Well several films have brought together a team of heroes that all us comic geek and superhero lovers know so well. Are you ready for this as much as I am?

So Marvel really did these right in my opinion.  Not only did they give each of the characters in this team movie their own film to kick them off, they also built the various films with little hidden nods to the fans and their other movies.  Watching Ironman you get to see cap’s shield in both his films.  Plus if you wait till after the credits on the films you get little scenes teasing the next film in the series.

• The end of Ironman shows a tip of the hat to the Avengers movie itself and we are introduced to Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury.
• The Incredible Hulk ends with a clip showing Tony Stark walking into a bar with General Thunderbolt Ross saying, “We’re putting together a team.”.
• Then they released a second Ironman and it ends with Agent Coulson finding Thor’s hammer in the dessert.
• Thor credits are followed with the discovery of the Cosmic Cube and hints at its history and connection to Captain America.
• Captain America’s film ends with a scene in which they bring all the clues together with Nickolas Fury telling Steve Rogers that it’s time to ‘assemble the team.’

Also within the movies there are subtle and not so subtle nods to the various other characters of the Marvel universe.  In the Hulk movie for example, they build Hulks villain the Abomination with a combination of attempted remade super soldier serum and Banner’s gamma irradiated blood, an obvious nod to Captain America, Emil Bronsky even says “Super Soldier” at one point talking about the development of the serum.  They also introduce Leonard Sampson who in the comics is later Doc Sampson.  There is a tag on the “CryosinC” canister where Gen. Ross gets the serum for Emil Blonski’s first enhancement procedure that says, “Developed By: Dr Reinstein” but the other thing you may not notice is the company logo “Stark Industries” on the tag.  There is the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Division logo when they are searching the web looking for clues as to where Banner may be.  Then after Blonski is turned into the Abomination, the blood from banner drips down and onto Dr Samuel Stern’s head wound beginning a transformation that we don’t get to see through to its creation due to the scene changing.  That transformation of course alluding to the Leader, one of Hulks longest running and most antagonistic arch nemesis.

Image from http://www.bleedingcool.com

Little ‘Easter eggs’ such as these are found throughout all the films leading up to next summer’s “The Avengers”.  Some of the side characters within the various films will be making an appearance in The Avengers as well.  Characters such as Black Widow from Ironman 2 and Hawkeye from Thor.  Of course we know Nicholas Fury and agent Coulson will be there too.  They have shown Loki will be in the movie trailers and online pictures, but I have to wonder if that will be the only bad guy in there.

I find that Marvel’s movies were being done perfectly before they were bought out by Disney.  Now if Disney will let them retain the ability to continue making films as they were then things will be fine.  But if they insist on making everything family friendly and putting lots of little kid like characters in the films or changing damn to darn and hell to heck and what not… well things aren’t going to be as popular as they were with the comic fans for sure.

I wish all the contracts Marvel had signed giving rights to their characters over to other studios for movies would run out.  Marvel could then run all their films under one studio and have the ability to let Wolverine show up and fight side by side with Captain America, or Daredevil cameo in the next Spiderman, or even use Punnisher in the next Blade movie.

What other Marvel characters I’d like to see run in movies?  Well Daredevil needs a good one obviously, but there’s supposedly one in the works.  We’ll have to wait and see what happens with it, hopefully it deals with the Hand ninja and Stick guiding DD and his other students the Chaste.  I would like to see, and heard rumor about, a Dr Strange movie.  Hope the story is as good or better than the animated one they made a while back and that it keeps its distance from that made for tv crap they did way back in the late 70′s.  Also it would be fun to see them bring out some of their lesser well known heroes for a film or two.  Something like “Heroes for Hire” and maybe “Master of Kung Fu:Shang Chi “.  They introduced the Silver Surfer in the second Fantastic Four movie, lets see a movie about “Marvel: Cosmic Powers” including Silver Surfer, Morg, Beta Ray Bill, Quasar, FireLord, Warlock, Nova, and maybe Nova, they could cross Hulk’s Warbound group in there.  Of course all these are just off the top of my head.  Given time I’m sure I could come up with lots more.

Regardless, I hope for the best and will see whether it meets expectations or falls on its super powered butt come next May.