In April 1985, the first issue of the ground-breaking Crisis on Infinite Earths(Wolfman, et al, 1986) released and saw the temporary destruction of the “Multiverse”. To celebrate this momentous event, I’m discussing multiversal crossovers all throughout April in an event I dubbed “Crossover Crisis”.
Story Title: “The Monster and the Madman” Published: September 1981 Writer: Len Wein Artist: José Luis García-López
The Background: Although the two companies both publish stories of colourful, superpowered heroes in a cut-throat industry, the relationship between DC Comics and Marvel Comics has been surprisingly collaborative and amicable over the years (especially compared to many of the toxic “fans” who argue on social media every day…) Sure, there’s been lawsuits and underhanded tactics from both companies, but not only were the legendary Stan Lee and the disreputable sham Bob Kane actually good friends but both companies borrowed from and inspired each other and they’ve even collaborated on many joint publications in the past. Having already pitted Clark Kent/Superman against Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century(Conway, et al, 1976), DC and Marvel brought these two characters together again in 1981. That same year, the two companies also produced a sixty-four-page “Treasury Edition” comic book that pitted Bruce Wayne/Batman against Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk. At the time, graphic novels were nowhere near as commonplace as they are today and both characters were experienced a way of renewed mainstream interest off the back of a popular television series and moving away from the camp aesthetic of the 1960s, respectively. Like many of these early DC/Marvel crossovers, Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk can fetch a pretty high price these days, and it also wouldn’t be the last time that their paths crossed in one form or another.
The Review: One of the most reliable constants of many comic books, especially back in the 1960s through to the mid-1990s, was that many stories derail or pad out their narrative with a recap of their character’s origins and background. This seems to mostly happen to Spider-Man, who often interrupts whatever problem he’s having in the issue to recap his iconic origin and, don’t get me wrong, I get why this happens (you can’t expect every reader to be familiar with your characters, after all) but I much prefer it when comics simply have a bit of text before the story to catch readers up. Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk opts for this latter option and is all the better for it; before the story starts, we get a one page, two-column spread the recaps how Bruce Wayne saw his parents shot and trained his body and mind to become Batman and how Dr. Banner was bombarded with Gamma radiation and subsequently transforms into the rampaging Hulk whenever stressed or angry. Like Superman vs. Spider-Man, Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk begins with a prologue that establishes the villains of the story; the first is more of an abstract introduction as people all over Gotham City suffer from horrific and disturbing nightmares while the second is far more tangible as is shows that the Joker is back in town and has joined forces with a disembodied voice for nefarious reasons. The story then shifts to find Banner, under the pseudonym of “David Banks”, working a menial job for Wayne Research in order to get close to their “experimental Gamma-Gun”, and who is the only person to act fast enough to slip into a radiation suit and avoid the Joker’s debilitating laughing gas when the Harlequin of Hate and his goons show up to steal that same device!
Outmatched against the Hulk’s sheer power, Batman out-thinks the brute to take him down.
When Banner moves to raise the alarm, he is tackled and beaten by Joker’s thugs which, of course, causes him to transform into the Hulk! Quickly realising that their firepower is absolutely useless against the creature, the Joker orders his men to grab the Gamma-Gun and flee but their escape is impeded by the sudden arrival of the Batman! Unfortunately for Batman, the Joker immediately takes advantage of the Hulk’s child-like demeanour to convince the Green Goliath that Batman is his enemy and thus the two engage in fist fight! Batman initially holds back from confusing and potentially further antagonising the Hulk but finds his attempts to paralyse his foe by striking his nerve centres fruitless. Unable to harm the Hulk, Batman tries to keep his distance and out-think the creature and almost gets his spine snapped as a result! Batman is finally able to subdue the Hulk, however, by forcing him to breathe in a big lungful of his special Bat-gas but, though the Hulk is finally toppled, the Joker escapes with the Gamma-Gun. Batman returns to the facility as Bruce Wayne and immediately enlists the services of the grief-stricken Banner in the construction of a replacement Gamma-Gun.
The Joker and the Shaper conspire to capture the help using fake soldiers.
Back at the docks, the Joker activates the Gamma-Gun and allows his newfound friend, the Shaper of Worlds, to partially manifest in the real world and give us all a run-down on his origin as a parasite who feeds upon the dreams of others and bring them to life. He’s struck a bargain with the Joker (whose insane mind makes him “unique in all the universe”) to help restore the Shaper’s failing abilities, though exactly what the Joker is getting out of this deal is left unclear (and it is heavily implied that the Shaper scares even the Joker!) While Batman hits up Gotham’s underworld in search of the Joker, Banner finds the stress of his assignment putting him on edge. Although he’s briefly calmed down by a cup of Alfred Pennyworth’s tea, he continues to push himself without food or proper rest. Thus, when the Joker’s men arrive disguised as military officials charged with arresting Banner, it isn’t long before he turns green once again. When a specially-designed taser-rifle fails to have the desired effect on the Hulk, a massive blob-like creature enters the fray. Despite the Hulk’s increasing rage and best attempts, the creature is effectively able to absorb and contain the Hulk and spirit him away and Batman arrives in time only to hear Commissioner Jim Gordon receiving confirmation from General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross that the soldiers were fakes. Back at the Joker’s warehouse, the Hulk goes on a rampage when he hears the Clown Prince of Crime’s plan to revert him to Banner in order to make adjustments to the Gamma-Gun; despite the Shaper’s best efforts to quell the beast’s rage, both he and the Hulk are tormented by disturbing nightmares that leave the two physically and emotionally drained. Bored by the conflict, the Hulk flees but the Shaper comes to the conclusion that the crippling pain and madness his condition brings him can be cured not by the Gamma-Gun…but by the Hulk himself thanks to his unique Gamma properties and orders the Joker to recapture the beast. To facilitate this, the Joker explains the bind he’s in to Batman and enlists his aid, which soon leads to a second confrontation between the two characters. Bored of Batman and being constantly hounded by “puny humans”, the Hulk chooses to flee but a fight soon inevitably breaks out.
Despite his vast cosmic powers, Batman is able to trick the Joker into leaving himself vulnerable.
Once again, Batman chooses to fight smarter rather than harder, rolling with and doing everything he can to avoid or survive the Hulk’s attacks while trying to talk sense into the increasingly-enraged Hulk. Batman’s tricks result in the Hulk demolishing the building the two were fighting in and once again fleeing in order to be left in peace. Batman is finally able to get through to the Hulk by posing as a harmless old blind man and offering the creature his friendship, which calms the Hulk enough to the point where he willingly goes along with the Joker to confront the Shaper. However, angered that the Joker is willing to let the Hulk face this foe alone, Batman slaps his archenemy down and finally joins forces with the Jade Giant to battle a legion of their enemies brought to life by the Shaper’s powers. Finally on the same page, the two are easily able to overcome the living nightmares and fight their way to the Shaper, who holds them at bay with an impenetrable barrier. Angered at the idea of anything being stronger than he is, the Hulk charges ahead at full speed and exhausts his Gamma energy, reverting to Banner and curing the Shaper. Despite Batman’s pleas, the Shaper honours the bargain he made with the Joker and, having been cured, bestows the Joker with “limitless, infinite power”. Effectively acting as a genie for the Joker, the Shaper makes all of the Joker’s wishes come true, transforming him into a God-like jester who unleashes chaos and madness throughout Gotham City and uses his reality-warping powers to shape the city, its people, and even Batman however he sees fit. When the Shaper refuses to renege on his word, Banner transforms back into the Hulk and finds himself transported to the Joker’s increasingly mental world. Batman goads the Joker into pushing his powers to the limit by criticising his creativity and lack of imagination; although this results in things becoming even more warped and abstract, it also has the intended side effect of overwhelming the Joker, leaving him wide open for a knockout punch. In the aftermath, the Shaper takes his leave, the Joker is confined to Arkham Asylum once again, and Batman allows Banner to slip away in order to find the peace he so desperately desires.
The Summary: Given that I grew up mainly reading DC and Marvel Comics and annuals published in the seventies and eighties, Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk’s presentation is immediately recognisable to me and these are the quintessential representations of these characters at that time, in my opinion. Batman is much more of a stoic tactician and a fair-minded vigilante than a grim, overly paranoid avenger of the night and the Hulk speaks with a child-like demeanour and, while he just wants to be left alone, is more than ready to throw hands when provoked. Thanks to the Hulk’s unpredictable and explosive demeanour, Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk features a couple of fights between the two characters that are instantly believable. It’s not the first time that someone/a villain has manipulated the Hulk into trusting them or going nuts on a specific target and Batman is smart enough to not try and match the Hulk blow for blow. Instead, their fights are more about Batman trying to outmanoeuvre his foe, trying to reason with him, and using his physical skills and gadgets to stay out of the Hulk’s reach and to subdue him. It’s definitely a battle of brains versus brawn, which isn’t unusual when characters fight the Hulk but it’s definitely a spectacle seeing Batman trying to take on such an overwhelming foe. Superman versus the Hulk obviously makes more sense on paper but I don’t think it would have resulted in as interesting a story and probably would have descended into a slugfest instead.
Batman and Hulk tangle more than once in a brain vs. brawn bouts.
I’m not familiar with the Shaper of Worlds but the story does a pretty good job of establishing his powers and what he wants; desperate to cure the crippling pain and madness caused by his fading abilities, he enters into a partnership with the Joker to use Gamma radiation to stabilise him. It’s unusual to see the Joker acting out of fear or subordinate to another but his characterisation remains completely on point and he never seems to be a diminished threat. Instead, he remains in control and a tangible menace throughout; he’s smart enough to manipulate the Hulk and even convince Batman to help him, and then obtains God-like power and goes berserk bending and twisting reality, forcing Batman to think of ways to outsmart him, which is always fun to see. Overall, it was quite a decent crossover between the two. The Hulk typically doesn’t have one set location so setting the entire story in Gotham City was a good idea; seeing Banner and Wayne (and Alfred) interact was a nice little inclusion and something missing from Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. While neither character’s supporting cast have very much to do, it was nice to see Gordon show up (and to have him communicate with Ross) and having the Shaper conjure up nightmarish visions of both character’s foes was pretty awesome, especially when the Hulk reacted to Batman’s enemies with disinterested rage. There could have been more interactions between Batman and the Hulk; entire pages and chapters go past without the two interacting at all, either in or out of costume/form, which is in contrast to Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man but I think this was done to keep the story from descending into a series of one-sided fights. After all, there’s only so many ways you can show Batman avoiding being pummelled by the Hulk before it gets repetitive, and we do get to see interesting character combinations and interactions (and a pretty decent Batman story featuring the Hulk) as a result.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever read Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk? If so, what did you think to it? Do you own a copy of the original comic or do you remember reading it when it was first published? Were you surprised that Batman was pitted against the Hulk? Do you think he should have met a different Marvel character instead? What did you think to the team-up between the Joker and the Shaper and the Joker’s acquisition of phenomenal cosmic powers? Would you like to see DC and Marvel collaborate again in the future and, if so, what stories would you like to see? Whatever your thoughts on Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk, and comic book crossovers of this kind, drop a comment down below and check out my other Crossover Crisis reviews!
Released: 27 January 2009 Director: Frank Paur Distributor: Lionsgate Budget: Unknown Stars: Steven Blum, Fred Tatasciore, Tom Kane, Janyse Jaud, Colin Murdock, Mark Acheson, Nolan North, Bryce Johnson, and Tom Kane
The Plot: After Doctor Bruce Banner’s (Johnson) rampaging alter-ego, the Hulk (Tatasciore), is suspected of destroying a town, Department H sends James “Logan” Howlett/Wolverine (Blum) to confront the creature, attracting soldiers from Weapon X.
The Background: Marvel Comics have had a long history with animated ventures; some of these, like the X-Men animated series (1992 to 1997), largely defined a generation of fans. In 2004, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe was still about four years away from it genesis, Marvel licensed many of their characters out for live-action films, many of which were massive critical and financial successes. To capitalise on this wave of mainstream popularity, Marvel made a deal with Lions Gate Entertainment to produce a series of direct-to-video animated movies based on their characters. Sales were initially very strong and, while the releases soon dropped from two per year to one, 2009 saw a dual feature release that pitted the Hulk against Wolverine and Thor Odinson in separate adventures. Hulk vs. would go on to make the second-highest gross out of all of these animated films and Hulk vs. Wolverine was met with generally positive reviews, potentially because of Wolverine’s inclusion and growing popularity at the time and the inclusion of fan favourite character Deadpool. Wade W. Wilson (also known as “Deadpool”) was created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld and first appeared in The New Mutants#98 in February 1991. Though originally little more than a cold-blooded mercenary, the wise-cracking “Merc With a Mouth” went on to become one of the few comic book characters to be aware that they are comic book characters, leading to a warped, violent sense of humour, a tendency to break the fourth wall, and one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters.
The Review: Hulk vs. Wolverine begins with a narration by Wolverine, who awakens beaten and bloodied in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. Momentarily disorientated, he painfully shoves his arm back into his socket and his memory is jogged by the dramatic arrival of the enraged Hulk. From there, the feature flashes back to four hours earlier in the day; Logan was transported into Canada by Department H after a town was destroyed by a creature believed to be the Hulk. Wolverine’s senses give him the general sense of what happened and, excited at the prospect of hunting down the Hulk, is given carte blanche to stop the Green Goliath by any means necessary before he can hurt anyone else. Free-falling to the snow-encrusted wilderness, Wolverine follows his enhanced sense of smell deep into the forests and mountains in search of the Hulk (a search made all the easier by the gigantic impact craters the Hulk has left behind as he leaps across the mountains) but finds only the distraught Bruce Banner.
Wolverine is sent to stop the Hulk but their fight is interrupted by Weapon X.
Although Banner begs him to leave and laments his condition, his transformation into the rampaging Hulk s triggered when Wolverine catches the Hulk’s scent on Banner and threatens him. After being knocked clear across the valley from a single punch from the Hulk, Wolverine recovers as in the opening and an all-out slugfest between the two ensues. Rather than engage the Hulk in head-to-head combat, Wolverine initially tries to use his wiles to attack the Hulk from behind, stabbing him repeatedly in the back, but the Hulk’s unquenchably rage and strength quickly overpower Wolverine and leave him a beaten, bloody pulp. As tenacious as his namesake, Wolverine gives in to his bloodlust and continues the fight, gouging deep, bloody wounds into the Hulk using his Adamantium claws but their fight is soon interrupted by a barrage of tranquilizer darts fired by Deadpool (North) and the arrival of Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Acheson), Arkady Rossovich/Omega Red (Murdock), and Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike (Jaud). Succumbing to the dart, Logan recalls how, while drinking himself into a stupor, he was abducted by the mysterious Professor (Kane) and subjected to the Adamantium bonding process against his will.
Wolverine’s past in Weapon X comes back to haunt him with a vengeance.
In the aftermath, he became the brainwashed soldier code-named Weapon X and was forced into a series of combat scenarios alongside the other Weapon X “graduates”; in time, Sabretooth’s unheeded warnings regarding Logan’s stability came to pass and he violently escaped from the facility and fled into the Canadian wilderness. Wolverine is brought back to the present by a vicious beating from his former teammate; as Sabretooth beats on him, Deadpool chatters incessantly, but the Professor (now sporting a robotic claw hand) interrupts to proceedings to reveal that Weapon X has been pursuing the Hulk and causing the destruction attributed to the beast in their efforts to capture him. The Professor plans to wipe the Hulk’s memories and brainwash him using the same procedures they subjected Logan to back in the day and place Wolverine back into the containment capsule in order to subdue him once more. As each of the Weapon X members wants Wolverine dead, Sabretooth kills the Professor so that he and Deathstrike can torture Logan and rip him to shreds; however, Wolverine is able to goad Deathstrike into skewering him in such a way that frees him from Sabretooth’s grip and, after slicing off her arm, attempts to escape the facility, slaughtering a whole bunch of armed guards in the process.
Hulk tears his way through Weapon X but the film ends with his fight against Logan unresolved.
Although Deadpool isn’t convinced by Sabretooth’s story that Wolverine attacked the Professor, he agrees to hunt down and kill Logan, who frees Banner in order to get the Hulk’s help. A frail, despondent figure, Banner is tired of his dual existence and yet also terrified at the prospect of being turned into a weapon. Although horrified by Omega Red and Deadpool, Banner refuses to let the Hulk out so Wolverine stabs him in the gut to help speed up the transformation before engaging his adversaries alone; thanks to their individual healing factors, the fight is bloody and brutal and effectively pointless and yet each of them do everything they can to try and kill the other. Despite his best efforts, Banner is unable to hold off the transformation and, as Omega Red as Wolverine tangled up in his electrified tentacles, the Hulk attacks in a blind rage. The Hulk easily shrugs off Deadpool’s bullets and Omega Red’s tentacles, unwittingly saving Wolverine from Deathstrike’s clutches in the process; remembering Wolverine as an enemy, the Hulk charges after him, swatting aside Deadpool when Wolverine hilariously uses him as a human shield and dispatching Deathstrike with his patented clap before ripping her cybernetic limbs off. Hulk then pounds Omega Red into submission before bringing the entire facility down around them in his desperate need to escape; Wolverine is launched clear by the resultant explosion and the film ends with the two once again leaping to engage each other amidst the Canadian snow.
The Nitty-Gritty: Unlike the other Marvel animated efforts, Hulk vs. Wolverine isn’t exactly what you would call a feature-length presentation; this is mainly because it was released alongside Hulk vs. Thor (Liu, 2009) and, together, the two are supposed to form a kind of double feature. While they’re not exactly directly related to each other, this does help explain the brevity of Hulk vs. Wolverine, which is more like a bite-size version of a much greater story. You might think that this means the feature is a simple extended fight scene between the two characters but that isn’t actually the case; yes, Wolverine and the Hulk engage in bloody, brutal combat for a few minutes but their fight is quickly interrupted by the Weapon X members. The primary selling point of the feature then takes an extended break to touch upon Wolverine’s back story with Weapon X, which makes this much more like a snapshot of his character rather than a battle for the ages.
As amusing as Deadpool is, the Weapon X plot completely overshadows the title fight.
Indeed, Wolverine (and the Hulk, for that matter) spend more of the feature fighting against Weapon X than they do each other. On the plus side, this means there’s still a lot of violence and action packed into the feature’s short runtime and loads of opportunities for Deadpool to steal the show with his wit and wacky nature but those looking to see Hulk fighting Wolverine, as the title promises, may be left disappointment at how little of the action is actually focused on this fight. It’s interesting seeing a brief glimpse into Wolverine’s animosity against Weapon X but it’s all very rushed and glossed over to get to the next violent scuffle; I would have liked to see a bit more time spent exploring Banner’s desperation and downtrodden character at the sacrifice of, say, Omega Red (who was largely inconsequential overall) and a bit more time spent exploring the dichotomy between Banner/Hulk and Wolverine (since both are characters who rage and animal nature often overcome their rational minds). Instead, the feature blasts through a “greatest hits” package of Wolverine’s life, hints at relationships to characters many audiences might not be immediately familiar with (the past between Wolverine and Sabretooth and Deathstrike is given the bare minimum of lip service), and seems to have little faith in the concept of Hulk fighting Wolverine since it would rather skew its run time towards the more popular Wolverine.
The Summary: Hulk vs. Wolverine is a fun, if brief, way to spend about forty minutes of your life. Although it doesn’t quite deliver on its premise, the fight between the Hulk and Wolverine is brutal and exciting and there is a great deal of violence packed into its short run time. Hulk vs. Wolverine definitely doesn’t shy away from the ferocious nature of its title characters, or their adversaries, which is refreshing to see since these are violent characters and should be treated as such, but it definitely feels as though Wolverine’s presence overshadows that of the Hulk and the core concept of the feature. Although Deadpool’s role in the animated is small, he definitely stands out and it was exciting to see him included but, in the end, the insertion of Weapon X and the focus on Wolverine’s character definitely keeps Hulk vs. Wolverine from living up to its potential. I guess seeing the Hulk and Wolverine go at it for about half an hour straight wouldn’t have been that interesting but, as I said, there was a lot of potential in paralleling Logan’s animalistic character and nature with Banner’s condition that was imply abandoned to capitalise on Wolverine’s incredibly popularity and that’s a bit of a shame despite the feature being chock full of violent action and bloody violence.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
What did you think to Hulk vs. Wolverine? Do you feel like it wasted the potential of its premise or were you happy with what was presented? How do you feel it compares to Hulk vs. Thor and the other Marvel animated features? Which member of Weapon X was your favourite and how did you feel about the way Banner was portrayed here? What did you think to Deadpool’s inclusion and characterisation and would you like to see him featured in animation more often? How are you celebrating Deadpool’s debut this month? Whatever your thoughts on the Deadpool, or Marvel’s animated features, feel free to leave a comment below.
Story Title: “And Now…The Wolverine!” Published: November 1974 Writer: Len Wein Artist: Herb Trimpe
The Background: In 1974, Roy Thomas, then editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, called upon writer Len Wein to introduce readers to the first Canadian superhero; a short, feisty character named “Wolverine” who would be as scrappy and fearsome as his namesake. Though it was the legendary John Romita Sr who sketched up the original design for Wolverine and thought up his now-iconic retractable claws, it was artist Herb Trimbe who finalised the character’s design. In what would become a staple for the character for many years, Wolverine’s past and true identity was initially kept a mystery; however, despite claims for years that Wolverine was to be a mutated wolverine cub, Wein insisted that this was never the plan and that Wolverine was always intended to be a Mutant. Of course, nowadays, James Howlett (better known as “Logan”) has been established as one of Marvel’s most popular characters but back in 1974, Wolverine was simply meant to be another in a long line of one-off characters to spice up an existing title. The character actually made his first, brief appearance at the conclusion of The Incredible Hulk #180 in a one panel cameo after being ordered by the Canadian military to put a stop to a raging battle that is taking place in the forests of Quebec, Canada between Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Paul Cartier/The Wendigo.
The Review: “And Now…The Wolverine!” hits the ground running right from the first panel and doesn’t waste any time with copious flashbacks to the previous issue; we get a lovely one sentence recap of the Hulk’s origin at the top of the first page (which was the style at the time), a few dialogue boxes to give us context as to the place and what’s happening, and then jump right into the action…and rightfully so considering that the battle between the Hulk and the Wendigo was so fierce and destructive in the last issue that the Canadian military had to call in the mysterious “Weapon X” (which, of course, turned out to be “The World’s First and Greatest Canadian Super-Hero!”, Wolverine).
Wolverine attacks both the Hulk and the Wendigo without fear or hesitation.
A small, muscular figure in a skin tight yellow outfit, Wolverine makes an instant first impression not just for his striking appearance (not very many superheroes wore yellow back then and his cat-like mask and gleaming metal claws make him instantly unique) but also for leaping head-first into battle with two of Marvel’s most physically daunting creations. Despite being dwarfed by his opponents, Wolverine strikes without fear or intimidation, using his incredible speed and agility to compensate for the two’s superior strength. As mentioned above, Wolverine’s exact origin is largely a mystery but he does boast that his retractable claws are made of “diamond-hard Adamantium”. So dangerous are Wolverine’s claws and so vicious is his attack that he wounds the Wendigo and begins to not just hold is own but actually dominate their battle. Hulk, confused by Wolverine’s appearance and temperament, decides that if Wolverine (or “Little Man” as he calls him) is attacking the Wendigo, whom the Hulk sees as an enemy, then he (Wolverine) must be his (Hulk’s) friend so he jumps in to join the fight against the Wendigo, galvanised at the idea of fighting side-by-side with an ally. Wolverine takes advantage of the distraction and unnecessary assistance and, between the two of them, they are able to fell the Wendigo.
The Hulk is enraged when the Wolverine seemingly turns against him.
Wolverine delivers what appears to be a killing blow to the beast (which is quickly revealed to have only subdued the creature since the Wendigo is functionally immortal) but the Hulk’s momentary victory and elation turns to his trademark fury when Wolverine immediately lashes at him now that the Wendigo has been defeated. Enraged at the betrayal, the Hulk attacks mindlessly, earning Wolverine’s respect and frustration since the Green Goliath refuses to fall and only gets stronger and more enraged as the battle continues. While the fight is going on, Georges Baptiste and Marie Carter (who was the one who originally lured the Hulk to Quebec) take advantage of the situation to bring the Wendigo’s unconscious form to safety. It turns out that the Wendigo curse has overtaken Marie’s brother, Paul, and that she intends to use “the black arts” to transfer it from him and into the Hulk, much to Georges’ horror. To facilitate this, she evokes the “Spell of Subjugation” to render both Wolverine and the Hulk unconscious. However, Georges’ objections to Marie’s intentions are exacerbated when the two watch in stunned awe as the Hulk, now calmed, reverts back into the unconscious form of Bruce Banner. Georges leaves in protest at the idea of cursing an already cursed man to a fate even worse than that he already suffers with but Marie is determined to see her plan through out of the desperate need to see her brother returned to normal.
The Hulk delivers a decisive blow to the Wolverine, ending their fight as the clear victor.
After binding Wolverine with chains, she attempts to drag Banner’s unconscious form to the Wendigo and, in the process, triggers his transformation back into the Hulk. Hulk, equally furious at having been betrayed by Marie (or “Animal-Girl”), is stayed from turning his rage on her only by the sight of Wolverine’s prone and helpless body. Wolverine, however, suddenly and dramatically breaks free from his bindings and their battle begins anew. Marie uses the distraction to slip away but utters a heart-wrenching scream when she comes face-to-face with the Wendigo; this diverts the attention of the two combatants for a split second, which is more than enough for the Hulk to deliver a sudden, powerful blow to Wolverine’s head that finally puts him down for good. Marie’s horror at the Wendigo’s appearance turns to elation and then dismay when she realises that Georges has taken the curse upon himself, thus returning her brother to normal, out of his love for her. With the last of his humanity slipping away, Georges, now the Wendigo, retreats into the forest, leaving Marie a wreck of emotion. The Hulk, despite his rage and simple nature, comes across her and, in a moment of compassion, comforts her, the two of them briefly bound together in their tumultuous emotion.
The Summary: “And Now…The Wolverine!” is a heavily action-packed story; the entire issue is just a long fight between the Hulk, the Wendigo, and the Wolverine and it’s pretty great, to be honest. I’ve read a few Hulk stories from the seventies and it seems like most of them revolved around the idea of the Green Goliath fleeing from human persecution, befriending or being manipulated by someone, and then lashing out in a rage at that person betraying him and a lot of that is packed into this story since the Hulk believes both “Little Man” and “Animal-Girl” have betrayed his trust. It’s a simple formula made all the more unique with the debut of the Wolverine; we learn next to nothing about this character but he makes an immediate impact because of his actions rather than his words. It’s easy to say now, with the benefit of hindsight and Wolverine’s immense popularity, but Wolverine really does may a dynamic first impression; he jumps right into a battle with the Hulk, probably the most indomitable of Marvel’s heroes, and the nigh-immortal Wendigo without hesitation and is more than capable of holding his own against the two, instantly making him a force to be reckoned with. Of course, Wolverine isn’t quite the character we know him as today; he never says “Bub” and his speech is a bit more eloquent than it would later be written, for one thing, but we do learn that he is a Mutant and that he was specially trained and crafted by the Canadian government and military to be their most savage warrior. Furthermore, while it’s not revealed that his skeleton is also coated in Adamantium and there is no mention of his heightened sense or healing factor, Wolverine is keen enough to partially sense the Hulk’s final blow to save himself from being killed.
The Hulk is much more child-like and quick to anger when he feels he’s been betrayed!
This was a common theme back in Wolverine’s earliest appearances; dialogue, thought balloons, and narration boxes often emphasised that Wolverine was in danger of serious injury or even death, which can be a little jarring since we’ve seen him completely regenerate from being reduced to a skeleton. Oh, also, if you’ve always wanted to know what Wolverine is “the best at”, the answer is right here in this story as he says: “Moving is the best thing I do!” I’ve mentioned a couple of times hits year how the Hulk was originally a far more articulate and intelligent creature rather than a mindless beast; by the seventies, it seems, the Hulk’s intelligence and vocabulary had degraded somewhat. Hulk is far more irritable at this time, with the temperament of a child; he wishes only to be left alone and is disgusted by “Puny humans” but also revels in combat, loudly proclaiming “Hulk is the strongest one there is!” at every opportunity. At the same time, though, he only fights when he is provoked or enraged and is desperately seeking a friend, usually a monster such as he, to connect with. As I alluded to, this basically never happens and every potential friend he encounters either turns against him, turns out to be a villain, or dies, leaving him in a constant state between rage and anguish. Unfortunately, there’s literally nothing for his human alter ego to do in this issue but, since the fight is the centrepiece of the story, I can’t imagine what Banner would have really been able to bring to the narrative and I like that the writers had Hulk ultimately defeat Wolverine in combat rather than the fight abruptly ending because he turned back into Banner.
The side plot exists to give us a break in the action but the main appeal is the fighting!
As for the Wendigo…well, I’ve never been a massive fan of that character. He’s a bit basic and doesn’t have much going for him besides the tragic nature of the curse; generally, he’s more animalistic and feral than even the Hulk, which is an obvious juxtaposition for the Hulk’s unadulterated rage (and, in this case, Wolverine’s primal savagery) and again it’s another of those ways of showing how truly cursed the Hulk is as at least the Wendigo curse can be passed on to another. If there’s anything that lets this issue down, though, it’s the side plot of Marie and Georges; it’s not as annoying as some side plots in other stories I’ve read but I doubt anyone is reading this issue to see Marie and Peter reunited! We’re here for Hulk vs. Wolverine and that is always going to be the more entertaining aspect of the story.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
What are your thoughts on “And Now…The Wolverine!” and Wolverine’s impressive debut? Did you read the previous issue and, if so, were you intrigued to find out who this “Weapon X” was? What did you think to Wolverine’s depiction and characterisation here? Were you impressed that he held up so well against the Hulk and the Wendigo or was he just another one in a number of one-off characters? Do you like the Wendigo and the curse associated with the character? Which era/incarnation of the Hulk is your favourite? How are you celebrating Wolverine’s debut this month? Whatever you think about this issue, or Wolverine in general, leave a comment below and be sure to check in next Sunday for more Wolverine content!
Having introduced comic readers to a whole host of colourful characters, in September of 1963 the legendary duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought together six of Earth’s mightiest heroes to form the Avengers. A super team like no other, with a constantly rotating roster, the Avengers has become the premier team of Marvel Comics and, thanks to the team and its individual members forming the backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have become an unbelievably popular and successful franchise in their own right.
Story Title: The Coming of the Avengers! Published: September 1963 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby
The Background: In 1960, DC Comics brought together their most popular and powerful characters to form the Justice League of America. Never ones to let the competition get a leg up on them, and having seen successful with the Fantastic Four and the debut of the X-Men in that very same month, Marvel Comics head honcho Martin Goodman asked Stan Lee to create a similar team of superheroes. Helpfully, Lee and a number of his most famous collaborators had already established a number of colourful characters to bring together: Tony Stark/Iron Man, Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Doctor Donald Blake/Thor Odinson, and Doctor Hank Pym/Ant-Man and Janet van Dyne/The Wasp. Since the debut issue, the Avengers have been a consistent and influential presence in Marvel Comics; the roster constantly shifted and changed, with the Hulk leaving the team in the second issue and Lee memorably dusting off the long-retired character of Steve Rogers/Captain America in issue four. Since then, the team has expanded and changed many times, seen spin-offs and splinter groups, been disassembled and reassembled, and taken part in all manner of massivecosmic events in the decades since their introduction.
The Review: “The Coming of the Avengers” begins with Thor’s brother, Loki Laufeyson, the God of Mischief, imprisoned on the “dreaded Isle of Silence” in the mythical realm of Asgard. This is, of course, back when Loki was a despicable, irredemable villain whose previous mad schemes for power and conquest were thwarted by his brother; consequently, Loki is incensed at being exiled to the barren wasteland by Odin Allfather and plots a devious scheme for revenge.
Loki burns with a desire to destroy Thor, not Blake, and sees the Hulk as his chance to do so!
Though his physical self is trapped, Loki is able to use his vast magical abilities to project his disembodied self across the length of he dimension-spanning Bifrost and down to Earth, the planet Thor loves so dearly. He spies in on Donald Blake but dismisses him as a lame and insignificant mortal; he is acutely aware that Blake and Thor are one and the same but desires victory over Thor, not his crippled mortal shell. After many long hours, Loki comes upon the Incredible Hulk and is instantly intrigued by the creature’s brute strength and disdain for humanity. Thanks to Loki’s manipulations, the Hulk is blamed by the media when a train almost derails (despite the fact that the Hulk went out of his way to keep the train on track after Loki’s tricked him into damaging the tracks). Concerned for the well-being of his friend, Rick Jones desperately attempts to contact the Fantastic Four for help but Loki intercepts the broadcast and successfully coerces Blake to transform into Thor.
Words almost can’t express how much I despise Janet’s characterisation in these early comics!
However, Rick’s broadcast is also intercepted by Ant-Man and the Wasp and Tony Stark, who eagerly leap into action to stop what they perceive to be one of the Hulk’s trademark rampages. Though he’s now decked out in his slightly more streamlined gold plated armour (which can also charge through solar power), Stark is still entirely reliant upon his iron plated chest device to keep him alive but, nevertheless, he’s eager to test the strength of his armour against the Hulk’s much-vaulted power. The Fantastic Four eventually pick up the transmission regardless of Loki’s interference but are unable to assist since they’re already busy on another case but Rick and his fellow “Teen Bridge” are star-struck when Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp all show up to answer their summons. This is probably as good a time as any to talk about how much I loathe Janet van Dyne, especially in her earlier appearances in the sixties and seventies! She’s such a ditzy, scatterbrained little tart; all she ever does is think about her hair, make-up, and appearance and constantly fawn over other men right in front of her partner/husband, Hank. Sure, Hank is generally much more focused on his work, the mission, or being professional and is largely neglectful and ignorant of Janet but that doesn’t excuse her God-awful characterisation. Similar to Susan Storm/Invisible Girl, Jean Grey/Marvel Girl, and many of Marvel’s supporting female characters at the time, Janet is constantly patronised and spoken down to by men but, unlike many of them, she actually deserves such harsh treatment since she’s more of a glorified model or brainless celebrity than a capable superheroine, much less an individual worthy of their respect since all she wants to do is drool over Thor’s muscles!
Loki is apprehended but the battle between Iron Man and the Hulk continues to rage!
Anyway, having inadvertently brought together some of Earth’s mightiest heroes, Loki changes tactics and uses his powers to trick Thor into thinking the Hulk is right outside their door! Acting without thought or logic, Thor immediately heads out to battle the Green Goliath and immediately heads to Asgard when he realises that the “Hulk” is merely one of Loki’s visions…just as Loki planned all along! Meanwhile, the Hulk, now free from Loki’s control, has…disguised himself as Mechano the Mechanical Man and hidden himself away at a circus? Thanks to Ant-Man’s uncanny helmet, which allows him to control and communicate with ants, Pym is able to first locate the Hulk and then use countless numbers of ants to cause a cave-in beneath the beast’s feet. Unimpressed and irritated, the Hulk easily bursts free of the trap and reacts with anger when Ant-Man attempts first to calm him and then to trap him. As in his debut appearance, the Hulk is far more than the mindless, rampaging beast he is generally known as; he’s eloquent and intelligent, using words like “masquerade” and being smart enough to disguise himself as a circus performer and use weapons to blow the Wasp out of the air and render her helpless. The Hulk is kept from crushed the Wasp into a fine paste by the timely arrival of Iron Man; after Iron Man’s attempts to lure the Hulk into a trap fail, he gives chase but the Hulk is wily enough to allow Iron Man to pass harmless overheard so that he (as in the Hulk) can deliver a crippling blow to Stark’s “propulsion battery”. Over in Asgard, Odin grants Thor permission to travel to the Isle of Silence to confront Loki and he has to overcome numerous traps and hazards conjured by Loki’s black magic along the way. Thor perseveres and shatters Loki’s magical barrier using his enchanted hammer, Mjölnir, in his mission to “avenge” Loki’s foul deed. However, Thor is kept from attacking Loki first by the sudden arrival of a monstrous troll, a nature of the isle, and then by Loki’s deceitful illusions.
Loki is defeated with ridiculous ease and a new super team is born!
Regardless, Thor triumphs again by summoning lightning to drive the creature away and then dispels Loki’s duplicates with an implausible twirling of his hammer. Though Thor has Loki in his grasp and intends to bring him to Earth to answer for his deception, there’s still the little problem of the Hulk to contend with; Iron Man, having repaired his battery, continues his pursuit of the Hulk to an automobile factory, where the Hulk is able to endure and outwit Iron Man’s attempts to subdue him. Thor interrupts the battle and reveals that Loki was behind everything; Hulk’s desire to make Loki pay for framing him is momentarily avoided when Loki breaks free of Thor’s grasp and prepares to resume his battle with his hated brother…only for a hoard of ants to open a trapdoor beneath his feet and cause him to fall into an lead-lined chamber. With the threat ended, Ant-Man suggests that the six of them join forces as a team, which the others (including the Hulk, despite everything he went through during the issue) readily agree to and it is the Wasp who suggests the team’s name: The Avengers!
The Summary: “The Coming of the Avengers!” is a breath of fresh air after the year I’ve had looking back at early origin stories and comic books; even compared to standalone stories of the time, it’s refreshing to not have the plot be endlessly bogged down with recaps of the characters’ origins and to not have every other piece of dialogue by a description of that character’s ability. Characters do still have an annoying tendency to monologue and describe what they’re doing as they’re doing it but it’s a far more action-packed issue than some other comics I’ve read this year, that’s for sure.
The brisk pace means some characters get more focus than others but there’s still time for cameos…
If you’re a newcomer to Marvel, this is obviously a bit of a disadvantage since you’d have no idea who any of these characters are; the only characters who really get any extended backstory and focus are Thor and Loki, which is only natural considering it is Loki who drives the main plot of the issue. However, we never see an appearance from the Hulk’ alter ego (Banner isn’t even mentioned in the issue), Ant-Man and the Wasp are never seen outside of their costumed identities, and the comic even has time to waste panels on a cameo by the Fantastic Four. The intention, however, is pretty clear: Rick’s first thought is to call the Fantastic Four since there are only a couple of superhero teams in existence at that time and the implication is that Loki is a threat worthy of the Fantastic Four’s involvement, which thus makes the Avengers appear just as capable and formidable by proxy. Not that the Avengers really need any help in that regard; each character has already had numerous chances to shine and show how capable they are in their solo issues but what better way to showcase that to its fullest than by pitting them against the Hulk, the most powerful mortal in Marvel Comics at the time?
For all his power and scheming, Loki is incredibly ineffectual and his plan massively backfires!
Iron Man, especially, is eager to pit his skills and augmented strength against the Hulk’s (who sadly never gets to tussle with Thor to see which of the two truly is mightier) and it’s certainly unique seeing Ant-Man and the Wasp futilely try to subdue the beast with traps and trickery. It’s not a perfect story by any means; I could talk for days about Janet’s characterisation and she basically does nothing except buzz around, pine after Thor, and name the team and Loki never thinks to use his powers to send the Hulk into a mindless rampage to help tip the balance in his favour. Indeed, though Loki’s powers are vast and have the potential to be extremely dangerous, he’s pretty ineffectual as Thor easily fights off his illusions, he’s anti-climatically defeated by Ant-Man and the Wasp (of all people), and all he succeeds in doing is uniting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as a team. He might have had more success if he’d tried to manipulate them into fighting each other or used his powers to better effect but, as an excuse to bring together six of Marvel’s most formidable superheroes into a super team, “The Coming of the Avengers!” succeeds far more than it fails…it just needed to be a bit longer and have a bit more interaction between the characters.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
How do you feel about “The Coming of the Avengers!”? Do you feel it was an effective introduction to Marvel’s newest and greatest team or do you, perhaps, find it a little weak and light on content? Which of the original line-up is your favourite? What did you think to the Wasp’s characterisation and the treatment of females during this time? Which version of the team is your favourite or who would you like to see on an Avengers roster one day? Do you think the singular threat of Loki was suitable enough justification for bringing together these heroes or would you have preferred a bigger threat? How are you celebrating the debut of the Avengers today and what are some of your favourite Avengers storylines, characters, or adaptations? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the Avengers in the comments below.
Since his explosive debut in 1962, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s gamma-irradiated Jade Giant has been one of their most recognisable and successful characters thanks, in large part, to the Incredible Hulk television show (1977 to 1982) catapulting the Hulk into a mainstream, pop culture icon. Hulk has been no slouch in the comics either, being a founding member of the Avengers, joining teams like the Defenders, and has gone through numerous changes over the years that have added extra depth to the green-skinned behemoth and made him one of their most versatile and enduring characters.
Story Title: The Hulk (includes “Part 1: The Coming of the Hulk”, “Part 2 : The Hulk Strikes!”, “Part 3: The Search for the Hulk”, “Part 4: Enter…The Gargoyle!”, and “Part 5: The Hulk Triumphant!” Published: May 1962 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby
The Background: The Incredible Hulk (and his human alter ego, Doctor Robert Bruce Banner), was, of course, the creation of Marvel Comics legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Inspired by a story of a hysterical mother exhibiting superhuman strength to rescue her trapped child, in addition to classic movie monsters such as Frankenstein’s Monster and the duel personalities of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, Lee and Kirby sought to create a tortured, monstrous figure that was a reaction to the mysterious of science and radiation and the foils of war. Famously, of course, the Hulk made his debut as a stone-grey figure who emerged at the onset of night; when printing errors saw the character rendered in different hues, Lee (who also often mistakenly referred to Bruce Banner as “Bob Banner”) decided to switch the character to his now-signature green (though red would have been far more appropriate considering it, like the Hulk, is associated with rage). Despite The Incredible Hulk being cancelled after only a year and a half, the character returned to a self-titled comic and a position of prominence with Marvel readers thanks to subsequent expansions of his lore and character and, of course, his inclusion in numerous team ups, issues of Tales to Astonish, and the popularity of the TV show and his other animated appearances.
The Review: The issue begins in the middle of the desert where stands the Gamma Bomb (or “G-Bomb”), the “most awesome weapon ever created by man”; the genius behind the G-Bomb, Dr. Bruce Banner, waits anxiously in the concrete bunker some miles away. Banner’s nerves aren’t helped by the criticism of his fellow scientist, Igor, or the blustering presence of General “Thunderbolt” Ross. Ross isn’t happy at the delays Banner has caused the operation, or his men, and openly scoffs at Banner’s concerns and apprehension concerning the vague (yet nonetheless awesome) power the weapon holds. Igor, meanwhile, is incensed that Banner hasn’t shared the secrets of the G-Bomb with him or their peers, even more so when Banner reveals that no one has double-checked his formulas and calculations.
Thanks to Igor and Rick, Banner is bathed in the full force of the mysterious gamma rays!
Banner’s preference towards secrecy and privacy backfires on him, however, as Igor, eager to take all the credit for Banner’s work, allows the G-Bomb countdown to continue after Bruce heroically races out into the testing area to save the life of a teenage kid, Rick Jones, who has slipped past the guards. Banner shields Rick in a nearby trench but, thanks to Igor, the genius scientist is caught in the full blast of the exploding G-Bomb! Hours later, he awakens, still screaming, having miraculously survived the explosion and apparently suffering no ill effects from the awesome gamma rays. Rick, humbled and eternally grateful to Banner for saving his life, sticks around and watches in awe as, when night falls, Banner undergoes a startling transformation into a grey-skinned behemoth!
The Hulk’s rampage is stopped right before he can do serious harm to Rick.
Rather than the mindless, rampaging beast known for his trademark cry of “Hulk smash!” this first incarnation of the Hulk (as the panic-stricken soldiers coin the beast) is a disconcertingly articulate and lumbering creature. His first thought is escape, smashing first through the concrete wall of the base and then trashing an oncoming jeep with ease before disappearing into the night as Rick frantically gives chase. While the soldiers back at base are gob-smacked at what they witnessed, they nevertheless mount an armed search party to track down the beast, whom they believe has kidnapped or killed Dr. Banner. The Hulk, meanwhile, is driven by pure instinct to retrieve Banner’s gamma formula but stumbles upon Igor attempting to steal it for himself! To Igor’s horror, the Hulk is completely unfazed by a “.38 slug in [his] shoulder]”, crushes Igor’s pistol in one meaty hand, and tosses Igor across the room effortlessly. Upon hearing Banner’s name, the Hulk is disgusted and annoyed, believing Banner to be “weak — soft!!”, and then violently rejects Rick’s desire to help him. Indeed, the Hulk advances on Rick, seemingly looking to kill him, and is only stopped by the sudden and unexpected rising of the sun, which sees the Hulk revert to Banner before Rick’s horrified and fascinated eyes.
The stress of his newfound curse begins to take its toll on Banner…
When General Ross and the Military Police show up searching for the Hulk, they immediately begin pointing fingers at everyone! Igor is detained as they believe he is in league with the Hulk and Banner (who sports a minor shoulder injury from Igor’s bullet) is questioned as a suspect. Luckily, plenty of eyewitnesses are on hand to attest to the Hulk’s monstrous appearance, though their accounts of the creature vary wildly. Amidst the confusion, Banner is comforted by Ross’s daughter, Betty, who previously defended him in front of her father. Perhaps out of pity, perhaps out of kindness, perhaps even out of an attractive, Betty offers her help and support to Banner, whom she believes is still suffering from the effects of the G-Bomb, to say nothing of the subsequent stress of recent events. After she leaves, Banner laments his cruel fate, despairing that, when the sun sets, he will once again become the Hulk and lose his rational mind to a monstrous creature.
News of the Hulk’s strength reaches the Gargoyle, the Soviet’s ghastly grotesque.
Locked up in a prison cell, Igor (actually a spy for the Russians) is able to use a handy-dandy hidden “sub-miniature transistor short wave sending set” (translation: a small radio) hidden in his thumbnail to send a message to his Soviet comrades. The Russians take Igor’s message of the Hulk to the Gargoyle, “the most feared man in all of Asia”, a hideous little…gargoyle…of a man who is so feared that no one dares give him the message in person. Angered at the thought of a creature able to match his power, the Gargoyle immediately has himself literally launched over to America to confront the Hulk.
The Hulk is disgusted at Betty’s fragility…
In a desperate attempt to keep the Hulk from hurting others, Banner and Rick drive out of the base and into the desert but, on the way, the transformation occurs and their jeep is wrecked. Rick is shaken by the crash but the Hulk is unfazed and immediately, instinctively, heads towards Betty at General Ross’s house. Betty, who is irrationally overcome with feelings of concern and affection for Banner, attempts to clear her head and encounters the Hulk just outside her house, fainting in his arms to the grey goliath’s disgust. However, unbeknown to the Hulk and Rick, they have been followed by the Gargoyle, who promptly shoots the charging man-monster and his young companion with a special pistol that instantly makes them obedient to his every command.
Banner uses his intellect to cure the Gargoyle, who sacrifices himself to ensure their escape.
Utilising the help of similar slaves, the Gargoyle manages to escape with his prey back behind the Iron Curtain and is positively giddy at the thought of dissecting the Hulk and claiming his power for his own…and equally distraught to find that the Hulk has reverted back to Banner during the trip. Now no longer showing the effects of the Gargoyle’s weapon, Banner and Rick are astonished to witness the Gargoyle break into tears when he realises that the Hulk and Banner are one and the same. Distraught at his ghastly appearance, the Gargoyle wishes only to be a normal man again, just like Banner, whatever the cost. Banner, who has “seen cases” like the Gargoyle’s before, believes he can use “radiation” to grant the creature’s wishes and is, surprisingly, successful. Now a man once more, the Gargoyle allows his captives to return to America safely while he stays behind and sacrifices himself to destroy the Russian outpost
The Summary: Well, honestly, I have to say that I am surprised; I was expecting the Hulk’s debut appearance to be primarily about him coming into conflict with the military but, instead, the story takes a dramatic and odd sharp left turn with the introduction of the Gargoyle.
The Hulk is surprisingly articulate and subdued compared to his later, more mindless portrayals.
“Unexpected” is perhaps the best world to describe The Incredible Hulk #1 since neither the Hulk or the Gargoyle are portrayed as mere mindless monsters. Instead, the Hulk is childlike, lumbering, and quick to anger but a far cry from the volatile creature he is now known to be. His feats of strength are extremely subdued compared to the literal world breaking exploits he would later indulge in and he’s also surprisingly articulate and cunning, acting on instinct but not simply yelling and screaming near-incoherently at his pursuers.
The Gargoyle, like the Hulk, is not what he seems on the surface.
The Gargoyle, meanwhile, appears to be this deformed, monstrous Red Menace and, indeed, it is implied that he is one of the Soviet’s most formidable weapons. Yet the knowledge that Banner and the Hulk are one and the same reveals his true nature as a tortured, pitiable creature who is lashing out because of his monstrous appearance. The Hulk, meanwhile, lashes out to escape and out of pure instinct thanks to the remnants of Banner’s memories and consciousness rather than out of pure malice and, while Banner is seemingly unable to help himself (though, to be fair, he hasn’t even tried yet) he is able to cure the Gargoyle through questionable means and allow him to die as a man.
Many of the Hulk’s troupes are established in this debut issue despite the story’s odd turn.
The issue, obviously, establishes many of the troupes that would come to be associated with the Hulk for decades: Banner is tormented by his condition, lamenting his fate and completely giving into despair and acceptance of his newfound curse. The Hulk wishes only to be left alone and to revel in his strength and power over the likes of “Puny Banner!” Betty is at once fascinated by Banner and terrified of the Hulk, with no one besides Rick having knowledge of his dual nature, and Ross, having discovered Betty still woozy from her fainting spell and babbling about the Hulk, vows to hunt down and destroy the creature without mercy. Little of this is really developed all that much in this first issue thanks to the sudden shift in tone and focus to the Gargoyle but the seeds are definitely planted and it certainly stands out as more of a monster/horror story than a traditional superhero tale, which may have been why the Hulk struggled to connect with Marvel readers for some time as they were, perhaps, expecting bright, costumed adventurers rather than a persecuted man-monster.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
How did you find the Hulk’s debut story? Did you read it when it was first published and, if so, did the Hulk leave much of an impression on you or were you expecting something different from Marvel? What did you think to the Hulk as a character, especially compared to how he would be portrayed in subsequent years? Do you like the original grey-skinned Hulk or do you prefer the traditional green colouring? What is your favourite Hulk story, character, or piece of media? How are you celebrating the Hulk’s debut today? Whatever your thoughts on the Hulk, go ahead and leave a comment below.
In 1995, Marvel Comics created “National Superhero Day” and, in the process, provided comics and superhero fans the world over with a great excuse to celebrate their favourite characters and publications.
Released: 4 May 2012 Director: Joss Whedon Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Budget: $220 million Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson
The Plot: When Loki Laufeyson (Hiddleston) arrives on Earth wielding a mind-controlling spear and in search of the Tesseract, Nick Fury (Jackson), director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) activates the “Avenger Initiative”. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans), Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo), Thor Odinson (Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner) are called into service and must find a way to co-exist before they can combat this otherworldly threat.
The Background: The development of an Avengers film began in 2003 with an outrageous plan to release a series of solo films for each character before having them all meet up, similar to how the Avengers formed in the comics back in 1963 courtesy of Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers. It was an unprecedented move, one which saw fledging studio Marvel Studios roll the dice on lower-tier heroes such as Iron Man and win big time with a slew of massively successful and popular superhero films, each one hinting towards a much larger, shared cinematic universe. When the time came for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to finally meet onscreen, Marvel Studios turned to Joss Whedon to rewrite the script and direct the film and included Iron Man(Favreau, 2008) and Iron Man 2 (ibid, 2010) director Jon Favreau as an executive producer. After some differences of opinion, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige chose to recast Edward Norton in the role of Banner/Hulk and easily the biggest superhero film of all time was officially underway. The Avengers (known as Avengers Assemble here in the United Kingdom) was an absolutely phenomenal success, making over $1.500 billionat the box office, receiving ravereviews, and kicking off the extraordinary blockbuster success we know of today as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The Review: Avengers Assemble was the first time we had ever seen superheroes come together in a big screen, big budget movie. Before the MCU, before Iron Man, superheroes always existed in isolated bubbles and never interacted and, as a big fan of the interconnected world of the comics (not just in Marvel but in DC Comics and pretty much ever comic publication), I was excited to see these characters come together onscreen for the first-time and will always lean towards an interconnected, shared continuity. It was a risky venture taking admittedly B to D-tier characters like Iron Man and Captain America and shaping a series of movies around them but Avengers Assemble totally justified that risk, allowing these volatile egos and characters to share the same screen and mixing fantasy, science-fiction, magic, and technology all together in one action-packed adventure.
Loki comes to invade Earth and realise his grandiose desires for power and servitude.
Loki’s threat is immediately established when he suddenly arrives on Earth and makes short work of Fury’s men and then uses his spear to take control of Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Barton. Though only a singular villain, one whom Thor has been able to best in combat before, Loki is a significant threat to the world since he is, effectively, a God and he has the entire Chitauri army at his command. Before the Chitauri arrive, though, Loki is formidable enough to justify bringing in Iron Man (despite Fury’s earlier reservations) and Cap since Thor wasn’t supposed to be able to get back to Earth. When Thor does arrive, his mission to capture Loki and bring him back to Asgard is hampered by Earth politics (since Fury wants to hold Loki accountable for the death and destruction he’s already caused) and as a result Loki manages to manipulate the fledgling Avengers into bickering and fighting with each other rather than him, allowing him to take possession of the Tesseract and bring the Chitauri to Earth. While he avoids active, physical combat, Loki is a daunting opponent when he does engage in battle, able to go toe-to-toe with Thor (thanks, largely, to Thor holding back out of love for his brother), easily catching Hawkeye’s arrow, and tossing Stark out of a window with just one hand. His downfall comes not only through the unification of the Avengers but is spelt out by Stark, who monologues about how, win or lose, they would hunt down and hold Loki personally responsible to ensure that he never truly wins, and, of course, more explicitly through the sudden and hilarious beat down he receives at the hands of the Hulk.
It’s a rough experience for Cap, who has awoken to a world that has radically changed.
Essentially, the film is a significant chapter in Cap’s story; since Captain America: The First Avenger(Johnston, 2011) ended with Cap being dethawed in the modern day, this was only the second time we had seen him in action; unfortunately, because of the nature of the film, Cap’s reintegration into society is largely glossed over and, rather than being dwelled upon, is replaced with Cap wishing to be given a mission, a focus, a reason to fight in the modern world. As a result, he unquestioningly follows Fury’s directions primarily out of instinct, duty, and a need to have a reason to go on in a world that has largely passed him by; he clashes with Stark’s rebellious attitude, believing that they should follow orders like soldiers, but is convinced enough to investigate further and is disgusted to find Fury in possession of Chitauri technology and with contingencies in place to combat the Avengers since they have the potential to be a threat to humanity. Cap is all business when in battle, instinctively taking command and exuding leadership even though he is the most out of touch and out of place of all the characters; his initial antagonism with Stark is eventually put aside to lead the team during the Chitauri invasion and Cap fights to the bitter end even when he is vastly overpowered by the alien forces, taking the most damage of any of his team mates (including the “weaker” members like Natasha and Barton).
Stark joins the team with his own agenda but eventually comes to respect and defer to his peers.
Stark is just as stubborn and snarky as ever; he’s clearly insulted by Agent Phil Colson (Gregg) and Fury’s decision to relegate him to a “consulting” role in the Avengers Initiate despite his claims to not want to be part of the team and believes himself to be the only one smart and capable enough of combating Loki’s impending threat. He comes aboard with the program purely out of a selfish desire to lord himself over Fury and the other Avengers and to learn more of S.H.I.E.L.D.s secrets, using them to call Fury out on his hypocrisy, and constantly goading his team mates (particularly Banner) into being themselves and rejecting Fury’s orders and control. While the prevailing arc for the entire team is learning to work together, Stark personifies this as he is the most antagonistic and reluctant to work as a team; he’s the most affected by Coulson’s death due to him knowing the agent the best, his experiences witnessing death and suffering first-hand in Iron Man, and his inability to properly cope with death and loss. Coulson’s death galvanises Stark, turning his incredulity to vengeance and giving him the motivation to not only put aside his ego to work with the team but also acknowledge Cap’s superior leadership skills.
The naturally apprehensive Banner has attained a measure of tenuous control over the Hulk.
Banner appears very differently to where we left him in The Incredible Hulk (Leterrier, 2008); fearing the unpredictability and ferocious nature of the Hulk, he has stayed in hiding, suppressing the Hulk with some success, but is unable to deny his innate wish to help others in need with his scientific and medical expertise. Banner has managed to keep the Hulk at bay not only through a risky and unique technique (he’s “always angry”, indicating that he constantly keeps his emotions at a level where the Hulk is satiated but doesn’t actually emerge) and a vehement refusal to acknowledge or speak the Hulk’s name. Banner is convinced to help advise on Loki’s spear by Natasha’s beauty and simply her asking him nicely, rather than forcing him to comply, but, while he is clearly excited to be working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Tesseract and forms a fast, budding friendship with Stark (with Stark goading Banner and acting like an annoying brother to him), he quickly comes to realise that Fury’s intentions aren’t entirely noble and questions the validity and ability of a team that is little more than a “timebomb” of ego and emotions. When the Hulk is forcibly unleashed as part of Loki’s plan, he is unbridled rage and fury, lashing out at everything and everyone around him in a mindless rage since the transformation was against Banner’s will. Later, during the Battle of New York, Banner initiates the transformation willingly and the Hulk is much more…maybe not “docile” but let’s say willing to cooperate, taking Cap’s orders and specifically targeting to Chitauri threat while protecting and aiding his teammates. A measure of Banner’s influence and the Hulk’s intelligence is seen as the Hulk makes the effort to save Iron Man from his fatal fall and his dismissive grunt of “Puny God!” after beating the piss out of Loki.
Thor’s complex relationship with Loki is a pivotal plot point throughout the film.
Thor’s arrival on Earth comes out of nowhere and is quickly waved away with a brief line about “dark energy”; personally, I never liked this or understood why the filmmakers had the Bifrost be destroyed in Thor(Branagh, 2011) when they knew very well that Thor would be back in Avengers Assemble but it is what it is and Thor is there. Thor is handicapped by his emotions towards his brother; he is elated and heartbroken to see Loki alive after believing him dead and just wants his brother to abandon his crusade and come home. Loki, however, is too full of jealously, rage, and resentment and constantly taunts, defies, and dismisses his brother, who finds himself unable to simply wade in, muscles bulging, and retrieve Loki thanks to opposition from Iron Man, Cap, and Fury and the greater issue concerning the Tesseract. Thor offers knowledge of another world, another level of understanding, that is unique amongst his teammates and spends much of the film believing his brother still has good in him and wishing to return him home. After Loki kills Coulson before Thor’s eyes and tries to kill him with a trap intended for the Hulk, Thor reluctantly gears up and enters the fray, so determined to stop his brother’s mad schemes that he’s willing to fight alongside the Avengers and submit to Cap’s orders since he, like Cap, is a stranger in this world and still learning how to navigate modern, human society.
Natasha remains a mystery despite the showcase of her skills and hints towards her past.
Natasha is still relatively new in this film since audiences only saw a fraction of her true character and abilities in Iron Man 2 so it’s good that she gets a solo action scene at the start of the film to showcase her physical and manipulative abilities. We learn bits and pieces of her character and backstory through her interactions with Banner, Loki, and Barton but she remains very much a mystery even by the end of the film. This would, of course, continue over the years since Black Widow was one of the last of the original Avengers to get a solo film, meaning an air of mystery constantly surrounds her, but much of her arc is focused on her relationship with Barton (which is one of duty, gratitude, and mutual, platonic respect) and her commitment to Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Like Cap, she follows orders unquestioningly but it also feels like she has her own agenda and reasons for going along with S.H.I.E.L.D.; while she, like Barton, is one of the weakest links in the Avengers, she’s still capable enough to hold her own against the Chitauri…for a time, at least.
Though he spends the majority of the film under Loki’s spell, Barton proves a formidable opponent.
Barton, who is only referred to as Hawkeye once in the film, spends most of the movie under Loki’s command (though this does harken back to his comic book beginnings as a villain); as a result, all we know about him is the few bits and pieces Natasha reveals about their relationship and their background. However, we do get to see him in action on more than one occasion; he’s a crack shot, almost to superhuman levels, and is able to bring down an entire Helicarrier with a single, well-placed arrow. He is an essential soldier in Loki’s army, offering him insight into Fury’s operation and resources, but is also able to provide the Avengers with key information regarding Loki after Natasha literally knocks some sense into him. He proves himself capable enough in the finale by providing much needed and peerless cover from a high vantage point, from which he is able to take out multiple Chitauri with a few well-aimed shots. He’s easily the least developed of all the characters thanks to the role he plays in the film but it works for the plot and means we’re left wanting to know more about him and his backstory. Fury plays a much larger role in this film than in the previous MCU movies since he’s a pivotal supporting character rather than a mere cameo; he believes that Loki represents a very real threat to humanity but also believes wholeheartedly in the concept of heroes and the ability of the Avengers Initiative to combat Loki’s threat.
Coulson is the glue that connects Fury’s Avengers and his death galvanises the team into action.
Fury opposes the World Security Council when they dismiss the Avengers as a legitimate solution and when they order a nuclear strike on New York which, along with his own brand of snark and dry wit, makes him a rebellious and layered character in his own right. However, he’s also a secretive and manipulative individual, constantly telling everyone only as much as they need to know and a handful of half-truths (as Stark says: “Fury’s secrets have secrets!”) and believes in having contingencies against any and all possible threats, both foreign and domestic. While he doesn’t fight alongside the Avengers in the final battle, he’s crucial to their formation and is a charismatic and alluring figurehead for their group. Sadly, this was as prominent as Fury would be for some time, with him quickly going back to being either a cameo or supporting character over the years, which is a shame as it’s always great to see Samuel L. Jackson in the role and interacting with these characters. Similarly, Coulson also gets much more screen time and development this time around; still acting as Fury’s go-to and the liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, Coulson (whose first name is revealed to be “Phil” rather than just “Agent”) is the relatable man among Gods, the common thread that links all of these volatile personalities together. Initially, all they really have in common beyond their heroic tendencies is their relationship with Coulson, with Stark having the closest link to him and Coulson being especially in awe of Cap, his hero and idol, and Coulson’s death is both sudden and heartbreakingly brutal. It’s a fantastic moment that serves to galvanise and motivate the them and, as much as I’ve enjoyed some episodes and seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013 to 2020), it did annoy me that his dramatic death was undone so soon after the film’s release. Thankfully, the MCU movies don’t acknowledge Coulson’s resurrection so his tragic death remains the principal motivating factor behind the coming together of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
The Nitty-Gritty: Considering the large cast of bombastic, unique characters and actors, Avengers Assemble is fantastically well paced; sure, Natasha and, especially, Barton don’t get anywhere near as much screen time or development as established guys like Cap or Stark but they get several character defining moments and character beats that help to keep them relevant and integral to the plot. The film isn’t full of non-stop action but it never feels slow or like it’s wasting time; any time there isn’t some kind of physical conflict, there’s a conflict of character, beliefs, or ideologies as each of the characters interacts with each other in different ways. The central conflict in the film is between the individual Avengers as much as it is with Loki as each one must learn how to interact and co-operate with the other, which leads to some friction between Rogers and Stark, disdain from the God-like Thor, and distrust from the understandably agitated Banner. This all comes to a head in one of the film’s most intense moments where the fledgling Avengers argue over Fury’s manipulations, the threat each of them oppose, and their conflicting egos in a scene that is easily as powerful as any of the film’s fight scenes. Here, each character talks and argues over each other; lots of fingers are pointed, egos are bruised, and accusations are made thanks to the influence of Loki’s spear, which exacerbates their most negative aspects and fuels the distrust and tension between the group. It’s an amazingly realised scene, with lots of dynamic camera work on offer and allows the characters to vent their frustrations and concerns about each other, the mission, and the inevitable escalation of conflict that threatens Earth now that it has experienced otherworldly threats and, in it, these conflicting personalities actually grow stronger as a result of their brutal honesty.
Seeing these colourful and volatile individuals interact is every fan’s dream come true!
However, amidst this, there are also numerous amusing little moments that help to add to the film’s levity and develop each character: Rogers handing Fury a $10 bill after being awe-struck by the Helicarrier, Stark pointing out that one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents is playing Galaga (Namco, 1981), Thor’s humiliation regarding Loki’s actions and heritage, and Banner’s flashes of anger all help to make the characters real and relatable. One of the best examples of this is Cap’s confrontation with Loki in which he, despite being “out of time”, recognises Loki’s evil and potential threat and openly opposes him just as he did a similar dictator in World War Two and engages him in combat despite Loki’s clear physical advantage over him. Cap’s whole character is that he continues to fight no matter the odds and that is continuously seen in Avengers Assemble as, even when outclassed or outnumbered, he continues to get back up and go on with the fight until it’s done, one way or another, and fails to give in to intimidation from concepts beyond his time such as Gods, aliens, and advanced technology. Their interactions with each other are equally impressive, with the heroes just as likely to come to blows as they are to work together; this means we get to see these bright, colourful costumed characters fighting with each other as much as alongside each other. Iron Man fights with Thor, Cap joins in to make it a triple threat, Black Widow fights with Hawkeye, and Thor memorably goes toe-to-toe with the Hulk to set up a friendly rivalry that would be fantastically revisited in Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017). It’s a staple of superhero team-ups that the heroes simply must fight at least once and Avengers Assemble delivers on this in spades; we’ve watched each of these characters in their own films, or be involved in other MCU films, over the years so to see them match wits, trade blows, and fight together is a true fanboy’s delight.
The Chitauri are, admittedly, underwhelming antagonists but they serve their purpose.
The finale is little more than a battle against mindless, indistinguishable alien hoards who, conveniently, operate in a hive mind and are “easily” shut down by Stark tossing a nuclear weapon at their mothership. I honestly expected a version of the Masters of Evil for the first Avengers movie, with Loki joining forces with Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) outside of the Realms and then teaming up with Emil Blonsky/The Abomination (Tim Roth) and/or Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) once they reach Earth for a smaller scale, six on six style team vs. team movie and, in some ways, it is a bit disappointing that the Avengers only went up against one villain and an army of drones but it really works in the film since the entire point of the movie is to bring these volatile characters together. The actual antagonist could have be anyone or anything and it wouldn’t really matter but it being Loki works wonders thanks to Tom Hiddleston’s iconic performance; he’s truly a snake in the grass, a wily, manipulative, vindictive villain who is intelligent and cruel enough to match wits with each of the Avengers both physically and vocally and the only previous villain I could see being able to do anywhere hear as good a job would be Hugo Weaving.
The Avengers win the day but a greater, far more powerful threat looms in the background…
One issue I have though is that, as much as I loved the “Avengers Assemble!” scene we eventually got, I still don’t get why we couldn’t have heard that iconic cry during that awesome panning shot of the team standing back-to-back. I think we definitely could have heard this cry in each of the team-up films and appearances of the group and it wouldn’t have taken away from that impactful scene; if anything, it would have added to it since it would be a rallying cry for the reunited heroes. Still, the Battle for New York is amazing in its scope; the Chitauri may be interchangeable alien drones but they are relentless. The Avengers are able to combat them and easily defeat them but their numbers are legion and, apparently, inexhaustible and it isn’t long before they are overwhelmed even with the might of Thor and the Hulk. The Chitauri’s larger reinforcements and advanced weaponry and sheer numbers mean that it is simply a matter of time before the Avengers, for all their power, are overwhelmed and Loki is successful, meaning that the Avengers’ main concern is holding the line and keeping the invasion at bay while their team mates confront Loki and cut off the source of the invasion. All throughout the film, Loki converses with “The Other” (Alexis Denisof) and is clearly being given power and resources from an unseen third party, revealed at the very end of the film to be none other than Thanos (Damion Poitier). At the time, we could never have anticipated the extent to Thanos’s threat and importance to the MCU but the bringing together of cosmic characters like Asgardians and threats like the Chitauri and Thanos only hinted at how large and varied the MCU was destined to become.
The Summary: Avengers Assemble is still one of the biggest and most entertaining movies in the MCU and, perhaps, ever made. Of all the movies in the MCU’s first phase, it’s easily my favourite and, for me, set the standard not just for subsequent MCU team-up movies but for every film in the MCU going forward. No longer were these characters going to exist in their own isolated bubble; they would interact with their fellow characters, reference the larger world we finally saw in all its glory, and be part of something much bigger and greater than a series of self-contained films. For me, this is the greatest appeal of the MCU; before Iron Man, superhero films were always solo affairs and we never saw heroes interact with each other. Thanks to the MCU, all of that changed and, finally, the movies came to resemble the comics by having a shared universe that has a tight continuity and an actual tangible, long-term plan. The film is alive with character moments, an amusing dry wit, and action-packed sequences but, as thrilling as the bombastic fight scenes can be, it’s all the little interactions and interpersonal conflicts that really make this film so entertaining and appealing to me even to this day.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Fantastic
What are your thoughts on Avengers Assemble? How do you feel it holds up now that the MCU has become this massive, multimedia juggernaut? Were you disappointed that the film focused solely on the one villain and side-lined Hawkeye with a mind control sub-plot or were you satisfied with Hiddleston’s performance and the interpersonal conflicts between the characters? Which of the Avengers is your favourite and which of the comic’s characters are you excited to learn more about or see join the team? Which of the MCU movies, shows, or characters is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating National Superhero Day today? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and be sure to stick around for more superhero and comic book content throughout the year.
Superheroes may dominate television screens these days, but it all started back in the seventies. Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) took cinemas by storm and drummed up enough cash to sink a small cruise liner, Marvel Comics had ventured into live-action adaptations of their comics books by licensing their properties to studios like CBS and Universal Television. This produced the iconic Incredible Hulk (1977 to 1982) television show that firmly entrenched the Green Goliath in the cultural consciousness and produced tropes that became synonymous with the character for years to come.
You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry…
However, The Incredible Hulk wasn’t the only live-action adaptation of a Marvel Comics property to be produced in the seventies; in fact, there were so many productions (or, at least, so many Marvel characters) around this time that a version of the MCU can be seen to have existed long before Iron Man(Favreau, 2008) graced cinema screens. So, today, I’m going to take a quick look back at some of these productions and have a chat about the MCU we very nearly saw come together back in the days of Pink Floyd, frayed jeans, and mullets…
As I mentioned, The Incredible Hulk kicked all of this off; starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Bruce Banner, the show depicted a scientist recklessly experimenting on himself with gamma radiation in a bid to unlock the hidden strength and potential of the human body. When he absorbs too much gamma radiation, moments of stress and anger cause him to transform into the green, bestial Hulk (Lou Ferrigno), a creature of limited intelligence, immense rage, and incredible strength.
McGee relentlessly hounded Banner.
Believed dead at the Hulk’s hands, Banner is forced to wander around the country in search of a cure, helping those in need with both his intelligence and the strength of the Hulk when pushed too far, all while being relentlessly pursued by reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin). The show was famous for coining the phrase: “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry”, which has since become so synonymous with the character that it has appeared in most Hulk adaptations. Equally popular was both Bixby’s portrayal of Banner as a wandering nomad, desperate to cure himself of his alter ego and return to normal life, and Ferrigno’s portrayal of the Hulk (a role that Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned for and that originally went to mammoth actor Richard Kiel).
Ferrigno always had a place in Hulk adaptations.
Ferrigno has since become so associated with his role as the Hulk that he went on to not only voice the character in the animated Incredible Hulk (1996 to 1997) television series but also collaborated with Mark Ruffalo in voicing the Hulk in the MCU and cameoed in both Hulk(Lee, 2003) and The Incredible Hulk(Leterrier, 2008), a movie that was heavily influenced by the ‘70s television show. If there’s any downside to the show, and Ferrigno’s performance, it’s that they both popularised the notion that the Hulk is a feral, growling creature rather than a semi-to-impressively articulate individual. While Stan Lee himself may have signed off on this at the time (“I had the Hulk talking like this: “Hulk crush! Hulk get him!” […] that would have sounded so silly if he spoke that way in a television show” (Lee, quoted in Greenberg, 2014: 19 to 26)), I feel this was more a case of Lee signing off on anything for the licensing revenue. This portrayal even carried over into the MCU, where the Hulk was capable of rudimentary speech (one or two growling lines here and there) but did not properly articulate until Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017); to compare, Bradley Cooper was snarking up cinema screens as Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy(Gunn, 2014) before Hulk was allowed to properly talk.
The Incredible Hulk returned with a bang.
In any case, The Incredible Hulk ran for eighty episodes before finally coming to an end on 12 May 1982. Banner’s adventures, however, continued in the made-for-television film The Incredible Hulk Returns(Corea, 1988). While the TV show shied away from including any Marvel characters aside from Banner and the Hulk, much less his fellow Marvel cohorts, The Incredible Hulk Returns featured two of the most unlikely inclusions you could imagine given the show’s relatively rounded approach to its source material. After successfully suppressing the Hulk for two years, Banner’s idyllic life is turned upside down when an old student of his, Donald Blake (Steve Levitt), seeks him out. Right as Banner is on the cusp of finalising a potential cure in the Gamma Transponder machine, Blake reveals that he discovered an enchanted hammer in Norway that, upon his command, releases the mighty immortal warrior Thor (Eric Kramer) from Valhalla.
I honestly can’t tell the difference…
When Thor upsets Banner, he briefly battles with the Hulk and damages Banner’s the Gamma Transponder, but the two (three, I guess) are forced to work together to stop criminals from stealing Banner’s research and harming his life interest, Dr. Margaret Shaw (Lee Purcell). In the end, while Shaw is rescued, Banner is forced to destroy a vital component to the Gamma Transponder and, with the Hulk’s presence catching McGee’s attention, promptly returns to the road to seek out a new cure for himself. When I was a kid, I never got the chance to watch The Incredible Hulk, so one of my first exposures to it was with The Incredible Hulk Returns, which I found to be hugely enjoyable largely because of the thrill of seeing the Hulk in live-action and the banter between Blake and Thor. Rather than transforming into Thor, as in the comics, Blake instead brings Thor forth with the hammer and is charged with guiding him in life and in the fulfilment of a number of heroic deeds so he can take his place at Odin’s side in Valhalla. It’s absolutely mental, especially as a continuation of the TV show, but Kramer is so much fun as the loud-mouthy, arrogant, meat-headed Thor that you can’t help but smile when he’s onscreen, especially when he’s drinking and fighting in a bar or battling with (and alongside) the Hulk.
Banner forms a kinship with Daredevil.
I said I never really watched the show but, in truth, my first ever exposure to the Bixby and Ferrigno team was the follow-up movie, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (Bixby, 1989), in which Banner, now a desolate soul who’s lost all hope, wanders into a city and, after disrupting a mugging on an underground train, is wrongfully imprisoned. As luck would have it, his appointed attorney is none other than Matt Murdock (Rex Smith), a blind lawyer who also patrols the streets at night as the black-clad vigilante Daredevil. Murdock is pursuing evidence against Wilson Fisk (John Rhys-Davies), an entrepreneur whom Murdock (rightfully) believes is a dangerous crime boss. While Banner is content to stay safely locked up in jail, the idea of being put on trial causes him to Hulk out and, eventually, team up with Murdock/Daredevil in bringing Fisk to justice.
John Rhys-Davies was great as Fisk.
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk is notable for a couple of reasons; it features Stan Lee’s first-ever live-action cameo in a Marvel production, it heavily adapts elements of Frank Miller’s iconic run on the Daredevil comics, and the titular trial only actually takes place in a nightmare Banner has while imprisoned. Nevertheless, Rhys-Davies is exceptional as Fisk; he’s never referred to as the Kingpin onscreen but that doesn’t stop him being a cool, calculating puppet master of a villain; his eventual escape (in a God-damn rocket ship!) is a loose end that was never tied up as the final TV movie, The Death of the Incredible Hulk(Bixby, 1990), chose to bring an end to the Incredible Hulk series and did not feature any additional Marvel characters.
Hammond was a decent Peter Parker…and he had a great stunt double.
Hulk wasn’t the only one to get his own live-action TV show though; after the feature-length pilot, Spider-Man(Swackhamer, 1977), proved popular, Marvel’s web-head got his own thirteen episode series in the form of The Amazing Spider-Man (1977 to 1979). In addition, episodes of the show were edited (“cobbled”, is probably a better word) together into two made-for-television movies, Spider-Man Strikes Back (Statlof, 1978) and Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge (ibid, 1981), both of which (along with the pilot) are the only exposure to this show I’ve had. The Amazing Spider-Man starred Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker (with the show’s stunt co-ordinator, Fred Waugh, taking the role of Spider-Man, which was pretty obvious given their wildly contrasting size and builds) and, if you thought that this show took more from the source material than The Incredible Hulk then you’re going to be woefully disappointed.
I mean…they did the best the could…
Jonah Jameson (played by both David White and Robert F. Simon) featured quite prominently but Robbie Robertson (Hilly Hicks) and Peter’s Aunt May (Jeff Donnell) only appeared in the pilot episode and, though Spidey tussled with hypnotists, terrorists, and gangs, he never once butted heads with any of his colourful rogues gallery. Spidey (and Parker) also initially ran afoul of Police Captain Barbera (played with gruff, loveable glee by Michael Pataki), but this character was sadly dropped for the show’s second season. The Amazing Spider-Man was an ambitious project, especially for the seventies; Spider-Man is a character who requires a lot of effects and stunt work to pull off correctly and is arguably far more dependent on modern computer effects than the likes of even the Hulk. As a result, while the show featured an incredibly faithful recreation of Spidey’s origin, costume, and web shooters and did its best to portray Spidey’s wall-crawling and web-slinging through wires, pulleys, and other camera tricks, the show always came across as being far more absurd than its Universal counterpart.
For whatever reason, Doctor Strange got a movie too.
There was more to come from Universal Television, however, as they also produced a Dr. Strange (DeGuere, 1978) made-for-television movie that featured Peter Hooten in the title role (I guess Tom Selleck was unavailable…) and Jessica Walter as Morgan Le Fay. This one’s especially obscure and many have probably never heard of or seen it; it actually got a DVD re-release in 2016, coincidentally around the same time as Doctor Strange (Derrickson, 2016) was released in cinemas. Interestingly, Stephen Strange is portrayed as a psychiatrist rather than a physician and stumbles into his destiny as the Sorcerer Supreme when Le Fay possesses one of his patients, Clea Lake (Eddie Benton). The movie also featured other recognisable faces from the source material, such as Wong (Clyde Kusatsu) and the Ancient One (Michael Ansara), which is already a bit of a leg up on the Hulk and Spider-Man outings. What scuppered Dr. Strange, though, was, again, the fact that it was produced at a time when special effects simply were not up to the task of doing the character justice. It also didn’t help that the film was criticised for being overly long and boring and lacking any real urgency. In all honesty, there really isn’t much to see here that’s worth you rushing out to watch except the novelty of seeing a C-list character like Strange get a live-action movie well before his time.
Yeah, I don’t think K.I.T.T. had anything to worry about…
CBS also had one another Marvel character to offer the seventies; Captain America (Holcomb, 1979) brought the star-spangled Avenger to life on television screens and…dear Lord, is this a sight to behold! Reb Brown starred as Steve Rogers, a former marine-turned-artist living in the present day whose patriotic father was known as “Captain America”. After he’s nearly killed by an attempt on his life, he’s inexplicably chosen to be administered with the super-serum F.L.A.G. (Full Latent Ability Gain), which turns him into a superhuman. He then decks himself out in a horrendous version of the Captain America costume and takes to the streets on a modified super-cycle so massively over-the-top with gadgets and features than even K.I.T.T. would blush! Luckily, by the end and the sequel, Captain America II: Death Too Soon (Nagy, 1979), Rogers adopts a more faithful version of the costume and uses his abilities to oppose the plans of General Miguel (inexplicably played by Christopher Lee!), who desires to create a dangerous chemical. I’m actually far more familiar with the equally-lambasted Captain America (Pyun, 1990), which is still a guilt pleasure of mine. Nevertheless, both films were released on DVD and, while Dr. Strange was lost to the mists of time and obscurity, these films appear to have at least partially influenced the MCU as Cap (Chris Evans) does favour a motorcycle (but, to be fair, so did the comics Cap…).
I would’ve watched a show with either of these two in.
Both The Incredible Hulk Returns and The Trial of the Incredible Hulk introduced Thor and Daredevil with the intention of setting them up for spin-off shows of their own but, for a variety of reasons, this never came to be and that’s a bit of a shame. Smith is no Charlie Cox but, while his Murdock was quite dull and boring, he gave a pretty good turn as Daredevil and it would probably have been easier and far cheaper to produce a Daredevil TV show than a Hulk or even Thor one. Similarly, I love the portrayal of Thor in Trial; sure, he doesn’t look or act anything like his Marvel Comics counterpart, but it could have been pretty fun to see him tossing fools around, getting into bar fights, and learning lessons in humility on an episodic basis. One thing that is equally unfortunate about all this is that the inclusion of Thor and Daredevil really took a lot of the focus off of Banner and the Hulk; sure, in the show, he was often a supporting player in a bigger story and other character’s lives, but these movies devoted so much of their runtime to pushing and establishing their new characters that it’s easy to forget that Banner and Hulk are even in them. The Death of the Incredible Hulk rectified this, but at the cost of killing both characters off in what was, while emotional (as a child, anyway), probably the lamest way imaginable.
All these guys co-existed at about the same time…
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much love shown to The Amazing Spider-Man over the years; it’s never been released on home media outside of a few VHS tapes and, while Hammond appears to have been the basis for Parker’s design in the Spider-Man (1994 to 1998) animated series, he’s never returned to the character or the franchise again, not even for a quick cameo or a voice role (though I’m hoping the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Persichetti, Ramsey, and Rothman, 2018) will rectify that). Interestingly enough, there were apparently talks in 1984 to produce a movie that would see Spider-Man cross paths with Banner and the Hulk, with Spidey even donning the black costume during the film. There were, apparently, also talks of an additional made-for-television Hulk movie, The Revenge of the Incredible Hulk, which would have seen Banner (somehow) revived and forced to recreate the accident that turned him into the Hulk (or be reborn as the Hulk with Banner’s intellect, depending on what you read) but neither of these ideas ever came to fruition and were ultimately halted when Bixby sadly died in 1993.
Magic linked these shows together, however tenuously.
However, none of this changes the fact that, sometime around 1978 to 1979, there were all these Marvel characters running around on television screens at about the same time, all produced by two studios and, in some cases, airing on the same networks. What this effectively means, then, is that it’s easy to imagine an alternative world where negotiations never broke down and the shows and movies proved popular enough for Spider-Man to crossover with the Hulk and, by extension, interact with Thor and Daredevil. So, what if…? What if there were a threat so big, so far beyond petty street crooks and one-note villains that these heroes would be forced to band together? Dr. Strange was heavily steeping in magic and mysticism, which was already (however unfitting) be proven to be a part of The Incredible Hulk’s world; hell, even The Amazing Spider-Man dabbled in the paranormal at times.
It’s easy to image these guys existing in the same place and time.
Perhaps the threat would involve Fisk waging a war against Daredevil and all costumed heroes? The city is never named in The Incredible Hulk Returns but it could easily be New York City, the same New York City that Spider-Man swings around in. Perhaps this would be a chance to do a supervillain team-up, of sorts, between Fisk and Le Fay or to introduce other classic Marvel villains, such as Loki and the Red Skull. I would have loved to have worked Nick Fury (David Hasselhoff) into this imaginary Marvel team-up but it’s difficult to do that seeing as Bixby died in 1993 and Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Hardy, 1998) didn’t release until 1998 but what if…? What if Bixby hadn’t suffered from cancer, or had beaten the disease and Banner had been resurrected in The Revenge of the Incredible Hulk? Perhaps we would have seen a version of the Professor Hulk or Grey Hulk personas, one that merged the brawn and the strength together, and Fury could have banded these heroes together to fight a common enemy.
Spidey and Daredevil often work well together.
Personally, though, I would have preferred to see Banner and Hulk as they were portrayed in the television series; Bixby would have been the veteran actor who held this team up together and I would have limited his Hulk outs to two or three occurrences. Have him be the team’s moral compass, the hesitant advisor who learns to reconcile with his enraged alter ego through working with the other heroes. Murdock, as the older of the two, could have also acted as a kind of mentor to Spider-Man as the two are often portrayed as friends in the comics and have a lot in common with their “everyman” approach to super heroism. While the effects would not have allowed us to properly see the two swing across the New York rooftops, I think they could have cobbled together enough to produce some semi-decent, maybe even slightly acrobatic, fight scenes between the two.
These guys are worlds apart.
You’d obviously think that Captain America would be the natural leader of this group but, remember, this isn’t the war-tested superhero we all know and love and I am not proposing an Avengers movie; Brown’s Cap is more of a secret agent, an enhanced super soldier who hasn’t nearly a fraction of the combat experience that Cap is usually known for. Because of that, I’d imagine him as the public face of the group and (in the absence of S.H.I.E.LD.), a source of the group’s intelligence resources. Perhaps Cap prefers to work alone and he has to learn to work with a group, rather than tackling everything head-on.
Thor still had a lot to learn about humility.
Instead, I’d have Doctor Strange be the de facto leader of the team by virtue of his age and power as the Sorcerer Supreme. His arc, perhaps, would have revolved around him needing to shift his focus from the bigger picture to factoring in the smaller issues that his peers face on a daily basis, effectively making himself both a public figure of the superhero community and improving his interpersonal skills. And then there’s Thor (and Blake, of course); Thor would be the group’s hot-headed jock, the guy who runs in, hammer swinging, trying to fix every problem with brute strength. This team up would be the perfect opportunity to teach Thor proper humility, to accept that he must work alongside mortals and lead by example rather than being a blundering buffoon. While he learned some of this in The Incredible Hulk Returns, it was clear that there was more to tell with his story and, perhaps, this team up and his learning of humility would be the final heroic act that would earn him his place in Valhalla, allowing Blake to, however sorrowfully, begin his life anew.
In the end, for as hokey and cringe-worthy as a lot of these seventies Marvel shows were, it does disappoint me that we never got, at least, to see Spider-Man, Hulk, and Banner crossover onscreen. There was a lot to like about each of these, from the impressively realised costumes to the heart-felt emotion, to even the woeful action scenes and I would honestly have loved to see all of these characters come together to battle a common enemy. What do you think about Marvel’s television show and movies from the seventies? Do you have fond memories of The Incredible Hulk? Do you also wish that The Amazing Spider-Man would get a release on DVD? Perhaps you hated the monotony and ridiculousness of these shows. Whatever your opinion, leave a comment below and get in touch.
Released: April 2019 Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Budget: $356 million Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, and Josh Brolin
The Plot: Three weeks after the Mad Titan, Thanos (Brolin), acquired the six Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers, the Avengers are desperate to set the world right after watching their friends (and half the universe’s population) disintegrate from reality. When Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr.) and Nebula (Gillan) return to Earth and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Rudd) returns from the Quantum Realm, the Avengers pull together every resource available to bring Thanos to justice.
The Review: Avengers: Infinity War was certainly a hell of an experience. Even I wasn’t sure if it would actually go through with Thanos snapping his fingers, and the emotional fallout from that bleak, dramatic ending had everyone reeling and speculation running rampant about how this would be resolved. I was under the impression that this would come through an exploration of Doctor Stephen Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) willingness to give up the Time Stone. I was expecting we’d see him lead a team of heroes trapped within the Soul Dimension (an aspect that isn’t explored or even raised here) in tandem with the heroes spared by the Snap (or “Blip” as it would later be termed). When the first rumours of time travel appeared, speculation only increased as fans scrambled to explain why this would be necessary, but Endgame establishes early on that Thanos’s second act after achieving his goal was to destroy the Infinity Stones to ensure his victory. Ultimately, I was quite satisfied with the narrative Endgame provided. I always thought that it was fitting that the original six Avengers were spared erasure to help bring things full circle, but I’m still surprised that the film not only jumped ahead five years to show a world devastated by change and loss but that the MCU chose not to undo this. It probably would’ve cleared up a lot of issues and constant explanations and references to the Blip if Endgame had seen Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo) use the Infinity Gauntlet to wind time back, restored the lives lost but also keeping the lives gained in the process. Or if Tony had perhaps willingly sacrificed his young daughter, Morgan (Lexi Rabe), for the sake of the entire universe. But I think it definitely indicated a massive change in the status quo of the MCU…even if things got back to normally pretty quickly, all things considered.
Haunted by defeat, Tony’s priorities shift towards safeguarding his daughter by any means necessary.
Endgame immediately explores the devastating fallout of the Avengers’ defeat and foreshadows its dramatic and emotional finale by finding Tony drift in space alongside Nebula. Although she’s still stoic and aggressive, it’s clear Nebula is deeply affected by the loss of her sister, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), and her reluctant adopted family, the Guardians of the Galaxy. While Nebula naturally bottles these feelings up, Tony sees his end coming. Realistic and ready to die after being worn down by his survivor’s guilt and desperate need to defend the Earth at all costs, he records a farewell message to Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and prepares to meet his end….only for them to be rescued and returned to Earth by Captain Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). However, returning to Earth brings little solace for Tony; deeply traumatised at witnessing his protégé, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), disintegrate before his eyes (to say nothing of his other teammates and the crushing weight of defeat), Tony lashes out at former ally Captain Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans) and refuses to join the expedition to confront Thanos, having lost the will to fight. Not that it would’ve made much difference given that Thanos guarantees his actions cannot be undone, but Tony instead chooses to focus on his family. In the five year gap, he has a daughter and settles down with Pepper, his priorities shifting from the lives of everyone else to the lives of his family. Thus, when Cap, Scott, and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson) come calling looking for Tony’s scientific input on their bonkers “time heist” idea, Tony initially scoffs at the suggestion, though he has let go of his animosity towards Steve in the interim. Still, ever the scientist, Tony can’t help but be intrigued and, upon running a few simulations based on Scott’s Quantum Realm data, quickly devises a means to navigate the dimensional vortex and effectively allow travel through time and space. Realising that they now have a very real shot at regaining the Infinity Stones and undoing Thanos’s devastating actions, Tony agrees to re-form the Avengers and don his iconic armour once more but on the very specific proviso that Morgan’s safety and existence is ensured. It’s a dramatic culmination of Tony’s character arc; he went from a selfish, womanising arms manufacturer to a snarky, egotistical superhero, to risking losing everything to safeguard the Earth from otherworldly threats, to literally sacrificing himself to not only bring back those lost, but ensure his daughter grows up in a world that hasn’t been crippled by loss.
Cap’s fighting spirit galvanises the team and sees him standing against incredible odds.
While Tony falls into despair and then devotes himself to his family to cope with the tragedy, Cap is initially adamant to make Thanos pay for his actions. When Carol and Rocket Racoon (Cooper) pinpoint Thanos’s location, Cap’s first thought is, appropriately, to avenge their losses. Unfortunately, Cap’s forced to face a heavy reality: there’s no way to undo what’s happened so, instead, he devotes himself to offering counselling and trying to help everyday folk pick up the pieces of their lives. With most of the world’s governments apparently gone, Natasha and the remnants of the Avengers apparently still fight to maintain order across the world, but there’s a clear sense that they’re just desperately holding on to what little they have left. However, Scott offers them hope through a clunky form of time travel. Despite outlandish science being outside his wheelhouse, Cap eagerly reassembles the Avengers and galvanises them to travel back to key moments in their past to reacquire the Infinity Stones and set things right. Steve teams with Tony, Scott, and Banner and revisits the battle for New York. Although Banner convinces the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) to lend them the Time Stone, they’re unable to secure the Space Stone when Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) steals it, forcing Cap and Tony to pay a further visit to 1970 to restock on Pym Particles and reacquire the Space Stone. Here, not only does Tony finally reconcile with his father, Howard Stark (John Slattery), in an amusing and poignant way, but Cap finally lays eyes on his old flame, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) for the first time in a hundred years. Cap is devastated when the team returns to find Natasha was lost in the pursuit of the Soul Stone, but continues to soldier on with the plan, focusing solely on the restoration of the world. Despite this being far from a traditional fight, Cap stands against nature – and time – itself, betting everything on the slim chance that they can succeed. Although clearly burdened by defeat, he continues fighting and encourages everyone around him to do the same no matter how bleak the odds. This is, of course, explicitly demonstrated in the climactic finale. When the younger Thanos violently attacks the Avengers and lays waste to his allies, Cap grits his teeth and stands tall in in the face of what appears to be an inevitable end and his faith is rewarded not only in the dramatic arrival of his much-needed backup and proving himself worthy to wield Mjölnir, but in finally walking away from the fight and have a life of his own.
Hulk is smart now, while Thor has succumbed to self-despair and desperately seeks redemption.
Two characters fundamentally altered between Infinity War and Endgame are the Hulk and Thor Odinson (Hemsworth). While I do agree that it’s a shame we never get to see Banner and the Hulk finally reconcile their differences and come together as one united entity (a “Smart Hulk”, if you will) and I definitely would’ve preferred to see this in the finale of Infinity War as originally intended (though tweaked with the united Banner/Hulk being portrayed as grey), I’m satisfied with the explanation we got and both film are already so stuffed with characters and plots that it could have bogged things down. Now a far calmer and intelligent being, the Hulk sees his brutish ways as “gratuitous” and instead puts his mind to work trying to figure out time travel in Tony’s absence. He’s primarily here as exposition and a bit of comedy relief but I liked how everyone just accepted his new normal, that he proved pivotal in reversing the Blip by being the only one strong and capable enough to handle the destructive power of the Infinity Stones (retroactively suggesting that the Hulk was fated to exist for that very reason), and he’s a key factor in convincing Thor to rejoin the Avengers. No one shoulders the burden of failure more than Thor; this once proud and arrogant warrior is reduced to a depressed, out of shape, drunken king of New Asgard all because he failed to land a killing blow on Thanos. Even decapitating Thanos brings him little catharsis as it changes nothing, and Thor clearly struggles with both survivor’s guilt and costing the lives of untold billions. He sees the time heist at a shot at redemption, a personal mission to prove that he’s still worthy of being the Mighty Thor, but is largely seen as a hinderance since he’s so wracked by grief and guilt that he struggles to keep his emotions in check. It’s only after a pep talk from his beloved mother, Frigga (Rene Russo), and the knowledge that he can still wield Mjölnir, that bolsters his self-worth, though Thor is so desperate to undo his mistake that he practically begs to bring everyone back with Tony’s gauntlet, despite the fact that the effort would probably kill him. Ultimately, Thor’s redemption comes in the most fitting way: on the battlefield. I liked how Thor doesn’t snap back to being a super-buff warrior in the finale; I think it was important to show that he was still carrying the burden of his failures even as he cut down foes with both Mjölnir and Stormbreaker, and there’s a definite sense that he rediscovers himself in battle with Thanos and through the loyal support of his friends and allies.
Each of the Avengers has an emotional and personal stake in the desperate time heist.
Although they either didn’t get too much to do or missed out entirely on the events of Infinity War, Endgame allows fellow Avengers Natasha, Ant-Man, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner), and Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (Cheadle) play key roles in the time heist. Indeed, without Scott (and that one-in-a-billion rat), the Avengers would never have reacquired the Infinity Stones since it was only his knowledge and insight into the Quantum Realm that allowed Tony to crack time travel. Scott continues to be in awe of working alongside his idols, but even his chirpy demeanour is tested by the Blip. He arrives in a world where millions have perished and his daughter, Cassie (Emma Fuhrmann), is now a teenager but he remains as optimistic as ever about their chances of success, even if you can tell that he’s clinging to hope as desperately as the others. The same can’t be said of Hawkeye; after witnessing his wife and children disintegrate before his eyes, Barton spends the next five years going on a killing spree, murdering crime bosses and those he deems unworthy of being spared with a cold-blooded precision as “Ronin”. Although he’s clearly scarred by his losses, his loyalty to Natasha sees him join the time heist in a last-ditch effort to restore the world, but his character has been given an obvious edge. Now sporting a frankly ridiculous mohawk and an array of tattoos, Hawkeye is more than willing to sacrifice his life for the Soul Stone when directed by the enigmatic Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull/The Stonekeeper (Ross Marquand). What follows is a test of the two’s loyalty and friendship and a desperate and emotional battle to save the other while restoring countless lives. The two literally fight to give up their lives for the Soul Stone, willing to die for their friends and family, but ultimately Barton is left carrying the burden of Natasha’s selfless sacrifice and finding a way to live with his dark deeds. Rhodey finds himself teamed up with Nebula; as reliant upon his armour as she is on her cybernetics, the two find some surprising common ground and working with the Avengers definitely helps to soften both her and Rocket and make them more open to co-operation. Their jaunt to retrieve the Power Stone from Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) has dire consequences, however, when a past version of Thanos is alerted to their presence. This not only sees Nebula face off against her less morally inclined past self and brings a past version of Gamora into the main timeline, but sees Thanos renew his campaign for the Infinity Stones using knowledge of the future!
Despite being killed, Thanos comes across time to plague the heroes once again.
Indeed, Endgame is largely unique among MCU films in that the battle is already lost at the start and the heroes are mostly fighting against intangible foes: grief, loss, guilt, and time being chief among them. While Carol leads them in confronting Thanos at the start, he’s no longer a threat and doesn’t even try to fight them. Injured from his actions and content with his victory, he simply mocks their attempts at revenge and meets his end victorious. While in New York, Cap, Scott, Banner, and Tony are mainly tasked with avoiding their past selves in true Back to the Future Part II(Zemeckis, 1989) fashion, though Cap does have a brief scuffle with his past self that sees even him exasperated by his can-do attitude. The Stonekeeper could be classified as a threat but he’s simply a messenger for the Soul Stone; the real threat comes from having to sacrifice a loved one to acquire the Stone, similar to the Ancient One’s warnings that the Avengers must return the Infinity Stones or risk the destruction and collapse of other, alternate timelines. However, when that past version of Thanos learns of his fate and orders the evil version of Nebula to travel to the future, the Avengers’ compound decimated by Thanos’s ship, Sanctuary II, the return of his monstrous army and his “children”, the Black Order, and Thanos himself back on Earth with victory within his grasp. I’ve seen it suggested that there’s less emotional catharsis in seeing the Avengers battle this version of Thanos since he technically isn’t the one who wronged them, but I don’t think this really matters all that much. There’s little difference between the two Titans except one died knowing he had achieved his goal and the other was determined to expedite his goal after learning of his victory. Perhaps because of this foresight, Thanos is far more aggressive and less honourable than his counterpart. Rather than offering to spare those he respects or aiming to wipe out half of life so that people can learn to appreciate what they have, Thanos now aims to completely rewrite history in his image. To that end, this Thanos takes to the battlefield in a way his counterpart avoided. Garbed in gleaming armour and wielding a massive double-bladed sword, Thanos is positioned as the ultimate threat, regardless of which timeline he’s from, since the Avengers know full well how destructive he is. Indeed, Thanos’ threat truly shines in the finale, where he not only goes toe-to-toe with Cap, Iron Man, and Thor but also shows his wiles and raw strength by matching blows with Captain Marvel, fuelled the entire time by his obsession for victory and unrivalled power.
The Nitty-Gritty: As mentioned, grief, loss, and time are key themes in Avengers: Endgame. While the film doesn’t linger or go into massive amounts of depth exploring how the Blip has affected the world, it effectively conveys the desolation and loss through some eerily silent aerial shots, Cassie’s overgrown and dishevelled neighbourhood, the monument erected to those lost, and through the way each character deals with their failure. At the time, it definitely shook things up to jump ahead to a world left in ruins by Thanos, and even though even I will admit that the potential of this was largely undone and sadly played for laughs in subsequent films, it really works in the context of this movie to hammer home just how devastated everyone is, which in turn drives their mission to defy the laws of physics and set things right. Endgame makes sure to lay the rules for time travel out as plainly as possible. Thanks to Scott and Tony, characters can navigate the Quantum Realm and travel to the past using Pym Particles, but anything they do in the past will not change the present because time isn’t a straight line, but a multiverse of different pathways. Yet, removing the Infinity Stones will cause the collapse of those branches, meaning the Avengers have a moral obligation to return them when they’re done. Like most time travel stories, it’s not perfect and has some holes in it but I think it works to sell the idea that you can’t just go back in time and kill Thanos to set things right. Banner very emphatically explains that time just doesn’t work that way and it’s a great way to place importance of the “main” timeline and add some additional tension to the heist since they risk other timelines while saving theirs.
Endgame explores new levels of these characters and then goes all-out with an action-packed finale.
In many ways, Endgame is a far more grounded, subdued character study compared to Infinity War. Thus, bombastic, action-packed scenes give way to exploring the emotional fallout from the Blip and how each character has been changed by their defeat. That isn’t to say that action and big CGI sequences aren’t here, though; it’s just more a fight for redemption and against those intangibles I mentioned than against a singular foe, for the most part. You would never know it but the Avengers’ time suits are all entirely CGI; their stark white and uniformity unites the team in a way we haven’t seen before and allows them to safely navigate the chaotic Quantum Realm and avoid being physically altered by the timestream like Scott is during Banner’s test run. While in the past, the team revisit the Battle of New York, now expanded to show that the Ancient One and the Sanctum Santorum were also fending off the Chitari and what happened after the Avengers defeated Loki, where Cap uses his knowledge of Hydra’s infiltration of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) to his advantage. This, and their later trip to 1970, allows for some fun cameos from Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo), and even a de-aged Doctor Henry “Hank” Pym/Ant-Man (Michael Douglas), complete with retro helmet. The rest of the time heist is spent revisiting key moments from previous MCU films, recreating and reframing certain events from a new perspective, before the massive climactic battle at the end. One thing I enjoyed about the time heists, and the film in general, was seeing characters like Rocket and Nebula interact with the Avengers and become part of the team. In the spirit of pooling all available resources, Natasha directs a joint effort of every remaining superhero to try and maintain order, but her focus is squarely on the Earth. The rest of the universe is dealt with by Captain Marvel, who sadly misses out on joining the time heist but more than makes up for it with her dramatic entrance during the finale. Since she’s the most powerful hero in MCU, she easily wipes out Sanctuary II and ploughs through the aliens before going one-on-one with the Mad Titan himself. Although a bit arrogant in her abilities, Carol more than backs this up with her incredible power. Indeed, it’s shown that she probably could’ve wrestled the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos had he not had the wherewithal to use the Stone’s individual powers to fend her off, meaning that even Captain Marvel’s might required the support of her teammates to wrestle the gauntlet from the Mad Titan.
Cap’s resolve is bolstered by the emotional and dramatic return of his restored allies.
The remnants of the Avengers come together with a simple goal: to retrieve the Infinity Stones from the past, insert them into a nanotech gauntlet, and undo the Snap with a snap of their fingers. Although Thor pleads to perform this, the Hulk is the only one capable of surviving the act, and the film really sells the reveal of his success as a strange anti-climatic event…at first. Cap, Iron Man, and Thor are too busy fighting for their lives against Thanos and his army to focus on much else. Each one has a personal and emotional stake in the battle and each one falls to Thanos’s power, regardless of how hard they fight. Thor, especially, leaps head-first into the bout and ends up at the mercy of Thanos, desperately calling to Mjölnir…only for the hammer to fly into Cap’s waiting hand! Seeing Cap wield Mjölnir and attack Thanos with renewed vigour drew a rare cheer from the audience when I saw Endgame and is easily one of the most memorable moments in the entire MCU, but it’s quickly followed by one of the most emotional. Left as the last man standing and ready to go down fighting, Cap is suddenly stopped when he hears his friend, Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) in his ear. Relief and emotion sweep through Cap as he beholds a series of magic portals. Through them step his allies, friends, and teammates old and new, restored and ready to fight. It’s a sweeping, cinematic, incredibly powerful sequence jam-packed with cameos, from the Ravagers to Howard the Duck (Seth Green), and little moments, like Scott reuniting with Hope van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) angrily confronting and nearly killing Thanos, Star-Lord’s ill-fated reunion with Gamora, Tony unashamedly embracing Spider-Man, and a fun scene where the various female heroes of the MCU come together to clear a path for Captain Marvel. This climatic battle is an absolute wet dream for any Marvel fan. It’s the literal culmination of a ten-year journey for the MCU and I always spot different things each time I watch it, but the entire battle is made even sweeter by Cap finally uttering that rallying war cry: “Avengers Assemble!” While I would argue that we definitely should’ve heard this before this moment, this doesn’t take away from how powerful that moment was or just how amazing it was (and still is) to hear it and see all the MCU’s heroes battling alongside each other.
Tony’s sacrifice defeats Thanos and clears the path for a new generation of heroes.
Despite all these heroes, and Captain Marvel’s last second save, Thanos proves true to his word; no matter what’s thrown at him, he seizes the gauntlet and appears to be truly “inevitable”. However, just as he’s about to snap his fingers again, Iron Man leaps in for one last attack and steals the Stones away from Thanos! His body wracked with cosmic energy, struggling to contain the immense power, Stark utters his famous line once more – “I am Iron Man!” – and obliterates Thanos’s army with a snap of his fingers. Thanos, startled to see his army disintegrate around him, can only watch on and slump down with quiet defeat, accepting his end as nobly as possible. Sadly, this victory is bittersweet as the effort fries Tony’s body and mind and leaves him a babbling, near-lifeless wreck. Peter, Rhodey, and Pepper gather around him to say their goodbyes and Pepper tearfully gives him permission to finally rest, and death finally catches up to Tony amidst his friends and family. While I would’ve loved to see the scene where his comrades all take a knee kept in the film, the emotional weight of Tony’s sombre funeral delivers as strong a message. Everyone that was close to him gathers in quiet gratitude and respect to honour his sacrifice and take comfort in each other, and it’s a hell of a way to close the book on the character that kickstarted the emotional rollercoaster that is the MCU. Of course, it doesn’t end there; as the heroes go their separate ways and prepare for their next steps, Cap steps back into the Quantum Realm to make good on Banner’s promise to return the Infinity Stones. After sharing a heartfelt farewell to his old friend, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), it initially seems like Steve has gotten lost in the timestream. However, Bucky and Sam spot a old man (Evans/ Patrick Gorman) sitting nearby who’s revealed to be Cap, age finally having caught up with him, who chose to take a leaf out of Tony’s book and settle down with Peggy. He gifts his shield and Captain America identity to Sam and reflects happily on his life, finally at peace with the world. While there’s a lot of debate and disagreement about the specifics of this, I really don’t care. Whether Cap lived in an alternate time or the main timeline, it makes no difference and the entire point was to finally give him some peace and happiness, which I think is conveyed beautifully, and to pass the torch to a new generation of heroes.
The Summary: It’s amazing to think how massive Avengers Assemble was and how incredibly the MCU built upon it with Avengers: Infinity War. It’s so rare to see a film franchise have such longevity and build such intrigue for its next entry, but the buzz surrounding Avengers: Endgame was so real that I was practically frothing at the mouth to see how the story would be wrapped up. Rather than going bigger and more explosive, Avengers: Endgame focuses on the original six Avengers and the remnants of their group and explores new depths to their characters. Each is affected by their defeat in different ways and embodies that failure in ways that make them so much more vulnerable and relatable. I loved how they all came together, united in grief and in their determination to put things right, “whatever it takes”, and how the time heist gave us fresh new interactions between them. Sure, time travel is a bit of a cliché solution and some of its aspects are a bit wonky under close supervision, but I’m okay with that as the purpose was to celebrate what came before and sow the seeds for the MCU’s future, which was set to be very different based on the new status quo established here. Honestly, Avengers: Endgame is worth a watch for the emotional and action-packed finale alone. Even now, it never fails to give me goosebumps and bring a tear to my eye since it’s such a fantastic culmination of everything that came before and a satisfying, if bittersweet, end to these beloved characters. Avengers: Endgame could have easily collapsed under its own narrative, the weight of expectation, and the high standards set by its predecessor and the MCU in general. Instead, with a poignant heart at its core, riveting action, and some genuinely moving moments amidst its big action set pieces, Avengers: Endgame is a fantastic endnote for the first ten/eleven years of Marvel movies.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Fantastic
What did you think to Avengers: Endgame? Were you satisfied with how it wrapped up the ending of Infinity War or would you have liked to see it take a different direction? What did you think to the five-year time jump and the way this was handled in subsequent films? Did you like the depiction of time travel here? What was your reaction when those portals opened, when Cap picked up Mjölnir, and to Tony’s dramatic death? Have you been happy with the MCU film we’ve seen since Endgame or do you think it peaked here? What are some of your favourite Avengers stories, characters, and villains? Whatever your thoughts about Avengers: Endgame, and the Avengers in general, leave a comment below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Marvel content across the site.
Released: 27 April 2018 Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Budget: $325 to 400 million Stars: Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, and Zoe Saldaña
The Plot: Thanos (Brolin) carves a path of self-righteous destruction across the universe in search of six all-powerful cosmic gems that will allow him to erase half of all sentient life with a snap of his fingers. Though fractured from recent events, the Avengers scramble to oppose the Mad Titan’s plot, and join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to seek out and protect the remining Infinity Stones and acquire the means to combat Thanos and his vast army.
The Background: “There was an idea […] to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could”. For decades, superhero films existed in self-contained bubbles; sure, there would be sly hints towards other heroes, but costumed avengers primarily fought alone on the big screen. That all changed with Iron Man (Favreau, 2008), the first tentative step towards the largest interconnected series of movies ever created, but the unprecedented success of Avengers Assemble/The Avengers (Whedon, 2012) saw the MCU make massive strides towards becoming an unstoppable multimedia juggernaut. After success with characters both known and obscure, the MCU’s flagship characters came together once more; although Avengers: Age of Ultron(ibid, 2015) saw writer/director Joss Wheden part ways with the studio and critical reception was mixed compared to the first film, Age of Ultron still grossed $1,404 billion at the box office and Marvel pushed forward with their biggest venture yet, a two-part Avengers film shot back-to-back by established MCU directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Although Whedon initially had no plans for Thanos when he included the Mad Titan in a post-credits scene at the end of Avengers Assemble, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige quickly began planting the seeds for Thanos’s quest for the mysterious Infinity Stones throughout the MCU for this massive production, which drew significant inspiration from the memorable Infinity Gauntlet (Starlin, et al, 1991) and Infinity (Hickman, et al, 2013) stories.
Multiple characters, comic inspiration, and complex CGI brought to life the MCU’s biggest film to date.
After explaining away a blink-and-miss it inconsistency regarding the all-power Infinity Gauntlet, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely set to work deciding which characters they would use, in which combinations, and gearing the first movie towards a series of unique interactions and set pieces. The Russos worked closely with other MCU directors, like James Gunn, to ensure that the tone and characterisation of the individual films could be retained, although characters from the popular Netflix shows unfortunately did not appear in the massive line-up. Central to the film was, of course, Thanos himself; though his obsession with Lady Death was removed from his motivation, Thanos was cast as the hero of the film and brought to life as a complex digital character thanks to the work of Digital Domain. Featuring nearly every character in the MCU and spanning the galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War boasted over 253 shots from animation studio Framestore alone, to say nothing of 200 digital shots of Thanos produced by Weta Digital, and over 3000 overall digital shots from a variety of studios to bring to life the Russo’s ambitious and complex plan for the unprecedented team-up. Avengers: Infinity War was the very definition of hype, with the first trailer alone becoming the most viewed trailer of the time; this, naturally, translated into astronomical financial success as the film made nearly $2.050 billion at the box office and became the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. Reviews gushed over the film’s perfect balance between drama, action, and humour, the characterisation of Thanos, and the sudden gut-punch of its ending. After a year of agonising hype, speculation, and anticipation, the story continued in Avengers: Endgame (Russo and Russo, 2019), which was actually morecritically and commercially successful and the MCU continued on into its fourth phase with more momentum than ever before.
The Review: If you’d told me all those years ago when Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr.) graduated from a C-list Marvel hero to the face of the largest, most successful superhero franchise ever conceived, that we’d see him not only team up with some of Marvel’s most iconic superheroes but also end up rocketing into space to fight alongside obscure characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy and punching a massive purple alien in the face to safeguard half of all sentient life from the misuse of six cosmic space gems…well, I would’ve called you mad. Superhero films just didn’t do this sort of thing; they were always “grounded”, based in some kind of reality, even when they dealt with cosmic subject matter. And they never, ever interconnected. The closest we ever got were some sly references, or teams of characters who already existed together, but we never got to see an interconnected universe like in the comics. And, quite frankly, I couldn’t be happier. Go and pick up The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (Lee, et al, 1964) and see how many gratuitous cameos are wedged into the Sinister Six’s first appearance alone! Marvel, DC, hell almost every comic publisher has a shared universe of heroes and, as much as I’ve enjoyed the solo superhero movie efforts of the last forty-odd years of my life, I couldn’t be happier that the MCU actually has the balls, and the skill, to pull of such a vast, interconnected series of movies that is both respectful of the source material rather than ashamed by it and offers a fresh, new take on these beloved characters.
Thanos, and his mad desire to bring a twisted “balance” to the universe, is the focus of the movie.
However, with all that said, Avengers: Infinity War isn’t about Iron Man; it’s not the story of the titular Avengers, or a celebration of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes coming together to oppose a maniacal despot. No, this is the story of Thanos, the hulking, conquering Mad Titan himself. Previously cameoing at the end of the last twoAvengers films, and popping up in Guardians of the Galaxy(Gunn, 2014), Thanos was more of an ominous, looming force throughout the galaxy. Unless you’d read the comics, you probably had no idea why he was such a big deal but Infinity War establishes his threat immediately by having him ransack the Statesman alongside his “children”, the Black Order, in search of the Space Stone. In the build up to this film, I always assumed Thanos would be introduced by slaughtering Odin Allfather (Anthony Hopkins); after all, what better way to establish the biggest bad in the MCU than having him kill an actual God? However, since Odin is already dead, Infinity War establishes Thanos’s power by having him already be in possession of not only the Infinity Gauntlet, but also the Power Stone, having sacked Xandar off-screen. Thanos then has his henchman kill half of the remaining Asgardians, puts a sound beating on Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo), and chokes the life out of beloved anti-hero Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston). Unlike in the comics, were Thanos was driven by a desperate desire to win the affection of Mistress Death, the MCU Thanos has a twisted take on the destructive and wasteful nature of the universe; since his warnings failed to save his home world, Thanos made it his life’s mission to purge half of all life on every world so that billions more will be saved in the long run. After realising that the six Infinity Stones can make his dreams come true with a literal snap of his fingers, Thanos sets his minions out into the cosmos to acquire them while he tracks down his adopted daughter, Gamora (Saldaña), the only person who knows the location of the Soul Stone.
Blasted into space, Iron Man is determined to bring the fight to Thanos before he can threaten the Earth.
Since Thanos brings death in his wake, the arrival of his minions, Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary), on Earth naturally causes quite a stir. Forewarned of Thanos’s impending arrival by the shellshocked Banner, Doctor Steven Strange (Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) quickly recruit Stark to help them prepare a defence. Despite having retired (…again…) from the superhero life and ready to start a family with Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) Stark doesn’t hesitate to show off his brand new nanotech armour and stand against the alien invaders, though his arrogance and recklessness causes him to quickly butt heads with Dr. Strange. Still in possession of the Time Stone, housed within the Eye of Agamotto, Dr. Strange is as focused on the big picture as Thanos, in many ways; while Stark wants to commandeer the alien spacecraft and bring the fight to Thanos in a pre-emptive strike, Dr. Strange is more concerned with keeping the Time Stone from being misused and, despite his Hippocratic Oath, is fully prepared to let Stark and even Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Holland) die if it means protecting the greater good from the Time Stone. Having sensed the Black Order’s arrival, Spider-Man jumps in to help with his usual blend of heroism, enthusiasm, and desire to impress his mentor, but soon ends up blasting through the cosmos in an alien vessel and garbed in his “Iron Spider” outfit. Although Stark is pissed that Spidey tagged along for the ride, he dubs him an Avenger (much to Peter’s immense pride) and prepares his make-shift allies for the coming battle. While Dr. Strange is right that Stark is bolstered by his overinflated ego and sense of superiority, Stark’s reasoning for wanting to confront Thanos is fully understandable considering that he’s been taking the direct (if reckless) approach ever since he escaped from that cave. Traumatised by his brief glimpse of the vast danger that awaits in the universe, Stark wishes to protect the world in a suit of armour and has constantly been working to find ways to prepare the planet for greater threats. His methods, however, have been highly questionable; not only did they lead to the creation of Ultron (James Spader), but his willingness to sign the Sokovia Accords directly led to the disassembling of the Avengers right when they’re needed the most, and yet he’s determined to power through and to prove he was right by ending Thanos’s threat before it can begin.
Cap and Natasha turn to Wakanda for help, but Wanda’s forced to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Since the Avengers are splintered, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans) has been on the run; having grown out a delicious beard and donning a modified version of his famous suit, one that casts him more as a nomad than a representative of the United States or Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Steve and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson) have been forced off the grid to avoid being arrested by Senator Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) for opposing the Accords. His main concern at the start of the film is locating Wanda Maximoff (Olsen) and the Vision (Bettany), who took off for some alone time and ended up being viciously attacked by Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) and Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw) of the Black Order; since the Vision has the Mind Stone imbedded in his forehead, he receives the brunt of the attack and is left in critical condition, leaving Steve no choice but to take him to Wakanda so that Shuri (Letitia Wright) can help separate him from the stone. There, they’re reunited with T’Challa/Black Panther (Boseman) and James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), who offer them safe refuge and some much-needed allies for the coming battle. Thanks to Wakanda’s advanced technology, the heroes are effectively shielded from Thanos’s army, but his alien monstrosities are relentless and think nothing of tearing through the energy shield even as it shreds them to pieces, forcing Cap to lead a battle into war once more. Despite being on bad terms with Stark, Cap’s dedication to his friends and the safety of the world remains his top priority; he’s largely clueless to the magnitude of the greater threat at hand, and yet doesn’t hesitate to oppose Thanos when he comes to claim the remaining Infinity Stones, literally throwing himself in front of his friends to try and buy them time. Sadly, it’s Wanda who suffers the most; despite Shuri’s best efforts, the heroes run out of time and Wanda’s forced to use her unmatched powers, born from the Reality Stone, to destroy her lover to keep the Mind Stone out of Thanos’s hands…only for the Mad Titan to turn back time, wrench it from the Vision’s head, and force Wanda to see her beloved rendered inert before her eyes.
Rocket and Groot aid Thor in creating a new weapon, while Gamora is captured by her mad foster father.
Thanos is able to accomplish this goal despite the best efforts of the MCU’s greatest heroes thanks to an ill-timed emotional outburst from Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Pratt). Touring the galaxy alongside his friends and fellow Guardians, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Quill’s masculinity is tested when the group stumble upon the beaten body of Thor Odinson (Hemsworth) out in the endless void. Already traumatised after the death of his father and the destruction of his home world, Thor buries his grief and anguish beneath a determination to re-arm himself with a Thanos-killing weapon courtesy of weaponsmith Eitri (Peter Dinklage) at Nidavellir, a titanic forge orbiting a dying star. After furnishing him with an artificial eye, Rocket tries to console Thor, whose losses have been absolutely devastating, but, though the God of Thunder brushes off any concerns for his welfare with his usual bravado and is determined to kill Thanos as recompense for his actions, it’s clear that Thor is wracked by denial and despair at the loss of his brother and people. He finds new allies with the Guardians, despite Peter feeling threatened by him, and Rocket and Groot help him to reignite Nidavellir’s forge to craft his new weapon, Stormbreaker, a mighty axe capable of summoning the Bifrost and unbound by Odin’s enchantment. Meanwhile, Gamora, shaken by how close her adopted father is to completing his life’s goal, begs Peter to kill her if it comes to it to keep the Soul Stone out of Thanos’s hands. Although he’s reluctant, he actually shows a willingness to go through with this, only to be thwarted when Thanos manipulates reality in his favour. Gamora’s repeated attempts to kill herself and defy Thanos are similarly deflected by the Mad Titan, who forces her to divulge her knowledge to spare her sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), from a macabre torture. This sees Gamora accompany Thanos to Vormir, where the ethereal presence of “The Stonekeeper” (Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull (Ross Marquand) making a much-welcome return to the MCU) details that the stone can only be claimed if one sacrifices someone they love. While Gamora is initially amused by this, believing Thanos is too twisted to ever love anything, she (and audiences everywhere) is soon aghast to find that Thanos truly did love his adopted daughter, and thus he casts her to her death on the rocks below to get one step closer to achieving his goal. The knowledge of her lover’s death drives Peter into a rage, ruining the carefully laid out plan he and the others concocted to subdue Thanos with a multi-stage attack and Mantis’s sleep-inducing abilities. However, while many may rage at Peter for being so stupid and costing them their best chance at removing Thanos from the source of his power, his outburst is fully understandable given how deeply he cared for Gamora, and ultimately plays into his overall characterisation as a flawed human being rather than some infallible hero.
The Nitty-Gritty: Since Avengers: Infinity War features so many characters, you might think that some are more developed than others, but that’s not really the case here. Thanks to the core cast featuring in their own movies and team ups prior to this, Infinity War easily jumps right into the central conflict without having to worry too much about establishing origins or motivations. While this is great for long-time followers of the MCU, newcomers might be a bit bewildered but if this was your first MCU film then that’s really on you more than anything else. While not every character gets a significant sub-plot or side mission, they still find some way to make an impression, even it’s something as simple as being funny or having an action scene. Despite having his own vendetta against Thanos, Drax is basically a non-factor in the entire proceedings; his one attempt to kill the murderer of his family leaves him crippled by the power of the Reality Stone, but he makes up for this with some hilarious moments such as his attempts to be “invisible” and his ridiculous “Why is Gamora?!” line. As ever with an MCU production, it’s the little things that make the most impression; things like Spider-Man not being able to remember everyone’s names, Star-Lord flipping Thanos the bird, and Eitri and Thor’s “Only if I die” exchange are great moments of levity and characterisation, especially in a film where the stakes are so high. The Russos do a fantastic job of recreating the look and feel of each separate character and franchise so it all feels seamless. While some seemed confused as to why Thor needed to create a new weapon after harnessing his lightening powers in Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017), the point is to have something tangible to focus his energies through, to craft a weapon specifically to negate the Infinity Stones and kill Thanos, and to give Thor a goal to work towards so he can feel useful and not give in to his utter despair. On the flip side, it’s true that we never really get (or got) much time to invest in the Wanda/Vision romance; their connection is undoubtable and a pivotal part of the film, but we very much pick up with them trying to figure it out rather than discovering it.
While there’s not much Hulk action and the Black Order are a bit random, we do learn a lot about Thanos.
Similarly, there’s a sub-plot regarding the Hulk’s refusal to emerge after his thrashing at Thanos’s hands; while this is amusingly played as an allegory for sexual performance, it’s never actually stated why Hulk won’t come out. It’s assumed that he’s scared and humbled, but we’re told (outside of the movies, so it doesn’t really count) that the Hulk was just sick of fighting Banner’s battles. Personally, I do feel the excised scenes of the Hulk bursting from the Hulkbuster armour would’ve only added to the action-packed finale (and I would’ve loved if he’d been the Grey Hulk as well), so Hulk fans might be a little disappointed by how small a role the Jade Giant plays in the proceedings. Additionally, we really don’t learn anything about the Black Order except their absolutely loyal to Thanos and pretty sadistic villains in their own right; introduced and offed over the course of this film, the foursome is really only here to act as Thanos’s proxies, and I still think it would’ve been cool if guys like Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and even Loki had filled these roles. Still, it’s honestly nothing short of a miracle that Infinity War manages to juggle all its characters and interweaving plot lines so well; I’ve seen team-based movies that have struggled with less than half the amount of content of this film, though it helps that the MCU has a competent plan, enthusiastic directors and actors, and so many films behind it to lay all the foundations. Some characters are notable in their absence, like Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), but these characters got their due in the follow-up so it all works out. Infinity War had easily the highest stakes of any MCU film at the time, with the fate of literally half the universe in the balance, and the whole film is framed as a frantic chase to prepare for, and stop, Thanos from reaching his goal. Fittingly, we do learn quite a bit about Thanos; easily the most complex and layered villain in the entire MCU at that point, Thanos believes himself the hero of the story. He longs to save billions of lives and to balance the universe through the culling of millions and is more than willing to kill anyone who stands in the way of that goal, but also shows respect, compassion, and genuine affection for both his foes and his adopted family. Through Thanos, we also learn a bit more about Gamora and Nebula’s chaotic and violent upbringing, and the film definitely goes out of its way to present Thanos as both a maniacal despot bent on genocide and a reasonable, well-meaning individual who actually has some solid arguments…even if he goes about enacting his plot in the most diabolical way imaginable.
The film’s visual style is absolutely top notch and bolstered by loads of fun, unique action and interactions.
The scope of Avengers: Infinity War is simply off the charts. The narrative is constantly jumping between the outer reaches of space and here on Earth, and characters travel to several different, visually interesting worlds and locations during the course of the film. Many of these are established places in the MCU, like Wakanda and Knowhere, but even these locations are given a new perspective thanks to Thanos’s influence; the sight of his monstrosities tearing across the Wakandan plains makes for one hell of an epic shot and fight sequence with a grander scale than anything we’d seen in the MCU up to that point. Indeed, the CGI and visual effects are fantastic all throughout Infinity War, with Thanos being the obvious standout. A fully realised, flesh and blood character, his creation is so intricate that you’d barely even realise he was a computer creation so detailed are his physical quirks and emotive qualities. While the CGI on Iron Man’s nanosuit is a little spotty, and Spider-Man’s mask vanishes a little too smoothly for me, all the visual effects are undeniably top-notch on both characters, and it’s frankly astounding that everything looks and feels like it’s actually real despite how much of it is all digitally created. Thanks to the Reality Stone, Thanos is free to bend reality and physics to his will, reducing Drax and Mantis to cubes and ribbons with a thought, leaving Taneleer Tivan/The Collector’s (Benicio del Toro) museum a flaming shambles, and even projecting a lush, verdant recreation of Titan to parallel the desolate wasteland it has become since his people ignored his warnings. This sets the stage for the climatic battle between Thanos and Iron Man’s makeshift team, in which Dr. Strange puzzles the Mad Titan with his incantations and the maniacal despot implodes a moon and curls its fragments at his foes! There’s so much happening in each of these battles that you can spot new things every time you watch the film, and every character gets a little something to do, whether it’s Spidey frantically webbing up his new friends as they’re tossed about, Bucky spinning Rocket around so they can blast at Thanos’s creatures, or Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) carpet bombing the invading army around the Wakandan perimeter.
In a shocking twist, Thanos succeeds in his goal and snaps away half of all life in the universe!
Obviously, the thing that separates Infinity War from the rest of the MCU (and most comic book movies) is the fact that the villain actually wins in the end. Stark and the others were able to keep him off balance long enough to largely avoid him using the Infinity Gauntlet, but Star-Lord’s outburst costs them the chance to get the gauntlet off him and results in the team being soundly defeated. Skewered and left gravely wounded, Iron Man is unable to keep Dr. Strange from bargaining for their lives with the Time Stone; while it seems as though this goes against his earlier declaration to sacrifice them in favour of the stone, it’s actually all part of a larger endgame as Dr. Strange had looked into the future and found only one outcome where the heroes were victorious out of billions of possible scenarios, and that outcome was predicated on Thanos being victorious. Thus, armed with the collective powers of Reality, Time, Power, Space, and Soul, Thanos is easily able to teleport to Wakanda, swat aside Cap’s fledgling opposition, and tear the final Infinity Stone from the Vision’s head. Thankfully, Thor is on hand to enact his revenge, driving Stormbreaker right into Thanos’s chest and seemingly saving the day but, sadly, he didn’t go for the head and, just like in the comics, Thanos snaps his fingers and the worst possible scenario plays out before our eyes. All noise, whether ambient or otherwise, is sucked from the film and we’re forced to watch as these iconic characters literally turn to dust before our very eyes! Bucky, Groot (hell, all of the Guardians except Rocket and Nebula!), Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and even Black Panther disintegrate into nothingness but easily the most harrowing loss is that of the young Spider-Man. Clinging to his existence with a tenacious desperation, he fades away in the arms of his stunned mentor, and Stark is left hurt and injured with the weight of his monumental failure. Similarly, those left alive are barely able to comprehend the scope of what has happened and end the film in a dazed confusion, the realisation that they have lost (and lost badly) just sinking in. Even now, many years removed, this remains a haunting and deeply impactful ending; never before had the MCU witnessed such instant and total failure and the shock of seeing some of its most iconic characters simply sniffed out with but a thought remains a disturbing visual to end on. As for our “hero”, Thanos makes good on his promise to retire following his victory, happy in the knowledge that the universe will be better off with half its population dead, and unaware that a small glimmer of hope for those left has been signalled to assist.
The Summary: As someone who had waited his entire life to see a group superheroes finally come together in one movie, to share an interconnected universe just like in the comics, and to interact with each other in unique and fun ways, I was super excited for Avengers Assemble. I remember watching the MCU unfold back in the day and still not quite being able to believe that this was actually happening, and then being blown away when it actually did and the MCU exploded into a massive success. Now, take all that and multiply it by a hundred and you have Avengers: Infinity War! Not once would I have ever guessed that we’d see Thanos, or an adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet, make it to cinema screens. Hell, I was surprised the Avengers came together to fight Loki and the Chitauri rather than a gaggle of their solo villains, and the idea of this tyrannical dictator carving a path of destruction throughout the universe (not just Earth), besting the MCU’s strongest characters and even succeeding in his diabolical goal was just unprecedented. And even if I could have guessed that we’d see that, I never would have imagined that such a villain would be presented as a complex and, yes, relatable character. Even setting aside the MCU’s “villain problem”, it really wasn’t the normal thing to frame a superhero film’s bad guy as the lead character, one with lofty dreams and understandable motivations, especially one created entirely out of CGI! The idea was laughable, but damn…Marvel Studios did it; and not only did they do it, but they absolutely smashed it! Avengers: Infinity War was a near-perfect culmination of the MCU’s long ten-year journey. All those solo films, team ups, the risks taken on obscure characters all paid off in the biggest superhero crossover ever conceived at the time. An astonishing blend of action, humour, heart, and visual effects flawlessly captured the look, feel, atmosphere, and characterisations of these different franchises and they all felt perfectly at home co-existing in this vast fictional universe. I say “near-perfect” only because Angers: Infinity War isn’t one movie; it’s two. I don’t say this as a detriment, though; what I mean is, Infinity War is bumped up to perfection when viewed alongside Avengers: Endgame, which completes the story in a way that fundamentally changed the landscape of the MCU going forward. It all started here, though, with the Avengers’ greatest failure, an ending that never fails to leave an impression in its raw morbidity that just leaves you salivating to throw in the next film and see this tragedy undone through the noblest of sacrifices. And yet, Avengers: Infinity War still works incredibly well when viewed by itself; it’s packed with spectacle and more superhero action than you could ever imagine and is a fitting love letter not just to fans of these movies, but lifelong comic book fans such as myself who dreamt of the day when the sprawling, interconnected tales we grew up with would make it to the big screen.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Fantastic
What did you think to Avengers: Infinity War? Were you impressed by the scope and spectacle of the film or were there a few too many characters for your liking? Were you disappointed that the Hulk didn’t play a larger role in the film and which characters were missing from the film for you? What did you think to Thanos, his revised motivations, and his depiction in the film? Were you annoyed that Star-Lord cost the heroes their best chance at stopping Thanos? How did the ending affect you at the time, and how do you think it holds up today in hindsight? What did you think to it as an adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet? How are you celebrating the debut of the Avengers today and what are some of your favourite Avengers storylines, characters, or adaptations? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the Avengers in the comments below.
Not content with redefining the superhero genre of movies, the latest effort from Marvel Studios has also redefined the word “psychedelic”. Apparently, the last solo effort to feature everyone’s favourite, muscle-bound God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), Thor: The Dark World(Taylor, 2013), did not meet the expectations of many fans and critics out there; it’s easily among the top three less-than-stellar offerings from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (though, personally, I enjoyed it quite a lot). So, in an effort to rectify this, continue the expansion of their cinematic universe, and finally allow the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) some time to shine, director Taika Waititi has stepped in to infuse the hammer-wielding hero with some of the same outlandish humour seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy (Gunn, 2014; 2017) film series but does it work? Thor: Ragnarok begins with the titular hero bound in chains in the hellish Muspelheim as a prison of the devil-like Surtur (Clancy Brown); through a humorous voice-over, we quickly learn the Thor’s search for the legendary Infinity Stones has turned up nothing and he has stumbled upon evidence to prove that Ragnarök, the twilight of the Gods, is looming on the horizon. As Ragnarök is prophesied to be caused by Surtur placing his crown into the Eternal Flame, Thor defeats the demon and claims his crown. Upon returning to Asgard, he quickly sees through the tricky of his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), easily deducing that the God of Mischief has been posing as their father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins).
Sadly, Hela’s potential never stretches beyond this display of power.
Less than impressed, Thor forces Loki to take him to Odin’s location; however, they are immediately intercepted by Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who, somewhat needlessly, ushers them along to Norway, where Odin has found himself. On the verge of death, Odin tells his sons that his passing will release his first-born child, Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death, who desires to end all Asgardian life and bring destruction to the Nine Realms. Upon vanishing into a puff of golden sparks, this immediately comes to pass and, when Thor attempts to stop Hela, she easily catches and destroys his magical hammer, Mjolnir. Fearful of his half-sister’s great power, Loki commands the Bifröst to transport them back to Asgard; however, Hela follows and casts her younger siblings into the void of space. Upon her arrival in Asgard, she kills Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Fandral (Zachary Levi) within the blink of an eye and recruits Scurge (Karl Urban) as her executioner. Deposited upon the planet Sakaar, Thor is captured – his power subdued by an obedience disk – by Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and becomes a prisoner of the enigmatic Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Loki is also there, having landed weeks earlier due to a time-dilation effect and, being in favour with the Grandmaster, is content to remain, leaving Thor to challenge the Grandmaster’s champion in the arena to win his freedom. Just when all hope seems lost, Thor is confronted by the champion, who turns out to be the Incredible Hulk. Revelling in his fame and glory, the now-sentient Hulk battles Thor mercilessly. However, Thor summons the powers of lightning to turn the tide and is summarily subdued by the Grandmaster.
The battle between Thor and Hulk is easily the best part of the film.
In Hulk’s bed chambers, Thor converses with his fellow Avenger, who is less than enthusiastic about helping Thor as he was hated and feared on Earth, even by his team mates. Thor persists, even managing to convince Valkyrie to help him escape and save Asgard but, after activating the Quinjet that brought Hulk to Sakaar, Thor loses his primary means of transportation when the Hulk destroys the ship during his manic reversion back into Bruce Banner. Banner, in a state of shock as he has been trapped within the Hulk for two years, fears for the loss of his identity should he transform again, yet still teams up with Thor, Valkyrie, and Loki to steal the Grandmaster’s luxury spaceship, return to Asgard, and prevent Hela from bringing ruin to the Nine Realms.
In case it isn’t clear from the trailers or television spots, Thor: Ragnarok is an action comedy with a heavy emphasis on the comedy. Thor, whose humour was always present and based in a dry wit, quips one-liners and glib remarks throughout the film, even in the face of annihilation at the hands of Hela. However, the humour works very well; the chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddleston is as potent as ever and both react, and act, perfectly with the Hulk. Speaking of the Hulk, the Green Goliath finally gets a chance to show a personality; having been transformed for so long has made the Hulk capable of intelligent, if child-like, speech and able to comprehend what is happening around him. There is a clear difference between the Hulk, who is always angry and craving a fight, and Banner; Banner’s previous tenuous control over the Hulk is apparently now lost and he faces a very real fear of being consumed by the Hulk (although this is never developed beyond a short exchange with Thor).
After a strong but, undoubtedly disappointing, showing from Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), there was quite a lot of anticipation surrounding Hela. Like Ultron (James Spader), Hela has a powerful presence and a snappy wit, with clear and concise motivations: she seeks to rule the Nine Realms through anarchy and death rather than the peace and prosperity her father once sought. However, although she is easily Thor’s most powerful foe, she still succumbs to the same issues that plague many of Marvel’s villains: procrastination. The film, honestly, spends too much time on Sakaar and not enough time with Hela who, upon reaching Asgard, kills a bunch of people, stands around gloating, and is then unable to enact her plan simply because Heimdall (Idris Elba) stole the sword that activates the Bifröst. This is quite the problem as she literally storms into Asgard, leaves some bodies in her wake, awakens an undead army and her steed, Fenris Wolf, and then stands around doing nothing until Thor and his team (the “Revengers”) finally return to take her on.
The brilliance of Jeff Goldblum continues to astound.
Logically you would think that it would be the Grandmaster who acts as the secondary antagonist; however, you would be largely mistaken. Although Goldblum, who was clearly given free reign to ad-lib and bring as much of his awesome quirks to the character, steals every scene he is in, he isn’t even an obstacle in Thor’s path beyond making him fight the Hulk. Indeed, Thor stages an uprising (lead by Korg (Taika Waititi, whose soft-spoken take on the character was a surprise, to say the least) simply to distract the Grandmaster’s pitiful forces long enough for him to steal his ship and escape. The film appears to be treating Ragnarök as its primary threat; however, the humour laced throughout is so prominent that this apocalyptic event isn’t really treated with the weight or gravitas that you might expect, meaning that Thor’s realisation that he must revive Surtur to cause Ragnarök as the only means of defeating Hela is given barely any significance (Korg even cracks jokes during what should be the sombre and gut-wrenching destruction of Asgard).
Valkyrie is a welcome addition to the franchise; having faced Hela centuries ago and watched all of her fellow female warriors perish, she has become a bitter recluse, resigned to being an alcoholic bounty hunter. Thor gives her a chance at redemption and she takes it gladly, taking up arms once more to help rescue the Asgardians from extinction. However, her inclusion comes at a price; in a throwaway line, Thor reveals that he and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) have broken up, and (perhaps more criminally) Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is noticeably and inexplicable absent, with no mention of her in any way, and the Warriors Three (Thor’s brothers-in-arms) are unceremoniously killed off presumably to appease Idris Elba with a more significant role for Heimdall, who basically becomes Thor’s right-hand man by the film’s end.
Yet, Thor: Ragnarok is a stunning film to watch; Sakaar is a dystopian cyber-punk dreamland, filled with the decrepit, lived-in quality of the cities and peoples seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. It is clear that the film is meant firmly entrench Thor in the wild, wacky cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the eighties-inspired soundtrack and visuals really help to hammer that point home (no pun intended). In addition, the humour is truly entertaining and the action is intense and thrilling; the battle between Hulk and Thor is fantastic to watch and the sheer scope of the movie is quite impressive given that it mainly jumps back and forth between Sakaar and Asgard. Additionally, as he is devoid of Mjolnir, Thor showcases his command of lightning to great effect in this film; he truly becomes the God of Thunder, summoning lighting bolts, surrounding himself with a shield of lightning, and powering himself up to the point where is is all-but untouchable. In the end, though, I actually expected more. I was expecting a threat such as the Goddess of Death to be treated with a bit more severity; her campaign never really gets a chance to begin before she is stopped in her tracks and the true impact of her actions or threat is never really felt meaning that, in the end, she is as ineffectual a villain as Malekith was because neither got to showcase their incredible potential due to the many other plot threads at work in the film.
Sadly, this cameo didn’t really add a lot to the film.
Hulk, despite given much more characterisation than ever before, actually quickly fades into the background by the third act and the interesting idea that Banner and the Hulk are finally two separate entities within the same body is never truly explored. Most notably, Thor: Ragnarok goes out of its way to quickly tie up the loose ends from Thor: The Dark World with a very simple and disappointing payoff; when The Dark World ended with Loki impersonating Odin on the throne of Asgard, it posed so many questions and raised expectations of an epic battle to reclaim the throne. Instead, Thor simply reveals the deception and finds Odin maybe ten minutes later. It would have been faster if not for the unnecessary cameo by Doctor Strange; literally, Strange’s inclusion offers nothing of value (Loki could have taken Thor straight to Norway and skipped the entire New York sequence completely) except, I guess, to establish (or re-establish) that Strange acts as the mystic guardian of Earth but we already knew this from Doctor Strange(Derrickson, 2016). I’m all for cameos and inclusions of other Marvel characters but they’ve got to add something to the film and I really don’t think it did in this instance. I think those who disliked Thor: The Dark World will see this film as a redemption as it is, undoubtedly, a better movie and probably the strongest of the Thor films as Hemsworth and Hiddleston truly embody their characters and the interactions between them and their fellow cast of characters was great to see. However, I can’t help but think a film about the literally death of Gods should have some more gravitas to it and be more epic in its scope and execution; instead, this is an action comedy primarily focused on integrating Thor into the cosmic aspect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and infusing the Hulk with some actual characterisation and, in these aspects, it succeeds spectacularly.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Recommended: Yes, though I’d have to voice a a bit of disappointment at the execution of the film’s primary plot. Best moment: Hands down, the battle between Hulk and Thor in the arena, which delivered in every way possible. Worst moment: Hela’s lacklustre effort as the primary villain and the execution of Ragnarök left a lot to be desired, effectively nullifying the significance of the final act of the film.
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