How Comic Book Movies Changed

Comic Book movies have
become more than hollow
action films

As many of you know, the godfather of all comic book movies was 1978's Superman: The Movie before the next big success was another DC adaptation 1989's Batman. Both were smash hits at the box office and both took vastly different approaches. In 1998, Blade was Marvel's first successful film after a slew of mediocre made-for-TV films (mostly sequels to The Incredible Hulk series) and Dolph Lundgren's Punisher before 2000's X-Men started the momentum that made Marvel Studios. At first comic book movies were cheesy, then slightly cheesy, then dark until taking themselves seriously. They've attracted big name producers, directors and actors to a lot of success. Heath Ledger broke through to win an Oscar for his performance of the Joker in 2008. Comic Book movies are changing "making it less comic-y" but let's take a look at the evolution in Comic Book movies.

"Comic Book Movies should not be origin stories because it's rare when someone picks up issue #1." -Joe Williams, author of the indy comic Kyaku

First, the Superman vs. Batman styles:

Superman: The Movie deal with a being
of unlimited power finding his limits. 

1978's Superman took the approach of the linear origin story. It starts with the demise of Krypton and the proceeding through the importance of Superman's childhood with the Kents. The death of Jonathan Kent is the most important part of his character development. When director Richard Donner told the story in this fashion, it worked and in spades. 1989's Batman ISN'T an origin story. Director Tim Burton does have a variation of the Joker's beginnings and a mere flashback to Bruce Wayne's parents death. Now, BOTH styles were perfect for their genre's. One story NEEDED to go into detail of the main character and the other could rely on simply telling the back story in seconds. (This style will be further explored in a moment.)

Marvel Employs the Same Tactics:

Did we need to see Blade grow up?
Nope. A simple monologue was
Blade'sorigin story.

Marvel had the same ideas employed by the DC movies in THREE of their films. First was Blade, that used his backstory with a perfect monologue by Kris Kristofferson. Second was a full backstory by Sam Rami in Spider-Man as audiences were shown Peter Parker's growth into his powers, trying to cash in and the MURDER of Uncle Ben. The third was used by Bryan Singer in X2 when he took less than 30 seconds to show Wolverine's Weapon X Experiment- still the most bone-chilling origin in comic films. Each film employed the origin the films needed and not more or less.

Sequels:

Spider-Man 2 is the perfect
character study of the hero

DC's Batman Returns and Superman II stand alone as really their only quality sequels (add Superman III if you're a fan), but Marvel's sequels have excelled greatly. Spider-Man 2 and X2 are among this blogs three best comic films and in spite of a weak Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and The Avengers were great. The main story line of each other the sequels remain the same: Is Being the Hero Easy? Some heroes go about their business (Batman Returns), some yearn to find answers (Wolverine), peace of mind (Tony Stark) while others question if they should be the hero (Spider-Man and Superman). At the time, villains ran the gauntlet. Start with the big villain and then go to the secondary villain, (Batman's Joker and Batman Returns' Catwoman and Penguin. Spider-Man's Green Goblin followed by Doctor Octopus) and all villains died until Batman Forever and X-Men. 

"There's three excuses to comic book movies: 
1) Because they're ninjas and ninjas are awesome 
2) Because it's comics so accept it 
3) Because it's Christopher Nolan and fanboys think he can't do wrong" - Scarlett

Christopher Nolan Enters:

Untold before, Batman Begins showed how the
Dark Knight came to be.

In, 2005, Memento director Christopher Nolan entered the fray. Armed with screenwriter David S. Goyer, they set out to reboot the comic movie franchise and likely didn't realize that they'd change comic films forever after that; focusing on making the story more character driven like the Marvel series. In Batman Begins, audiences were told about the origin of Batman and how he came to be the Dark Knight. Taken in by Ra's Al Ghul (pronounced differently from his appearance in the animated series and Arkham City video game) to be an assassin to take down Gotham, Bruce refused and left to become a symbol to unify Gotham. Focusing mainly on Batman and spending a little bit of time on secondary villains (Ghul and the Scarecrow), Nolan spent more time developing Bruce Wayne into Batman. In the process, he made the first film of the series without even a mention of the Joker until the film's closing seconds. Nolan also made the first successful "Dual Villain Film", which never worked out well in their history.

Batman's arch-nemesis wasn't even mentioned
until the closing seconds of Batman Begins 

In 2008, Nolan released The Dark Knight (the first of the series to not use the Batman name) and achieved critical success as well as box office records. As mentioned, Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor, but The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. It prominently featured Batman's biggest villain (The Joker) and developed a second villain in the film (Two-Face). In 2012, Nolan finished his trilogy with the plot hole filled The Dark Knight Rises. Even though Batman is in the middle of nowhere with no money and no contact, he gets back to a quarantined Gotham with stealthful ease. Why? See rule #3. The third part to a comic series still has unperformed with Iron Man 3 (very) arguably being the best one and there's plenty of debate. Still what Nolan did was create a blueprint for the way comic book movies would be made. If you don't believe me...

Marvel Employs the Nolan Method:

Robert Downey Jr was perfect...PERIOD

Marvel released two notable Origin stories after Batman Begins. First was Iron Man, which is possibly the best origin story ever put to film, and recently was The Amazing Spider-Man. Now, the benefit of Iron Man was the lack of a central villain so every villain was secondary and the focus was solely on Tony and his changing role in the world. By the end of the movie, Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Marvel's playboy was all people could talk about. It also employed a disconnected timeline (a la Nolan's style), but did not have a tone too dark for the very flip hero. 

Did we need to see a full origin story for Spider-Man AGAIN?

With 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel returned to tell Spider-Man's origin story that was told ten years earlier with a slight variation for the Ultimate Spider-Man series. The darker tone was good, but not quite a perfect fit for Spider-Man, but director Mark Webb used The Lizard and spoke about the Oscorp CEO Norman Osbourne without showing him. Thus the focus was mainly on Peter and developed him... slightly differently from the original series. In the next film, Chris Cooper will play Osbourne, but it is unknown if the Green Goblin will appear. Director Webb released a picture of "Locker 14" where Peter finds the alien symbiote that eventually becomes Venom- perhaps another foreshadowing of a future villain. It'll be interesting what Amazing Spider-Man 2 reveals next year.

Another staple of the "Nolan Blueprint" is rebranding the franchise. Batman became The Dark Knight, (from Frank Miller's series), but as producer his method and rebranding are now out for Man of Steel- the new Superman film. Again, focus on the hero's origin and a secondary villain as Lex Luthor did not make an appearance. You could say this same style was used in the Sherlock Holmes series that didn't introduce Professor Moriarty until the second film, but mentioned him in the first.

Marvel Creates a Universe:

A second credits scene at the end of The Avengers was
missed by most audiences that left early.

Starting in X3: The Last Stand, Marvel began using scenes after the credits. It was a simple scene that let audiences know that Professor X somehow survived his encounter with the Phoenix. In 2008, Marvel used another scene after the end of Iron Man to introduce Nick Fury and The Avengers initiative. After that, Marvel used it's films and characters to interact in their films even when the films are distributed by different studios (as seen when Paramount's Tony Stark made a cameo in Universal's The Incredible Hulk). Within the next couple years, Marvel firmly planted the idea that ALL of it's film's are connected. Now Marvel has encountered trouble blending Spider-Man into The Avengers, but Wolverine made a cameo in X-Men: First Class, Howard Stark (Tony's Dad) was a key character in Captain America: The First Avenger, Hawkeye was introduced in Thor and Black Widow was a supporting role in Iron Man 2. Even in Marvel's other film like the lucrative Spider-Man series, Eddie Brock was mentioned in the first film and Marvel used a credit-cut scene in The Amazing Spider-Man to hint at another mysterious character (Michael Massee). The point? There's more to a Comic Book Movie than just "here's a character and HIS story"; they exist in a world and occasionally those worlds can intersect with other heros. It is important to remember that the character exist FOR their own films. One complaint about Iron Man 3 is the lack of presence BY the Avengers even though the events of the film are continually referenced. If the Avengers popped up out of nowhere, Iron Man 3 would have suffered.
DC employs the Marvel Methods:

DC used a "Credits Scene" to hint at a
Green Lantern sequel.

DC did not use any cut scenes or references to Metropolis in it's Dark Knight series, but LexCorp and Wayne Enterprise made very QUICK cameos in Man of Steel. With rumors of a Justice League movie in the works, DC could have used a little momentum with a credits scene at the end. They chose not to, but DC did successfully employ the credits scene setting up a sequel... but it was in it's biggest failure- The Green Lantern. In the credits, audiences are shown the Ring of Fear and see it's stolen by Sinestro (perfectly played by Mark Strong). Say what you will about the lackluster Green Lantren, but the idea of Strong's Sinestro in a sequel is appealing. (By the way, you can't tell a guy would turn bad with a name like Sinestro!) There are perils to making a Justice League movie that will be covered soon.
The New Type of Comic Book Film:

Jackman is Wolverine again. That's good news for audiences. 

There is one more HUGE comic film on the horizon this summer- Marvel's The Wolverine. Director James Mangold has films like Girl Interrupted on his resume and Darren Aronofsky was originally slated to direct the film, but took a smaller role in production. The idea of the film is to flush out the Wolverine character. Sure it's going to have it's action, but the film is being billed as a "new type of comic book film". Time will tell in late July.

Comic Book Movies have shown they're more than just fluff when the situations have called for them. They could be tales of the "tragic hero" like a Greek Myth or simply show that there's more to a hero than wearing a stupid costume and covering his face (or not in Superman's case). They've evolved from 1978 to tell better stories that continually improve. Sure, now we're going through the reboots, but varying the adventures of these titans isn't necessarily a bad thing... if they can pull it off. Still, it's not out of the question that one of these days a Superhero film can take home a Best Picture as the quality of these franchises continues to improve.

Can Iron Man 3 Avoid the Dreaded Third Part Comic Film?

Iron Man 3 opens Friday

 Whether or not fans want to see the truth, but Hollywood has set a template for a Comic Book Movies. It's fairly simple. Part 1 is the origin. Part 2 is the obstacle. Part 3 is the catharsis that's larger than life and over-cluttered. Several series took this  method and ALL have put out disappointing films compared to their predecessor. Look at the original Spider-Man series. Spider-Man 2 dealt with the obstacles of being Spider-Man so well that Roger Ebert called it "the best Superhero movie ever made".  Then Spider-Man 3 wedged three villains in and a two dance scenes... check please. The Dark Knight Rises was good, but again saw too many villains and several plot holes just to make a sensational ending. Both films were received well at the box office- each breaking box office records- but if you're honest each film was extremely flawed and betrayed their adaptations. Iron Man 3 will get it's shot to avoid this pattern Friday.

The Iron Patriot is WarMachine
reinvented.

Several fans weren't too happy with Iron Man 2, but it was still a good second piece of a series that extended it's story into The Avengers. In Iron Man 2, the obstacle of being Iron Man were obvious. Fame for being a public hero led to a public attack when he wasn't expecting it and a rival tycoon (Sam Rockwell) that hires his attacker to put Stark out of business. It also dealt with the government involvement in the Iron Man project and the creation of War Machine by his friend Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). Tony falls into depression as he pushes Pepper away and fears he's dying, but finds a new energy source and staves off an attack of drones. Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) debate about their relationship and S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced Tony to the Black Widow before saying they didn't want him for the Avengers. Iron Man 2 also introduced Thor's hammer in "credits scene".

Is there anyone who could pull off the Mandarin
like Ben Kingsley will?

Iron Man 3 will continue the story from The Avengers and that's where it may change from the other series. Tony is dealing with new obstacles and new feelings like warping into a parallel world and is really feeling his mortality. It will also introduce the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a terrorist that baffles intelligence agencies and destroys Tony Stark's home. It will also be the first time we see Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce) - the founder of the Advanced Idea Mechanics. It's also one of the rare times a director has switched out of directing the franchise, but still appeared in the film. Jon Favreau directed the first two and Shane Black (Predator actor and Lethal Weapon writer) directs this edition. 

Contrary to other Comic
Stars, Downey's career has
skyrocketed since becoming
Iron Man.

Iron Man 3 will expand the Iron Man/Avengers universe, but will it be Downey's swan song as Tony Stark. Arguably, you can say this is the greatest portrayal of a Comic Book Hero. "I don't want to overstay my welcome," Downey maybe correct, but please overstay your welcome. Downey has been able to expand his career since donning the Iron Man costume. He has been nominated for an Oscar (Tropic Thunder) and was even able to star in smaller films like The Soloist. He has also starred in a new franchise (the Sherlock Holmes series). Downey has successfully avoided the type-casting that some superhero actors have gone through during their tenure.

As early reviews come say that Iron Man 3 is better than The Avengers and that's saying something. Then again, critic overlooked little things like how Bruce Wayne got from the middle of nowhere to a quarantined Gotham city with no money or no magic knee brace. Hopefully, this film will fulfill it's promises and get the Superhero genre it's best third part. 

Console to Screen: Metroid

Metroid was released in
1986. Could it make it
to the big screen?

In 1986, Nintendo released Metroid for the NES. The game was an instant hit as Nintendo continued an impressive run of games that couldn't stay on the shelves. It was about a bounty hunter named Samus Aran that fought against the Space Pirates and a cybernetic life form called Mother Brain on the planet Zebes. In the early part of the decade, Nintendo was the first video game company to use story to drive the game. Metroid was another example of it, but there was a twist that shocked gamers in the mid-80's: the hero was a woman. Suddenly most gamers felt like they had to shower and impress their female heroine, but alas that would be the closest some of the gamers got to a woman. Metroid stopped dead in the 90's, but returned in 2002 with a new look and a more in-depth story. Years ago, Metroid was rumored to be attached to John Woo to direct a feature, but since then Metroid has developed three more games with good stories and great action. It was one of the first games that showed the Wii's potential, but what pitfalls would Metroid cross before hitting the big screen?

Story:

Metroid Prime revamped the
dormant series in 2002.

If you use the Metroid Prime story, Samus Aran is called to Tallon IV to stop the Space Pirates from growing an powerful and volatile chemical called Phazon. Through the process, Samus stops a Space Pirate mining operation only to discover that there was a plan to create an ultimate weapon called Metroid Prime. Unlike it's brethren that would attach to a life form and drain it's energy, Metroid Prime was a larger creature that could adapt to different environments and different attack weapons. Samus destroyed the creature, but in a secret ending it's revealed Samus gave life to something much worse. The Metroid Prime trilogy is one of the most successful franchises released by Nintendo and could spawn a series of films.

Metroid: The Other M was the first
Nintendo game that let the lead talk.

However, if Hollywood follows the latest edition -Metroid: The Other M- the series could go in a different direction. In The Other M, Samus details that she used to be a member of the Galactic Federation Army, but left after a dispute with her commanding officer to become a bounty hunter. After defeating Mother Brain and watching the baby metroid that saved her killed, Samus is "cleaned up" by the Federation doctors. After answering a distress call, Samus travels to "the bottle ship" where she finds that the planet Zebes was recreated in this structure. Through her adventure, she re-encounters the rest of her old platoon -including her superior officer Adam Malkovich. Little-by-little, Samus finds out that the Federation "cleaned up" Samus by taking all of the DNA off her suit to make these creatures- including Ridley and Mother Brain. As a result, Samus must defeat her enemies- including the enormous Queen Metroid- while she tries to find out who killed the members of her old platoon. The story was crafted well and Samus was flushed out as a character better in this edition.

Samus is as attractive as she's deadly. Who could play her and do her justice?

Jennifer Lawrence has two
franchises going right now.
She'd be perfect for this one.

Casting:

There's really only one character to cast in this series- Samus Aran. In all editions, Samus looks the same; blonde hair, blue eyes, athletically slender build and perfect looks. She has the look of Kate Upton, but the attitude of Alien's Ellen Ripley. Now, Hollywood would love to get another heroine to the screen as they're hard to come by. In recent years, they got The Hunger Games, Twilight and Prometheus but one more couldn't hurt. As a matter of fact, one of those films has the ideal actress to play Samus Aran: Jennifer Lawrence of X-Men: First Class and The Hunger Games. Lawrence has two aspects that would make her perfect: she looks the part and can act. A former Oscar nominated actress for Winter's Bone, Lawrence has proved herself over-and-over again in various films over the last couple years and proved she could be an action star in the last two years. Give her a good script and Lawrence will deliver.

Mother Brain was a powerful enemy,
but Hollywood would need to expand
her character.

Hurdles:

Metroid never really clarified their story until Metroid Prime, but that's not the major hurdle. In most Nintendo games, their heroes (or heroines) were mute. In Metroid: The Other M, Samus finally spoke. To hard core fans, Samus was too sensitive and too overcome by feelings, but some found the story compelling and moving. The scenes between Adam, Anthony and Samus were good, but the feel for the other members will have to improve. Another problem that arises is Samus' enemies are mute. There's no feel for what the Space Pirates, Dark Samus or Mother Brain's motives are, unlike the atmosphere you get with the Legend of Zelda or Super Mario series. Perhaps that's why The Other M would make a better film, but executives wouldn't like starting a series at what's essentially part 3 of the story. Without a good supporting cast, even with great action, Metroid would be doomed.

What's Already In Place:
A great sci-fi angle and a good main character, but Metroid's action sequences could be impressive. With several different creatures and bad ass bosses like Ridley, film adaptation should be great. The scenery is impressive and gives you a different feel for the areas. The presentation of Metroid through the years makes it interesting how to deliver it. It began as a side scrolling game, then first-person shooter and then a 3D interactive side-scroller. All those presentations will not matter if adapted to the big screen, but it's still important to understand the feel of the series.  However, the music is what separates Metroid. It's style was more like a techo-score and mix that in with flashy action and it'll get your blood pumping. The Metroid Prime series was listed on my Best Music in Video Games.

Who could pull this off:
Renowned action director John Woo would have been a decent choice, but it's not the only option depending on what you want out of this franchise. If you want better story, Ridley (no pun intended)  Scott or James Cameron would be a homerun, but the chances of them taking on a Video Game movie is unlikely. The horror would be that Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov gets the gig, which would make fans clammer for Woo again. Perhaps a studio could discuss Jon Favreau as a possibility after his success with Iron Man and mixed reviews of Cowboys and Aliens.

Will we ever see a Metroid film? Hard to say. Nintendo was burned by their Super Mario Brothers movie and they tend to shy away from the big screen. That said, sooner-or-later, Nintendo is going to give it a shot and it's more likely that Metroid would get it's number called before any of their other franchises. That way, fans of Zelda don't get mad if their movie sucked or another black eye if Super Mario movie failed again. Metroid is just popular enough to take the chance without alienating it's fans if the results are... well... Resident Evil-esc.

The Greatest Comic Book/Graphic Novel Movies of All Time

In honor of The Dark Knight Rises, this week's blog is about the Best Comic Book/Graphic Novel Films ever made. Of course if you look at IMDb, there's no need for this list since EVERY Christopher Nolan movie is in the top 250 of all time, but I hope you won't mind a healthy debate. Read on and argue with me at the end. Quick ground rules: one movie per series.

Blade kicked off Marvel's movie
superiority.

10) Blade (1998) – Marvel didn't have a good film track record until this late 90's Wesley Snipes movie surged through theaters. This film did well even when vampires weren't in every movie. The story of the half-human/half-vampire slayer was done justice by Snipes and Kris Kristopherson. It would spawn two more sequels that never reached their potential, but it was better than Twilight- then again... so are infomercials.

Watch out who you cross
in Sin City?

9) Sin City (2005) – Frank Miller's graphic novels were brought to life in Robert Rodriguez's film by following the framing used in the comic. The story's were done with a serious and slightly campy style that perfectly fit the film noir feel of Sin City. It had good performances by the all-star cast led by Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen and Alexis Bledel, but it was the opening story with Mickey Rouke and Elijah Wood that kept your blood pumping throughout the film.

Hanks, Law and Newman
delivered great work.

8) Road to Perdition (2002) – Sam Mendes' encore after American Beauty was a well-crafted, well-written and well acted piece that many didn't know was originally a graphic novel. Tom Hanks plays a hitman whose son witnessed a hit by Daniel Craig and as a result Craig has his family killed. Hanks escapes with his son and is on the run from the mob, including his boss Paul Newman in his final Oscar nominated performance. Jude Law turns in some of his best work as a hitman with a hobby of photographing the dead.

To ignore 1989's Batman is to be
completely ignorant. It was great.

7) Batman (1989)– Tim Burton's blockbuster hit with a surprise choice to play Batman (Michael Keaton) was considered the movie of the decade by critic Rex Reed. It took a very reserved Batman without a stupid voice (hint, hint Christian Bale) and homicidal maniac Joker (Jack Nicholson) to bring it to life. Like Blade, this was not an origin story for it's first segment and has a good debate with Dark Knight on the better Joker movie.

He was the first comic TV show and
the first comic movie.

6) Superman (1978)– Richard Donner's original comic book film from 1978 that didn't see an equal for some time. Christopher Reeve was the best choice for the Man of Steel as well as Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor. It gave us a full history of Superman from Krypton to Smallville and let audience's know, just because you have a ton of ability, doesn't make you a god.

The Best Origin story
ever and a sign of our times.

5) Iron Man (2008)– The Dark Knight Rises was said to mimic our current times, but Iron Man did it better. Weapons manufacturer Tony Stark sees soldiers getting killed by his own creations and decides to turn over a new leaf. Robert Downey Jr. has been sensational in every installment of this series, but this one showed the public at large just how talented he was. Jon Favereau did a great job making the Marvel hero come to life and there's more only to come.

How was it possible to blend so
many heros together? Joss Whedon
found a way.

4) The Avengers (2012)– What makes The Avengers an achievement is blending so many heroes to make one great film without favoring one too much. Joss Whedon took all six heroes and used them like a Long Island Iced Tea- great going down and packs a punch. The action was great and seemless for Hawkeye to Black Widow to Iron Man to Captain America. Go ahead, see this again and not want to clap when Bruce Banner tells Black Widow about his secret technique.

A sequel worthy of greatness.

3) X2 (2011)- Bryan Singer's follow-up to 2000's X-Men was bigger, better and more gripping than the first. The human villain Brian Cox exposed humans as a bigger threat than Magneto (but Ian McKellen quickly reminds audiences that he's the top of the food chain). Every X-Men actor was on point, even the scenes that had to be added for recent Oscar winner Halle Barry. If you don't have a chill down you spine when Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) walks into the lab that put the metal on his bones, you're made of stone.
Honorable mention: X-Men First Class (2011)

How many times did
you see The Dark Knight?

2) The Dark Knight (2008)– Lost in the hype over Heath Ledger's Joker was the fine performance by Aaron Eckhart as Gotham's fallen District Attorney Harvey Dent. Christopher Nolan added the best chapter of Batman in the first film that didn't feature Batman's name in the title. Ledger was terrifying as the sadistic Joker. Bale was strong as the conflicted billionaire that is trying to clean up the streets of his beloved city while people are being killed to force him to quit. It reveals the price of being the hero, but it isn't the best example on this list.

The winner and still champion had it
all. Action, Story, Great Performances and
a hero without a stupid voice.

1) Spider-Man 2 (2004)– No secret, this is the Greatest Of All Time! It isn't as dark as the Nolan Batman's, but it's message of “the price to be the hero” is presented better than any other comic book film. Peter Parker's life is hell as he tries to keep the promise to Uncle Ben by remembering “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”. His efforts to be friends with Mary Jane are threatened. His best friend hates him and blames him for his father's death. His aunt thinks he's dangerous. His grades slip. He can't make rent and is barely scraping by at the Daily Bugle, but he tries to soldier on as his powers begin to fade with his own personal resentment of his alter-ego. Eventually, Peter forgoes the life of Spider-Man in an effort to be Peter Parker, but the world needs Spider-Man one way or another and he must don the Spider-Man costume again despite the cost to his own life. When his identity is revealed, Peter thwarts Doctor Octopus, saves Mary Jane, but creates a new enemy from his best friend Harry Osbourne. Peter gives up Mary Jane again, but MJ choses to encounter the pitfalls of being Spider-Man's girlfriend with him as the sequel ends on a high note... then they made #3...

There you have the list. Feel free to debate. I know there's going to be a clamoring for 300, but figured Sin City was enough.

Why Avengers Was Such an Achievement

The Avengers did more than live up to the hype, it exceeded it.

In this decade, Comic book movies have been churned out left and right, but none were able to do what the Avengers did. The Avengers is a comic book movie, but to do it right, Marvel Studios introduced audiences to them over the course of the last four years in an effort to eventually make THIS film. It was going to be a monumental task, but TV's Buffy: the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon made it happen.

In previous Comic Book films, the plots have required multiple villains, but rarely ever multiple heroes. So Marvel made five films (Iron Man 1 & 2, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor) with two of the films using the final two Avengers (Black Widow and Hawkeye) to introduce all their characters. Over the five films, only Jon Favareau of the Iron Man series directed more than one of the films. It's obvious that Marvel wanted each film to have their own style and atmosphere, but that's what made Whedon's job so much harder. Joe Johnstone's 1940 style for Captain America: The First Avenger is far different from the Favareau's rock-n-roll Iron Man, Kenneth Branagh's personal journey Thor and Louis Leterrier's chase film The Incredible Hulk. So Whedon had to make them come together and still make their style's apparent. Not only did he do that, but Whedon created the style for his super-hero team. What's interesting is whether Marvel will continue to use each series in it's own voice or constantly refer back to the their blockbuster film.

Also Whedon made a little pissy villain into a good maniacal one. Loki was a disappointing piss-ant of a villain in Thor, but in The Avengers, he was egotistical and even intimidating. So I guess it to banishment from Asgard to make him bad-ass? Throw in the legions of soldiers send from space and his ability to control the minds of SHIELD's top men helped his villainy, but just the scene opposite Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) was worth it to have the Avengers battle Loki.

Downey's Tony Stark is incredible, but the other actors weren't overshadowed by him.

Head count scene: http://youtu.be/d6ASh6vVj0k

But eventually the Avengers would have to come together. To do that, they'd never to have the wedge stuck between them, which Loki helps create. As much as this is a TEAM super-hero film, but individually this was a do-gooder film as all the heroes come together to do what's right. Whedon does all of this while seamlessly moves from one character to another in the major action sequences and every character has their own style of attacking. It's not just fluff put together for nothing and it's not like the "VS" movies earlier this decade that didn't cater to the characters well enough. Some people came out to call this "Iron Man 2 3/4", but that's wrong. It's understandable to feel that way since Downey is so dominant in his portrayal of Marvel's most dominant personality, but Chris Evans was spot-on in making a Vanilla Captain America more colorful. Chris Hemsworth showed Thor's growth from the first film, but still acted like a god. Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner is not as dominant as a man who wants to be nowhere while Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson emerged from the shadows to create characters for Hawkeye and Black Widow. All of this while showing the leadership of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and the organization of SHIELD, which was used as a joke in Iron Man. Whedon blended together all these characters, plots and told his own story about how these individuals come together.

While a sequel isn't officially set yet, it will be great to see the villain shown at the end of the film. (No spoilers) So go see The Avengers and enjoy it again...and afterwards eat shawarma.