Possible Marvel Avengers recruits for future movies?

I apologize for all of the Marvel-related posts I've been doing on this blog lately. I'm just really excited for the Marvel Avengers movie. I guess that's what a really good movie is supposed to do.

So now that we've seen The Avengers, what new recruits from the comics would you like to see? The below is pure speculation on my part, but it's a limited wish-list of characters I'd like to see in the Marvel film universe (trust me, I really had to narrow this down to cut the length of this article -- I didn't even get into Gilgamesh, Sersi, Herculese, Tigra, Firebird, etc.).

Hank Pym (a.k.a. Ant-Man, Yellow Jacket, Giant Man, Goliath)

Hank Pym, with the illustrated heads of, from left to right: Ant-Man, Giant Man, Goliath and Yellow Jacket. 

A natural choice for the Avengers since he was a founding member in the comics and has been involved with a lot of key storylines (not the least of which is as the creator of Ultron, one of the Avengers’ chief adversaries), Hank Pym would also be a tough sell to the public. He’s never enjoyed mainstream success before, so many audiences would be introduced to Mr. Pym for the fist time. And his power flies in the face of any sort of “realism” the previous Marvel-produced films have tried to establish: size shifting. Hank Pym is probably best known as Ant-Man, and it’s of this incarnation that there is rumored to be a movie in the works with Edgar Wright at the helm (currently scheduled for a 2014 release). When Disney bought Marvel, John Lassetter was said to be very interested in adapting Ant-Man to film, for whatever reason. Just skip the whole wife-beating thing.

Youch!

Janet van Dyne (The Wasp)

Another founding member, but I don’t see her starring in her own movie. Maybe introduced in someone else’s film. The Wasp is romantically involved with Hank Pym and uses his size-reduction process for her power, plus wings to fly around and stun people with a “wasp sting” ray. Yeah, I’ll be shocked if The Wasp makes it to the big screen anytime soon, but one would think she would be introduced in a possible Ant-Man movie.

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch

I’d imagine Quicksilver and his sister Scarlet Witch are still owned by Fox, as they are supposed to be the son and daughter respectively of Magneto, the X-Men’s chief enemy. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are “mutants”, born with extraordinary abilities. Quicksilver can run really fast, while Scarlet Witch has the interesting ability of changing “probabilities” her way with her “hex” powers. Both have been longtime Avengers members, and it would be nice to see them as part of the team at some point in the movies. And if Marvel had the screen rights to X-Men, it would be easy to introduce them to audiences as the son and daughter of Magneto, a character mainstream audiences already know. But Marvel doesn’t have the screen rights to X-Men, so don’t hold your breath on these two turning up in the movie version of the Avengers team anytime soon.

Black Panther

I think Black Panther movie rights are currently owned by Fox, but if Marvel gets their hands on it: get a solid African American actor, get a stunning designer for the suit (it’s all black, so no “cheesey” colour issues or excuses), make Wakanda (the African nation where Black Panther rules) a bastion of technological growth in Africa that nations around the world covet, and you can have a potentially awesome movie. For a terrific take on Black Panther, seek out the DVD of the 6 episode adult animated series made for BET in the United States. Young T’Challa becomes ruler of Wakanda after his father dies at the hand of Klaw. Meanwhile the U.S. searches for excuses to invade Wakanda due to its natural resources and technology and Klaw assembles a team of super villains (Juggernaut, Batroc the Leaper, Black Knight and Radioactive Man) to raid Wakanda, opening the door for the U.S. to occupy the nation with the guise of “protection” against the invading hordes. Can T’Challa don the ceremonial garb of the Black Panther and do it justice while fending jealousy and doubt within his own kingdom and hostilities toward his kingdom from outside forces? I wasn’t sure if Black Panther could star in his own exciting movie until I saw this series. Black Panther was an Avenger, so if Marvel is looking for more fodder for box office success and a possible recruit for their Avengers movie line-up, Black Panther would be a great contender.

Vision

Follow along here: Hank Pym created Ultron, a robot meant for good. But Ultron gained sentience and became a genocidal maniac and main Avengers villain. Ultron then made Vision, an advanced Android that would lead Ultron’s creator Hank Pym into a trap. Vision (named after Janet van Dyne, a.k.a. The Wasp, describes him as a “vision” while trying to escape) is convinced by the Avengers to go against Ultron, and after learning that Ultron created Vision by mimicking Wonder Man’s brain waves (at this point, Wonder Man was dead), Vision joins the Avengers. He was with the Avengers for a long time, and when I think of The Avengers team, I think of Vision being in the roster. If Marvel can make Vision work in the movie version of the super-team, I’d like to see that happen.

Simon Williams (Wonder Man)

Various costumes of Wonder Man over the years. Pick one (I think I know which one you're going to pick -- the non-descript jacket version, second from the left, right? Bah!).

With strength comparable to Thor’s, Wonder Man is a good addition to the movie Avengers ranks. He’s been an Avenger in the comics for a long while and has a unique origin in that he started as a villain. Simon Williams, son of rich industrialist Sanford Williams who is owner of Williams Innovations, inherits his father’s munitions factory after his father's death. The company's profits fall due to competition from Stark Industries and Simon tries to embezzle funds from his company – he’s caught and incarcerated. Simon blamed Tony Stark for his incarceration and joins forces with Captain America villain Baron Heinrich Zemo and Thor villain Enchantress who pay Simon's bail and use Simon to infiltrate the Avengers. Zemo enfuses Simon Williams with ionic energy turning him into an ionic-powered being with superhuman powers of strength, imortality, increased agility and reflexes, invulnerability (including the lack of necessity to eat), and eventually the power of flight. Wonder Man joins the Avengers with instructions to betray them at a critical point, but decides to team up with the Avengers against Baron Zemo and his “Masters of Evil” group (including Zemo, Enchantress and Executioner (Thor villains), Melter (an Iron Man villain who, of course, melts things), Radioactive Man and Black Knight).

I can’t help but think the Masters of Evil (probably called something else) could be possible villains for an Avengers 3, a nice change of pace of having an Earth-based villain group after the large cosmic threats that the Avengers characters would have to fight in the forthcoming movies (like Thanos), with set ups in movies between Avengers 2 and 3 (if the franchise gets that far). Wonder Man could be set up in a possible Iron Man 4 and join in Avengers 3, betraying Zemo’s villainous super group at the film’s climax. Or not. Who knows?

Carol Susan Jane Danvers (Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird)

Ms. Marvel anyone? Since Fox apparently currently has the screen rights to the Skrulls and Kree alien races, and Ms. Marvel’s origin is that her powers are derived from being enfused with Kree/Skrull energy, her origin would have to be altered for the screen if she is used at all. Starting as a member of the United Staes Air Force, Carol Danvers was caught in an explosion of a Kree device when she stumbled on a Kree plot to take over a restricted military base. She is saved by Kree superhero Catain Marvel, but the blast injures Carol Danvers severely. Danvers makes a miraculous recovery and it is later revealed that eth device that exploded was an experiment weapon called a “Psyche-Magnetron” that melded Danvers’ genetic structure with Captain Marvel’s. Carol’s abilities include superhuman strength, supehuman stamina, flight, indestructibility, resistance to most toxins, and a limited precognitive "seventh sense. Binary and Warbird are other phases in Danvers’ superhero career that I won’t get into here, and I’m not even going to start on the X-Men character Rouge steeling her powers for a long while. Ms. Marvel is probably a stretch for the movie Avengers group, but was a popular member in the comics.

Samuel "Snap" Thomas Wilson (The Falcon)

Ah, Falcon. I love the iconography of his costume, and the fact that he’s a classic member of the Avengers, but this guy is a stretch for the movies. His power is that he can see through every bird’s eyes (giving him literally millions of eyes through out the world) and he can talk to birds. Oh, and he has a wing glider that allows him limited flight. Beyond that, he is mainstream comics’ first African American superhero (as opposed to Black Panther, who was a native of Africa and mainstream comics’ first black superhero). Old timers like myself will remember The Falcon being pushed in various media in the 70’s and 80’s, mainly toys (he was one of the Mego dolls of the 70’s), slushy cups, viewmaster reels, etc. where he was usually depicted as Captain America’s best friend (as he was in the comics). As with anyone, Falcon could work if done right, but I really don’t see Falcon turning up in any of Marvel’s movies, or even the Avengers. Shame.

Falcon, featured on a vintage 70's Mego doll advertisement (*ahem*, sorry, Mego Action Figure advertisement), along with The Lizard, Green Goblin and the Hulk. 

Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk)

Given that the Hulk has starred in two movies that have been categorized by Hollywood as “not successful”, if Hulk were to have another go at the big screen, I would think that he would have to be teamed up with someone else. And there would be no other more natural fit than She-Hulk. Jennifer Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner. After being shot by mobsters (long story), Walters needed a blood transfusion and Banner reluctantly agrees. At first, everything seems fine as Jennifer Walters makes a miraculous recovery, but then Walters finds that when angered she turns into the She-Hulk with similar powers as her cousin. Unlike her cousin though, Walters found that she can control her changes and decided to stay as She-Hulk all the time, preferring the freedom and assertiveness that came with it as opposed to how demure she used to be. She-Hulk was an Avenger for a long while, so she seems a natural fit for the Marvel film universe.

Spider-Man or Wolverine

1.) Spider-Man was never a regular Avenger in the comics (usually a “reserve member") and the same goes for Wolverine. The two characters were loners and it was uncharacteristic for them to join a super-team like the Avengers that fought cosmic threats. That all changed when the two characters were proving too popular to be restricted in what comics they could turn up in to sell books. Spidey and Wolvie were part of the “New Avengers” in 2005 (along with Thing, Luke Cage and Ms. Marvel) in order to push that new book to sales success. Now the lid was blown off of the taboo of putting Spidey and Wolverine on an Avengers team.

2.) Because of their popularity, it would be insane not to include one or both of these characters in an Avengers movie if you could (I mean, Hugh Jackman in an Avengers movie with the current cast?? Forget a 200 million dollar openning weekend, try 250 or 300 million!! I’m serious.)

3.) As of this writing, The Amazing Spider-Man, Sony’s reboot of the Spider-Man movie franchise (in an attempt to retain the Spider-Man movie licence by churning out a Spidey film every 2 to 4 years thus justifying their hold on the rights) has not been released yet. If it fails at the box office, that might make Sony want to ditch Spidey and sell it back to Marvel. If it succeeds (I think it will), Marvel will have to wait a while to grab it back as Sony will try to hold onto that property as long as they can. Same with Wolverine. There’s an X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2 (or whatever it's going to be called) coming out soon and the Wolverine character came with the X-Men property that Fox bought the screen rights to off Marvel years ago. I don’t think the forthcoming Woverine 2 and second X-Men: First Class film will fail, and Fox will retain the rights to those properties. What every Marvel fan (and now movie fan) wants to know is why can’t Disney (who now owns Marvel) flex their mighty Disney dollars/lawyers and buy back these lucrative properties (and while they’re at it, Namor, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Black Panther and Fantastic Four too). If Disney can do that, their investment, no matter how hefty, will pay off. Trust me, IT WILL!!

So, what new recruits would you like to see to the Avengers movie roster in the future? Or would you like it to stay as is?

-Deceptisean

Justice League Doom - movie review.

The Avengers 2 – Avengers vs. Thanos?

Everyone in the Marvel universe vs. Thanos.

So, you’ve been caught up in the hype and went to see The Avengers this weekend, were confused by some points in the film since you might not have seen the last five movies leading up to The Avengers (or even knew there were five movies leading up to this film), and you were particularly confused by the appearance of a villain at the very end of the movie in the middle of the credits. Who is that guy going on about “challenging the humans is to court death”? What does that mean?

That dude is Thanos, a villain from the comic books. This scene at the end of The Avengers seems to lay a foundation for a sequel in which Thanos is the villain. So, just who is Thanos and what does he want? Thanos is an alien who, at a very young age, literally fell in love with death, or at least the entity known as death. In order to impress her, Thanos caused a disaster that wiped out the population of his planet. He travels the universe seeking ways to kill vast populations in order to woo death and finally serve by her side. He set about collecting Infinity Gems, some of the most powerful artifacts in the universe, and created a gauntlet that displayed each of these gems. Each gem grants the owner total mastery over one aspect of the universe: Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality, and Power. He distorted a female space pirate, Nebula who claimed to be Thanos’ granddaughter, into a misshapen creature, neither dead nor living. In the comic book limited series The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos, desperate to win the affection of death, killed half of the life of the universe using his Gauntlet. The Fantasic Four and X-Men all died at once along with half the universe and the remaining heroes desperately fought against Thanos. In order to impress death further, Thanos allows the heroes a fighting chance, but then kills almost all of them. Thanos then defeats all of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe like Galactus and the Celestials, then expands his consciousness beyond his physical body to become the living embodiment of the universe. Of course, leaving his body leaves the Infinity Gauntlet vulnerable, and Nebula then dons the Gauntlet and restores the universe, bringing the dead back to life. The heroes then have another fight with Thanos and defeat him, taking back possession of the gauntlet.

The Infinity Gauntlet in the movie Thor.

Now, obviously this won’t make it to film exactly as is, but Marvel Studios have already shown the Infinity Gauntlet (albeit briefly) in the Thor movie. It was shown in Odin’s armory in the scene where the Frost Giants are killed by the Destroyer Armor. I’m not sure if this was just a throwaway gag for fans, or a genuine foreshadowing of events to come in the Marvel film universe. So, let’s just say that Thanos is being set up for a possible Avengers 2 movie, and that the Infinity Gauntlet figures into it to provide a threat big enough for the Avengers to stop. What would that look like?

The Infinity Gauntlet prop made for the movie Thor.

If going big is the way to go here, then this is my pure sepculation on what could happen in Avengers 2: Thanos comes to Earth searching for a bifrost (bridge to Asgard) and lays waste to a small town. The Avengers are assembled to attack Thanos, but fail to stop Thanos from entering Asgard. The Avengers follow Thanos to Asgard where Thanos storms Odin’s armory and steals theInfinity Gauntlet. Thanos then uses the Gauntlet to kill half the universe to woo death. Five out of ten people across the universe, selected in random order, drop dead in an instant (the writers can include characters like Black Widow and such in this mass killing, anyone that won’t be used in defeating Thanos). The remaining heroes track down Thanos who grants them a fighting chance to further impress death but easily kills them all, except for Captain America who is distorted into a misshapen creature by Thanos’ Gauntlet, a mockery of Cap’s former self as Thanos’ horrible standard to the survivor’s of Thanos’ holocaust. Down but not out, Cap convinces Thanos that he’s thinking too small with his new found power, and that Thanos should be the universe, a living god that controls everything. Thanos expands his consciousness to become the universe and leaves his body and the Gauntlet vulnerable for Cap to reverse Thanos’ damage to the universe. Back in his body, Thanos is defeated by the Avengers and the Gauntlet is shattered with the gems scattered throughout the cosmos by the Asgardians.

Who knows what direction Marvel will go with this? They also have three other movies, like Thor 2, Iron Man 3, and Captain America 2, in order to further set up Avengers 2. So, we’ll just have to wait and see what further hijinks they have in store for Thanos. Whatever happens though, they shouldn’t stop the wonderful character work that was present in the first Avengers movie.

-Deceptisean

They Live panel discussion -- Roddy Piper, Keith David, Megan Foster

A couple days ago, Aintitcoolnews.com posted a wonderful panel discussion of Roddy Piper, Keith David and Meg Foster reminiscing about the now classic (but about to be remade) John Carpenter film They Live. They talk about Vince McMahon being upset at Roddy for leaving WWE to film the movie, the film being notoriously difficult to find immediately after its theatrical run and the infamous on-screen fight. Terrific stuff!


-Deceptisean

Assemble!

Today, I have seen The Avengers for the 2nd time.  That's right, I have seen it twice in a span of three days.  If anyone out there wants to go again, give me a ring, because I could do it, right now.  Forget everything you've heard the past little while, forget the over-analyzers and the people who are calling this film Transformers 3.  Those people are fools and their opinions should not be taken into account.  This movie is the real deal folks, you read a lot of bitching on this post about movies and with very good reason, but this one is the one to go and see.  You won't be disappointed.  Where do I begin?


When the movie was announced, I was skeptical.  Of course I was.  We've heard about team-ups before concerning comic books and they never seem to work.  X-Men?  Yeah, the films are getting worse.  That's right, worse.  Any attempt at imagination or innovation has gone out the frickin' window, it's the same drum that keeps getting banged each and every time.  If you want to know what X-Men First Class is about, just watch X-Men 1 and 2.  Same themes, same storyline, same boring crap.  Fantastic Four?  It's heart was in the right place and they weren't as bad as everyone says they were, but I didn't leave the theatre inspired or anything (a cloudy Galactus will do that to you.)  Justice League?  The live-action film got it's plug pulled, because no one could figure out how to do it, (you put a bunch of heads together in a Hollywood studio and what to do you get?  Sawdust).  So Avengers, no matter how quality the films were preceding it, I was not convinced all the characters could get the screen time they needed or deserved to have the audience give a damn about them.  In today's world, it just isn't done anymore. 


Well, I was wrong and I'm not afraid to put it into print here.  Everyone gets their moment, you get team-ups within the film, everyone gets a crack at the main villain, it's all there ladies and gentlemen, the film that you would want made about The Avengers was done.  I can't believe it.  I can't believe I'm writing this sentence. I would have thought it would have been another "yeah, it was good, but you know, they could have done this, this and this."  Nope.  No complaints.  No gripes.  It's an event picture.  You remember what it was like, lining up for Return of the Jedi or something and the anticipation was off the charts and you couldn't wait to get to your seat, grab your popcorn and wait for the flick to get started?  Where they're showing the trailers and you're like, get on with it, already?  This is this movie.  This is a bonafide, no-kidding, no schtick summer blockbuster.  Everything you would want, the characterizations, the plot, the spectacle, the action, the humor, the moments, it's all in there. 


This movie makes me want to flood Marvel with emails. I want them to reclaim Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four.  It is a crying frigging shame that these properties are not getting the treatment they deserve.  Marvel would elevate all of these films, believe me.  How awesome would it be to have Avengers 2 with Spider-Man joining the team?  It could happen.  It should happen.  Marvel has proven that a movie on this epic a scale can not only be done, but be done right.  I think there should be some sort of campaign to have Marvel grab all of their properties back.  It has to be done.  If they can do a movie this big, this good, this spectacular, then any other Marvel movie that is being made by another studio is nothing but a waste of everyone's time.  


So, go see this movie.  Again...and again...and again.  Support it loud and proud.  This is one movie that is deserving of every dollar it makes.  I can't wait for Avengers 2. 


Rating: a big time 5 out of 5.


- Stephenstein

Leading up to the Avengers

So, J-Man and Deceptisean have already talked about the five movies that lead up to this weekends mega-release, The Avengers, so I'm not going to go and write a big long dissertation about what I think of all the films.  A few lines should suffice.


Iron Man


A great origin story, Robert Downey Jr. nailed it and it was a pretty pleasing spectacle.  We only got Iron Man 3 times in this film, but all three times were pretty memorable.  We also got a bone thrown to comic fans with the stinger at the end showing Ultimate Nick Fury (aka Sam Jackson), but they couldn't possibly make an Avengers movie...the logistics would be murder!


Rating: 4.5 out of 5.


The Incredible Hulk


Sorry sports fans, Ang Lee's Hulk is better.  Liv Tyler has zero screen presence and is overrated as a "beauty".  Also, why is Thunderbolt Ross such a douche?  I mean, he's Hulk's enemy in the comics, but he's basically a scheming, mustache-twirling villain in this one.  Also, only 2 Hulk appearances (I don't count the factory scene where you can see nothing or the scene where he's strapped to a table).  The fight with Abomination is nice, but for the amount of Hulk action, they may as well have thrown Lou Ferrigno in there with his Hulk makeup and saved 80 million.


Rating: 3 out of 5.


Iron Man 2


Ah yes, the movie where the main villain is the thing in Tony Stark's chest!  Whiplash is cool, but he does nothing, he builds his own armor or the drones for Justin Hammer to use, but is not seriously a threat at any other point in the movie.  Justin Hammer is in it for laughs, he's a buffoon.  War Hammer is cool.  Someone should have shot Pepper Potts though, she was annoying as piss throughout the entire film...she's been with Tony Stark for years, why does she choose now to bag on him?


Rating: 3 out of 5.


Thor


Another great origin movie that actually has more action than I expect out of an origin movie.  Everyone fits their parts to a T and hey, I actually like Natalie Portman in this! (okay, she's growing on me, but it's sad when you can't beat your greatest role which was as a 13 year-old).  I was impressed with the world Kenneth Branagh crafted (listen to me...crafted...you'd think I was some sort of professional critic or something) and generally enjoyed the hell out of this film. 


Rating: 4.5 out of 5.


Captain America


Wow.  This one blew away the competition.  A hero you can get behind, a really charismatic villain, the entire fate of the world hanging in the balance...this is like a great James Bond film without the hero trying to bang every chick on the screen.  Chris Evans knocks it out of the park as Cap and you can count this film as the one that really got me excited for Avengers.


Rating: 5 out of 5.

Other Marvel Super Team films?

So, we've seen Marvel's The Avengers that proves that a Marvel super-team movie can be done right. What other teams can be done in the Marvel film universe? The below is pure speculation and opinion on my part, but speculation and opinion can be fun!


West Coast Avengers

From left to right: Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man who is above Tigra, and Hawkeye to the right.

Created by Hawkeye after fellow Avenger Vision suggested that the Avengers expand their influence beyond the Eastern United States, the team initially consisted of Mockingbord, Tigra, Wonder Man, Iron Man (this is where he had the upside down triangle on his chest), and of course Hawkeye. They fought many Marvel villains, even the demon Mephisto. Film-wise, this cold be an excuse to highlight lesser-known characters while still having the star-power of Robert Downey Jr. to headline the movie for optimum box office performance (even though the Iron Man in this group was initially Jim Rhodes, not Stark, but I won’t tell if you won’t).


Force Works

Force Works, from left to right: Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Iron Man, Spider-Woman, U.S. Agent.

Force Works from the Iron Man cartoon, from left to right: Spider-Woman, War Machine, Iron Man, Century, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch.

Formed by Tony Stark after the West Coast Avengers disbanded, Stark sought out heroes with the same philosophy he had (a view opposed by his Avengers mates) which was to prevent disasters before they occur rather than stop them when they happen. The initial recruits were U.S. Agent, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman and of course Iron Man. Wonder Man was thought dead at the end of the first mission, so the alien known as Century took his place. The group used a supercomputer known as The Chaos Computer that took incoming information and predicted future events and Scarlet Witch used her hex powers of probabilities in order to prevent major world disasters. Force Works was actually featured in season one of the 90’s Iron Man cartoon, with Hawkeye replacing U.S. Agent. This would be a nice compliment to a West Coast Avengers movie if one were to ever be made. The team could be used to explore the idea of what would happen if the government had the power to predict and preventing disasters, planned terrorist attacks, etc. If Marvel ever had its Spider-Man related properties back from Sony, they could lead in with a Spider-Woman movie, and maybe a U.S. Agent movie with a strong appearance from Captain America to boost ticket sales. I admit, this one is an extreme stretch.


Invaders

The Invaders, from left to right: Torch, Captain America, Namor the Submariner.

When Marvel finally reacquires the screen rights for Torch and Namor from Fox, maybe they can do a flashback movie set in WWII with Captain America, the original Human Torch (who was an android), Torch’s younger self Toro, and Namor the Submariner who is Prince of Atlantis, banding together to crush the Axis powers.


New Warriors

The New Warriors, from left to right: Firestar, Nova, Night Thrasher, Marvel Boy, Namorita, Speedball.

I love the New Warriors. Debuting in 1989, the team was formed by urban vigilante Night Thrasher (a skate-boarding hero) made up of young superheroes to help him combat an escalating crime problem in urban centers. In my opinion he recruits characters far too powerful for his purposes, but they’re still awesome: Nova (a superhuman who’s part of an intergalactic police force), Speedball (who gains energy every time he’s hit), Namorita (cousin on Namor the Submariner with his powers), Marvel Boy (with the power of telekinesis) and Firestar (with the power to start and control fire). For a movie, depict urban crime to be way out of control a la Robocop with a generally nasty, mean spirited vibe taking control of streets, and goons with super-powered weapons and occasional superhuman abilities that overwhelm the cops. Enter the New Warriors who try their best to turn the tide while dealing with life and love within the group, and shunning government interference and S.H.I.E.L.D. tries to recruit them for their own purposes. The New Warriors would be the younger, more hip Avengers.

The Defenders

The Defenders clockwise from left: Namor the Submariner, Hulk (picking his noes?), Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange. 

Hopefully Marvel can get back their screen rights for Silver Surfer and Namor the Submariner from Fox for the most powerful team in the Marvel Universe. Originally summoned by Dr. Strange to battle supernatural threats, the Defenders consists of the Hulk (the most powerful mortal on the planet), Silver Surfer (one of the most powerful beings in the universe), Namor the Submariner (ruler of the oceans, which means he controls 70% of the planet) and of course Dr. Strange (master of the occult, which means he can deal with any supernatural threat). These guys can tackle anything, but also have fights we’ve always wanted to see on screen, like Hulk vs. Namor, or Hulk vs. Silver Surfer. Some gigantic threat would have to bring these dudes together, so the movie would have to be appropriately epic.



X-Men

The amazing world of the X-Men! 'Nuff said.

Can't recognize some of the X-Men characters and situations in the picture above? There's a good reason for that. After Fox’s 60’s/70’s reboot peters out and the next Wolverine movie fails, it’s high time for Marvel/Disney to buy this lucrative property back from Fox and reboot the living f*ck out of it. Seriously. Let’s do this franchise right for once. When Wolverine 2 and the X-Men: First Class sequel come out (they’re currently in production), we will be eight movies into a franchise that has clouded its own continuity needlessly with timelines that don’t make sense, wasted characters like Cyclops and Gambit, and absolutely squandered all of the wonderful stories like Days of Future Past to Onslaught to name a few, and villains from Apocalypse to the Sentinels. What happened? This is not the X-Men film franchise I envisioned when I was a kid dreaming of the possibilities of what an X-Men movie could bring. It’s time to do this right for a change, and apparently that can only happen when if Marvel gets their hands on their beloved X-Men again. And please, no more black leather biker outfits.


Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four, clockwise from bottom: Thing, Human Torch, Reed Richards, Sue Storm.

Speaking of doing something right for a change, Fantastic Four is in desperate need of a makeover, and not the forthcoming one from Fox. Dr. Doom’s story and his relation to the FF origin is epic. Galactus was totally wasted. The Inhumans will never be done now. Mole Man and his giant monsters don’t seem to be on the horizon. As much as the two existing FF films are fun to look at, they’re completely sloppy. Thing starts a tragedy of accidents on a bridge, the FF rescue everyone and are hailed as heroes? But they started the problem!? Later, Thing and Dr. Doom destroy a moving bus, and conveniently there’s nobody inside!? But it was moving. Wasn’t the driver at least killed? No, let’s start this over, and have Marvel do this and do this right.

-Deceptisean