Although Iron Man officially started the MCU, it was when The Avengers came out that most
fans really started following the MCU. It officially connected the previous movies together and was the first comic book movie to have such an extensive cast and universe. It was the first movie to prove that a cinematic universe that includes solo movies leading up to one big team up movie. Although there had been previous comic books movies that were successful, this was what put comic book movies on Hollywood's radar and made them so popular today.
There was high expectations for The Avengers, it had 5 movies leading up to it with pre-existing characters we already had back stories for. The creators used The Avengers to answer the unanswered from the previous movies. Such as what happened to Loki and where Bruce Banner ended up after his movie. It's a lot of pressure to put on a singular movie, and it's happened plenty of times where a movie hasn't lived up to the hype. Yet The Avengers lived up to their expectations and drew more fans in.
One of the reasons The Avengers worked compared to the more recent Suicide Squad by DC is that there was no need for back stories or character development. We get to see the development of them as a team and their bonding such as Tony and Bruce over their love of science. We get to see them all butt heads and fight but then ultimately come together. It was simply about teamwork, Suicide Squad needed all of it as there was no history of the characters before the movie therefore causing confusion and a overly busy movie.
There also wasn't any need on development for the villain as we already know the history of Loki and why he envy's Thor so much. He attempts to destroy The Avengers from inside and turn them against each other which ultimately doesn't work (until Zemo tried it in civil War). He attempts this whilst trying to control the human population and become a dictator on Earth instead of a King on Asgard.
There are only 2 flaws with the film that kinda bother me, I have found others but they don't bother me enough to mention them. The first one being that Thor managed to get to Earth without the Bifrost or the Tesseract. At the end of Thor one of the consequences of Loki's actions was the destruction of the Bifrost. Although Thor destroyed it with Loki saying "you'll never be able to see her again" referring to Jane Foster, it turned out to be untrue as he made his way back to Earth quite easily. Another flaw for me which isn't really a big one is the little character development of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye as he spends the majority of the film being Loki's "personal flying monkey". They did however make up for it later on in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
One of the shining moments from the movie is the fight scene at the end against Loki and the Chitauri army. All of the protagonists get their moment to shine individually against both the Chitauri and Loki but we also get to see the team dynamic. It is also the first time we get to see the entire team as their super self. Although there are complaints that Hawkeye is basically useless I have to disagree. He may not have a super suit or be a Norse God but he is the sniper for the team giving him the advantage of fighting the antagonists from a distance and the pilot for the team. He also has the information on Loki and his plans plus the weaknesses of the army therefore making him an important asset of the team.
Easter Eggs
#1 Project Pegasus
At the beginning of the movie, Agent Coulson gives Tony Stark files to read, one of them mentions Project Pegasus and Project 42. This refers to a Civil War story arc in the comics which Stark builds an prison for villians in a different dimension called Project 42 and builds it over an old site that marked Project Pegasus. The MCU's version of this prison is seen in Captain America Civil War.
#2 Huginn and Muninn
When Thor catches Loki before Iron Man intervenes, two ravens can be seen flying across the screen. These birds are Odin's pet ravens Huginn and Muninn, which shows he is keeping an eye on his sons from afar.
#3 Earth's Mightiest Heroes
While Tony chats with Loki before the battle kicks off, he refers to the newly formed band of superheroes as "Earth's mightiest heroes, that kind of thing", this directly quotes the comic book description of The Avengers that has appeared on the front covers since 1963.
#4 Shawarma Restaurant
When Iron Man crashes to Earth after destroying the alien ship with a nuke he mentions going to a Shawarma restaurant which then leads to the Shawarma Easter Egg at the end of the film. We actually get a glimpse of the restaurant when Tony crashes to the ground after attacking the giant alien Leviathan.
#5 Stan Lee Cameo
Stan Lee is shown during a news reel where the public discuss their thoughts on super heroes being among us. Lee ironically tells the reporter "Super heroes? In New York? Give me a break!"
Comments