Ok my fellow geeks, time to roll up your sleeves and begin the scrutiny that only the internets can bring to bear. Below is the new trailer for Marvel’s The Avengers. Please watch it, then head on back to the next paragraph.
Ok, by now you have probably watched it a few times, and there are questions that will plague fans until they know the answers. The first and foremost: Who are the villains? Loki, obviously, but he is almost certainly not alone, otherwise Thor would just put a whoopin’ on him again. Based on hearsay, the history of the comic and the power of unsubstantiated rumors fluttering about the internet, the most likely suspects are the Skrull.
Even if that is true, that doesn’t explain how they are portrayed. Will they be the green skinned aliens with weird chins, or will they take after the Chitauri—the Skrull as seen in The Ultimates?
The reveal of the non-Loki enemies is a secret that Marvel will likely try to hold onto for as long as possible (pro tip: With the internet it won’t be too long until someone confirms it), but the other interesting aspect to the trailer is the relationship of the team. Short of people looking heroic while things blow up behind them, there wasn’t much sense of how the team will interact—with the notable exception of tension between Chris Evans’ Captain America and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.
So how will the team meld, both on and off the screen? Director Joss Whedon has experience with ensemble casts, but this movie is a first for anyone. Combining existing movie franchises that are themselves based on long standing properties–and making sure the stars are happy–could be tricky. We’ll have to wait until May 4, 2012 to see how it all comes together.
