“‘AVE Sum Of That!”: Avengers: Infinity Rave

So This Is It? It’s All Been Leading To This:

Trust Brad To Concoct Something To Relieve The Boredom Of That Infinite Cinema Queue Tonight…

“Fun isn’t something one considers when balancing the universe. But this…

…does put a smile on my face” – Thanos.

ASSEMBLE!

In an old abandoned ware’ouse...

“I would have been first in line to see The Avengers, so to be on an Avengers film set as a 21-year-old is surreal,” says Tom Holland, in his mo-cap jimjams (‘cos he sports an upgraded Spidey-suit in Avengers: Infinity War). 

Considering how this 21-year-old has been spouting Spidey-spoilers on social media, his comments have been scrutinised ever-so-closely here @ this site…

“We’re just not allowing him to see the film,” his directors, the Russo brothers, joked.

Trust the Master of Media Arts himself: Benedict “Doc” Cumberbatch to leap to Spider-Boy’s defence: “There is this new, sort-of anti-social media cloak – we’re just going to throw it over him…” 

In case you’ve been wondering what helped me compile  so much Avengers-related movie and comic material into these Marvel-ous Posts, here’s what yours truly has been listening – and grooving – to recently:

 

 “We have one advantage: He’s coming to us… so that’s what we use” – Tony Stark.

“I’ve never felt like a fan as much as I have on these films,” exclaimed Chris Hemsworth. 

“Like meeting the Guardians [of the Galaxy] as Thor, but also as Chris, was equally as exciting and new, and it brought in a whole different energy-” 

By the blessed mixtape of Starlord! That’s it!! 

The key word here is energy. 

For me, the behind-the-scenes interviews and suchlike have become irresistible, because the tremendous fun and camaraderie enjoyed by the cast flies in the face of the seemingly grim and morose tone with which we will have to handle this closing chapter of the MCU’s Phase 3. 

“…Especially these last few days,” Chris continued. “We’ve had just about every member of the Marvel Universe on the set.”

Enjoy it. While it lasts…

“When you said you were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world, this is not what I imagined” – Okoye.

“I won’t say where we are,” the other Chris (Pratt) offered enigmatically, “but the first frame of seeing [The Guardians], people will be on their feet. I’m not just saying that because of how great we are, although we are great, and I guess I am pretty cocky, but the way it’s executed really works.” 

Filming with ol’ Shellhead on his first day for Infinity War, what must it have been like sharing scenes with the great Robert Downey Jr. – the star who got this unprecedented MCU franchise going in such awesome fashion a whole decade ago?!

“Man, he set a really amazing tone… He really takes care of the actors around him in a way I’ve never seen before…

“When I first arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Downey was the first to call and tell me:

“Hey man, welcome. If there’s anything you need, I will help. There are so few people on the planet who are going through what you’re going through right now. I have, so I’m here… 

“Anything you need, you let me know.'”

Let’s have a party! 🙂

Okey-dokey, LIFT those knees, boys! Hup, hup, HUP!

Bucky Barnes: “You couldn’t have done that earlier?”

The Falcon: “I hate you…”

Most of you will be watching this EPIC tonight (Thursday night). Here in th UK, the first screenings commenced @ midnight(!) this morning.

And already…

One ecstatic blogger has posted their Review and – although stating there would be NO Spoilers, in the very next sentence(!) – bally well gives away this epic’s first major dramatic plot-point!!

Still, with my legendary storytelling wits, kinda surmised that THAT would happen anyway… …

In the remaining hours before this next life-changing event in our lives, this boy will retreat into his bubble. Absolutely NO social media. (Ha! Like most days, then). Only immerse myself in the beats – and they keep on comin’. 

This classic track, dear friends, is one of my Desert Island Discs…

Off and on, Brad trawled through YouTube for years searching. And searching again. Found it a few weeks ago – it’s only been up for the last four years! Must get Shuri to upgrade the ol’ Bradmonitor. 

Blimey! If Thanos should ever need a theme tune…

A pounding, pulsating pile-driver – not unlike the Mad Titan’s right hook: 

 

“Alright, Guardians, don’t forget this might be dangerous, so let’s put on our mean faces” – Peter Quill.

“THE MELODY IS PLEASANT” – Gamora. 

As the first reviews filter through and are – as expected – overwhelmingly positive, minds blown and jaws dropped right across the ‘net, there is no reason to fret anymore. Always knew this movie was in safe – and highly competent – hands. 

My only concern: how mentally exhausting will these 160 minutes be? How many tears will be shed…?

Never has the term: “Expect the unexpected” sounded so apt. As Stan Lee (how and where will his cameo fit into all this?!) used to say: Be prepared, pilgrims… 

Looking forward to reading all YOUR Reviews! 

As is my unceasing habit – let me close with a suitably-groovy story:

That distinguished Englishman In New York: Benedict Cumberbatch was – as you well know – chased to participate in the MCU. 

“We want you to play Doctor Strange!” the studio execs enthused.

“Doctor Who?” Bennybatch frowned.

“YAYEAH! That would be awesome too, Benny-baby! But let’s do the MCU first!” 😉

Yeah, “baby”, LET’S…!

Thor: “IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!”

Captain America: “You had to ask…”  

“I’m listening… …” – Loki. 

 

“I Have A Plan. Attack!”: Prepare for War!

Time To Suit Up For ALL-OUT AWESOMENESS…

“Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they’d like to disclose? I’m open to suggestions” – Iron Man. 

“The threat has risen to a new level – which is really saying something,” says Robert Downey Jr.

It really is!

Considering how Rob’s first outing as Iron Man – released ten years ago next week – started this whole delirious, but irresistible, MCU malarkey that has culminated in Avengers: Infinity War – just DAYS away now(!)

It has been an absolutely spectacular decade, watching this particular Universe develop. Thankfully in all the right places.

How’s it been, Rob?  

“…It’s been the Ben-Hur of the MCU, for sure. This is huge, isn’t it? It is HUGE.”

And impossible to disappoint… right?

This Enhanced Individual Convention is arguably – creatively, logistically, budgetary – not only Marvel Studios’ BIGGEST movie, but the GRANDEST superhero epic ever (ahem) assembled. In this camp, there are no doubts that all elements will work, for writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen Freely and directors Anthony and Joe Russo – responsible for the amazing Captain America trilogy – are in charge here.

When asked how high the stakes are, Freely offers: “Is the universe high enough for you?” 

This is only the largest event movie. Ever!

Expect to see just about all the Avengers we’ve come to know so far. And the supporting characters from their respective solo movies. PLUS the Guardians Of The Frickin’ Galaxy! AND Fields overflowing with Wakandan warriors! 

As the younglings are wont to say these days, it’s only gonna be FUCKIN’ AWESOME!!

Soz, Cap…

 

“Humans… They are not the cowering wretches we were promised. They stand. They are unruly, and therefore cannot be ruled. To challenge them is to court… death” – Chthon.

“This is the biggest film of all time,” says Benedict Cumberbatch.

You can trust him. He’s a Doctor. 

That colossal third-act battle – teased tantalisingly in the trailers – breaks out across Wakanda, because the sixth, as yet unseen, Infinity Stone languishes there, right?! 

Normally, my journalistic instinct is to uncover every juicy, spoilersome nugget of info from each major movie, but considering the scale and ambition of this EPIC, who knows what will transpire?!

Yes, so good to see Chadwick Boseman return as King T’Challa: The Black Panther – Cool. Charismatic. AND GET THIS MAN A SEQUEL! As Black Panther has become the first non-Stark MCU movie to pass a billion dollars worldwide, quite clearly, Wakanda‘s finest will be the new figurehead for the new Phase going forward.

Considering the xtreme measures taken to protect certain plot-points, it comes as no surprise to learn that Chris Evans was one of the few members of the enhanced ensemble to receive a complete script.

“The majority of people on set are like, ‘So what are we doing today?’ The Russos have to give a loose description of what’s happening. I didn’t complain. I was just like, ‘I need to know what’s going on! Give me a fucking script!'”

Uff, LANGUAGE!

“That’s not going away anytime soon…” – Captain America.  

Behold! Earth’s Mightiest Boy-Band: N-Hanced…

 

Thor: “I thought humans were more evolved than this.” 

Nick Fury: “Excuse me, did we come to YOUR planet and blow stuff up?” 

“You could call this movie: Avengers: Thanos if you wanted to,” says Stephen Freely. “He is the main character.”

“The movie is told from his point of view,” Anthony Russo explains, discussing Josh Brolin’s performance. “It’s a very complicated character. He’s at times despicable and horrifying, and at other times oddly empathetic.”  

“He’s an exceedingly difficult character to beat. He’s stranger than the Hulk – he’s a force of nature. He is a conqueror of worlds.” 

The next statement intrigued me the most. 

“He doesn’t have a weakness, and that’s what makes him so threatening.”

How the Avengers can prevail against such an indefatigable foe, will certainly make for intriguing viewing. Having been in awe of Thanos over these past two years of Bronze Age explorations, seeing this big threat marching across the big screen will probably be quite a dewy-eyed experience as well…

“It really is mind-blowing…” adds Joe Russo, “…how sensitive a performance we can translate into a CG character now, and how much of Josh’s performance is in that character.”

Yep, sounds like all concerned know how to handle the Mad Titan here.

AND that we are all going to have to rearrange our Top 5 Movie Villains charts…

“Conflict breeds catastrophe…” – The Vision. 

“We heve not had any special death requests,” McFeely stated, confirming that he and co-writer Markus had “free reign to kill off whomever the story dictated should go.”

“It’s a cocktail of emotions,” was how Evans summed it up.

So many bloggers have speculated as to which of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will fall in this big showdown. Yes, much must be risked in War, but you KNOW how Brad prefers to concentrate on the positive, hopefully life-affirming, textured-sponge-with-a-creamy-filling things in life, so no morbid discussions to round off this particular blog-post, ta very much! 

Plan to watch The Movie Of The Decade this weekend having avoided – for once – all rumours, leaked clips, TV spots and what-have-you. Just looking forward to finding out what this jaw-dropping spectacle has to offer.

We began with Rob Downey Jr. – is it with him where it will all end…? Well, let’s close with him here anyway, speaking highly about IW’s lead actor: Josh Brolin.

“I love him,” Downey leads the praise, having known each other for thirty years, and so happy to see him become a solid participant in the MCU. “Brolin doesn’t take himself seriously, but there’s a lot of weight in how he’s portraying this guy. We literally are all a little bit scared when he’s done cracking wise and steps into it. 

“Get ready… the Brolin Effect is coming.”

“I hope they remember you…” – Thanos. 

 

Earth’s Mightiest Back Issues!: My Five Favourite Avengers Stories

Just Can’t Get Enough – Another Post On Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!

“It’s almost time! I’m not going to enjoy conducting this Membership Review – but I really have no choice! I’m the leader of this outfit! It’s my job – my responsibility to make the Avengers the most effective fighting force possible!” – Captain America.  

First of all, apologies for the yawning gap since my last Post, but really, how do you follow Thanos?!

Seriously though, that Review fell flat; none of the fiction is working; and the less said about that hi-brow essay on transdimensional engineering the better… sheesh!

My writing reached such a low point that over the four-day Easter weekend, my creative faculties switched instead to sketching. Might as well have carried on with all that incessant partying throughout the week following my birthday if one knew how lousy the upkeep of this blog would turn out!

Bah!

Sheer bally exhaustion.

Nothing else can explain how – over this past few weeks – half a dozen posts were worked on before being discarded, falling unbelievably weeeell below the usual Bradtastic standard you have come to expect here. Even this little concoction – an easy-peasy piece that should only have taken a few hours to compile – ended up in development-hell for several days; where oh where can you get the stamina these days…?! 

Anyways, will spare you the torrid tales of mishaps and miseries. Just reckoned it best to escape into the myriad majesties of Marveldom. 

Thought this topic might be quite timely… 

Read on, True Believers! 

“It’s some sort of unearthly inhuman vision-! And that voice… like something from beyond the grave…!” – Wasp.  

Ever since catching sight of that supercool yellow and green fella on the cover of Marvel UK’s first issue of Marvel Superheroes (September 1979) The Vision has been my favourite Avenger. Naturally, the tale of his origins became much sought after. 

This synthozoid made his debut in The Avengers #57 “Behold… The Vision!” (October 1968) – a veritable star-studded super-saga! As these Silver Age ishs are so hard to come by – especially at affordable rates – the ultracheap Marvel UK reprints make suitable alternatives. The Avengers Weekly #84-85 (April-May 1975) carries this epic. 

This story also featured Hank Pym in one of his most decisive roles as he fought his errant creation, that classic antagonist: Ultron.

Despite The Vision being used by the mad robot  to lure The Avengers into his trap, the team still accept him as a new member, hence that iconic panel (see below!)

Written by the irrepressible Roy Thomas, this ish turned out to be a John Buscema masterclass.

The Vision: “You accept me… though I’m not truly a human being?”

Hank Pym: “Is a man any less human because he has an artificial leg… or a transplanted heart? The five original Avengers included an Asgardian immortal… and a hreen-skinned, tormented behemoth! We ask merely a man’s worth… not the accident of his condition!”  

 

“The Grey Gargoyle turned my armor into stone, but not the man inside it. Other than a heck of an itch on my nose, I’m as good as new. DD and I’ll be fine… so long as Central Park’s pigeon population doesn’t find us!” – Iron Man. 

The Avengers: drawn by John Byrne?! 

What a delectable proposition!

Indeed, The Avengers #191 (January 1980) – written by then-regular scripter: David Michelinie – proves to be an irresistible ish.

Iron Man and Daredevil have been turned to stone by the Grey Gargoyle, who has wrought havoc in downtown Manhattan; he fights The Avengers and WINS! He returns to his old apartment, to collect chemicals to augment his powers, only to discover that the new tenant has thrown them out! 

Thank goodness The Falcon turns up to battle the wrath of the Gargoyle, holding him off until the regrouped Avengers can show up. Scarlet Witch uses her hex power to turn him back into flesh and blood. 

And the title of this Bronze Age extravaganza? 

“Back To The Stone Age.”

Groovy… 

“Hah! It’s at times like this that I wonder how people can call you the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!” – The Grey Gargoyle.

 

The Avengers #194 “Interlude!” (April 1980) makes it into this survey ‘cos of George Perez’s art.

Having done such an impressive job on Man-Wolf, a stint on this series sounded too cool to miss!

Just before an official meeting, a frightened and dishevelled man named Selbe turns up at Avengers Mansion pleading for protection. Shady officials arrive, claiming the man has escaped from the “Solomon Institute for the Criminally Insane,” so have to turn him over.

On the point of resuming their meeting, The Avengers realise that Wasp is missing, having followed the officials back to this alleged institute…

This ish featured in one of my Bronze Age Bonanzas – lookee here:

And, yes yes yes, it’s another showcase to present The Vision’s extraordinary powers. That double spread on pages 12-13 is quite stupendous. 

Did you know he’s my fave Avenger? 😉

Actually, #195 looks live a real jaw-dropper, as it features a guest-star appearance by The Taskmaster! (Not surprisingly, this is one of the most difficult ishs to find – Brad‘s not gonna give up any time yet!)

“They didn’t even notice me… didn’t count me! Was it an oversight? Or had everyone already made up their minds that I would be one of those eliminated…? I am nothing to them! They do not want me here!” – Jocasta. 

 

“Bah! That the Son of Odin must so proclaim himself-! Are there no heralds about? Nay… never when thou needest one! Still, I wonder… if chosen to remain will I choose to do so?” – Thor. 

The Avengers #211 “…By Force Of Mind!”  (September 1981) is integral to this survey.

Originally picked up @ a Comics Fair in 1990, this happened to be my very first Avengers ish. Moreover, it marks my introduction to the astonishing artistic talent that was Gene Colan. 

Now, it does not contain a particularly dramatic story – it is, however, the ish in which the Cap decrees that there can only be SIX members on the team, not eight. There are guest-stars aplenty: Hawkeye, Black Widow, Moon Knight, Dazzler, Iceman, Tigra et al, all brought to the Avengers Mansion at the dodgy hypnotic instigation of Moondragon, to test their suitability to join.

Thus, The Vision and his wife: The Scarlet Witch decide to leave the Mansion; even The Beast and Wonder Man decided to call it quits!

Moreover, Page 3 of this ish has always been one of my favourites:

“…I’m leaving! Wondy and I had a talk this morning… You know, I used to be a scientist! I used to habe a future besides my next gag and tomorrow night’s date! I want to see if there’s anything left of Hank McCoy besides a “blue-furred buffoon”!” – The Beast.

 

“I remembered that a human being can survive for a few seconds in the vacuum of space, so I turned physical… and cut loose with my power blast! The reaction force sent me flying backward… but I managed to regain light form, just as the torpedo slammed into another orbital generator!” – Captain Marvel.   

“Understand, our once-proud empire now lies in shambles. Several of your months ago, the world devourer Galactus came to the imperial throneworld. 

“And on the heels of this shocking news, chaos and rebellion spread throughout the galaxy. 

“Amid this insanity rose a great mercenary army. Its warriors were outcasts of a thousand worlds from this galaxy and others. And its leader is a she-demon who calls herself Nebula. 

“World after world fell before Nebula’s forces. She knew no defeat…” 

The Avengers #259!

Look at that cover! “On the side of… the Skrulls!”?

Preposterous!

Nevertheless, this startling cover did direct me to one of the most stiking ishs of John Buscema’s second classic stint on this series.

“Duty Over All” (Septamber 1985) continues the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – in this case: the Cap, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Hercules, the Black Knight and Starfox – opposition to Nebula: treacherous she-devil daughter of dreaded Thanos – only introduced in ish #257. 

She poses such a gargantuan threat to the galaxy that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes must band together with their sworn enemies: the Skrulls – yes! The Skrulls! Even Firelord couldn’t believe/accept that monstrous fact either!!

Scintillating! Exciting! Nebula is sooo awesome here – makes you realise how wasted her character has been in the MCU thus far…

THAT’S IT!

This list may yet change as other classic ishs permeate the Bradscribe Collection. 

But come ON, friends! This Post has been completed. And Published!

Surely – after all this writer’s been through this past month – this simple feat calls for a celebration, albeit a textured-sponge-with-a-creamy-filling one. 😉

Cheers!

 

“No one tells me what I “must” do…! Have all stations made battle-ready! And make certain that everyone knows… we will take no prisoners!” – Nebula.