Les Jones

“Ultimate Avengers” and the Marvel Comics Movie Roadmap

Friday, December 18th, 2009 | A&E, Comic Books |

A few months ago I read the first two tradebooks of “The Ultimates” comic books, which is a modern re-imagining of The Avengers and their origin story. The Ultimates seems to be the roadmap Marvel is using for their new superhero movies, including Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and The Avengers. If you read “The Ultimates” you can get a roadmap of where the movies are going.

Example. If you’re a comic book fan you’ve seen the Iron Man movie by now. If you stayed past the credits you saw Nick Fury talk to Tony Stark about joining the Avengers. In the traditional Marvel universe Nick Fury is a white dude who is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. In “The Ultimates” S.H.I.E.L.D. head honcho Nick Fury is a black dude who looks like Samuel L. Jackson. In the Iron Man movie S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury is a black dude who looks like Samuel L. Jackson because he is Samuel L. Jackson, bitches!

Another example. In the traditional Marvel universe Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk while experimenting with gamma radiation. In “The Ultimates” Banner becomes the Hulk while experimenting with the effects of radiation on the Super Soldier formula that created Captain America. The Incredible Hulk movie with Edward Norton as Banner hews closer to the Ultimates origin story.

Here are a couple of plot points from “The Ultimates” that may or may not make their way into the new Marvel movies:

• S.H.I.E.L.D. and its leader Nick Fury are intertwined with The Avengers from the beginning of the group’s founding. This one seems to be a slam dunk after the Iron Man movie.
• Thor isn’t the same person he was in the traditional Marvel universe. I can’t say anything else without spoiling the comic book (and possibly the movie) so as they say in Marvel Comics, ’nuff said.
• Henry Pym is an even bigger bastard than before.
• Iron Man is paired up with Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2). After the Wasp breaks up with Henry Pym she and Captain America start dating.

Previously - Iron Man 2 Trailer

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