Avengers Assemble – Speculating on Marvel Studios Phase Two
It’s been possibly a slower week for Marvel movie news than last week. Seriously, not even a rumour to chew on like the Avi Arad quote regarding Spider-Man joining the shared universe from last week. So, instead of discussing the news, lets do a round up. Coming first, Iron Man 3, in which Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is apparently seperated from anything or anyone who can help him while facing off against villainous Ben Kingsley (possibly the Mandarin, possibly not) and assorted other baddies. The Iron Patriot armour is present, but not as Iron Patriot, rather as a new paint job for War Machine. Then, Thor 2 will feature all the main cast from the first film, except Josh Dallas, who has been replaced by Zachary Levi as Fandral the Dashing. Madds Mikelsen will also be present as an undisclosed bad guy. Captain America 2… Well, it’ll feature Cap acclimatising to the modern era. That’s all we know. And Avengers 2 is definite. And then, there are apparently three other films in development which will take place in the shared universe. The problem is, there are five likely candidates for these: the Hulk, the Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Who knows which ones won’t make the cut? Or will Marvel put a fourth (seventh) and fifth (eighth) film into development before Avengers 2? Oh, and there may be a cinematic release for the Avengers direct cut. Right, lets hope there’s some news next week, or I have no idea how I’ll fill this space. On with listing Avengers! Do I need to say spoilers this time? We’ve all seen Avengers now, right?
Captain America (James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes)
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (1941)
Created by: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Joined the Avengers: New Avengers #48 (2009)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: Captain America: The First Avenger
Formerly Captain America’s sidekick during WWII, it was thought Bucky had died in the same explosion which sent Cap into suspended animation. For a good forty years, the unwritten rule at Marvel was “No one is really dead, except Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy and Bucky.” Then writer Ed Brubaker only went and brought Bucky back, didn’t he. It was the kind of move which could easily have been written off as a publicity stunt, if Brubaker hadn’t handled it so well. Bucky lost an arm and suffered brain damage as a result of the explosion, but his body was found by the Russians. They gave him a bionic arm, and took advantage of his brain damage, brainwashing him into thinking he was their operative, the Winter Soldier. Over the years, the Winter Soldier became a myth, a dangerous assassin the Russians kept in suspended animation, only bringing him out when they needed him to perform a mission. As was bound to happen, one of those missions eventually brought him into conflict with Captain America. Cap was finally able to use the cosmic cube to return Bucky’s memories to him, and the Winter Soldier became one of the good guys again. When Cap was then killed at the end of the Civil War, Bucky took up the mantle and the shield as a new Captain America. Then, once Steve Rogers inevitably returned from the dead himself, he decided he didn’t want to be Captain America any more, leaving Bucky to continue in the role. Both men continued to serve with the Avengers, until Fear Itself gave Bucky the chance to fake his own death as part of a scheme of Nick Fury’s to get Rogers to become Cap again. Bucky went underground, and now fights for good again as the Winter Soldier. Sebastian Stan played Bucky in Captain America, and, as in the comics, the character appeared to fall to his death. However, the DVD commentary states that it’s possible Arnim Zola’s experiments on Bucky could’ve helped him survive the fall. Expect the Winter Soldier to show up in a future Marvel movie, but I’d be surprised if it was before Captain America 3. And I doubt they’ll ever have him take up the Captain America identity on screen.
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #32 (1977)
Created by: Archie Goodwin, Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney
Joined the Avengers: New Avengers #48 (2009)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
The original, and best, Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew had retired from superheroics for a good long while. So when Brian Michael Bendis brought her back in New Avengers #1 and put her on the Avengers, fanboys everywhere cheered. Then of course, Bendis revealed that it wasn’t Spider-Woman at all, but the Skrull queen, and the real Spider-Woman was in a Skrull prison. Fanboys everywhere jeered. But then, at the end of Secret Invasion, the real Spider-Woman came back! And joined the Avengers! Properly this time! Fanboys everywhere cheered! Again! Whether we’ll se her on screen at all is another matter. Of all of Marvel’s Spider-Women, she stands the best chance of appearing in a film, but it will be while before that ever happens, if it does at all.
The Dark Avengers
First Appearance: Dark Avengers #1 (2009)
Created by: Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr.
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
At the end of Secret Invasion, the world was saved from the Skrulls by, of all people, Norman Osborn. Yep, the Green Goblin himself. He had been part of the Thunderbolts programme, a team of supervillains the government was trying to rehabilitate. Osborn had been running the programme for them, and sent his Thunderbolts into the battle during Secret Invasion, then killed the Skrull Queen himself live on TV. Following this, Osborn was basically made the new Nick Fury by the president, put in charge of SHIELD (which he promprtly disbanded and replaced with his own organisation, HAMMER) and, most shockingly, the Avengers. Osborne led a new team of Avengers as the Iron Patriot, filling the team with corrupt, twisted versions of past Avengers. Venom (Mac Gargan) as Spider-Man, Bullseye as Hawkeye, Moonstone (Karla Sofen) as Ms. Marvel, Daken Akihiro, the twisted son of Wolverine, as Wolverine and Marvel Boy (Noh Varr) as Captain Marvel. Also joining the team were the Sentry (who Osborne promised to help with his insanity, using his own experiences as the Green Goblin to do so) and Ares (see last week). While Captain Marvel soon left the team, wanting to become a better man and a genuine hero rather than a dark perversion under Osborn (and is even now appearing in the main Avengers book), the rest of the team stayed on right up until the real Avengers came back during Siege and kicked their arses. Of course, you can’t keep a good team of villains down, and Osborn soon tried to form another Dark Avengers team, with a similar end result. The Dark Avengers have once again returned in the pages of Thunderbolts now, though you won’t see them on screen collectively. For one thing, their leader, Norman Osborn, is owned by Sony when it comes to the film rights, and only one of them (Moonstone) was actually an Avengers villain. While there’s a chance Moonstone will appear somewhere in the not too distant future, the Dark Avengers as a team is very unlikely.
Amadeus Cho
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (2006)
Created by: Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa
Joined the Avengers: Mighty Avengers #21 (2009)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None (though he did cameo in the novelization of The Incredible Hulk)
Officially the seventh smartest person on Earth, Amadeus Cho was also Hercules’ sidekick for a while, joining the Avengers when Herc rejoined the team, and using his incredible brain power to help the Avengers out on more than one occasion. Cho is a potential supporting character in any future Hulk, Hercules or Avengers movies, so don’t be too surprised if he shows up somewhere in the next few years.
Stature (Cassandra “Cassie” Lang)
First Appearance: Marvel Premier #47 (1979)
Created by: David Michelinie and John Byrne
Joined the Avengers: Mighty Avengers #21 (2009)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
The daughter of the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang, Cassie Lang followed in her father’s footsteps when she joined Hank Pym’s team of Mighty Avengers. After the death of her father, Cassie found that long term exposure to Pym Particles (the particles which power many of the size-changing Marvel characters) had granted her the same powers. Cassie had been appearing in comics for years, but only moved into superheroics in the last decade in the pages of Young Avengers (who we won’t cover on this particular list, since they’re not official Avengers, but we will get to them eventually), then Avengers: The Initiative, and finally, Mighty Avengers. However, at the end of the recent series Avengers: The Children’s Crusade, Cassie was sadly killed soon after her father came back to life. As for Cassie on screen, if Scott Lang is in the Ant-Man film, then chances are Cassie will appear in the movie as well, though she won’t become Stature for a while, if ever.
Vison (Jonas)
First Appearance: Young Avengers #5 (2005)
Created by: Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
Joined the Avengers: Mighty Avengers #21 (2009)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
A teenage Vision who was created from the remains of the original Vision and the armour of Iron Lad in the pages of Young Avengers, the second Vision was Stature’s boyfriend, and joined the Mighty Avengers alongside her, before dying at the hands of Iron Lad at the climax of Avengers: The Children’s Crusade. It’s highly doubtful that he’ll ever be in a Marvel movie. It would require them bringing in the Vision, killing him off, bringing in Kang the Conqueror, then bringing in Iron Lad, who was a young Kang, and finally merging Iron Lad’s armour with the dead Vision. It won’t happen.
Jessica Jones
First Appearance: Alias #1 (2001)
Created by: Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos
Joined the Avengers: New Avengers Annual #3 (2010)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
Originally created as a forgotten superhero (codenamed Jewel) in Brian Bendis’s Alias, Jessica Jones lead the life of a private investigator, before she became involved with Luke Cage, eventually marrying him and having his baby. Moving into Avengers Tower with Cage when he joined the team, Jessica stayed retired from superheroics up until Norman Osborn took Cage prisoner. Jewel returned to action to save her husband, then joined his New Avengers team, though the events of Avengers Vs X-Men have prompted her to leave the team with her and Luke’s baby for the child’s own safety. While Jessica hasn’t been in any Marvel Studios films so far, there is a TV series, based on Alias, in the works which has been designed to be set in the shared Marvel cinematic universe. ABC have passed on the series, but there are other networks out there, and you have to imagine that, with Avengers doing so well at the cinema, it won’t be long before a network snaps up the chance to get in on the Marvel action.
Agent 13 (Sharon Carter)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #75 (1966)
Created by: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers
Joined the Avengers: Secret Avengers #1 (2010)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
Steve Rogers’ on again / off again (currently on) girlfriend, and former SHIELD agent, Sharon Carter later served as the tactical ops gal for Steve’s team of Secret Avengers, a group put together for black ops missions the other Avengers can’t be seen to publicly handle. We’ve actually already seen Sharon’s aunt in the films, with Hayley Atwell playing Peggy Carter in Captain America. Sharon is almost certain to appear in Captain America 2.
Nova (Richard Rider)
First Appearance: Nova #1 (1976)
Created by: Marv Wolfman and John Buscema
Joined the Avengers: Secret Avengers #1 (2010)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
Another New Warriors graduate, what’s surprising about Nova is how long it actually took to get him on an Avengers team. He was one of the more experienced New Warriors, as well as arguably the most popular character on the team, having had his own solo series a few times, and remaining one of Marvel’s more popular cosmic characters. If Nova is to appear on screen at all, it’s more likely to be as one of the leads in a New Warriors film, or potentially in a solo movie, but don’t look for this to happen before Avengers 2.
Valkyrie (Brunnhilde)
First Appearance: Avengers #83 (1970)
Created by: Roy Thomas and John Buscema
Joined the Avengers: Secret Avengers #1 (2010)
Marvel Studios Film Appearances: None
An actual Valkyrie who was kicked out of Asgard by Odin, expect her to show up somewhere in a Thor film, whether it’s the next one or the one after that, or the one… Well, you get the idea.
To be continued…
About the Author
PJ Montgomery Writer of various things, lover of comics, films, books and computer games, loveable rogue and proud Sidekick.
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Dude! Spoilers! I haven’t finished Children’s Crusade yet…but thats my fault for being a slacker. So a Young Avengers TV show would be pretty awesome a la Smallville…only good.