This was supposed to premiere during Agents of Shield next Tuesday but some ******** leaked it early. Now you’d think given how much I love the Avengers, and how eager I have been to see the trailer, that I would be pleased to get it early. However, I’m mad as hell in a way because it has completely taken the wind out of the sails of the promo for Agents of Shield.

Marvel were telling everyone to tune in next Tuesday to see the trailer for the first time. It was a good strategy, get people back into watching AoS, as they see it once/or again and think it’s awesome, then tune in every week after that. Now, there’s no hook to get all kinds of new people to tune in. I just really think that AoS could have done with that shot in the arm for ratings, it’s an amazing show and I want to see it go on for years but if it doesn’t meet the magic numbers then it won’t. It’s only the beginning of season two, so unless they announce cancellation early, then I have until next May to worry about renewal.

Coulson lives! I just hope AoS continues too as well. Back to the trailer … there will of course be spoilers for it under the cut.

“It’s the end. The end of the path I started us on.”
“Nothing lasts forever.”

Those lines are what stuck in my mind the most after repeated viewings of the trailer. I started to wonder if they weren’t a bit of a meta reference. The film Iron Man is what started the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oh I know there was that Hulk movie at about the same time which technically counts, but it really doesn’t count. The MCU would not exist if it hadn’t been for the success of the Iron Man films.

Robert Downey Jr. has said he’s not that interested in doing an Iron Man 4, not unless the script is amazing or something. Chris Evans has openly stated that when his contract is up (he has one more film) that he is hanging up the Shield, as he wants to get into directing. Chris Hemsworth hasn’t been too keen on the requirements for bulking up to be the god of thunder. Marvel introduced a whole new area of the MCU with Guardian’s of the Galaxy, they have another new film in Ant Man coming up, the netflix series are going to be part of the same universe etc. The MCU is growing exponentially, what was started, the phase one and two of the MCU, is now over.

I read a comment on the MH forums about Avengers: Age of Ultron which expressed concern about how many Avengers there were, about how many characters would be in the film. There was the original six, then War Machine is making an appearance, the two new ‘miracles’ of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. It’s getting to be a large roster and likely by intent. They are introducing new heroes so they can say goodbye to the old ones.

Towards the end of the trailer Captain America is laying on the ground, not moving, his shield is shattered next to him. It has long been rumoured that an Avenger will die in this film. Now death obviously doesn’t have to be permanent, Coulson lives after all, but given that Chris Evans wants to hang up the shield it could provide a powerful moment. Nobody would be expecting it as Evans still has another movie to go in his contract. However, in many ways it makes sense.

At comic con Marvel announced it was bringing the Civil War arc into the MCU. I read some comments on that by people who didn’t understand how it would work. True Marvel seem to be in talks with Sony so Spiderman could come across and play the iconic role he had in the plot. However, none of the Avengers have secret identities – at least not yet. That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t fight against the conscription angle. Cap fought against the bill even though he was known to be Steve Rogers because it was the right thing to do.

With the introduction of the netflix series there opens up some more options. Daredevil for instance has a secret identity that he would want to protect. If Steve Rogers dies in Age of Ultron then who picks up his Shield? Sebastian Stan who plays Bucky was Steve Rogers replacement in the comics, and he has a lot of movies left on his contract. Given his Winter Soldier identity was a secret, nobody connected the hero of the Howling Commando’s with the Cold War ghost, he would definitely have an interest in anonymity. There is another option, the new comics have Falcon taking on the Captain America mantle, Anthony Mackie has stated he’d love to do as many films as Marvel will let him and he’s probably closer to the morals of Steve Rogers. He wouldn’t fight because he had a vested interest, he’d fight as Steve would because it was the right thing to do.

How would Chris Evans finish the last movie in his contract? Bucky is not a well guy, he could hallucinate Steve giving him advice, fighting alongside him like they did in the old days. Another option would be Steve appearing in flashbacks, either back to when he and Bucky fought against Hydra, or perhaps to when Steve found him after the events of The Winter Soldier, what he said and how he saved him. Robert Downey Jr. is signed to appear in Cap 3 so there would be a bigger name draw if the studio was concerned that Stan or Mackie couldn’t handle it alone.

Anyway, what else did the trailer show us? Ultron bots but no Vision which I’m guessing they are saving for future hype down the road. There was a brief flashback to Steve Rogers at a USO show, I nearly missed that but someone commented on it. In the comics Hank Pym created Ultron, so while Tony might be responsible for reviving the program, the common speculation is that Hank Pym is mentioned in some way, perhaps in working with Howard Stark, which would have been Steve’s era. Tony didn’t develop the program from scratch, he just finished what they started.

Hulk vs Hulkbuster, what is going on there? A small Iron Man suit seemed to be contained within that large beast so it looked like Tony was controlling it. However, as Vision is played by Paul Bettany who doubles as Jarvis, and who can fly and fight Iron Man suits as seen in Iron Man 3, it’s not a given. Either the Hulk loses control and changes accidentally, and Tony has to fight him like Thor did in the first Avengers film, or it’s not really Tony as I can’t imagine him fighting the Hulk in a civilian area for any other reason.

Random last comment, I’m really glad Natasha cut her hair and shirtless Thor is just pure fan-service.

This film releases next April/May, that is a long time to wait. I think I need to watch the trailer again.