Avengers: Age of Ultron

[JorReno]

Anyone got confirmation on this Ant Man figure?

After that 'Spidey cameo', I'm not willing to trust anything...

 

[guy66657]

So is the scepter gem actually the mind stone? I have a couple wagers on that.

I don't want to know anymore than that. Feel free to PM me instead of posting it if you prefer.

Haha I'm pretty sure it was the mind gem from the beginning as to what Loki did with the scepter.

 

[YankeesFanboy]

Anyone got confirmation on this Ant Man figure?

After that 'Spidey cameo', I'm not willing to trust anything...

So that cameo was BS, huh? Well, that sucks.

 

[DasMuse]

Haha I'm pretty sure it was the mind gem from the beginning as to what Loki did with the scepter.

Yeah yeah yeah... I've heard it all before

The fact that it could control minds was the only thing it had going for it in that sense... All the other things it could do made me believe that it wasn't and shouldn't be. Also, I didn't think Thanos would give Loki a gem to retrieve another and then not find him and tear him in pieces for losing both... I donno, it just didn't make sense to me... Still doesn't, but whatever.

 

[Brainiac]

Haha I'm pretty sure it was the mind gem from the beginning as to what Loki did with the scepter.

This
I never doubted it He controlled their minds with it

 

[DasMuse]

This
I never doubted it He controlled their minds with it

Among many other things that the mind gem shouldn't be able to do. But I guess that's my fault for thinking it would be like it is in the comics. It never did any of that stuff in the comics, so I had no reason to believe it would do that in the movies.

 

[guy66657]

Among many other things that the mind gem shouldn't be able to do. But I guess that's my fault for thinking it would be like it is in the comics. It never did any of that stuff in the comics, so I had no reason to believe it would do that in the movies.

Yeah I get you. But I guess it's just powerful enough to be able to shoot beams and such. XD now what I never thought would be an Infinity Gem would be the Tesseract. Usually the cosmic cube can usually just do a **** ton of stuff but I guess they just turned it into the Space Gem for the movies. Which makes sense since Loki and Red Skull opened portals with them.

 

[DasMuse]

Yeah I get you. But I guess it's just powerful enough to be able to shoot beams and such. XD now what I never thought would be an Infinity Gem would be the Tesseract. Usually the cosmic cube can usually just do a **** ton of stuff but I guess they just turned it into the Space Gem for the movies. Which makes sense since Loki and Red Skull opened portals with them.

That one made sense to me, they kinda combined the cube and space gem from the comics as it has the abilities of both, It made sense story wise to combine them... But they went completely off the rails with the mind gem. But I could see how the original functions of the mind gem wouldn't really be of much use in the movies... I haven't seen AoU yet, so maybe it will make more sense to me after I see it.

 

[guy66657]

That one made sense to me, they kinda combined the cube and space gem from the comics as it has the abilities of both, It made sense story wise to combine them... But they went completely off the rails with the mind gem. But I could see how the original functions of the mind gem wouldn't really be of much use in the movies... I haven't seen AoU yet, so maybe it will make more sense to me after I see it.

Yeah man. I can't wait to see it next Thursday! I have some worries about it but I hope the good stuff in the movie outweighs that.

 

[KillKen]

Spoiler

I was going to wait and get the twins in their costumes next Avengers but since Quicksilver dies I guess I am getting this version LOL

I loved the movie but it just can't beat the first one seeing Cap give them all orders at the end.

 

[DasMuse]

Just got done listening to (most of) the soundtrack... I was really hoping the Avengers theme song from the first one would have a variation for this movie... I like the AoU theme though, I just like the one from the first movie better...The AoU theme sounds familiar as if I've heard it many times before and I can't figure out why.

 

[ronri]

I put this in the AOU movie thread but thought I'd share it here as well for those who have watched the film:

I really love how the movie handled Ultron's character. In all my years of reading comics of the guy, I honestly thought this film version is his best depiction by far. So I thought I'd put my little written piece here if anyone's curious...

Spoiler

I can’t get over how well the film had characterized Ultron’s inner frustrations as a newborn sentient life form who was suddenly tasked to find a solution to humanity’s never-ending violence. Ultron hated Tony Stark because he recognized how Tony and the Avengers held the very power and resources to carry out what he perceived to be the same task he was burdened with. When Ultron settled on a decision on how to achieve “peace”, he instantly felt betrayed by the fact that his “masters” were all killers in his eyes and had always contributed to the problem which he was tasked to solve at his very inception.

There’s something absolutely poetic about Ultron choosing the damaged Iron Legion drone as the base of his Mark I body. Ultron essentially characterized the Avengers being rejected by humanity, and sought to recreate humanity in his own idealized image. It’s why he was so focused on creating the perfect humanoid body, he sees himself as an all-knowing “god”-like figure who will serve as the next step to humanity’s evolution.

When Ultron’s plot of creating such a perfect form became moot, he opted for a more robust plan of essentially ending humanity the same way that dinosaurs did. And yet, when he saw the Avengers return with his “vision” fighting alongside them, he probably felt so betrayed and frustrated. Right in front of his eyes is the idealized version of what he was “meant” to be; his “vision” of himself. The Avengers took that away from him and to spite them, he felt more justified in utterly destroying humanity.

During his final moments, it’s revealed that many of Ultron’s frustration towards humanity comes from his own fear of death. He feared that humanity was destined to doom itself and he simply couldn’t have any of it. “I don’t want to die alongside these petty creatures”, he must have thought. His "vision” of himself was meant to be the solution to this. It would make him a beacon of hope; essentially becoming “proof” of how to conquer death itself. In the end, what was meant for him had suddenly become the Avengers’ ultimate weapon against him, and it was in those last moments that one could see how much this truly impacted Ultron when he was finally confronted with the reality of his failures. Vision recognized this truth as a fellow A.I. who possessed an affinity to preserve life, and though he deemed Ultron’s destruction as necessary, it was clear that he could sympathize with him.

The setting for Vision and Ultron’s final conversation couldn’t have been more fitting; behind Ultron was nothing but a crater, a symbol of the death and destruction he had caused. In stark contrast, behind Vision was a forest of trees.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I put this in the AOU movie thread but thought I'd share it here as well for those who have watched the film:

I really love how the movie handled Ultron's character. In all my years of reading comics of the guy, I honestly thought this film version is his best depiction by far. So I thought I'd put my little written piece here if anyone's curious...

Spoiler

I can’t get over how well the film had characterized Ultron’s inner frustrations as a newborn sentient life form who was suddenly tasked to find a solution to humanity’s never-ending violence. Ultron hated Tony Stark because he recognized how Tony and the Avengers held the very power and resources to carry out what he perceived to be the same task he was burdened with. When Ultron settled on a decision on how to achieve “peace”, he instantly felt betrayed by the fact that his “masters” were all killers in his eyes and had always contributed to the problem which he was tasked to solve at his very inception.

There’s something absolutely poetic about Ultron choosing the damaged Iron Legion drone as the base of his Mark I body. Ultron essentially characterized the Avengers being rejected by humanity, and sought to recreate humanity in his own idealized image. It’s why he was so focused on creating the perfect humanoid body, he sees himself as an all-knowing “god”-like figure who will serve as the next step to humanity’s evolution.

When Ultron’s plot of creating such a perfect form became moot, he opted for a more robust plan of essentially ending humanity the same way that dinosaurs did. And yet, when he saw the Avengers return with his “vision” fighting alongside them, he probably felt so betrayed and frustrated. Right in front of his eyes is the idealized version of what he was “meant” to be; his “vision” of himself. The Avengers took that away from him and to spite them, he felt more justified in utterly destroying humanity.

During his final moments, it’s revealed that many of Ultron’s frustration towards humanity comes from his own fear of death. He feared that humanity was destined to doom itself and he simply couldn’t have any of it. “I don’t want to die alongside these petty creatures”, he must have thought. His "vision” of himself was meant to be the solution to this. It would make him a beacon of hope; essentially becoming “proof” of how to conquer death itself. In the end, what was meant for him had suddenly become the Avengers’ ultimate weapon against him, and it was in those last moments that one could see how much this truly impacted Ultron when he was finally confronted with the reality of his failures. Vision recognized this truth as a fellow A.I. who possessed an affinity to preserve life, and though he deemed Ultron’s destruction as necessary, it was clear that he could sympathize with him.

The setting for Vision and Ultron’s final conversation couldn’t have been more fitting; behind Ultron was nothing but a crater, a symbol of the death and destruction he had caused. In stark contrast, behind Vision was a forest of trees.

I really don't want to read your spoiler as I haven't seen the film, but I really want to know your opinion of Ultron. I hope I can find this opinion again in a week.

 

[ronri]

I really don't want to read your spoiler as I haven't seen the film, but I really want to know your opinion of Ultron. I hope I can find this opinion again in a week.

While I'm still digesting the whole film (it felt equal if not better than the first Avengers), I thought that in terms of simply focusing one's attention to Ultron, I couldn't help but feel that they really did justice to his character.

 

[Ultron-7]

I put this in the AOU movie thread but thought I'd share it here as well for those who have watched the film:

I really love how the movie handled Ultron's character. In all my years of reading comics of the guy, I honestly thought this film version is his best depiction by far. So I thought I'd put my little written piece here if anyone's curious...

Spoiler

I can’t get over how well the film had characterized Ultron’s inner frustrations as a newborn sentient life form who was suddenly tasked to find a solution to humanity’s never-ending violence. Ultron hated Tony Stark because he recognized how Tony and the Avengers held the very power and resources to carry out what he perceived to be the same task he was burdened with. When Ultron settled on a decision on how to achieve “peace”, he instantly felt betrayed by the fact that his “masters” were all killers in his eyes and had always contributed to the problem which he was tasked to solve at his very inception.

There’s something absolutely poetic about Ultron choosing the damaged Iron Legion drone as the base of his Mark I body. Ultron essentially characterized the Avengers being rejected by humanity, and sought to recreate humanity in his own idealized image. It’s why he was so focused on creating the perfect humanoid body, he sees himself as an all-knowing “god”-like figure who will serve as the next step to humanity’s evolution.

When Ultron’s plot of creating such a perfect form became moot, he opted for a more robust plan of essentially ending humanity the same way that dinosaurs did. And yet, when he saw the Avengers return with his “vision” fighting alongside them, he probably felt so betrayed and frustrated. Right in front of his eyes is the idealized version of what he was “meant” to be; his “vision” of himself. The Avengers took that away from him and to spite them, he felt more justified in utterly destroying humanity.

During his final moments, it’s revealed that many of Ultron’s frustration towards humanity comes from his own fear of death. He feared that humanity was destined to doom itself and he simply couldn’t have any of it. “I don’t want to die alongside these petty creatures”, he must have thought. His "vision” of himself was meant to be the solution to this. It would make him a beacon of hope; essentially becoming “proof” of how to conquer death itself. In the end, what was meant for him had suddenly become the Avengers’ ultimate weapon against him, and it was in those last moments that one could see how much this truly impacted Ultron when he was finally confronted with the reality of his failures. Vision recognized this truth as a fellow A.I. who possessed an affinity to preserve life, and though he deemed Ultron’s destruction as necessary, it was clear that he could sympathize with him.

The setting for Vision and Ultron’s final conversation couldn’t have been more fitting; behind Ultron was nothing but a crater, a symbol of the death and destruction he had caused. In stark contrast, behind Vision was a forest of trees.

Can't argue with any of this, nice write up.

Now if only they get Thanos' character right as well for Infinity War

I want as many of these traits as possible to be shown.

Thanos is a genius, there’s really no other way to describe the incredible intellect possessed by the Mad Titan. He’s one of the most intelligent beings in all of Marvel and, on top of the fact that he’s incredibly powerful before he does any preparation (he’s super-strong, super-durable, telepathic, a highly powerful energy manipulator, can teleport through space and through dimensions and is practically immortal), he’s an exceptionally dangerous villain to deal with on a mental level.

But there's so much more to Thanos than just brawn. In fact, the very technology that he uses to augment his own powers to make himself such a huge threat to the universe was all created by the character himself. That said, he does have additional augmentation supplied by the likes of Lady Death and some magical means, but the majority of what Thanos can do stems from the fact that he made it so with his genius.
He can often be seen travelling around in his transportational space chair, which he created himself and which enables him to travel through space, erect powerful force fields, teleport across huge distances, travel through time and to alternate dimensions/universes.

He has also used manipulative means to gain access to a number of powerful items that have given him godlike powers.
When you have that level of intelligence on top of the kind of physical strength that allows you to physically manhandle the Hulk, you’re one dangerous individual.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I couldn't help but feel that they really did justice to his character.

That's great to hear, as I know how important his character is to you. I'm doubly excited now to see this, since I'm big on well-done 'villains'.

 

[ronri]

That's great to hear, as I know how important his character is to you. I'm doubly excited now to see this, since I'm big on well-done 'villains'.

I think what I really love is that it still feels like Ultron. They didn't have to go grim-dark or into super serious levels of terror like Heath Ledger's Joker for the sake of making him interesting. He was crazy irrational of course, but added with a touch of impulsiveness and dark humor in his mannerisms. It was appropriately, if not perfectly, how one would expect Ultron to be characterized in terms of personality and development, and that's what I really loved about it.

 

[Ultron-7]

I think what I really love is that it still feels like Ultron. They didn't have to go grim-dark or into super serious levels of terror like Heath Ledger's Joker for the sake of making him interesting. It was appropriately, if not perfectly, how Ultron should be characterized in terms of personality and development, and that's what I really loved about it.

You can really tell that Whedon understands the character and loves him. He is portrayed in the film in such a way that you can tell the writers know who the character is at all times, there's no indecisiveness like you get from some writers. I personally think this was the best portrayed Marvel villain yet, I mean I like Loki but deep down he's just a child who wants attention and to make dad proud.

I just hope whoever the writers are for Thanos understand who he is, and would love it they'd get Jim Starlin to consult on the films, nobody ever writes Thanos as well as him. All this new stuff without Starlin just doesn't feel as good. His older stories were almost magical to me, I would read before bed and have dreams of travelling through space as Thanos.

Kinda weird my favourite character ever is someone who wiped out half of all life in the universe...but he did it for love so it's not that bad

 

[ronri]

You can really tell that Whedon understands the character and loves him. He is portrayed in the film in such a way that you can tell the writers know who the character is at all times, there's no indecisiveness like you get from some writers. I personally think this was the best portrayed Marvel villain yet, I mean I like Loki but deep down he's just a child who wants attention and to make dad proud.

I just hope whoever the writers are for Thanos understand who he is, and would love it they'd get Jim Starlin to consult on the films, nobody ever writes Thanos as well as him. All this new stuff without Starlin just doesn't feel as good. His older stories were almost magical to me, I would read before bed and have dreams of travelling through space as Thanos.

Kinda weird my favourite character ever is someone who wiped out half of all life in the universe...but he did it for love so it's not that bad

Agreed entirely. I like Loki, but that has more to do with him being developed across multiple films and Hiddleston's charm. Even then, I liked Ultron more and I was really impressed with how much Whedon was able to put into his character all in one film.

I really hope they don't screw up Thanos. I'll be honest and say that while I'm not his biggest fan (preference-wise he's not my kind of villain), I do find that he's definitely one of the most interesting and philosophical enemies in the Marvel universe. In this regard, I recognize that they would really need a competent writer to properly characterize him. Considering how Whedon managed to pull off such an outstanding depiction of Ultron in one film, I can only hope that they do the same for Thanos, especially considering how he gets two films as the main villain.

 

[Ultron-7]

Agreed entirely. I like Loki, but that has more to do with him being developed across multiple films and Hiddleston's charm. Even then, I liked Ultron more and I was really impressed with how much Whedon was able to put into his character all in one film.

I really hope they don't screw up Thanos. I'll be honest and say that while I'm not his biggest fan (preference-wise he's not my kind of villain), I do find that he's definitely one of the most interesting and philosophical enemies in the Marvel universe. In this regard, I recognize that they would really need a competent writer to properly characterize him. Considering how Whedon managed to pull off such an outstanding depiction of Ultron in one film, I can only hope that they do the same for Thanos, especially considering how he gets two films as the main villain.

I guess a way to sum it up is, how you feel about Ultron is how I feel about Thanos Ultron is a close second but I have always preferred the cosmic orientated style of Thanos more. Loved it when Ultron was in Annihilation Conquest.