Ultron Watch

The Internet was abuzz yesterday and subsequently let down.

Rewind a couple of months to the San Diego International Comic Con, July 26th 2014. Marvel held it's panel for yep, you guessed it, Avengers Age of Ultron. All the stars walked on stage minus Scarlett Johansson and we were introduced to Elizabeth Olen (Scarlet Witch), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver) and the voice of Ultron himself James Spader.  Scarlett Johansson who could not be there prerecorded a video and basically said "play it for them" (I'm probably paraphrasing). The lights went down and the audience was given a taste of Avengers Age of Ultron.

No, no one was supposed to record the video and online someone did post the audio; however in a room full of about 300 people cheering and being awestruck by what they were watching, one can guess it's not the best of quality.

That's it. Nothing else. For weeks everyone painstakingly (yours truly included) scoured the Internet for some remnant, some morsel of Ultron that we can bestow upon ourselves. Fake video after video reared it ugly head as if to mock us!

Guardians of the Galaxy would premier on August 1st and maybe it would be shown then.... only to be denied. Marvel cited "We wanted to make sure Guardians of the Galaxy had it's time in the light before the trailer would be released."

Someone who was at SDCC decided to make a fan video, cleaning up and re posting the audio and story boarding the entire trailer, much like was done for Ant Man from SDCC 2008. This was going to have to do until Marvel would finally unveil Age of Ultron to the world.
Then one day an image of Ultron from SDCC appeared online. One single solitude picture of Ultron that would slip. When I planned this blog post last night I searched for hours only to come up empty handed with that picture; as if someone went and cleaned up the Internet. It was gone. I happened to be searching though my phone pictures and then there it was, Ultron!

Alleged photo from Age of Ultron trailer.

Two days ago Disney officially released the synopsis of Avengers 2.

"“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."

Then yesterday, on Robert Downey Jr's FB page was this post.

"Seeing as how Tuesday is the most productive day of the week, I'll not decrease the efficiency. TOMORROW AM, however, I'll throw a surprise your way... "

That same day Mark Ruffalo released a small video on his instagram and tumblr where he simply stated "It's coming." (I've seen it although now it cannot be found.)

FINALLY! This was like a bad Hollywood Baby watch situation but now, with the synopsis released by Disney and two stars hinting at the coming of Ultron we were finally going to see what has been so hidden for months.

Yesterday Robert Downy Jr released the second trailer for his movie the Judge. The Internet wept in disappointment. Let down. After all this time, what seemed to be clues, we would still come up empty handed.

I went back to the drawing board. All of this had to be for naught. All these clues and missed opportunities with Guardians of the Galaxy, the DVD/Bluray release of Captain America Winter Soldier,  the DVD/Bluray release of Agents of SHIELD...... and then there it was. HOW could I have missed it!

ALL ABOARD THE AGENTS OF SHIELD TRAIN!!!

Agents of SHIELD! Agent's of SHIELD season 2 is set to premier on September 23rd 9pm EST. Season 1 had a great premier week but ratings fell fast. One thing season 1 did was every time a new movie trailer would come, it would premier during Agents of Shield. We got Thor 2 (as well as a few episode tie ins), Captain America 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Why would Age of Ultron be any different? Agent's of SHIELD needs to bring the fans back into the fold and with  the new direction they are taking it may not be enough. SOMETHING will have to make everyone watch. That something I believe is the Avengers Age of Ultron trailer. It's the perfect timing as Guardians of the Galaxy has had it's time and is out of most theaters and Agents of SHIELD will need the higher ratings to kick off. So I'm calling it, if not the first week, it will be the second week to bring watchers back as it may be teased during the credits after the show.

50 Years of the Avengers

"And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then—for now, the Avengers Assemble!"

—Prologue from The Avengers used in the 1970

Marvel comics was created out of Timely Comics (1939) in 1960 however it would not be for another 3 years in 1963 when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would bring "Earth's Mightiest Super-Heroes" together to form the Avengers. 

Avengers #1 first issued September 1st 1963 and was composed of Ironman, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Wasp, a little different line up than what we were given in Marvel's the Avengers movie showcasing Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow organized by Nick Fury. 

Just like in the movie the first issue brought forth the nefarious Loki God of Mischief / Evil. In both renditions Loki tricked the team into battling the Hulk however the movie used it as a plot point to set forth Loki's war for the Tesseract aka, the Cosmic Cube. 

Issue #2 we started to see the line up change as Ant-Man became Giant Man and the Hulk left the Avengers sensing that they feared his unstable persona. The search for the Hulk brought the Avengers into contact with Namor the Sub Mariner who in issue #4 would bring from the depths of the ocean the Avenger's most iconic leader, Captain America. 

Over the years the many different incarnations of the Avengers. 

The West Coast Avengers  was created by Clint Barton aka Hawkeye, who's roster comprised of  Mocking Bird, Wonder Man, Tigra and War Machine (believed to be Iron Man) in an attempt to branch out with the Avengers. 

The New Avengers title brought us some of our favorite Marvel Super Heroes as Avengers consisting of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider Man, Wolverine, and Spider Woman.

Shortly after Marvel's Secret Invasion with the Skrulls the Dark Avengers seemed to run havoc all over the Marvel Universe with virtually opposite of some of our favorite Avengers of past. We had Daken son of Wolverine, Mac Gargan as Venom in place of Spider Man, Bulls Eye in place of Hawkeye just to name a few and was run by none other than former Green Goblin Harry Osborn as the Iron Patriot. 

In the last 50 years the Avengers roster has come to include some of the worlds most famous super heroes and villains be they a human with an iron suit, a God, a mutant, an alien symbiotic suit, or simply a super soldier. There is no question as to how far this time will go and who they will recruit, the only question left is when will your favorite hero become one of them.  

-Nurd!

August 28th 1917 - February 6th 1994

Nurdgasmic would like to take a moment to honor the legendary Jack Kirby. He passed away on February 6th 1994 however would have been 96 on August 28th this year. Born Jack Kurtzberg, he was an American comic book artist and a veteran of WWII. With out you and your vision, not only for the Marvel Universe, comics would not be what they are today. We would be remiss on a day like to day talking about the Avengers and not mentioning you. Our world is now full of color with the characters that you helped create. Your work has inspired millions of would be aspiring comic artists. Thank you for your contributions in art and thank you for your service to your country. 

I still believe in heroes. -Nurd! 

Can Mutants Exist Inside the MCU?

Avengers 2 is set to begin filming early next year and amidst all the rumors and information coming out, two new characters will be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

Both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are owned under the movie film rights by Fox who owns the X-Men movie franchise, however bot characters have been deeply rooted into the Avengers for decades. Because of this Marvel also has the rights to use them in the MCU, with stipulations of course.

In order for both muties to appear in the MCU there cannot be any mention of them being mutants or of their father Magneto.

Both of these stipulations really strip apart who these two characters are. Everyone always wants to know how a character obtained their powers. In a mutant's case they were born with a change in their genetic sequence activating the "X" gene which is a mutation, hence mutant. As it was pointed out in X-Men 2 from Fox, the mutation is normally handed down by the father, in this case Magneto.

So on a broader scope, can mutants actually exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

The MCU seems to take heavy influence from Marvel's Universe 1610, better known as the Ultimate universe, for example changing Nick Fury to African American and using the Chitauri to invade Earth rather than the Skrulls.

Inside the 1610 universe Steven Rogers was not the first to undergo Project Rebirth and receive the super solder serum, it was two solders, African American Nicolas Fury and Canadian James Howlett. Sent to separate facilities Howlett was sent to a facility in Canada that would later be dubbed the Weapon X facility. While inside the Weapon X facility the Canadian government created a new mutated genome that would later spread across the globe giving us mutants. Howlett, aka Mutant Zero, would late be freed from the facility by another mutant Erik Lensherr, aka Magneto, who's parents co created the new genome giving rise to the mutants or also known as within the universe "super humans."

The MCU now has a way to describe mutants and provide a bit of an origin story for Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Simply both would be described as being super humans rather than mutants and can establish that, for lack of a better term, born that way. There is no need to mention Magneto being their father as both were adopted by a family of gypsies.

Bringing about "super humans" into the MCU, the universe will be that much bigger. Already filled with Gods and aliens the world will be a richer place for these characters to dwell, one that will feel like home with the fans, and it will be Marvelous!

-Nurd!

Peggy Carter Short At SDCC!

It looks like Peggy Carter will be reappearing during San Diego Comic-Con this year.

Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell will be resurfacing in a new Marvel short at this years SDCC. Haley Atwell was recently asked about her involvement in the Captain America movies and after being candid about Marvel's secrecy she had this to say;

 

 

 

 

 

 

"There’s been an online campaign for Peggy to be featured. People really liked her. So Marvel have made sure that as part of Comic-con there will be a little kind of snapshot as to what Peggy’s actually really capable of, which was finished here and which was great fun. Hopefully, it will lead to other things."

 

 

It's unknown if the short will take place before she met Steve Rogers's or after he crashed into the ocean. Either way what is for sure is that fan's haven't had enough of Peggy Carter.

 

Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier will not only include Peggy Carter, Steve Roger's wartime love interest, but also her younger sister Sharon Carter, Agent 13.

 

 

-Nurd!

Marvel Phase 2 Concept Art

With the Marvel's Phase One box set coming out today some Phase Two concept art is revealed. As of this point I am not certain if they are included with the box set; however either way, let's show them off!

???
This first one is a bit of a mystery. Speculation indicates that it is from Thor 2: The Dark World and if so, then this would be some of the first concept art that I have seen. With Iron Man 3 on the verge of coming out then it would make sense that we get to see some of the new Thor movie. In retrospect, since Thor is already filming I would believe this was for Thor IF we get some Iron Man artwork. It would only make sense. Other speculation is that this comes from Guardians of the Galaxy and that is my guess also.



Guardians of the Galaxy
I can't say enough how excited I am for this movie. This is not the first bit of concept art we are seeing for Guardians of the Galaxy but it is the first we are seeing of their ship. There isn't much to expand on here, it's a ship. Nuff' said. I do however speculate that we may see this ship in the end of Iron Man to help introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe this is some of that Iron Man 3 concept art pushing the above art to be Thor 2 artwork.

More Guardians
This picture is very reminiscent of the Cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope. This picture is VERY interesting. It's interesting for a couple reasons. One, we see Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Star Lord, and is that Gamora in blue skin? What's even more important is we see the scene filled and even interaction with other characters which means the universe is that much larger. We now know the Cinematic Universe is filled with more than what we've seen so far.

(Special nerd note, not only does this reminiscent of the Cantina scene, Star Lord in front right is also dressed in similar, if not very much the same, out fit from concept art for Han Solo and that of Luke Skywalker, originally called Star Killer.)

Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
At last some Captain America art and if anything, this is just pure joy for me. We see Chris Evans as Captain America squaring off with the Winter Soldier himself Bucky Barnes. This picture is somewhat telling also because Steve Rogers isn't in his which means if his attire doesn't change between this and the movie, then Winter Soldier is out to get Captain anytime anywhere. We also see sparks shooting out from the impact of Cap's shield and W. Soldiers bionic arm which means he packs a punch (no pun intended).

And just when you thought the info was gonna stop coming in I'm going to give you another morsel of goodness. Marvel studios is set to set up sharp in Pinewood - Shepperton at the end of this year and will begin filming Avengers 2 at the beginning of 2014! It's not confirmed who will be in the sequel and Marvel has already stated that not all Avengers from the first movie will make it into the second. While the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe changing and only a few additions (Guardians) I can't imagine we won't see all of Marvel's finest taking it to the mad Titan Thanos.


- Nurd!

Marvel Phase One - Avengers Assembled

Marvel Phase Two is here and Iron Man 3 hits theatres in just over a month but today Marvel releases the Phase One collectors.


The Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One - Avengers Assembled box set is the culmination of events leading up to forming the Avengers. Included in this set is the Blu-ray of all six movies since 2008 until current, dossiers,  exclusive movie memorabilia (INCLUDING A TESSERACT!), but also an exclusive bonus disc with an inside look at Iron Man 3 and Marvel's Phase Two.
 


Iron Man (2 May 2008)

Tony Stark is the complete playboy who also happens to be an engineering genius. While in Afghanistan demonstrating a new missile, he's captured and wounded. His captors want him to assemble a missile for them but instead he creates an armored suit and a means to prevent his death from the shrapnel left in his chest by the attack. He uses the armored suit to escape. Back in the U.S. he announces his company will cease making weapons and he begins work on an updated armored suit only to find that Obadiah Stane, his second in command at Stark industries has been selling Stark weapons to the insurgents. He uses his new suit to return to Afghanistan to destroy the arms and then to stop Stane from misusing his research.






The Incredible Hulk (13 June 2008)

Depicting the events after the Gamma Bomb. 'The Incredible Hulk' tells the story of Dr Bruce Banner, who seeks a cure to his unique condition, which causes him to turn into a giant green monster under emotional stress. Whilst on the run from military which seeks his capture, Banner comes close to a cure. But all is lost when a new creature emerges; The Abomination.











Iron Man 2 (7 May 2010)

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances - and confront powerful enemies











Thor (6 May 2011)

The warrior Thor (Hemsworth) is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard by his father Odin (Hopkins) for his arrogance and sent to Earth to live among humans. Falling in love with scientist Jane Foster (Portman) teaches Thor much-needed lessons, and his new-found strength comes into play as a villain from his homeland sends dark forces toward Earth.











Captain America: The First Avenger (22 July 2011)

It is 1942, America has entered World War II, and sickly but determined Steve Rogers is frustrated at being rejected yet again for military service. Everything changes when Dr. Erskine recruits him for the secret Project Rebirth. Proving his extraordinary courage, wits and conscience, Rogers undergoes the experiment and his weak body is suddenly enhanced into the maximum human potential. When Dr. Erskine is then immediately assassinated by an agent of Nazi Germany's secret HYDRA research department (headed by Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull), Rogers is left as a unique man who is initially misused as a propaganda mascot; however, when his comrades need him, Rogers goes on a successful adventure that truly makes him Captain America, and his war against Schmidt begins.




Avengers (4 May 2012)

Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster.










-Nurd!               

New Avengers Trailer

Today the new Avengers trailer came out and it is fantastic! There's about 95% brand new footage in the new trailer.

In the trailer we kind of get an idea about how everything comes together for the Avengers and we also get a good look at the mobility of Loki's new army.

Rather than here me go on and on about it though, enjoy.






Awesome isn't it?

Now up until this point we have not actually seen the Redacted leading up to my assumption that we may not actually see them in an on screen form until the movie actually comes out to theatres. 

The movie releases on May 4th so we might get another trailer for the Avengers before then. If we don't, this is it people. I hope your ready. I am.

"I still believe in heroes." - Nick Fury

-"Nurd" Pat!

NYTF Action Figure Fridays

Welcome everyone to the first installment of "Action Figure Friday" and what a way to start it than with today being the opening day for the Anual New York Toy Fair? This weekend I will be bringing to you some of that very toy fair here, on Nurdgasmic!

Some of the first items I've been seing from the New York Toy Fair (NYTF) is a board game, but not just any board game, its the Avengers Mighty Battle brought to us by Jakk's Pacific.

From the looks of the game it appears to be our typical marble shooting board game in which we get to choose one if the Avengers, either Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America (my choice), or Iron Man. Launch weapons! Blast enemies!

This is pretty much what I would assume a board game marketted for the summer blockbuster would be.

What is note worthy here folks is this is possibly the first time we will get to see who the villians of the Avengers are in the movie, allegedly. In the movie Loki brings his army to Earth in order to rule all of Midgard, or Earth, for those needing a refresher. Speculation has always been his army would be the skrulls; however rumors depict that Marvel did not have rights to use the Skrulls as the rights to the characters have already been swooped up by another film company. The alien race would be known as the Redacted, a variation of the Skrull race.

Now if you ask me these guys look pretty skrull like. Thats what I say with my fan based, expert opinion. So are these the Skrulls? Are they the alien race known as the Redacted? Or are the skrulls used in the board game since merchandise would be available proir to the films release as a way to conceal the look of the Redacted? As of this point we can not know for sure. One thing I do know for sure is that Skrull and Redacted alike, know and fear two words, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

-"Nurd" Pat!

Images borrowed from MT Geek.
http://geek-news.mtv.com/tag/toy-fair-2012/