The Challenge 2013's Superhero Films Will Face

      2012 featured some of the greatest superhero films of all time. The Amazing Spiderman displayed Peter Parker and the rest of the Spidey universe in a unique, darker way, as well as being more realistic. The Avengers gave us our very first superhero team-up, blockbuster film earning over 1.5 billion dollars. Then there was The Dark Knight Rises, being the best of last year and the most epic, providing a fitting end to the ultimate superhero trilogy. The three films released last year are all praised in their own ways, that it will become increasingly difficult to measure up to their standards, and the films of 2013 are the first to step up to the challenge. This is an analysis of The Wolverine, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3 and The Man Of Steel, next in line of the new generation of superhero movies. Are they up to the challenge?

The Wolverine (July 26th)

“Logan travels to Japan where he engages a mysterious figure from his past in a fight that will have lasting consequences.”

Yet another film centered on the solo adventures of Wolverine, which surprisingly takes place far after the events of X-Men 3. Its good to see Hugh Jackman back at the helm of the character he’s spent over a decade building in 5 different films. Wolverine marks the sixth time he’ll portray the character.

By now he should have it down pat, but he has to be on the top of his game to make up for the critically reviled incarnations featured in X3 and X-Men Origins, especially due to the fact that reports say the film will feature very little guest appearances from other X-Men characters. I personally like this approach because it gives Wolverine a chance to establish himself without any side stories of the other heroes.

While I’m not expecting it to be anything we haven’t seen before, I am hoping the film will be more on par with the first two X-films and First Class. With the script adapted from Wolverine’s original stories, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Frank Millar, I have faith that it won’t disappoint.

Thor: The Dark World (November 8th)

“A primeval race led by Malekith, who is out for revenge, intends to descend the universe into darkness as Thor fights to save all nine realms from a mysterious enemy older than the universe itself.”

Little is known about the Thor sequel, but some fans, including myself, are already beginning to question its very existence (as well as the upcoming Captain America sequel). Was the first Thor film really good enough to deserve a sequel? Is there so many layers to the character that we need another film to explore them all? Or is this simply a way to promote the success of the character after The Avengers? I vote the latter.

Thor is very much like the Hulk in terms of their roles in movies. Both these characters work fantastically in a group movie like The Avengers, but ultimately fail, or at least do average at best, on their own. While I loved the fight sequences and special effects in the first film, I question whether Thor is well rounded enough and not just a one-dimensional hero. He’s not as relatable to the general audience, he doesn’t have a mild-mannered alter-ego (at least not in this film franchise) and he seems a little head strong; qualities that ultimately doomed any of the Hulk movies. Its thoughts and speculations like these that I hope get put to rest upon the sequel’s release, but until then, I continue to speculate.

Avengers 2: What Can We Expect From A Billion Dollar Movie's Sequel?

Some spoilers follow:

        

      As everyone whose seen The Avengers and had the good sense to stay a while longer after the initial credits should know, Thanos will be the next villain in the film franchise. Thanos was an alien called The Mad Titan in the comics and sought the destructive power of a mystical device called the Infinity Gauntlet, a weapon briefly seen in the Asgardian weapons chamber in Thor. We will most likely see his power-hungry quest for the Gauntlet as the Avengers try to stop him. Along with Thanos comes the rest of the Shitari, the aliens from the first film, which hints at yet another alien invasion.

     The Ant-Man film has been officially announced and is currently in pre-production. Its expected release is before the Avengers sequel. This assumes the Ant-Man film will introduce its title hero: Hank Pym along with his wife Janet Pym, the Wasp (two of the original team members from the comics). If the movie is a hit there is no doubt the two characters will be integrated into Avengers 2 to join the original cast of heroes and possibly more additions.

     The three main heroes of the Avengers are announced to have sequels of their own and are already in production of some of them. These movies, however, are not meant to continue from the Avengers directly. Each film’s storyline does take place shortly after the events of the Avengers, but will focus solely on the individual hero. This will give a chance for the creators and writers to explore the heroes outside of the team-up atmosphere and frees the films from having continuity between them, something that was needed in their first films.

      In an alternate ending to the first film, viewable in the special features, shows us Maria Hill meeting the council on her own. The scene suggests she has taken the role of acting head of SHIELD away from Nick Fury (a story choice made in recent comics). Seeing as how Hill was not too fond of the Avengers Initiative in the first place, who knows how this change of management with SHIELD will affect their relation with the team in the sequel.

Avengers Assembled! Now What?

      I am very proud to say that The Avengers lived up to its name. The characters, the confrontations, the climaxes, all spectacular and exceeding previous expectations. Originally, before viewing the film, my biggest concern was the combination of so many big names. Four out of the six main heroes had their own movie titles, so creating a story that involves them, a large cast of supporting characters and, to top it all off, a villain, I feared the movie would feel too rushed and would cheat some characters out of their deserved spotlight. But director Joss Whedon did it correctly and each hero had their fair share of amazing moments. Now that The Avengers is being called “one of the greatest superhero films of all time” and “the best Marvel movie of all time” and being a film that has just shattered box office records, where do earth’s mightiest heroes go from here?

      This is where, if you haven’t seen the movie, you should probably stop reading (then again, about 500 million people or more have seen the film by now so odds are, you’re probably good to keep reading). But some spoilers do follow.

We're Almost There...

     This has never been done before. I mean this is something different, we have never seen anything like this. Since the release of the first Ironman film in 2008, the geniuses at Marvel studios had been cooking up quite a plan, a plan to join Ironman with the other heroes of the Marvel Universe. After Tony’s first meeting with Nick Fury after the credits of Ironman, every Marvel film afterwards was set in the same world and geared with the same theme, the creation and evolution of “The Avengers Initiative”. Four years in the making, five different films, “earth’s greatest heroes” and we are just two weeks away from superhero history.

     It all began with the birth of Ironman in 2008. After performing several heroic stunts and attracting the media, Tony is approached by Agent Colson, of the Strategic Homeland Interven- you know what I mean. After revealing himself to be the ironclad hero in front of the whole world, Tony is paid a quick visit by the director of SHIELD himself, Nick Fury (who first mentions the Avengers). Later that year The Incredible Hulk was released, which was originally thought to be a sequel to the movie in 2003, but of coarse it wasn’t. The only references made to the Avengers in this film was the use of a serum, resembling the super-solider serum (which Captain America would use later in the Marvel films) and the appearance of Tony Stark, SHIELD’s newest consultant (the events of this Hulk movie were later revealed to have taken place after the events of Ironman 2).