By Comic Relief
The Avengers Trailer has arrived. Enjoy!
Click here to watch official trailer
First off if you think we are talking about the British secret agent television show from 1961 that starred Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee respectively as Emma peel and John Steed, we are not. That mighty action adventure trailblazer deserves our highest pop cultural praise inspiring a list of similar sister and brother shows (Get Smart, The Man from Uncle, Johnny Quest and many more). I don’t want to get lost on a tangent, so let’s return to the subject of this article.
Not that the film opens until May 4th, 2012 but the Joss Whedon directed “The Avengers” is by many people’s standards Marvel’s finest team of super heroes ever created. The trailer is such a big deal because it represents progress on one of the most elaborate CGI fueled super hero events that Hollywood is likely to see anytime in the near future. Unlike the spectacle that should surround next year and 2013’s openings for “Spiderman”, “Batman”, and “Superman” this event demonstrates almost obsessive business and creative precision and planning; rarely seen in Hollywood or in this genre. Many may not know it but all of the previous Marvel Studio movies have been billed as integral to the overall serial or sequel event, so in franchise terms expect this series to way out number that of the enormous Harry Potter franchise. Regarding my previous introduction, some of you typically snarky fan boys or girls may be snarling, “What do you mean; the Fantastic Four and the X-men aren’t chopped liver.” And yes you would be right; those two franchises are as respectively formidable as two to five sequels would demonstrate. But the difference between the groups should be described in regard to character definition and the feature film business. I will explain both briefly.
Character Definition: When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby invented both the Fantastic Four and the X-men they were creating “box sets”, if you will, of super heroes. They knew they were designing a group so individual characters needed to compliment one another when featured together. Like many film casts seen in movies like “The Usual Suspects”, “Ocean’s 11” and “Bridesmaids” this is not an easy feat to accomplish. Referring to those movies, still after the movies premiere and distribution run, none of these specific characters could stand on their own in movies dedicated to them individually or solely. Like at the movies in comic publishing the X-Men character Wolverine is the only character that can sustain his own title independently.
What makes the Avengers special was the majority of these characters were individual sales winners whom were able to sustain their individual comic books before being affiliated with the group. Exactly like rival company DC Comic’s the Justice League of America (and Justice Society before it), these characters incidentally joined together to take on threats that none of them could handle on their own. As much as I would like to encourage juvenile fan rivalry between companies by mentioning that DC recently beat the pants off Marvel in the publishing arena in September, deposing Marvel as having the highest market share of any publishing comics company; I won’t. Because until DC and their parent company Warner Brothers Corporation learns how to make feature films for their comic book characters–the comparison would be wholly unbalanced. I don’t want to get lost on a tangent, so let’s return to the subject of this article.
Hollywood Business: In regard to business the Fantastic Four and the X-men are Twentieth Century Fox creations. The Avengers will be an independent product of the newly minted Marvel Entertainment Studio. Marvel is following their 21st century film successes with “The Incredible Hulk” (now played by actor Mark Ruffulo), “Iron man” (played by Robert Downey Jr.), “Thor” (played by Chris Hemsworth) and “Captain America” (played by Chris Evans) with a movie that collects all these characters in one story. Hollywood hasn’t combined individual franchises like this since it combined Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf man in a story of their own in the 1940’s. Of course you could argue that the Aliens/Predator franchises did the same but one would have to delve into the horror-science fiction genre to make the argument. I don’t want to get lost on a tangent, so let’s return to the subject of this article.
Who are the other Avengers: Shield’s agent Coulson (seen in almost all of the previous movies by actor Clark Gregg), Shield commander Nick Fury (seen in almost all of the previous movies by actor Samuel Jackson), Shield agent Black Widow (seen in “Ironman” by actor Scarlet Johansson), Shield agent Hawkeye (seen in “Thor” by actor Jeremy Renner), and Shield agent Maria Hill(never seen in the previous movies by actor Cobie Smulders). Despite having long careers, in comics these five characters have only had mild success in the publishing arena.
If you think I haven’t discussed why this movie is an event, here is a review. The movie is an event because: it represents another victory over rival DC comics, it represents possible proof that Marvel produces its content better than original supporter and now current rival 20th Century Fox, because it represents another first in film content regarding the genesis of the team, and it demonstrates movie innovation in the collection of characters from different franchises. If that was not enough, these are some alternate reasons you may want to see the trailer.
- This will be the third time the Incredible Hulk will be realized in CGI in film history. And though audiences may likely debate how impressive the realism of the animation is, most still believe the CGI improves with each new iteration of the character. Many were impressed with the animation of the Gollum from the “Lord of the Rings” franchise but most agree the 3D animation of human beings still has some way to go before it is completely seamless.
- The last scenes from the 1940’s based Captain America movie, placed alter ego Steve Rodgers in the present time period. The trailer should finally present Cap in the uniform he will be wearing today. If you haven’t seen it already, audiences should expect many similarities and possibly surprising costume modifications from the comic’s uniform. Expect costume alterations in other character uniforms as well.
- The trailer is also supposed to feature the first time we will see two flying super heroes presented traveling together at the same time. “Superman the Movie 2”, the “X-men”, and “X-men: First Class” featured super powered beings flying simultaneously but these were superhero and villain combinations.
I’m sorry if this was an uncomfortable trip into the geek universe yet I can assure you the community waiting to see these events (with baited breathe) is huge and entertainment website blogs will likely be on fire discussing the event for some days to come. Comic fan boys and girls and groupies have demonstrated an ongoing appreciation for all of these details. Audiences waiting to receive these events like the recent presentation of the Superman movie’s costume fervently wait to transform these theatrical spectacles into multimillion-dollar paydays for film artists and producers at a box office near you.
Please join us for a discussion Tuesday:10/11/2011@7pE/12UTC.
comicreleaf
comicrelief2
Comic Relief
parisienne
littlebells
Lurker
ozzie20
Open Book
LIH
linkedinhollywood.com 
I for one, am completely excited about this film! FANTASTIC article, CR!
LB,
Thanks so much.
In case you did not read the article is this topic being discussed? No.
I wish I had mentioned this in the article but Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman were present in “Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein.” It’s an odd pairing because Frankenstein gets top billing but the actor responsible for bringing this character to life doesn’t show up. Fortunately we do get Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi (the frequent Wolfman and Dracula respectively) but audiences must have felt cheated. I will check to see whether Karloff was alive to reprise the roll.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*running around in circles flailing my arms*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!! Marvel looks like it is going to kick some major A and I hope we are not disappointed! I have honestly never been into these characters before. It was mostly DC characters. But I have been so impressed with the actors and stories that I have become quite the fan. And oh my gosh, OB! The spiritual undertones!!!!!
CR,
Q: Who is Renner’s character and do we know how he is being introduced into the story line?
Hi! *waves*
Hi all!
I’m here too but I’ve got to catch up.
Hey everyone, I have to cut it short tonight, but I’ll be back to read and comment later! 🙂
any one here?
Sorry I was late, I had an extreme traffic problem.
Well, let me respond to LB’s question:
Renner’s character is Hawkeye. Hawkeye is Marvel’s archer super hero. He first showed up in film in Thor yet his speaking part was fairly minimal. He hasn’t been seen in day light before.
I’m not sure I care for his initial portrayal so far, but at least they chose an able actor.
Wow, I totally missed him in Thor. hahaha!!!!
Hi LB!!
ITA Hawkeye looks sorta thrown in, like an after thought. Why did they do that?
Ok, all caught up!
First of all, great article CR! I think I maybe starting to understand the comic world thanks to your articles! I actually could keep up with this one instead of my usual wandering around blindly, lol.
Secondly, I must admit when people say The Avengers, I automatically think of the British TV show too! So this films title did leave me scratching my head, but it made sense with what Ironman said in the trailer (“if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we’ll avenge it”), so that was a very good part to put into the trailer.
Thirdly, I was worried how all these characters would gel together at the beginning of the trailer. As you said, they are successful in their own films but watching the rest of the trailer has eased that worry. The group dynamic looks good, especially with Ironman’s jokes and retorts!
So over all it look like a very good movie! 🙂
Hi Everyone-
Sorry I’m late. CR had to leave so I will be taking over for him. However, he will be back tomorrow to answer any Q I can’t.
So let me start out by saying I’m so tired of explosions and end of the world scenarios. Yes!They need to have a reason for all these superheroes coming together. However, I’m just underwhelmed by this trailer.
I didn’t quite figure out who they were fighting from the trailer. Only that it was someone who seemed like they wanted to destroy the whole world.
I know it was rather fuzzy. First there were explosions then lazars toward the end. Whoever it is they are pretty pissed off. LOL!!
Lol! 🙂
CR-
AWESOME article. Your article really clarified a lot of my Q’s. The whole history of these characters and why this is such a big event for cult fans makes sense. TBH I’m going to hold out for the second trailer before I give Marvel a high five on this movie. Yet, I did like the sneak peaks of the Avengers after Thor, Ironman & Captain America. Well again I’m going to hold out to see a little more before I give it to them.
Thanks for the compliments.
Well I’m not defending them; there were a couple of things about the trailer that were lacking.
Ultimately, the only reason they put out the trailer was to stoke fan interest. The majority of the film will likely be in CGI and telling fans who they’re up against may destroy any hope of having any suspense in the film because fans will likely know their opposition very well.
Big Waves!! U are here. Honestly I tried but I don’t know enough to really be of any use to anyone. Sorry!!
Oh I see! The ” fans will likely know their opposition very well” makes sense! 🙂
Hi OB!
I am curious to see how Captain America and Iron man’s alter egos acknowledge the fact that Tony Spraks’s dad worked with Steve…Hmmm…kind of intriguing.
I get what you are saying about explosions and all that stuff, OB, but I have to say that I am looking forward to it just because of the great super heroes.
And aren’t they fighting Thors “brother”, what’shisname, (yes, I can’t remember)? He wants to take over the world and take away everyone’s freedom. Man, I could get all deep, but I’ll save it for the movie review. 🙂
Q: Why do you think they used this title? Could there have been a better title? Not that I don’t like it. It’s the fact that I think many people will associate it with the TV show.
IMO: This is exactly why they did not change the title to get those fans from the TV show. This is just my guess.
CR what do u think?
….sorry catching up….
LB, …..MAN!!!!! 😦
Oh no! What did I say???? I like the title!!!
LOL!! U did it now. LB!
You had a ton of questions I can’ easily or quickly answer.
I have a Q for everyone.
Of the superheros in The Avengers. Who are u most interested in seeing and why?
Ironman and Thor purely because of Ironman’s retort to Captain America and Thor laughing at it. It looks like those two will get along well. But out of all of them I’d pick Ironman purely because I like Robert Downey Jr.
Not Hawkeye? Hmmm….I wonder why?
haha! He’s just kind of…random. Like you said, thrown in at the end so to speak.
Hawkeye? Should I like Hwakeye? Is he played by an actor I like? I’m very confused, lol!
Hawkeye was played by Jeremy Renner, of “Hurt Locker” fame.
Oh ok!
You know him he’s about to be in tons of stuff.
I’m going to put my bid in and say Thor & Lotki.
Lotki!!! That’s it!!!! Thanks OB. I”m putting in my bid for them as well.
Ozzie-
Did u see Captain America and or Thor ?
Nope! I haven’t seen any of them so I’m purely going off of the trailer.
It’s all good Ozzie. I’m sure u are not alone.
Well I’m going to have to say goodnight everyone.
Again the big event for fans of this series have gotten a little taste. I hope the second trailer is better. CR excellent job again.
Goodnight!
Good night OB!
🙂
LB:
You saw the movie Dominic (what’s his name; don’t have IMBD time) played Tony Stark’s dad, he was at the control console when Steve was cooked in that super hero Nautilus machine.
Yes, we have to focus on that content that actually means something. Explosions are to action adventure films what flowers are to funerals. OB, get over it.
Yes one of the villians is “Loki.” Many in love with the genre think super villain overkill (too many) make terrible movies. Examples of this are Batman forever, Spiderman Three, and X-men 3.
Actually they already made an Avengers reboot. It was a terrible bomb starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman.
I remember that film, CR. I never did see it.
What!!!!!! You said you loved Captain America, Dominic Cooper with the pencil Stark moustache. I’m pretty sure he gave cap his shield.
Oh well, thre are a lot of details to remember.
Oh no! I meant the first Avenger movie. And I do like Dominic with his Stark moustache. 😉
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Yes!!! And wasn’t it shown in Iron Man 2???
His father was in Iron man 2 played by the actor who plays the boss in Mad Men.
Right, but didn’t we see the shield? I am trying to recall and I thought we did.
Yes, we saw the shield. Actress Haley Atwell shot at Steve. He used the shield to keep from being shot in the head.
yes we saw the shield in both movies.
Night OB!
I’m not an expert on these things; some of things I predicted would happen in the trailer did not happen.
• But my assumption is Robert Downey Jr. will get all the best lines.
• I don’t know how much work was done on the entire movie or the adversaries but I imagine the work in the trailer was probably made especially for that or was unused footage from the prior movies.
• Chris Hemsworth’s character probably will not make out nearly as well as he should.
Ozzie,
If possible I would pick some videos up at the video store.
If you can stomach these movies some of this must be out by now.
Ok, thanks everyone for coming. Sorry I was late. If there are any other observations I’ll chime in later.
Seems like everyone is fairly bewildered, this may be the trailer’s fault or be a result of these multi-sequel sequels.
CR,
Off topic, but if you have seen Drive, would you like to see Refn direct Wonder Woman if he got the opportunity?
LB,
it is very late on this coast, I will answer you tomorrow. I don’t want to drool or start blatthering. I’m already forgetting to type words…
LB,
You asked me whether I saw “Drive” or thought Refn would make a good candidate for a Wonder woman movie.
I heard excellent things about “Bronson” and “Valahalla Rising” so yes I really wanted to see “Drive.” In terms of his narrative gifts I thought the early scenes where he defined Driver’s patience, strategic strengths, and forethought was really spectacular. He also displayed a little of an appetite for the ghoulish when he had driver use the movie mask as a disguise. And of course I don’t think I’ve ever seen a (suggested) sex and violence scene like the elevator scene. All of these things made me appreciate him because I wasn’t sure whether I was going to get a movie like the “Transporter” or “Fast Five.”
Yet what I really hated was the stereotypical casting of Stan and the hapless Latino husband, who needed to be removed to assist in making a perfect white supremacist couple of Driver and Carrie Mulligan’s character. This was very sad and horribly predictable.
You know a Director doesn’t have to be God; he only has to construct the reality of the story within the four frames of the film. An unwillingness to abandon destructive stereotypes makes Refn a danger not an asset.
Wonder woman is a really unique character. She’s straight, strong, beautiful, and has a tremendous amount of integrity. Despite his desire to cast Christina Hendrix, I would be afraid of Refn tendencies to reproduce stereo types with such a powerful feminist icon. Little girls deserve better than that.
My theory is progressive social priorities probably contribute to progressive sensibilities in casting, narrative structure, story ideas, and technology. Films like the Matrix (regard less of what you think of the sequels) is a good illustration of this notion. One could see unparalleled female leadership (Trinity), unprecedented multi-racial cast (Morpheus), and overt spiritual undertones all in one movie. You have really had to be a powerful creator to pull that off. Technologically speaking “bullet time” evident in the clip, was a major innovation for an action movie.
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Welcome Wiley,
Great to meet you, and I hope we hear more from you in the future.