Avengers: What's Next?

So, if you're like a lot of people, you saw Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend. But maybe now you're curious about what's next for the team and what that mid-credits scene means exactly. Needless to say, spoilers will be plenty going further if you haven't seen the movie.

THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING.

Still with me? Okay, let's get to it.

Thanos and the Infinty Gauntlet!

If you stayed around through the credits, about midway there was a quick scene with Thanos ( voiced by Josh Brolin ).  He puts on what's known as the "Infinity Gauntlet" and says "Fine, I'll do it myself". 

Seems to be the Marvel films' "big bad" is about to get his hands dirty. He was teased in a mid credits scene in the first Avengers movie, showing he was responsible for providing Loki with an army and that sceptor (or glow stick of destiny as Iron Man called it).  Thanos also made a brief appearance in last year's Guardians of the Galaxy, tasking that movie's villain (Ronan) with finding an orb, which ended up holding one of the Infinity Gems. Not familiar with the Infinity Gems? Let me help you with that...

These gems all fit into the Infinity Gauntlet, giving the bearer of the glove essentially limitless power. As you can see on the picture above, two gems are unaccounted for in the Marvel movies. We're sure to see these introduced in next year's Doctor Strange, 2017's Thor: Ragnorak, or Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 in 2018. 

So there's a quick rundown of the Infinity Gauntlet and Thanos. Until more details are officially announced or revealed in future movies, anything more would be strictly speculation. 

Now onto the new line up of the Avengers at the end of the movie and next year's Captain America: Civil War. 

New Avengers and Civil War!

The final scene before the credits rolled showed a new team going forward. Captain America and Black Widow will need some help with 4 Avengers bowing out at the end of the movie. Tony Stark takes a leave of absence, Hawkeye takes off to be a dad, Thor returns to Asgard, and Hulk goes into hiding.  So now we got a new line up. 

Heading up the team is Captain America, with Black Widow seeming to serve as his right hand woman. War Machine (from the Iron Man movies) and Falcon (introduced in last year's Captain America: Civil War) finally get promoted to the big leagues. As well as Scarlet Witch and Vision who both made their debut in Age of Ultron. 

Who knows how long this line up will remain. Next year, heroes will be facing off against one another in Captain America: Civil War. And we'll be introduced to several other Avengers in the next few years; Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, and some guy named Spider-Man. Also, don't rule out veteran Avengers like Iron Man or Hawkeye getting called back into the ring at any time. 

Avengers Potpourri 

A few random notes to close this out ...

Did you catch Sam "Falcon" Wilson's mention of a "missing person case"? No doubt a nod to Cap and Falcon looking for Bucky/Winter Soldier. Marvel hasn't forgotten about him, and he's confirmed to be in Civil War next year. 

And we can't finish without mention of Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff. We hardly knew thee. 

It seems odd for Marvel to kill off such a classic Avenger in the same movie he's introduced in. But perhaps they felt they needed to tell audiences that Avengers CAN DIE. No doubt Avengers director Joss Whedon will get a lot of flack for Pietro's early demise. But the truth is, Marvel wouldn't allow it if they weren't OK it, or maybe they even suggested it. And if you're one for speculating...could Quicksilver be resurrected via the Infinity Gauntlet? Or through any other means? It would be a very "comic book" thing to do.  

Until next time, True Believers ....

-Lando McFly

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Avengers : Age of Ultron - Trailer 3

Avengers : Age of Ultron - Trailer 3

At long last, Marvel has dropped the third trailer for Avengers : Age of Ultron!

After a push from the @Avengers Twitter account this morning, the fans have answered the call, and the new trailer has arrived. Enjoy fellow Marvelites! Earth's Mightiest are only a few month away! 'Nuff Said.

Questions or Comments? Sound off below, and for more exciting news and reviews, follow NGP on Facebook and Twitter!


- Lando McFly & ArchangelEZE

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Meet Your New Avengers

With Avengers: Age of Ultron, we're getting introduced to three new team members ( I'm not counting Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's scene at the end of the last Captain America movie as their proper introduction ).  Let's take some time to learn about our new friends. 

First up is The Vision ( THE ANDROID AVENGER ).  His first appearance was in October 1968 in Avengers # 57.  His abilities include mass and density control, flight, solar energy projection, super human strength, and self repair / regeneration.   Paul Bettany will be portraying Vision, he also voiced Tony Stark's AI "butler" Jarvis in four Marvel movies so far. 

The Vision was created by Ultron, who ( in the comics ) was built by Hank "Ant-Man" Pym. In the movies, Marvel has Ultron built by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.  In the comics, the Avengers are able to bring The Vision to their side after briefly working for Ultron. 

Next, we have Scarlet Witch. Marvel Studios are altering her ( and Quicksilver's ) origin since they don't have all the cinematic rights. Scarlet Witch ( aka Wanda Maximoff ) first appeared in X-Men # 4 in March 1964. She is the daughter of Magneto, though Marvel Studios are not allowed to make any mention of this relationship. 

Her abilities include probability manipulation, reality warping, and chaos magic. She is the twin sister of Quicksilver ( we'll get to him in a minute ),   and the both of them will come into their powers through other means than being mutants as they are in the comics. 

Lastly, we have Quicksilver ( Pietro Maximoff ).  You might be familiar with the character after Evan Peters stole the show as Quicksilver in last year's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Marvel Studios have chosen Aaron Taylor Johnson for their speedster. 

Quicksilver and his superhuman speed first debuted in X-Men # 4, just like his sister.  And just like his sister, he had a cameo during the credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

These are just the three new Avengers we're getting introduced to in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Over the next few years we'll also be getting Ant-Man ( this year yet! ), Captain Marvel, Black Panther and the Inhumans. It's an exciting time to be a Marvel fan. 

-Lando McFly

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Oh, the (In)humanity!

Oh, the (In)humanity!

The Weekly Pull is closing out 2014 with a bang! This is a big one folks, so be warned : if you haven't seen the second season Winter Finale to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which aired on December 9, you're in store for some massive spoilers and a big eye opener surrounding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As Demo Destroyer can attest, I've been spouting my theories regarding the direction Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has been taking this season, and more specifically the implications it will have on Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's no secret that a large portion of this second season has focused on the mystery surrounding Director Coulson's memory mapping and if you've followed my previous posts and have a keen eye, you may have noticed that the symbols Coulson is carving in the image above closely match the pattern seen within the logo of Marvel's Inhuman title ... and that's just the beginning.

If you're not familiar with the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe (pre-Guardians of the Galaxy), the ending scene of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Winter Finale may have had you scratching your head. The Obelisk contained a blue crystal that released an airborne contaminant that turned Reya, Skye and Tripp to stone? What? Let's take a step back ...

At the beginning of the Kree-Skrull War, millions of years ago, the alien Kree race established a station on the planet Uranus, a strategic position between the Kree and Skrull empires. Through their work at this station, they discovered that sentient life on nearby Earth had genetic potential invested in it by the alien Celestials. Intrigued, the Kree began to experiment on Earth's then primitive Homo sapiens to produce the genetically advanced Inhuman race. Their goal was twofold - to investigate possible ways of circumventing their own evolutionary stagnation, and to create a powerful race of soldiers for use against the Skrulls. These test subjects, the Inhumans, went on to form a society of their own, which thrived in seclusion from the rest of humanity and developed advanced technology. Experiments with the mutagenic Terrigen Mist (a process known as Terrigenesis) gave them various powers, but caused lasting genetic damage and deformities. (Source)

So where do the Kree fall into this storyline you ask? Remember the blue alien that Coulson and Bill Paxton's Agent Garrett stumbled upon when searching for the answers to Coulson's survival? Kree.

Now that the puzzle pieces are starting to fit together, let’s recap. We now know that the Obelisk contains a Terrigen Crystal, which released Terrigen Mist on Skye and company. We got a brief flash of Reya’s more mutant-esque transformation (hence the whole conversation between Skye and her father regarding his love for her even if she were to change) as well as the seemingly unaltered Skye. But don’t let that fool you. Not all transformations are physical. Both the leader of the Inhumans, Black Bolt, and his queen, Medusa, have no physical abnormalities. Plus, if you're an avid fan of the Marvel Universe, you may have also discovered the deeper reveal as well during the brief interaction where Skye's father calls her by her birth name, confirming that Agent Skye is actually an established Marvel Universe character, Daisy "Quake" Johnson.

Marvel is really going for the long con here, as the announced cinematic feature featuring the Inhumas isn’t set to arrive in theatres until 2018. Will Skye and company make an appearance? Or will the focus turn more toward the aforementioned Kree-Skrull War? I for one would love to see a massive origin story depicting the war and the impact this genetic testing has had on the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (i.e. Rocket Raccoon) tieing the whole thing together.  With my previously posted theory regarding Vin Diesel’s role also remaining intact, I may just be on the right path …

On a brief side note, it's also extremely important not to confuse Inhumans with Mutants. Partially from a fanboy perspective, but more importantly from the Marvel Cinematic perspective where Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch come into play. In last weeks issue of Axis : The New World Disorder, one of the most talked about moments was the death of Carnage (link), but for me, the real secret was buried in the background. There is a point where, in an inverted rage, the Scarlet Witch casts a Chaos Curse on her bloodline as a means to punish her brother, Pietro Maximoff (aka Quicksilver), for siding with thier father Eric Lensher (aka Magneto) against her. However, the spell has no effect on either target revealing that after all these years, Magneto has been a pawn in someone else's game ... a strongly hinted Inhuman game, which may just hold the cinematic key to Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch appearing in both X-Men : Days of Future Past and Avengers : Age of Ultron franchises.

Do you have a comic, graphic novel, comic event or storyline you’re itching to read or learn more about? Sound off in the comments below, find me on Twitter or let us know on the New Geek Protocol Facebook page!

Until next time True Believers,

-ArchangelEZE

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Age of Ultron: Official Plot Details

We have all been wondering about it and yesterday Disney revealed the plot synopsis for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

“Marvel Studios presents ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.

Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series ‘The Avengers,’ first published in 1963. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee and Jon Favreau serve as executive producers. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ on May 1, 2015.”

Age of Ultron will wrap up the Phase 2 installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What do you hope to see in the movie? Who’s excited to see Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver? Who do you think will pay the ultimate price? Leave your theories in the comments below.

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As always, May the Force Be With You!

- Da_Fettman

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