The main beat I felt was missing was between the team deciding to be a team post-Coulson and them getting into the big fight at the end. I could have used a smaller not-all-combat mission to start the meshing.

Other than that, I'd have liked to establish a proper Cap/Clint dynamic, maybe with Steve addressing Hawkeye's after-possession funk. I'd have like a Natasha/Hill moment, to differentiate them and to show how they relate. More Cap/Fury would have been good; Fury's the only character who really had no story arc here, although plenty of character definition. And more Thor doing non-fighting stuff.










The problem is that a smartass Tony Stark robs Clint of a lot of his lines. The "mother's drapes" quip could as easily have been real Hawkeye's dialogue. The other defining aspect of Barton is his showmanship and that was a bit sparse too. Contrast with the Avengers cartoon: the one I re-watched this week had Hawkeye bursting in with "Relax, guys, I'm here to save the world!"




It's raised the bar.

I haven't seen a 3D version. I try to avoid those.







I liked Cap breaking it up, with the answer to that classic Mjolnir vs shield fan debate.







The kids and I intend to catch it again tomorrow.







Cap wears his outfit because it's known, recognised, and trusted - and issued to him (by FDR). Give the man his head-wings and proper chain mail.




Marvel has really done the whole massive army of adversaries thing for a while now, after all those Stanebots in Iron Man 2, frost giants in Thor, and now the alien invaders in Avengers. I think a different kind of threat would work better for Avengers 2. Perhaps masters of... evil?




I loved the statement that provoked the grin.

If I'd been doing the scripting I'd have slotted in Kang for A2 and revealed that the "second phase" project that Hill and Fury rescue at the start of the movie was the Ultron technology for A3.




Ms Marvel doesn't interest me all that much. The only iconic characters now missing are Wanda and the Vision. And since each of the current team exemplify a major and different background - super soldier, technology hero, mythical deity, monster of science, superspy, and highly-skilled showman archer - I don't think Carol's different enough. Mutant witch and synthezoid are.

Still, now we know why the cosmic cube keeps getting such a high profile!













Pretty damn cool.




The only way to do a proper Hulk movie is to get into the Peter David MPD stuff and have the Leader go all out to gamma-irradiate the world.




Not even with Mr Fixit?










Jarvis and Avengers Mansion are by far the biggest omissions, affecting the whole tone of the story. A little Gyrich might have been fun too.

I would have liked a little supporting cast interaction. I wanted Pepper Potts, Betty Ross, and Jane Foster comparing notes. I wanted Nick Fury to stamp down hard on Thunderbolt Ross.










It's why we need Avengers mansion - not Avengers tower.













Well, Ben Kingsley's signed up as villain for Iron Man 3, and the rumour is location shooting in China. That suggests the Mandarin, so there could be a link between his alien (Makluan) power rings and he-who-appears-post-credits.

Meanwhile, tomorrow's Avengers cartoon guest stars Rocket Raccoon - honestly - plus Adam Warlock, Star-Lord, Groot, and Quasar - versus Michael Korvac.