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THE AVENGERS: WHO WAS THE “REAL” FIRST TEAM?

AVENGERS SCORE CARD
A Refresher Course in Marvel History from L.L. Soares

When X-MEN: FIRST CLASS came out last year, I wrote an article comparing the movie to the “real” first class of X-Men from the comics. People seemed to like the refresher course in Marvel Comics history, so I figured I’d do the same thing with THE AVENGERS.

The Avengers first assembled way back in AVENGERS # 1, in September 1963, (© Copyright Marvel Comics )

So how accurate is the new movie version of Marvel’s THE AVENGERS in comparison with how the group really came together? Well, the movies are always going to rewrite history for their own reasons, but in some ways, things are pretty close to the source material this time around. Let’s take a look.

Back in September 1963, Marvel was just starting out, and had introduced a bunch of brand new superheroes on an unsuspecting public. Remember, DC Comics already had a bunch of characters from the past to draw from—like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman—but Marvel had to start fresh in the early 60s. They already had one superhero team, THE FANTASTIC FOUR (which was also the first official Marvel superhero comic book), but what about all those other characters that had been created in the meantime? Why not get a bunch of them and put them together in a team that could really kick the butt of any big-time foe? And so AVENGERS # 1 came out.

And the original AVENGERS were born.

(Note: They weren’t even the only AVENGERS back then! In the 60s, there was a popular British TV show also called THE AVENGERS (1961- 1969) starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg as classy super spies!)

So who was in that first team? Well, Thor was there, so was Iron Man. They were two of Marvel’s heavy hitters right from the start.

A lot of people either find it hard to believe that the Hulk was an original member, or they will scratch their heads and ask “But he was one of the DEFENDERS, wasn’t he?” However, both are true. Hulk was in the original Avengers, although he only lasted a few issues before he took off. He wasn’t really that much of a team player back then. And yes, the Hulk was also a member of DEFENDERS, another superhero team, which first assembled in Marvel Feature # 1, in 1971. That team was made up of some of the more “rebellious” characters in the Marvel Universe, including Namor the Submariner, Dr. Strange, and the Silver Surfer (and were eventually joined by memorable Defenders Valkyrie and Nighthawk, and a rotating cast of others). Somehow, Hulk was able to stick with the Defenders for a lot longer than his time in the Avengers. I was never sure why. He just never seemed like a very cooperative character to me.

Captain America didn’t join the team until AVENGERS # 4, when the supersoldier from World War II was discovered frozen in ice. But he became an indispensable member of the team very quickly and became the heart and the conscience of The Avengers.

Captain America joined the team in AVENGERS # 4. (© Copyright Marvel Comics)

Also in the original Avengers were Ant Man and the Wasp, a guy and a gal who could reduce themselves to the size of insects. Scientist Henry Pym and his partner Janet Van Dyne had previously appeared in the comic book called TALES TO ASTONISH, which would eventually showcase stories of the Hulk (and a little later, the Submariner as well). Pym was the one who would invent various cool weapons for the group. And by the time Captain America shows up in issue 4, he had already decided bigger was better and changed his superhero identity from Ant Man to Giant Man.

Where do the Black Widow and Hawkeye come into this? Well, they were both Avengers, just not right away. The funny thing is, both of them first appeared in the pages of TALES OF SUSPENSE, which was where Iron Man stories were published before he got his own comic book, and both of them began as Iron Man’s villains! In those days, most of Iron Man’s villains were either Russian or Chinese (making him probably the most political superhero of his day, even though, unfortunately, a lot of those storylines seem very dated now because of their timeliness back then). Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow was originally a Russian spy (and a bit of a seductress) with exceptional fighting abilities (she first appeared in Tales of Suspense # 52) and Hawkeye first appeared as a carnival archer with exceptional skill who was seduced by the Widow to help her in her attempts to defeat Iron Man (Hawkeye first appeared in TOS #57). So they do actually have a long history together. As you already know, both of them became good guys, with Hawkeye joining the Avengers in issue # 16. But since that time, he’s been one of the most recognizable and steady members of the Avengers. Meanwhile, the Black Widow would come and go, because she often had other matters to attend to (including a brief stint as Daredevil’s “sidekick” in the early 1970s).

Hawkeye the way he should have looked in the AVENGERS movie, with his distinctive mask. (© Copyright Marvel Comics)

And was Loki really the bad guy back then who brought the Avengers together? Well, yes he was! Except in AVENGERS # 1 he was able to take on the appearance of the Hulk to cause some chaos that brought the rest of the Avengers together to stop him, culminating in the rest of the team fighting the Hulk. There weren’t any aliens in the skies helping Loki back then.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Nick Fury had nothing to do with the Avengers back then. In fact, he was just starting out as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. himself, after a stint in World War II (in one of Marvel’s few war comics, SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS). The movies have cleverly been using him as the one who brought the team together, but back in the 1960s, he was too busy fighting the evil forces of the secret organization HYDRA.

Throughout the 60s, there were lots more interesting members of the team, including the android The Vision (one of my favorites) who would control his density at will. And the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, two original members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who started out as X-Men villains and came over to the side of good (there seemed to be a lot of bad guys turning good back then). Also members at different times were the Black Panther (an African prince turned superhero, who had first appeared in the pages of THE FANTASTIC FOUR), the demigod Hercules (who came from the pages of THOR) and the lesser known Swordsman, the Black Knight, and a one-shot character named Wonder Man (who first appeared and then “died” in AVENGERS # 9), but who would show up again a decade or so later to become a prominent member of the team.

While the Hulk didn’t last long as a member of the AVENGERS, he was a long-time member of another team, THE DEFENDERS, which debuted in 1971. (© Copyright Marvel Comics)

By the time the 70s came around, the team expanded further and had a rotating cast of characters as various members joined, left, and rejoined again.

So the movie is actually more faithful to the source material than it first appears. But this is the “way it began” for the Avengers in the comic books, where they originated.

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THE AVENGERS (2012)

Posted in 2012, 3-D, Aliens, Based on Comic Book, Cinema Knife Fights, Comic Book Movies, Joss Whedon, Marvel Comics, Superheroes with tags Black Widow, Captain America, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Joss Whedon, Loki, mark ruffalo, marvel comics, Robert Downey Jr., The Avengers, Thor on May 7, 2012 by knifefighter

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT: THE AVENGERS (2012)
By Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

(THE SCENE: a massive flying aircraft carrier, hovering in the sky. CLOSE-UP reveals MICHAEL ARRUDA & L.L. SOARES at the controls.)

MA: For a minute there, I thought I had prepared for the wrong movie, BATTLESHIP.

LS: Nope. This is a Helicarrier, one of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s prize possessions. If he ever finds out we took it, he’s gonna be soooo pissed. (cackles)

MA: Yeah, I know what it is. You want to tell me again how it is we’re sitting at the controls?

LS: Fury and the Avengers are all out celebrating their victory over the bad guys, and everyone else is dead tired, so I slipped a friend of mine who works here some cash, and we get to take this baby for a brief spin. Just long enough to review the movie. Don’t worry. We’ll get her back without a scratch.

MA: I hope so. This is an expensive piece of equipment. I wouldn’t want to have to pay the bill if we damaged it.

LS: You worry too much. Why don’t you start the review? I see some buttons and controls I want to play with.

MA: Today’s movie, THE AVENGERS, is the long-awaited, much-anticipated Marvel superhero movie that’s been on moviegoers’ minds ever since the after-the-credits final scene of IRON MAN (2008) when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) approached Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) about the Avengers Initiative.

There was also some anxiety surrounding this one: with all the hype and expectation, would it be as good as fans hoped for? I’ll cut right to the chase and say yes, it’s every bit as good and then some.

LS: That might be a bit premature, but go on.

MA: In THE AVENGERS, the villainous Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s half-brother, is still bitter from having to live his life in the shadow of his famous sibling, and so he accepts a role from the Chitauri, an alien race that wants to conquer the galaxy. Loki will help the Chitauri conquer the Earth, and in return, Loki will become King of the Earth. To do this, Loki steals the Tesseract, an energy source of unlimited potential that had been in the possession of one Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

LS: Yeah, a lot of this stuff comes from the previous Marvel movies. The Tesseract (called “The Cosmic Cube” in the comics) is something we last saw the Red Skull trying to get in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011) . Loki, the sniveling brother of Thor, was also the main villain in THOR (also 2011). THE AVENGERS just brings this all full circle.

MA: To save the world and stop Loki and the Chitauri, Fury activates the “Avengers Initiative,” which pretty much means rounding up the local superheroes to battle the bad guys. The Avengers include Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.,) Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).

LS: Yeah, we previously saw the Black Widow in IRON MAN 2 (2010), and Hawkeye in THOR. So these are familiar faces as well. It’s actually pretty cool that all of the actors returned to reprise their original rolls. Too often in blockbusters like this, some actors, for whatever reasons, have to be replaced, and it’s just not the same. In THE AVENGERS, the only original actor who isn’t returning is Edward Norton, who was Bruce Banner in 2008’s THE INCREDIBLE HULK (or, for real hardcore Hulk fans, Eric Bana, who was played the role in Ang Lee’s 2003 movie, HULK). Here, Banner (and the Hulk) are played by Mark Ruffalo. A great actor, who actually makes you forget those other guys, so I wasn’t too sad to see him as part of this cast.

MA: What makes this movie so interesting is none of these guys like each other nor do they trust each other, and they don’t even trust Nick Fury, so even before they’re battling the bad guys, their battling themselves, and it’s these skirmishes that make up the best part of the movie.

LS: Well, yes and no. Not all of the skirmishes are equally good.

MA: Nit-picker!

LS: I wonder what this big red button does?

MA: Should you really be pressing a button that’s big and red?

LS: Too late. I already pressed it. Hmm. Harmless.

(MA looks out his window and sees an engine falling from the Helicarrier.)

MA: Do me a favor and don’t press any more buttons.

Where was I? Oh yeah.

But these folks are superheroes, and so eventually, they all patch up their differences and set their sights on working together and defeating Loki and the Chitauri in a climactic battle sequence that is one for the ages. I joke about this, that they’re superheroes and so of course they eventually work together, but one of the strengths of THE AVENGERS is very little of it plays like a predictable superhero tale. The movie is exceedingly fresh.

LS: I’m not so sure about that, either. The movie is good, it’s exciting. But “exceedingly fresh?” That might be pushing it a little bit.

MA: I absolutely loved THE AVENGERS. It’s the best movie I’ve seen this year. It just has so many things going for it.

Probably the most impressive thing about THE AVENGERS is with all these characters in this movie, I never felt cheated. Not only do all these guys get sufficient quality screen time, with plenty of key moments, but some of them, Captain America and Thor in particular, were more enjoyable and more satisfying here than in their own movies CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR.

LS: What about the Hulk?

MA: Yeah, the Hulk, too.

Robert Downey Jr. also returns to top form, capturing the magnetism and seemingly endless “bad boy” playboy energy he showed back in IRON MAN. He too is much better in this movie than he was in IRON MAN 2.

The cast is downright impressive. Downey Jr. is my favorite here, because I really enjoy his interpretation of Tony Stark, but he’s far from being alone in this movie, although I would say he’s the unofficial leader of this group and its most captivating and entertaining character.

LS: Yeah, Downey is great as Stark/Iron Man. But “the most captivating and entertaining character?” I don’t know about that. What about the Hulk?

MA: The Hulk’s cool, but Tony Stark is more fun to watch than Bruce Banner.

Chris Evans shines as Captain America, and I liked him better here than in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, as his character is better defined. He’s out of place in the 21^st century, at first, and he’s disappointed that the nation isn’t quite the bastion of patriotism and heroism it was when he last saw it during World War II. But he adapts, and he brings his sense of patriotism and pride to the fight. On the battlefield, he’s also the Avengers’ strategic leader, directing the team and giving them their duties.

LS: Yeah, Evans is better here than he was in the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie. I also think Cap is a much more interesting character in the modern world. I’m not as psyched about his adventures in a fictionalized past as I am with him being a fish out of water in current times. He’s more compelling now. And his “boy scout” image isn’t so black and white anymore. The time change forces him to develop more as a character.

By the way, WHAT ABOUT THE HULK?

MA: What is it with you and the Hulk, anyway? Hey! Watch where you’re going!

(The Helicarrier accidentally takes off the top of a skyscraper)

LS: Woops. Now we’re in for it. Fury is bound to lower our security clearance for this.

MA: Our security clearance? I just hope he has some good insurance on this thing. Anyway, now that you have us back on track, I’ll get back to the review.

Mark Ruffalo enjoys a strong debut as the Hulk.

LS: Finally!

MA: Honestly, I didn’t miss Edward Norton one bit, and this surprised me, because I thought I would. Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is very likeable, and he plays him less haunted and more introspective. I also like the way they made the Hulk’s face resemble Ruffalo’s.

LS: Yeah Ruffalo is great in this role, and you’re right. The reason why the Hulk finally works so well here, is because he doesn’t take himself so damn seriously. Banner has a really sarcastic/ironic sense of humor that sets him apart from the more angsty/tortured previous Banners. And the Hulk himself actually has some funny scenes. While I like the darker, more tragic Hulk, I thought this version was a breath of fresh air and more interesting for the movies. And yeah, the CGI effects, where the Hulk’s face actually does look like Ruffalo’s, are pretty good here. And for the record, I thought Hulk was the best thing in this movie.

MA: What a surprise!

Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor, and although I mentioned I enjoyed him more here than in THOR, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy him in THOR. He’s excellent in both moves. I just enjoyed his scenes a bit more in this one.

LS: I like Hemsworth and Thor a lot. For some reason I thought he was a bit more subdued here than in his own movie, but Thor is always an enjoyable character. And I thought the skirmish between Thor and the Hulk was the best of the Avengers’ infighting battles.

MA: Scarlett Johansson is excellent as Black Widow, and she just might have more screen time than any of the Avengers! And you know what? I didn’t mind one bit! When will she have her own movie?

LS: That might just happen, because she is very good here. I wasn’t as excited about her scenes in the midst of battling aliens, where I thought she was outgunned, but the one-on-one scenes of her and the other characters are terrific. It would have been nice if she at least tried to have a Russian accent, though.

MA: Jeremy Renner is very good as Hawkeye, and Samuel L. Jackson finally gets to do a lot as Nick Fury, and he doesn’t disappoint.

LS: I think you’re selling Hawkeye short.

MA: No, I just thought I’d let you talk about him.

LS: Yeah, right.

Renner does a fine job as Marvel’s master archer, even if he does spend half of the movie in the thrall of Loki. But where the hell is his mask? It’s not like the character’s costume in the comics is so complex. That cool mask of his would have been nice. Are Hollywood actors so egotistical that they have to show their faces as much as possible? In Iron Man’s case, it makes sense that we see Stark’s head inside the armor, because Iron Man’s mask is completely expressionless. But if the characters in the comics have masks, I think the characters in the movies should as well. Even Captain America here “loses” his mask in the midst of battle toward the end. Although I didn’t think that was necessary.

Masks are important! (reaches into a bag. ) Here, put this on. (places a mask over MA’s face. Then puts one on himself.)

MA: Cool. Thanks!

LS: Gee, it’s dark in here.

MA: Dark? Your mask doesn’t have any slits for eyes! Take that thing off! (rips off LS’s mask and his own. ) What are you trying to do? Get us killed?

LS: Stop your worrying. This thing can practically fly itself!

As for Nick Fury, I never really cared for the character much in the comics, and he doesn’t do a lot for me here, either. I like Sam Jackson, and he does provide a link between all the characters, so he makes sense in the movie. But I could take him or leave him.

MA: Clark Gregg returns as likable agent Phil Coulson, and when your cast includes Stellan Skarsgard and Gwyneth Paltrow in supporting roles, you know you’ve got something good going. Skarsgard of course plays Selvig, the brilliant scientist we met in THOR, and Paltrow is Pepper Pots, Tony Stark’s love interest.

LS: In some ways, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson is actually more compelling than Nick Fury, as a character, although his slavish worship of the superheroes (like his wanting Captain America to sign his trading cards) seemed a bit condescending at times.

MA: I thought it was pretty funny. Besides, Coulson is the stand-in for us. He’s the fanboy of the group.

LS: I realize that. But they make him look a little too geeky, when he’s supposed to be a professional. His “big scene” here, though, is pretty good. Although I think they put way too much importance on him as an inspiration to the others.

MA: I liked that scene.

LS: Also pretty good here is Cobie Smulders as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill. Most people will recognize Smulders as Robin on the hit CBS sitcom HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. But she’s very good in this more serious role, as well.

MA: And Tom Hiddleston turns in a fine performance as Loki, although Loki is still not one of my favorite villains. He’s simply not powerful enough, either in strength or mind, to really wow me. I never get the feeling he’s actually powerful enough to defeat the heroes. Not a good trait to have if you’re a villain. He’s like the Rodney Dangerfield of villains. No respect. Well, he hasn’t really earned it.

LS: Now we’re getting into what I didn’t like about the movie. THE AVENGERS has a lot going for it. It’s a lot of fun, the fight scenes are great, the characters—for the most part—are very well done. But my biggest beef with this movie is that it just didn’t have a strong enough villain. I thought Loki was a letdown. We’d already seen him in the THOR movie, and didn’t need to have him be the bad guy here, too (even if, in the original issue of THE AVENGERS # 1 way back in 1963, it was Loki who brought the team together to fight him – and he didn’t need Nick Fury back then to do it).

I just don’t think Loki is a strong enough character. And the generic aliens didn’t help all that much. It was like these great heroes get together to fight an inferior bad guy and a bunch of flying CGI effects. A strong villain would have made for a better movie. And if there is one flaw with THE AVENGERS, I’d say that’s it.

MA: I can’t disagree with you there. THE AVENGERS lacks a compelling villain, but I liked the actual Avengers so much, I didn’t really care.

LS: Also – what is up with Loki? Sometimes he seems to have unlimited power. Other times he doesn’t use his powers at all and seems kind of lame as a bad guy. Which one is it? Is he as formidable as Thor or not? If he’s taking on an entire team, you’d think he would have to be pretty impressive, but he’s not. The same goes for the aliens. Sometimes normal people like the Black Widow and Hawkeye are able to fight the aliens off. Other times, they are able to take on Iron Man (even if he is weakened at that point). And they just didn’t seem scary enough. Their living whale battleships were pretty cool, though.

MA: But the true star of THE AVENGERS is writer/director Joss Whedon. What a few weeks it’s been for Whedon. He wrote THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012) which came out a few weeks ago, which was an excellent movie, and I have to say, THE AVENGERS is even better.

LS: Yeah, Whedon does a good job here. I could see a lot of other directors dropping the ball here, but Whedon does a great job juggling everyone throughout the movie and keeping them all—well, most of them—consistently interesting. It’s tough to direct a movie like this and turn out something as good as Whedon has here.

MA: Whedon does everything right here, and for a guy to do that with such an ambitious project like THE AVENGERS, that’s incredibly impressive. So yeah, there are so many ways this movie could have been disappointing, and Whedon avoids all of them.

The best part is he gives all these characters key scenes, and lots of them. You certainly don’t watch this movie and think there’s just too many characters involved. It’s the opposite. You’ll find yourself not getting enough of these characters.

LS: I agree there.

MA: I loved the interactions between the superheroes, and these scenes of in-fighting and bickering make for some of the best moments of the movie. When Iron Man first bickers with Thor and makes fun of the way he speaks, it’s a hoot. You have a three way fight between Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, a memorable bout between the Hulk and Thor, and the tension-filled scene with all of them at each other’s throats on board the Helicarrier. And we haven’t even gotten to the main battle to protect the world yet!

LS: I liked the in-fighting for the most part, even if I do think that Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk were in a completely different class from the rest of the characters. Captain America seemed pretty useless in comparison to the big boys, and the Black Widow seems completely out of her depth once the aliens show up. Hawkeye would to, except he has those amazing gadgets on his arrows, to keep him interesting.

Another thing about Hawkeye is, in the comics, he’s more wise-cracking and enjoyable. I thought Renner played him way too serious. And he could have worn the damn mask!

MA: You and that mask! Whedon’s screenplay also gets the humor right in this one. There are plenty of funny moments in THE AVENGERS, some are laugh out loud funny. Whedon’s dialogue is fabulous.

There are also some really impressive battle scenes here, very cinematic. The battle on and around the Helicarrier was amazing, and the climactic battle between the Avengers and the Chitauri is not to be missed.

LS: The big battle between the Avengers and the aliens is great because of the Avengers themselves. But the aliens are so generic, the team could have been fighting robots and it would have been the exact same thing. They needed a more exciting enemy.

MA: I saw THE AVENGERS in 3D, and I thought it looked excellent, though to be honest, this movie is so entertaining I bet it plays just as well in 2D. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

LS: I saw it in 3D, too. And while I thought it was fine, I eventually just forgot I was wearing the glasses, and didn’t really see why it had to be in 3D. I’m sure in 2D, it would have been just fine.

MA: THE AVENGERS runs 2 hours and 22 minutes, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It held my interest from start to finish.

LS: Me, too. I wasn’t bored at all. It is an exciting movie, despite my few complaints.

MA: THE AVENGERS is my pick for the most entertaining movie of the year so far. Yeah, I’ll admit, I’m biased because I really like the Marvel superhero movies, but as those things go, this one is one of the best. It just might be THE best. I love IRON MAN (2008), and I really enjoyed last year’s X-MEN FIRST CLASS (2011), and THE AVENGERS is every bit as enjoyable as these movies. What just might make it even better is THE AVENGERS is a bit more cinematic than those two movies. Joss Whedon includes some grand and memorable action sequences that lift this one to a higher level. Plus you’re dealing with an ensemble cast of characters that you’d be hard-pressed to match elsewhere.

LS: Yeah, THE AVENGERS is one of the best Marvel movies so far. Also, when I went to see it on Friday night, every single showing was already sold out. I had to see it at a Saturday matinee instead. So I’m sure this one is going to be a huge box-office hit. (Editor’s Note: since this review was written, THE AVENGERS went on to have the biggest movie opening weekend in box-office history, with over $200 million in the U.S. alone).

MA: Hands down, THE AVENGERS is a winner. I give it four knives.

LS: Well, it does have a lot going for it. A great cast, great heroes, and great fight scenes. But it’s not perfect. The first half of it, as S.H.I.E.L.D gathered up the heroes, did move a little slow at times. Not boring, mind you, but I found myself thinking “hurry up and assemble already!” And I still say the “big bad” left a lot to be desired (you’d think Joss Whedon, who added the phrase “big bad” to our lexicon in his BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER series, would have been more conscious of the need for a worthy bad guy).

One thing, though. Like most of these movies, there’s a hidden scene or “Easter egg” once the credits start rolling. But this time, it happens pretty early on and you don’t have to sit through all of the credits. In THE AVENGERS this extra scene gives us a major teaser as to who’s going to be the enemy in THE AVENGERS 2, and he’s way more lethal than half-assed Loki. So that got me excited, knowing what they have in store for next time. I’m not saying a word about who the classic villain is, though. You have to go see the movie if you want to find out. But I will say that Jim Starlin fans (of which I’m one) will be very psyched!

MA: But if you do stay to the very end of the credits, there is an additional scene, but it’s played strictly for laughs and it’s not as important as the prior scene you just mentioned. Still, it cracked up those of us still sitting in the theater.

LS: I liked this movie a lot, but I just didn’t think it was as perfect as you did. I give it three and a half knives. As in, it’s great and people should go see it, but it could have been even better!

MA: Well, there you have it. Shouldn’t we be returning the Helicarrier now, before Nick Fury notices it’s gone?

LS: I guess so.

MA: So what are you going to tell him when he asks about the giant scrape on the side of the Helicarrier?

LS: I’ll blame it on aliens.

MA: Good idea!

—END—

Michael Arruda gives THE AVENGERS ~ four knives!

LL Soares gives THE AVENGERS~three and a half knives.

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IRON MAN 2

Posted in 2010, Cinema Knife Fights, Comic Book Movies, Sequels with tags Black Widow, comic books, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Happy Hogan, iron man 2, mickey rourke, Pepper Potts, Robert Downey Jr., Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tony Stark, War Machine, Whiplash on May 10, 2010 by knifefighter

CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT: IRON MAN 2
By Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares

FADE IN

(THE SCENE: MICHAEL ARRUDA walks into a vast lab, full of machinery, to find L.L. SOARES asleep in Iron Man pajamas)

MA: We’re gonna have to rename this column, CINEMA KNIFE SLEEP pretty soon. Hey, wake up!

LS: Oh my god, it’s FREDDY KRUEGER again, come to kill me in my dreams! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME, FREDDY KRUEGER!

MA: That was last week. This week it’s just me.

LS: Oh, good……. I think.

MA: What are you sleeping again for? We have a movie to review.

LS: Because I just saw IRON MAN 2 and it lulled me to sleep.

MA: Well, wake up! ‘Cause you’re starting this one.

LS: Do I have to? This movie has like a hundred plots all going on at once.

MA: Well, don’t put us to sleep by recounting each and every one!

LS: A critic’s got to do what a critic’s got to do.

IRON MAN 2 is the much-awaited sequel to 2008’s very successful first IRON MAN film. At least I think it’s much-awaited. Personally, I could take it or leave it.

MA: Those of us who loved the first movie were indeed eagerly awaiting this one. However, those of us who have been watching movies for a zillion years know a thing or to about the success rate of sequels, so it wasn’t like I was holding my breath or anything.

LS: Make up your mind. Either you were eagerly awaiting this one, or you “weren’t holding your breath.” Which one is it? You talk in riddles.

MA (dressed as YODA): Awaiting the movie I was, expecting much, not so. Annoying you can be.

LS: If you were looking forward to this one so much, why don’t you start now?

MA: And let you off the hook? I don’t think so!

LS: This time around, we start off with Ivan Vanko, a Russian ex-con who also happens to be a physics genius! When his father dies, he finds out that daddy used to work for Stark Enterprises (i.e. Tony Stark’s father, Howard Stark, shown here in old film footage and played by John Slattery from the show MAD MEN) and that Stark Sr. might have “appropriated” some of Ivan’s father’s plans for an alternate power source – which also happens to be part of Tony Stark’s Iron Man costume. Wanting revenge, Ivan starts to build a suit of his own.

Meanwhile, Tony not only has announced Iron Man’s identity to the world (“It’s me, folks!”), but he also goes before a Congressional subcommittee – led by wisecracking Senator Stern (Gary Shandling) – that wants to take his alter ego away from him to give to the military (it’s too powerful a weapon to leave to just one man). Tony refuses to hand the plans over, and his insistence on doing everything “his way” has made him something of a hero to thousands of adoring fans. He’s pretty much a rock star at this point.

But there’s a dark side. He’s dying and the metal “palladium” is the only thing keeping him alive (he uses it to power his breastplate – which is keeping his heart alive – but he’s going through more and more of the stuff every day, and it’s in limited supply). However, it’s also poisoning his blood – so he knows full well it’s only a matter of time before he dies. So he makes plans for when he’s gone. First by making his loyal “Girl Friday” Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) the new CEO of Stark Enterprises, and by doing foolhardy things like kicking the driver of his racecar out so he can drive in the Gran Prix himself, even though he’s never done it before.

But good old Ivan shows ups to slice the car in two with his electric whips. And Iron Man faces yet another new villain out to kill him.

In the comics, this villain’s name was Whiplash (they never call him that here), and he looked nothing like Mickey Rourke does here. I could forgive the change of costume, but, really, the Whiplash in this movie really bears NO resemblance at all to the comic’s version (not just the costume).In the comics, his name wasn’t even the same – he was Mark Scarlotti. However, a character named Anton Vanko was Iron Man’s old enemy The Crimson Dynamo (who was a Cold War Russian version of Iron Man). Try to make sense of that!

MA (Dressed like a geek scientist in a white lab coat, disheveled hair, and oversized eyeglasses that hang helter-skelter across the bridge of his nose. He stands in front of a chalkboard with a piece of chalk in hand. The board is covered with scribble): Let’s see, Whiplash was Mark Scarlotti, who is not Mickey Rourke, but Rourke is Ivan Vanko who is also Whiplash but not Scarlotti. Then there’s Anton Vanko who is not Ivan Vanko, who’s Mickey Rourke, who is not Anton Vanko, who is the Crimson Dynamo. By George, I’ve think we’ve got it!

LS: Now if it was just Whiplash vs. Iron Man, or even If Whiplash teamed up with the Crimson Dynamo, that would have been a good plot. But there’s no way they were going to stop there. Other Marvel characters thrown into this stew include: Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) – a competitor of Stark’s in the weapons industry, who was ruthless in the comics, but is pretty much played for laughs here; Stark employee Natalie Rushman (who turns out to be Natasha Romanoff – The Black Widow, a formidable spy and fighter played by Scarlett Johansson in the movie), who is really an undercover agent for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), head of the clandestine government agency S.H.I.E.L.D.

But that’s not all. Lt. Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle – he was played by Terence Fisher in the original movie) – Stark’s best friend – gets a hold of one of Stark’s earlier Iron Man costumes, which gets upgraded by Justin Hammer to become War Machine. And this doesn’t even include the tons of robot/drone Iron Men that Hammer creates and Ivan Vanko upgrades to attack Iron Man.

As you can see from the synopsis, there’s a lot going on in this movie. In fact, TOO MUCH. There are way too many characters jostling for screen time, and the plot, as it is, isn’t very compelling. In fact, for long stretches, this movie is downright boring, and I’m one of the people who enjoyed the first IRON MAN movie (and as a kid I even collected IRON MAN comics).

Even just explaining the storyline makes me want to take a nap!

MA: I had less of a problem with the movie having multiple storylines and myriad characters than I did with the fact that none of the storylines really did all that much for me. That and the pacing made the bulk of this movie as boring as you just said.

LS: The best things in it are: Robert Downey Jr. again playing it to the hilt as cocky playboy Tony Stark. Sam Rockwell, an actor I always enjoy, does a tightrope walk as Justin Hammer – he’s supposed to be a worthy adversary to Stark but is pretty much treated as a joke here, but Rockwell does what he can with the role. Mickey Rourke is good here, too, but doesn’t get nearly enough screen time as the bad guy – mainly because he’s competing with so many other characters in the plot. And Johansson is actually pretty good as the Black Widow – but once again, isn’t given enough to do.

I wanted to like this movie. I thought the original IRON MAN was a fun movie and wanted this to be more of the same. But I really didn’t care for IRON MAN 2 overall, and can’t really bring myself to recommend it. What do you think, Michael?

MA: I’m with you. I really enjoyed the first IRON MAN as well, a lot, but this one doesn’t even come close to measuring up. I’ll start with the cast since you were just talking about them.

You mention Robert Downey Jr. as one of the best parts, but I have to disagree on that point. Downey Jr. was probably my favorite part of IRON MAN. I thought his Tony Stark was an intriguing character, and his performance was a knock-out, way better than say, Christian Bale as Batman.

But in this one he just lacked something, and he failed to capture the same magic from the original. I felt the same way about Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. All the chemistry they shared in the original was gone in this one. I have to say I really didn’t enjoy either character in this movie.

LS: For some reason I never really cared for Paltrow as Pepper. But yeah, Downey’s good, but he’s not as good here as he was in the first one. It’s like he’s got Peter Parker Syndrome this time – too much ANGST.

MA: In Downey Jr.’s case, I’m not sure if it was his performance or the writing by screenwriter Justin Theroux. It was as if they chose to do a movie on the worst week of Tony Stark’s life. He thinks he’s dying, he’s upset about everything, it seems, and his behavior is erratic and all over the place. It isn’t until the end of the movie that recaptures his persona from the first one. Couldn’t they have chosen to write about Stark after all this happened so we could enjoy watching him do his Iron Man/confident wise guy Tony Stark shtick? I just didn’t like his character in this one.

LS: Well, a major storyline in the comics was Tony Stark’s alcoholism, which is bound to be addressed in one of these sequels, so things are definitely going in that direction.

MA: Don’t get me wrong. Characters without problems are boring, but in this case, my point is, why ruin a good thing? Downey Jr. had Tony Stark nailed in the first one, but in this one, with the angst over dying, he’s not the same guy.

I was also very disappointed with Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko. He looks great, creepy and frightening, but after he escapes from prison, he becomes— almost passive and boring. He spends his time building robots, becoming almost a supporting player the rest of the way, which is too bad, because the guy’s a beast, and a brilliant one at that. He should be the central villain, but alas he’s reduced to lab work. Ho hum.

I didn’t like Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer at all. I know his character wasn’t supposed to be likeable, but he should have been a little more sinister rather than a buffoon, which is how he comes off in this movie.

LS: I agree. I like Rockwell, but I don’t know why they wrote his character as such an idiot. I didn’t like that at all.

MA: By far, my favorite part of this movie was Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman aka The Black Widow. Her character was fresh, hard-hitting, and thoroughly enjoyable. If I had to give one reason for seeing IRON MAN 2, it would be to see Johansson in action, but as you already pointed out, she’s not in it all that much, and so her performance alone is not enough to save this movie. I like Johansson a lot, and her best performance in my mind remains in Woody Allen’s MATCH POINT (2005).

LS: I’d go so far as to say that Johansson’s character deserves her own movie, without all this clutter, so The Black Widow could really have a chance to shine.

MA: I’d pay to see that. I enjoyed both Don Cheadle (one of the best actors working today) and Samuel L. Jackson, but even more, I was impressed by Gary Shandling, of all people, as Senator Stern. He’s a scene-stealer in the two scenes he’s in.

LS: Shandling was great! So was Sam Jackson as Nick Fury. He’s always good, and he brings the right amount of cockiness and authority to the role. But where’s the perpetual cigar in his mouth? Where’s the stubble? And most of all – where’s the damn S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier? At least he’s a big improvement over David Hasslehoff who once played Nick Fury in an awful TV-movie that aired on the SyFy Channel!

MA: Director Jon Favreau, who also directed the first IRON MAN, doesn’t seem to give IRON MAN 2 the same pizzazz the first one had. That first film possessed an edginess, a boldness, that is completely gone here. It opens slowly, and picks up steam when it gets to the race car sequence that was heavily shown in the previews.

LS: Yep.

MA: Now, I was psyched about this, because it came so early in the movie, and I was feeling grateful that the previews didn’t spoil the ending. I was excited that there would still be room for surprise. Trouble was, nothing that followed that scene rivaled it. I guess that’s why they showed it in the previews!

It also seemed like it took forever for Iron Man to show up in this movie!

I have to admit, I did enjoy the climactic battle with Iron Man, War Machine, and all the robot/drones. Visually, it was fun to watch, but by that point, I really didn’t care all that much. But far worse was the very ending, when Vanko returns to face off against Iron Man and War Machine. It was like, “here we go. Here comes the fun part!” However, blink and you’ll miss their battle.

IRON MAN 2 really plays liked the clichéd sequel. The characters are back from the first one, but the magic just isn’t there anymore, and when you leave the theater, you leave wishing you’d just watched the first one instead. THE DARK KNIGHT, this ain’t.

LS: I do find it annoying when villains bear absolutely no similarity onscreen to who they are in the comics and this time around Whiplash is pretty much a totally different character than the original. In fact, the ONLY place he is referred to as Whiplash is in the end credits. I think a big part of this is vanity. Most actors do not want to wear a mask in their most important scenes. And Mickey Rourke is obviously no exception. In fact, in the climactic battle with Iron Man and War Machine, Rourke goes throughout the whole fight with his FACE PLATE OPEN, so we can continue to see his face, even though this would leave him completely vulnerable in a fight. Talk about vanity! All Iron Man had to do was zap his head and he’d be toast! At least Downey and Cheadle get around this by having their faces shown “inside” their battle helmets.

There are way too many Iron Men this time around, too. Aside from Stark (the real Iron man) and Rhodes, we’ve got an army of robot Iron Men, and at the end even Ivan Vanko dons an Iron Man-type armored suit (something the comic book Whiplash would never have done).

And the fight scenes seemed to go on forever! Aside from the first appearance of Whiplash in Monte Carlo, the fight scenes were mostly a bore this time around.

MA (wearing an Iron Man Suit): I actually thought the action scenes were pretty good. I agree that the Monte Carlo race scene was the best, though.

LS: Take that damn suit off!

MA: I like the sleek look.

LS: Also, stick around all the way to the end of the credits. Marvel Studios has pretty much made it mandatory to show one final scene at the ends of their movies after the credits are over. This time around, we get a teaser for the upcoming THOR movie, and while I am a big Thor fan (much more than Iron Man these days), I’M not even sure if it’s worth sticking around for.

MA: No, it’ s not. Just take it from us: there’s a THOR teaser at the end. Wait for the DVD and fast forward through the credits. The credits go on for a long time anyway, and the choice of music isn’t that great. Where the hell was Black Sabbath’s Iron Man?

LS: I didn’t hate all the music. They have at least two Clash songs on the soundtrack and lots of AC/DC. But yeah, Sabbath’s IRON MAN was sorely missing. Especially since they used it in the trailer.

For the most part, IRON MAN 2 was a snooze. I’d give it two knives.

MA: I’d give it two knives, too. While it’s not a complete bomb, in that at least its story makes sense, it’s not at all compelling. In fact, it’s downright boring at times. I think they should have chosen a better week in Tony Stark’s life to build a film around. Pick one where he’s actually on top of his game. That might have been more fun.

LS: As for me, I say less characters, and more character-development, would have saved this movie. IRON MAN 2 does neither. Well, folks, that’s it for now.

MA: We’ll see you next week with a review of another movie. (To LS) You can go back to sleep now.

LS: Nah, I’m wide awake now. Just don’t make me sit through IRON MAN 2 again.

MA: Hey, let’s take those Iron Man suits we got in our press kits out for a spin.

LS: Do they actually fly?

MA: Directions said they’re fully operational.

(MA & LS are now wearing IRON MAN suits. They put their masks down, and their suits ignite. They rocket upward and blast out through the roof into the night sky. There is a great explosion, followed by the whistling sound of objects falling from the sky. Various metal objects and body parts bounce to the ground. The camera closes in on the heads of LS and MA, busily conversing even though their bodies are missing.)

LS: Heads are going to roll for this!

MA: You would have to put it that way.

FADE OUT

Michael Gives IRON MAN 2 – TWO KNIVES

LL GIVES IT – TWO KNIVES as well

Archive for Black Widow

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