Posts Tagged ‘ Black Widow ’

Over the course of SDCC, Marvel has been revealing pre-production art of the Avengers – and they fit together…

(Click to make a bit larger)

Black Widow, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Agent Coulson all look pretty damn good here – and honestly, I’m getting a little excited by next year’s movie especially after the post-credits bit on Captain America…

Oh, and if the Skrulls are in the movie as rumored, I’d say the chances of Coulson being one are pretty damn high, no?

From the stage at SDCC2010 – the cast of the Avengers movie – (L-R) Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Joss Whedon (Director), Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios).

Do I have my concerns about this? A few.

But right now?

I’m just pretty damn excited about it.

Via

With the concept art for Thor and Captain America hitting the internet the past few days, I figured it was time to flex my not-so-mighty photoshopPixlr skills and mash up a few images…

And you know what? As thrown together as it is, I kind of like it.

I’ve been reading reviews of Iron Man 2 and there seems to be a constant thread in a lot of them – it’s not as good as the first.

Everything fun and terrific about “Iron Man,” a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, “Iron Man 2” has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines. – THR

“Iron Man 2” isn’t as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it’ll do…while the first go-round for this lesser-known Marvel hero benefited from its freshness and visual flair, the beats here are more familiar, the pacing more uneven. – Variety

Iron Man 2 thankfully just about pulls it off, but only just. It’s a strangely paced film and suffers at times from incredibly long exposition and poorly contrived story lines that seem to be added to no doubt develop the Avengers storyline rather than the Iron Man 2 story that I wanted to see. – HeyUGuys

Not that all reviews are tinged with disappointment – over at AICN, Harry predictably gushes -

IRON MAN 2 is comic movie crack! I remember how I was after I saw SPIDER-MAN 2. It felt like the world finally fucking got it. I thought we’d always have films increasingly badass from that point – and SPIDER-MAN 3 was not better. And I got a tad sad. When you see a comic book movie that is absolutely the best of what that character can be on screen – it is euphoric. Something to celebrate, to revel in. I’ve been a comic geek my entire life. I remember when Bob Layton really began blowing my mind with IRON MAN. This is that… but on film… with hundreds of talented awesome artists, technicians and craftsmen all supporting that vision.

- while at HitFix, former AICNer Drew McWeeny offers up a more measured appraisal but still loves it:

“Iron Man 2” is, in every possible way, issue two of a comic book. It doesn’t have to spend time setting up the origin of the character, and it doesn’t feel the need to resolve every single story thread introduced in this one film. There’s a sense that everyone’s settling into this series and thinking big. It is just as confident as the first film, and incredibly aggressive in the way it handles story and characterization.

Earlier this morning I tweeted a link to the THR review and one of my tweetpals (there has to be a better way of saying that) tweeted this reply:

Always painful when folks with no comic book background review comic book movies…

And this, I think is the problem at the heart of comic book movies.

It’s pretty much a given that we’re going to go apeshit over them – and by ‘we’ I mean comics fans. If we love a character or a comic, then chances are good that we’re going to go and see the movie. If we love it, we’re going to tell everyone. If we don’t, we’re also going to tell everyone (only probably much louder). We want them to make movies based on comics which appeal to us.

The issue is that just because they appeal to us it doesn’t mean that they’ll appeal to everyone, and if the last couple of weekend box office tallies should tell us anything, its that movies based on comics need to be marketed smartly and, more often than not, need an actor with a decent amount of star power to make a difference on the opening weekend.

I loved Iron Man. Loved it – and it was a massive hit because it had a charismatic lead with marquee value (even if it was faded marquee value), it was directed by a guy with an eye for what works in movies and something to prove, it was perfectly cast (with the possible exception of a touch-too-soft Jim Rhodes, something corrected for the second outing), and it was a well structured and written movie with a clearly defined purpose – tell an origin story. Even so, the final act was a little bit flabby, the throwdown between Iron Man and Obadiah Stane a little bit same-old, same-old – but you could forgive that because the rest of the movie was that damn good.

So the natural expectation is that the second will be better. Downey Jr’s career has been resuscitated to an amazing extent; Jon Favreau has now had his big hit and has less to prove – but when I look at the additional elements added to the movie I can’t help worry whether the burden of expectation and reaching ambition when it comes to establishing the Mighty Marvel Movie Universe will weigh it down.

Iron Man 2 expands Nick Fury and Agent Coulson’s roles, has Rhodey stepping up to take on the War Machine mantle, and adds Black Widow (although apparently Scarlett Johansson’s character is never actually called by this), Whiplash and Justin Hammer to the mix while also alluding to Thor and Captain America, and setting up the Avengers - which is why Tony Stark goes to visit with General Ross at the end of the Incredible Hulk movie from a few years back.

That’s a lot for any movie to do – and that’s before you deal with any development for Tony and Pepper. From the looks of many reviews, it’s too much to some extent. Even Drew McWeeny admits that it may not be to everyone’s taste –

Both Captain America and Thor are overtly referenced in this film, and my guess is that we’re going to see these references work directly into the films that Marvel has in the works for next summer. It’s a fascinating gamble, and I talked to people after the film who were just annoyed by the whole thing, but I think it’s like watching part of a big, crazy mini-series.

The problem is that not everyone reads comics, not everyone understands that a big, crazy mini series can be a crapload of fun. And even comic readers know that for every big crazy mini series that’s a crapload of fun, you also get a Day of Vengeance.

The risk with any second movie in a comic movie franchise seems to be that the movie will try to do too much in the time it has, mistaking more for better. Here, I’d say that risk is compounded as it’s not trying to do too much on it’s own behalf, it’s also tying in threads and laying the ground work for at least four other movies past and present (Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) – and that’s without any potential spin-offs along the lines of Black Widow

Iron Man 2 will be a huge hit. I’ll go and see it opening weekend. I’ll buy the DVD. I would suspect that due to the goodwill from the first movie, it’s pretty much bulletproof when it comes to reviews unlike, say, The Losers.

I just think that Mighty Marvel Movie Universe may prove more a hindrance than a help to the individual movies comprising it if care isn’t taken.

Well. I guess that sorts out the whole ‘pity we didn’t get a front shot instead of her ass’ thing from yesterday…

Via

Good to see that Mickey Rourke’s unfortunately-attired Whiplash hasn’t made it onto the domestic poster for Iron Man 2, cementing my hope that his character isn’t going to be quite as major as we’ve been lead to believe (although Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer are also absent), but it’s Scarlett Johansson’s pose that has generated some discussion on Twitter.

Her Black Widow – looking back over her shoulder, allowing a generous profile and her ass (obscured as it is) to pointing towards the viewer – is, presumably, as Twyst notes, to show tits and ass at the same time.

It’s not an unsurprising choice. After all, Johansson has quite the figure and has been known to hold some kind of appeal to a certain demographic. Also, at the ripe old age of 37, Gwyneth Paltrow can clearly no longer appeal to that same demo.

Of more interest* than the improbably amalgamation of genetics that is Scarlett Johansson (and lord only knows what kind of hideous offspring she and Ryan ‘oh I seem to have lost my shirt’ Reynolds will produce), is the symbol on her shoulder.

I’d add another member to the roster for the Avengers movie. So that makes Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury and the Black Widow – and, if we can hope, the Hulk.

That’s going to be one expensive movie…
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*The fact that a SHIELD symbol is of more interest to me than pictures of Scarlett Johansson is pretty depressing, actually.

After yesterday’s look at the state of my DC pulls, it’s Marvel’s turn, what with the new solicits being up and all.

And the grand total of ongoing titles I’ll be picking up is…EIGHT – another incredibly low number for me. One of them is Amazing Spider-Man though, so I guess that counts as three which makes eleven titles, the others being Web of Spider-Man, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Young Allies, Deadpool, Deadpool Merc With A Mouth (ending in July) and Deadpool Team-Up.

There’s probably another post or two about my current Deadpool obsession, but at least I’m picking up Deadpool Corps in trade, okay?

So what happened to all the rest of the Marvel Universe?

Well my X-Men withdrawal is pretty well documented, but what I haven’t really mentioned before is that I’m out of the Avengers once everything comes to an end with Siege. It’s a tough decision for me, too, since Avengers has for a long time been hands down my favorite team book out there – and the Stern/Buscema reprints of the Sanctuary II saga and tie-ins to Secret Wars II in the UK weekly are what converted me to US comics in the first place.

But I’ve finally come round to the fact that these Avengers aren’t my Avengers. I’ve been dissatisfied with New Avengers for a while now as it limped from event to event; Mighty Avengers is ending; Dark Avengers was never going to last and just felt like Thunderbolts anyway, and Avengers The Initiative is done too. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll probably be picking up the trades but monthly-wise, I’m done.

Then there’s the cosmic books. With Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy both going on hiatus for the duration of The Thanos Imperative, I think I’ll move to trades for them too – and the big hardcover collections of the cosmic crossovers have been pretty impressive, so I’ll be getting the Thanos story in that format.

I’m waiting patiently for a great big Fall of the Hulks hardcover to be solicited containing the entire thing, so I’m not following the Hulk books right now, even if I’ve grown quite fond of Llyra in her appearances so far.

I was disappointed in the conclusion of Incredible Hercules – the Assault on New Olympus storyline felt rushed and packed with too many incidental characters that weren’t needed or didn’t add anything. I don’t believe Hercules to be gone for good, of course, but I don’t feel the need to follow Amadeus Cho into his own Prince of Power series, at least not in monthly installments.

Similarly, the relaunched Atlas holds limited appeal monthly as I found the last series read better when I read a few issues together. I haven’t picked up Thor since this volume began (but have already pre-ordered the JMS omnibus), and I won’t be starting now. I like Black Widow a lot, and I’m intrigued by her ongoing but, again, it’s a trades issue for me; same with the new iteration of Thunderbolts (which I dropped a while back anyway), and the new Hawkeye & Mockingbird series – I like the Reunion mini but it read better in one sitting than it did in single issues.

Iron Man I moved onto trades a few months back, Secret Warriors I dropped because I honestly believe it to be a very poorly written book (I know I’m in the minority there), and as a result I have very little interest in Shield. I’m sticking with Hickman’s FF only because it’s the Fantastic Goddamn Four, and I’ve been through a hell of a lot worse with them. Hickman’s big ideas are great, the execution not so much – and you know what no comic should have? A last text page telling you what happens at the end of the story. If it’s important to the story, put it in the story.

If there’s one thing I may get outside of these, it’s David Gallaher and Steve Ellis’ Darkstar and the Winter Guard mini – partly because I’m a big fan of both creators and partly because, you know, Ursa Major.

He’s a talking bear, people. A talking bear.

War Machine.

Black Widow.

Nick Fury.

Justin Hammer.

Suitcase armor.

Almost the silver centurion armor.

What’s not to like?

Well, maybe Mickey Rourke still…

Alright. I had my doubts, but they’re pretty much gone now.

I approve this casting.

Although Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash still looks kinda stupid…

Also in EW – Gwyneth Paltrow, presumably not as she’ll appear in the movie.

Although…Pepper Potts…

pics via and

It looks like Favreau may be close to casting his Black Widow.

According to Variety and EW, Emily Blunt may have snagged the role.

I’m okay with this, even if I’m not bowled over by it. I mean, I guess being an English Russian is better than being an American Russian, but it doesn’t beat being a Russian Russian, or even an Eastern European Russian, does it?

Unless this version of Natasha isn’t Russian, in which case I’ll just shut up now.

So with that little titbit about ‘Natasha’ being a character in the next Iron Man movie, I propose one of the following two ladies for the role:

Either…

Hilary Swank. She was rumored to cameo in the first movie back when it was shooting, she can kick ass, do comedy and, let’s face it, she’s a pretty good actress.

Or…

Olga Kurylenko. Because she’s Ukrainian and pretty and can handle action sequences. And she’s pretty.
Thoughts? Other options?

In comics, Hammer is much older than Stark, and is the head of Roxxon. He frequently (back in the eighties, it was virtually every other issue) employs supervillains in order to trash his enemies. More interestingly, he was also the man who first pushed Stark into alcoholism.

I smell casting disinformation – assistant indeed!