Ok so this week, The Avengers! Round 2 of AvX came out this week also, for those who are wondering; course if you are wondering you probably are also the type of person who not only already bought it but read it too… so really this article is for the rest of you haha… Anyway:
So the Avengers were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, like I mentioned last week, in the 1960s. The founding characters are Thor (from the Norse mythology, yall might remember him as the hunk with the hammer), Ironman (from no particular mythology but he’s the hunk with the red armor and the blue light in his chest), Ant-man (you know, the man who’s an ant), the Hulk (the hunk that gets so mad he turns green), and the Wasp (and the Unicorn, no wait sorry, that’s Doctor Who).
Later other characters in the Marvel Universe joined the Avengers such as Captain America (the hunk with the shield and the boy next door baby face), Hawkeye, Black Widow (you know, Scarlet Johansen), Beast (originally an X-men character), Ms. Marvel, Thing, Spider-man, Wolverine (also an X-men character, the hunk who is Hugh Jackman!), Doctor Strange (-love… just kidding), Daredevil, and Nick Fury. There were many but these are some of the most recognizable to laymen. Having X-men on their team makes it very interesting in AvX.
The first issue has the Avengers (not yet calling themselves the Avengers) battling Thor’s brother Loki (also taken from Norse mythology), who seeks revenge against his brother (by the way, the movie was great!) and he the villain the new Avengers movie is primarily focusing on. And just like with the X-men series and the Spider-man series, there were many different Avengers series; Avengers Academy, Avengers Disassemble, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, as well as the many cross-overs that happened in those decades.
For those who don’t read the comics you probably know the cartoons and movies that have come out. The TV shows were cute! And on Netflix (they should really start paying me…) but I like the movies the best! Each of the major Avengers have had their own movie (Black Widow and Hawkeye have not but they are still cool! And hey, Black Widow was in Ironman 2 and Hawkeye was in Thor, so it balances out… sorta). I loved the original Spider-man movies (mostly) and they are redoing them now. I had a great time with Ironman, though I haven’t had a chance to see the second one yet. Thor was fantastic! I mean I really had fun with it. That coffee cup bit, so funny! Hulk has been a popular recurring character in film and television with a TV show in the 70s and recently being played by Eric Bana (Nero in the new Star Trek) in 2003 and Edward Norton (Fight Club) in 2008.
Must say though, Captain America was my favorite. First of all the movie was stacked with a fantastic cast including Hugo Weaving (Matrix, Lord of the Rings, V for Vendetta), Tommy Lee Jones (MIB I, II, and III), and Stanley Tucci (Julie and Julia, The Devil Wears Prada). And, I mean, come on, what’s not to love about the under dog boy next door with a heart stronger than he looks who selflessly saves the world? (well, I guess we all know my dream guy is Steve Rogers now.) Oh yeah and he’s played by Chris Evans, who is adorable! Oh, and WWII movies are awesome!
The Avengers movie comes to US theatres May 4th.
(May the fourth be with you… wait wrong nerd-dom)
So back to the comics: we started this discussion because of AvX. Like I said in the X-men article, the major conflict centers around the character Hope from the X-men. It turns out that the Phoenix Force, which was expelled from earth with the death of the telekinetic mutant, Jean Grey, is returning to earth seeking a host. Both the X-men and the Avengers believe that Hope is the chosen host. The X-men have been practically wiped out and those that remain live on theislandofUtopiaoff the coast ofSan Francisco. They see Hope as their messianic ticket out of extinction. The Avengers see her as a possible destroyer of worlds, earth specifically.
Now this would be a bad enough situation and cause for issues, but there’s more; the Avengers are partially responsible for the X-men’s current state of endangerment (or a word like that). There are best friends on either side, husbands vs. wives, even parents vs. children. The X-men will defend Hope at all costs and the Avengers will do their duty to defend earth for the same price. It’s not pretty.
On that happy note, we can look forward to such fights as CaptainAmericavs. Cyclops, Ironman vs. Magneto, and Hope vs. everyone. You have to remember, Hope is just a kid. Ok well a teenager, but still this is a lot for someone her age, whether they have super powers or not. I look forward to seeing how the story plays out over the next couple months.
Logo photo by Justine Impressions http://www.justineimpressions.com/