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.

      It’s no surprise that The Avengers is getting a sequel, after the production and income the film just produced there is no doubt. Keeping with Marvel’s trend of after-credit scenes, this one contains a pretty big hint at a sequel (no, I don’t mean the silent meal of schwarma at the very end), I’m referring to the scene after the initial credits. One of the leaders of the alien army (who Loki spoke to at the beginning) speaks to another alien about how “earth’s forces are much more powerful then we anticipated”, and when the unknown alien turns to face the camera, he is revealed to be Thanos, The Mad Titan. Many people don’t even know who this guy is, but if you played the original Marvel Superheroes PS1 game, and were any good at it, you would know that Thanos, and his Infinity Gauntlet, is the last boss you fight. Speaking of the Infinity Gauntlet, it is a gauntlet with five colored gems that give it’s wearer control over parts of space, time and all that stuff. The Gauntlet can be seen in the weapons vault on Asgard in the Thor film. Thanos will be the main villain in the sequel, but what does that mean for the plot? Will he be attempting to take over the world Han-style? Will there be another alien invasion? Will there be other villains to join Thanos in his evil plans? Only time will tell, and in time more information concerning the sequel will be released, so keep your eyes open fans.

      Thanos will have to wait his turn to take over the world, as many new villains will surface in the upcoming announced Ironman, Thor and Captain America sequels. All of which will most likely tie into one another and lead up to The Avengers sequel. The Thor and Ironman sequels will be released some time next year, while the Capt. America and Avengers sequels are expected to be released either in 2014 or early 2015 (yeah, I know…). Ironman’s next film is rumored to have the Mandarin as it’s villain, while Capt. America’s film will focus on Steve Rogers adjusting to his new life in the modern world, while simultaneously working as a SHIELD agent. As for Thor, I’m not quite sure what to expect. Loki as already been done, twice but Thor has quite the rogue’s gallery himself, so look’em up and make your own predictions about his next opponent. As for Hulk, there is not a person I’ve talked to who said they hated Hulk in the Avengers. He is just the type of character that has never had any success in solo movies, so maybe the Avengers was a perfect fir for “the other guy”. In light of his recent success, maybe the boys at Marvel studios will consider taking another crack at a Hulk movie, but that’s just speculation. Its seems as though Marvel studios is at it again so if you thought that it was all going to end with The Avengers, then think again. The Avengers was only the beginning and I cant wait to see what they come up with next.