs to be in The Avengers for a few reasons.
First, I assume that S.H.I.E.L.D will have played its biggest role in this movie, with Fury “assembling” the Avengers, and the Helicarrier serves as a symbol for just how big the agency is. Up to this point, audiences unfamiliar with the agency have only seen Fury, agent Coulson and the few no-named agents running around in Iron Man 1 and 2. I don’t think the general, non-comic book reading public realizes the scope of S.H.I.E.L.D, or are aware of the magnitude of power and resources the agency wields. The presence of the Helicarrier serves notice that, no matter what the level of technology in which the rest of the world operates is, S.H.I.E.L.D ‘s on “the cutting edge”, and have access to superior inventions.
Secondly, doesn’t this give Howard Stark something more to show for his incredible intellect, besides his possibly aiding in creating Cap’s shield? See? He could design the Helicarrier, engines and all! Heck, maybe this is too corny, but, after helping to construct Captain America’s defensive weapon in Cap’s solo flick, and having it on his mind, he comes up with the name S.H.I.E.L.D, and gives each letter their respective meaning! Then, in 2012, we see the fruits of his WWII era labor!
Perhaps Tony proves his worth finally, to Fury, when he compromises the ship’s integrity and is asked to make upgrades. Lastly, the need to invent this enormous mobile base in the sky can be justified by the threat of the organization known as HYDRA, which neatly ties into Steve Rogers’ and Col. Fury’s enemies of the past, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and the Red Skull. You with me?
2. The Hulk Speaks- I haven’t heard/read many complaints from other fans about this, maybe I’m too far out of the loop, but the fact that the Hulk rarely speaks annoys me... Big time. I have been a fan of Marvel Comics since I was old enough to read, around 1980, but was privy to thousands of comics my uncles had collected during the 60’s and 70’s. All Marvel…Name it….Suffice it to say, The Hulk was one of my favorite characters. Many of those older comics always portrayed him as having the mentality of a six year old, who spoke in third-person and just wanted to be “left alone”.
I loved the fact that he was always hunted by the army and other super-heroes who thought he was a “bad guy”. But, he wasn’t. “Why puny humans always attack Hulk?!” “Bah…Hulk Smash puny humans.” Or, he’d proclaim, “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets!” He could talk, and form understandable sentences. He could express himself, verbally, although it was clear he wasn’t going to get an “A” in his English class. As a kid, I could relate to that. It’s one of the things that made him so likeable. One minute he’s destroying his native language, the next minute he’s destroying anyone dumb enough to test him physically!
Plus, he always came up with those funny (although simplistic) nick-names for the other heroes. He’d call Spider-Man “Bugman”, or he’d refer to The Thing as “Rockman”. What I’m saying is, when I watched the 70’s/80’s television show, my biggest beefs were the fact that he never fought anyone worthy of his power, and, he never talked! I thought the Ang Lee “Hulk” film would change all that. Alas, all we got was a dream sequenced, “Puny human”. Then, I thought for sure they would finally rectify the situation with the “Incredible Hulk”, but all I heard was “Betty” and, finally, “Hulk Smash!” Why is that all we get? The Abomination had more lines than the star of the movie! Is it hard? Is it difficult to get the Hulk to communicate more than 2-3 words per movie? I think not. You want to know why the non-comic book readers don’t embrace the Hulk like they do Spider-Man or Wolverine? It’s because he doesn’t talk, plain and simple.
They don’t know what he’s thinking, or feeling. They don’t feel sorry for him. They don’t “relate”… Are you telling me you don’t want to hear the Hulk refer to Cap as “Stupid Flag-Man” in The Avengers? The Hulk needs to speak. Tell Hollywood.
P.S. Speaking of the power S.H.I.E.LD wields (no rhyme intended), and the importance of quantifying that to the audience, can we see some REAL power from the Hulk? The Hulk has trouble picking up a metal ball in the first film, and moans like a girl when he bumps his head in the second (that was kind of funny though). When do we get to see him bring down a building, ala 9/11, with a ground slam? He gets mad sometimes, right?
3.The Earning of Respect- In 1989, do you think NFL defenses knew what was coming when they HEARD Barry Sanders was coming to town? How about further back, in 1985, do you think boxers were afraid when they HEARD they were supposed to fight some kid named Mike Tyson? No, to both questions. It wasn’t until they actually saw, with their own eyes, what they were up against, and what those men were capable of, that people began to fear facing them.
This should hold true for Steve Rogers, where his teammates are concerned. Of course, they’ve HEARD, about how much of a bad a$$ he was in the war. They’ve all heard the stories of him overcoming the odds and winning when that looked impossible. They are aware that he inspired his country, the world, to conquer their evil enemies and how he (supposedly) died in the process. But how will they feel when Cap is “thawed out”?
After the initial shock of his celebrity status wears off, and the ever pompous Tony Stark, or the God known as Thor, or ol’ Jade Jaws learns that the “puny Flag-Man” is being put in charge, how will they react? I presume (hope) that they are not too keen on the idea, each believing that they themselves should be the leader. In The Avengers movie, we need to see Captain America whipping Tony Stark’s a$$ in the gym/training area of (oooooooooh- let’s not get ahead of ourselves), we need to see him catch Thor slipping (of course he would not be able to seriously hurt him with a kick or blow) in simulated combat, but catch him in a way that surprises a God that has been fighting hand to hand for centuries. Or, perhaps he is shown to be “worthy”, and picks up Mjolnir, dropping Thor’s jaw.
We need to see him fair even better than Emil Blonsky did versus the Hulk, pre-Abomination. We need to be made to believe that the rest of the team has more than enough reason to give him the respect his reputation implies. We need to see Cap’s battle strategy succeed where others’ haven’t. We need to see his heart. We need to know, like the rest of the team, that he is “The Man”.
4. Avengers’ Mansion- Come on!!! We already know Tony is a billionaire. So, it’s not like it’s implausible. I was a little disappointed that the character of Jarvis was regulated to an A.I. computer voice, but grew to like it. However, could it be possible that the voice/program is based on an actual person that we have yet to meet in the Iron Man films?
What if Howard Stark had a butler, (has this already been explained?), and he and his son lived with Howard and Tony. His son, Edwin Jarvis, devoted to the family, ala that DC playboy superhero’s butler, remained as a friend/employee of Tony and took the responsibility of beating super-villainous intruders with the vacuum cleaner? Okay, not that deep, but it might be cool to show him as a real person/character. The mansion would justify his non-inclusion up to this point.
I am also of the belief that S.H.I.E.L.D needs to keep its aura of secrecy. This is to say that, just because the Avengers have been assembled, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are given all-access passes to the Helicarrier. Maybe, at some point in the movie they are allowed/forced onto the aircraft due to special circumstances, but they need their own, personal, separate base of operations. This is where Steve can work with Tony on his hand-to-hand skills in a way that Happy Hogan is unable to within the confines of the boxing ring at Stark’s home.
Plus, the mansion allows for the core group (The Big Three) to develop separate relationships from, say, The Black Widow, or Ant-Man and the Wasp, who, presumably, will be S.H.I.E.L.D agents, and thus allowed to “chill out” on the Helicarrier.
5.Inclusion- If it’s not already definite, it should be. We must have Ant-Man and the Wasp included in The Avengers. They are founding members and have always provided an interesting dynamic (with their marriage issues as well as their “size-shifting” abilities that the CGI capabilities of today are begging to address). I’m not concerned at this point with casting, although I’ll go on record as being “fine” with Fillion and Longoria (is she too old though?). The point is, the characters must be included. Also, while I wouldn’t use the word “must” (for the third time in the same paragraph, would I?), I’d “love” to see Hawkeye, even if he is just a petty thief that can be “turned from the dark side” in future installments, as opposed to being a S.H.I.E.L.D (man, I’m getting tired of having to type that ) agent from the onset.
Also, I think the Black Panther is necessary. Even if he wasn’t, I’d want to see him. He’s always been one of my favorites. If he…Scratch that, his father, or grandfather, is not introduced or mentioned in Captain America: The First Avenger, I think Marvel will be missing a golden opportunity. We all know about the importance of the Vibranium mineral located only in Wakanda, which plays an integral role in the composition of Cap’s shield, and this should already be made apparent in “The First Avenger”. So, by the time Rogers is brought “back to life”, T’Challa should be the King of the fictional African country. He should at least be mentioned, if not visibly included in the film, as I look forward to sharing his cinematic adventures.
Vision is a character for which I haven’t heard much clamoring; however, I think that he could be a great “tie-in” from Cap’s movie. Isn’t Vision a rebuilt, rebooted version of the original, android Human-Torch, reworked and programmed by Henry Pym? Let him build him. Let him be so “proud” of himself that, by the time The Avengers is ending, we see the “evil red lights” in the eye sockets of his newest invention gone wrong (Ultron if you’re not with me) as foreshadowing of the next’s film’s villain, causing Hank to be looked down upon, feel ashamed, embarrassed and recoil into madness. Maybe the Vision is the difference maker in Avengers 2, redeeming Pym.
I want Namor. I want the prince of Atlantis. I keep having this scene (I almost said vision) in my head for Cap’s movie, where, even if only involved in this scene, we see a head emerge from the ocean, off in the distance, away from the fighting. A close-up reveals a mysterious figure, emerging from the depths but showing only the nose to the top of the head, watching the violence of the war taking place on land, yet still affecting the waters, his home. They don’t know who this is, but WE do…Perhaps he throws something from the ocean that helps tip the scales in the favor of the Invaders, or, perhaps he simply re-submerges (you know, like a submarine?) with a scowl or look of disapproval on his face. What?! That would be unbelievable!
In The Avengers, Namor can reappear as a part of Loki’s plan, with the Hulk, under control of The Skrulls, to wreak havoc upon the Earth. Perhaps when Namor recognizes Captain America, he decides to switch teams, and when the Hulk follows suit, it’s all over for Loki and the Skrulls. By the way, if the Skrulls are indeed involved in the movie, I hope Marvel is able to incorporate their shape-shifting powers into the most unexpected, unbelievable and undeniably greatest twist ending in the history of cinema…Otherwise, why bother?
There you have it. Peace.
VictorVon/ Diplomatic Immunity