Avengers - Infinity Wars

[iceberg]

[Bold] Please do not mention that issue. It and the issues associated with it are one of a few gems from my comic book collection. One of the best stories ever told, inside and outside comic books. Just thinking about that issue and the Dark Phoenix saga puts knots in my stomach knowing FOX will do the story justice when they release the movie based on it this February...

...or massacre it. There is no gray area for me. FOX has an opportunity of making a classic blockbuster film. I think they have the cast for it. I think they have the right actress for Jean in Sophie Turner (and a natural redhead to boot). The supporting cast is solid, although I do not know what the plan is for Wolverine with Jackman bowing out. I would hope and pray they allowed the director of X-Men: First Class, Matthew Vaughn, to direct the film.

Marvel/Disney has done a fantastic job presenting the cosmic element to movie audiences, which would only help DP. Somehow adding the Shi'ar into the plot would hit a home run for me. There is just so much that could go right for the movie but I have a sick feeling the opposite will happen instead.

Sorry for the rant. And now.

Spoiler

Normally I would agree with the soap opera "I'm dead. No I am not. Syke!" angle but I think the inclusion of the Infinity Stones (especially the Reality Stone) in the story allows for leeway here. After all, the stones make anything literally possible.

while we're on comic books - just tossing this out there as my pride and joy from my comic book memories.

spiderman vs wolverine. i actually got it in kmart in clinton oklahoma but fell in love with the story. word for word, i was drawn in as it unfolded. the scene where spiderman tries to walk away and the lady spy taps him on the shoulder KNOWING as wound up as spidey was fighting wolverine, he'd deck her, and he did., killing her.

then reading about how he realized what he just did and how wolverine explained how it unfolded and that spidey would be working this one out for a long long time. i fell in love with those 2 pages of artwork and believe it or not, i found them on ebay LONG ago for sale. the original artwork and lettering. i snagged them, got a few more of those issues and i have a 3 piece framed set in my hallway. page 1, frame 1. center frame are the 2 pages from the comic book in a portrait mode and frame 3 is the 2nd original page.

i think i'm gonna go look at 'em now.

 

[Runwildboys]

I think you're off to a great start.

Spoiler

I'm also expecting score sort of a turn or arc for Thanos as well. Ultimately, I think that Gators and everyone turned to dust to be returned, but everyone killed outside of that to remain dead.

I also expect a passing of the torch between the original Avengers and the remaining heroes.

I think they ultimately use the Time Stone to send Cap back to 1945 to have that date with Peggy Carter that he missed in his first film. There to live out his days.

I think Stark "retires" to marry and raise a family with Pepper. But they'll have the option to have him appear down the road should they decide.

I think Thor goes out into space to find whatever is left of the Asgardians. But still available if they want to have him appear in a future film.

I think Hulk goes journeying on his own, much like the old Bill Bixby TV show.

You've put a lot more thought into it than I have! Lol

 

[Runwildboys]

Think more along the lines of a female Superman.

Oh, I must've read something that someone who has no idea what they're talking about wrote.

 

[Runwildboys]

Think more along the lines of a female Superman.

Okay, I just Googled a different site about CM, and if that's right, it's just too much. I know some people who think Superman is too powerful, but she's got a lot more power, and more powers than he has.

One of the powers she has is the ability to know what's going on in the universe, in which case, why didn't she know about Thanos?

 

[Stash]

Okay, I just Googled a different site about CM, and if that's right, it's just too much. I know some people who think Superman is too powerful, but she's got a lot more power, and more powers than he has.

One of the powers she has is the ability to know what's going on in the universe, in which case, why didn't she know about Thanos?

Hopefully, like many of the characters, her powers will also be toned down a bit.

 

[DallasEast]

I am only going to say... in my most humble opinion... that Captain Marvel is nowhere in the vicinity of Superman.

Spoiler

I have already mentioned the movies are loosely following the actual stories from way back when. Also, certain survivors like Stark, Strange and Thor *should* be significant wildcards in Part 2.

What I am hesitant to suggest strongly is the possiblility Nebula may play a huge role concerning the ultimate fate of the Inifinity Gauntlet as she did in the comic storyline. There are so many character omissions in the current story like Galactus, Warlock, etc. that I think the more down-to-earth dramatic approach will be taken.

And I can see Captain Marvel’s role as a substitute for the Silver Surfer. Granted, CM is not on the level of Galactus’s former herald but her power levels should mesh well with the ‘believability’ of the films. Just my take. So far. Exciting stuff for speculation.

 

[kskboys]

Understood.

But that's what most of the public wants... They want the baby-faces to appear to be totally beaten without an ounce of fight left.

The character's deaths in this movie provide the heat. I'm not sure how you would rewrite the thing to provide as much impact as several of the characters simply turning to dust.

No doubt 99 people out of a 100 realize the heel will get his in the next film and the characters will make a triumphant return, but for many of those people they bought into the belief of the film and those characters are presently dead.

Yup, the public thinks 50 shades is good.

 

[kskboys]

Sooo, let me get this straight. All the good guys die.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Sooo, let me get this straight. All the good guys die.

No... Not all.

 

[Kevinicus]

Yup, the public thinks 50 shades is good.

No. They do not.

 

[DallasEast]

What kinda gets me is that some of the audience (or some folks who should see the movie but haven't yet ) who are caught up in what Thanos does to the heroes. Sure, it is called Avengers Infinity War for a reason and there would not even be a movie without them but there is very little chatter about what Thanos actually achieved. Seeing what happened to some of the heroes hit me like a ton of bricks but Thanos' reward for everything he strove for is what truly awed me.

...even though I already knew what he would do.

 

[Stash]

What kinda gets me is that some of the audience (or some folks who should see the movie but haven't yet ) who are caught up in what Thanos does to the heroes. Sure, it is called Avengers Infinity War for a reason and there would not even be a movie without them but there is very little chatter about what Thanos actually achieved. Seeing what happened to some of the heroes hit me like a ton of bricks but Thanos' reward for everything he strove for is what truly awed me.

...even though I already knew what he would do.

I give Marvel credit for recognizing past mistakes. Many of their villains were one-note characters with very little depth and almost no insight into their motivations. Or worse, their motivations were weak in the first place. Truly great villains like Loki were few and far between.

But in my opinion, they've corrected this with their last two films, to incredible box office success. Both Thanos and Killmonger were villains with depth of character. Their motivations were clearly thought out and presented. And even if you absolutely disagreed with their position, at least you understood why they felt the way that they did.

 

[DallasEast]

I give Marvel credit for recognizing past mistakes. Many of their villains were one-note characters with very little depth and almost no insight into their motivations. Or worse, their motivations were weak in the first place. Truly great villains like Loki were few and far between.

But in my opinion, they've corrected this with their last two films, to incredible box office success. Both Thanos and Killmonger were villains with depth of character. Their motivations were clearly thought out and presented. And even if you absolutely disagreed with their position, at least you understood why they felt the way that they did.

I mostly agree, especially after factoring in character depth as a crtical factor. Doing so has even made me backtrack on my previous evaluations of Pierce and Bucky from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Even though I totally agree with Loki, Killmonger and Thanos standing head-and-shoulders above their villainous peers, I would include my personal consideration of four others as very memorable foes with strong screen personas and well-stated ambitions:

Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, Captain America: The First Avenger). Skull verbalized his goal of world conquest well. The audience sees a zealot leader, fixated upon locating and then obtaining the Tessaract (sp?), who was both angered with and somewhat jealous of his philosophical opposite in Captain America.

Ultron (voiceover by James Spader, Avengers: Age of Ultron). Ultron was an artificial intelligence totally void of human morality, whose malevolent programming seized upon Stark's prime directive: Earth's protection and salvation. Throughout the movie, viewers see Ultron's single-minded motivation for saving Earth from what its programming determined was its greatest threat: humanity. Yet, we also see an entity envious of humanity and his equally passionate desire of evolving into a facsimile of the enemy itself.

Vulture (Michael Keaton, Spider-Man: Homecoming). Vulture morphed his normal, single-minded, law abiding ambition of providing a good life for his family into a maddening obsession for eternal security and wealth for his wife and child. No obstacle could present itself that would deter him from achieving his happily ever after goal. His tunnel vision would equally treat any threat to his goal in similar fashion. Despite everything he did, Vulture's actions were predicated on his own twisted moral code, which even spared the life of the one person, Peter Parker, who crushed his life's dream.

Ego (Kurt Russell, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2). Ego's motivation rivaled, and in some ways surpassed, even Thanos' ambition. Ego's unwavering and uncompromising goal was reshaping all life into his own, which was explained in detail to the audience. His endgame meant sacrificing all of his offspring without any consideration to anything other than himself. Sure, Star-Lord's mother was the only exception, whom he discarded by implanting a brain tumor. That was both the sum total of his empathy and ultimate downfall.

I put Hela, Cate Blanchett from Thor: Ragnarok, in my honorable mention even though I blame the writing and direction of the movie more than the actress and character. I will concede that Blanchett did not have a decent opportunity of layering her character more. In my opinion, her performance was still very strong in context with how her character was meshed within the storyline.

 

[Stash]

I mostly agree, especially after factoring in character depth as a crtical factor. Doing so has even made me backtrack on my previous evaluations of Pierce and Bucky from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Even though I totally agree with Loki, Killmonger and Thanos standing head-and-shoulders above their villainous peers, I would include my personal consideration of four others as very memorable foes with strong screen personas and well-stated ambitions:

Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, Captain America: The First Avenger). Skull verbalized his goal of world conquest well. The audience sees a zealot leader, fixated upon locating and then obtaining the Tessaract (sp?), who was both angered with and somewhat jealous of his philosophical opposite in Captain America.

Ultron (voiceover by James Spader, Avengers: Age of Ultron). Ultron was an artificial intelligence totally void of human morality, whose malevolent programming seized upon Stark's prime directive: Earth's protection and salvation. Throughout the movie, viewers see Ultron's single-minded motivation for saving Earth from what its programming determined was its greatest threat: humanity. Yet, we also see an entity envious of humanity and his equally passionate desire of evolving into a facsimile of the enemy itself.

Vulture (Michael Keaton, Spider-Man: Homecoming). Vulture morphed his normal, single-minded, law abiding ambition of providing a good life for his family into a maddening obsession for eternal security and wealth for his wife and child. No obstacle could present itself that would deter him from achieving his happily ever after goal. His tunnel vision would equally treat any threat to his goal in similar fashion. Despite everything he did, Vulture's actions were predicated on his own twisted moral code, which even spared the life of the one person, Peter Parker, who crushed his life's dream.

Ego (Kurt Russell, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2). Ego's motivation rivaled, and in some ways surpassed, even Thanos' ambition. Ego's unwavering and uncompromising goal was reshaping all life into his own, which was explained in detail to the audience. His endgame meant sacrificing all of his offspring without any consideration to anything other than himself. Sure, Star-Lord's mother was the only exception, whom he discarded by implanting a brain tumor. That was both the sum total of his empathy and ultimate downfall.

I put Hela, Cate Blanchett from Thor: Ragnarok, in my honorable mention even though I blame the writing and direction of the movie more than the actress and character. I will concede that Blanchett did not have a decent opportunity of layering her character more. In my opinion, her performance was still very strong in context with how her character was meshed within the storyline.

I'd disagree with two of those - The Red Skull, and Ultron. Both are iconic villains who were either underdeveloped (Red Skull) or improperly characterized (Ultron).

Whoever's idea it was to characterize a machine that wants to wipe out humanity the way they did in that film made a huge mistake. I love Spader too, but that depiction was completely off the mark in terms of the actual comic book character.

 

[Chrispierce]

Well I see due to popular demand...”Infinity War” finally got it’s own thread. Yeah...I’ve seen it a couple times too,and as much as I despise that dirtbag Thanos....you got to admit,he’s the king of super villains.

 

[CyberB0b]

Why did Scarlett Witch go from Russian to American?

 

[Runwildboys]

Why did Scarlett Witch go from Russian to American?

Magic!

 

[DallasEast]

Why did Scarlett Witch go from Russian to American?

lol. Did Olsen change her accent in the movie? I did not even notice.

 

[CyberB0b]

lol. Did Olsen change her accent in the movie? I did not even notice.

She was very Russian when she made her first appearance, but I forgot which movie it was. No accent at all, now.

 

[DallasEast]

She was very Russian when she made her first appearance, but I forgot which movie it was. No accent at all, now.

Her first appearance was in the post credit scene for Captain America: The Winter Soldier but it was a non-speaking appearance. Avengers: Age of Ultron was the first time as a speaking role.