The Avengers thread(may contain spoilers)

[Johnny Unusual]

Either way, if he had just stayed at the end of Thor or when he gets brought back at the end of The Avengers, he is still a prisoner.

For now, until the next part of the plan that Thanos was smiling about is set in motion.

To be fair, it might not be so much a "next part" as "Death's gonna happen if I go there?  SWEET!"  The dude loves death.

Of course, whether Earth was his prime goal or simply just another planet to take, he's really got to be gunning for it if he wants to get the Mind Gem back that was part of the staff thingy.  Does that mean he has all the other Infinity Gems or was he conquering Earth so he could find the last one hidden on Earth?

[Darth Geek]

Either way, if he had just stayed at the end of Thor or when he gets brought back at the end of The Avengers, he is still a prisoner.

For now, until the next part of the plan that Thanos was smiling about is set in motion.

To be fair, it might not be so much a "next part" as "Death's gonna happen if I go there?  SWEET!"  The dude loves death.

Of course, whether Earth was his prime goal or simply just another planet to take, he's really got to be gunning for it if he wants to get the Mind Gem back that was part of the staff thingy.  Does that mean he has all the other Infinity Gems or was he conquering Earth so he could find the last one hidden on Earth?

I thought the Gauntlet had them all on it? And it's on Asgard.

Also, Earth should not be a priime goal of a celestial being like Thanos.

[LucasM]

Either way, if he had just stayed at the end of Thor or when he gets brought back at the end of The Avengers, he is still a prisoner.

For now, until the next part of the plan that Thanos was smiling about is set in motion.

To be fair, it might not be so much a "next part" as "Death's gonna happen if I go there?  SWEET!"  The dude loves death.

Of course, whether Earth was his prime goal or simply just another planet to take, he's really got to be gunning for it if he wants to get the Mind Gem back that was part of the staff thingy.  Does that mean he has all the other Infinity Gems or was he conquering Earth so he could find the last one hidden on Earth?

I thought the Gauntlet had them all on it? And it's on Asgard.

Also, Earth should not be a priime goal of a celestial being like Thanos.

I think you are right, that the Gauntlet was 'full' in Odin's stash, though Johnny Unusual's thought that what was in the scepter was the mind gem would've made sense.  [I thought how in The Avengers Whedon's camera shot, panning over the scepter until the shot of the arguing group was upside-down, was superb: showing that the mere presence of the scepter was mentally/emotionally turning the heroes upside-down.]

And yeah, conquering Earth per se, not a goal, but having over 6 billion more creatures to sacrifice to his true love would be.

[Darth Geek]

I think you are right, that the Gauntlet was 'full' in Odin's stash, though Johnny Unusual's thought that what was in the scepter was the mind gem would've made sense.  [I thought how in The Avengers Whedon's camera shot, panning over the scepter until the shot of the arguing group was upside-down, was superb: showing that the mere presence of the scepter was mentally/emotionally turning the heroes upside-down.]

Is that what was going on there? I got the idea Loki was controlling them somehow, but couldn't figure out how and to what extent. The fact that Banner grabbed the scepter indicated to me that Loki might have had control of him, but if that were true, just turn him into the Hulk and use him!

[LucasM]

I think you are right, that the Gauntlet was 'full' in Odin's stash, though Johnny Unusual's thought that what was in the scepter was the mind gem would've made sense.  [I thought how in The Avengers Whedon's camera shot, panning over the scepter until the shot of the arguing group was upside-down, was superb: showing that the mere presence of the scepter was mentally/emotionally turning the heroes upside-down.]

Is that what was going on there? I got the idea Loki was controlling them somehow, but couldn't figure out how and to what extent. The fact that Banner grabbed the scepter indicated to me that Loki might have had control of him, but if that were true, just turn him into the Hulk and use him!

Yeah, I think the mere presence of the scepter disturbed human thinking/emotion, the longer in its presence, the worse it got.  Then, with aimed touch 'with intent' (Loki touching Barton and Selvig's hearts with it) it could provide control.  But when Loki is being escorted past Banner's work area (presumably with the scepter being carried by one of the guards in the same procession), Banner shakes his head a little and brings his hand up to his head, like something is wrong.  Later, after the argument 'turning things upside-down' is disrupted, Stark clearly shakes his head like he was thinking, "what the fuck was up with me?"  And, of course, Banner looks at the scepter in his hand and is clearly thinking, "how the hell did that get there?!"  So it seemed to me that the scepter itself was exerting a disturbing/provoking effect on those around it, rather than it being Loki having some effect from a distance.

So it just occurred to me: Loki may not have necessarily wanted himself captured, but the scepter.  He'd know that they would all - at least the scientist Banner would - examine it, and thereby be disturbed and provoked into destruction because of its effects on humans.

[Darth Geek]

So the scepter was making them all angry at eachother? Was that really necessary, given that they didn't really see eye to eye well enough to work together as a team in the first place?
  On the other hand, I really hope that is why Stark said that STUPID line about "Everything special about you came out of a bottle!" I fucking hated that line. No way Stark would say that, HE KNOWS BETTER! He knows what the serum does. I know Stark can be sometimes prickish, but that was completely out of left field and WAAAY out of character.

[LucasM]

So the scepter was making them all angry at eachother? Was that really necessary, given that they didn't really see eye to eye well enough to work together as a team in the first place?
  On the other hand, I really hope that is why Stark said that STUPID line about "Everything special about you came out of a bottle!" I fucking hated that line. No way Stark would say that, HE KNOWS BETTER! He knows what the serum does. I know Stark can be sometimes prickish, but that was completely out of left field and WAAAY out of character.

Yeah... because of the scepter's influence, they all said things that they wouldn't normally even think.  Remember Thor's line, "you humans are so petty!"  He likes humans enough to endanger himself to protect them.  [There was, however, one funny thing Whedon stuck in that argument: right after Stark says, "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," they cut to Natasha, who cocks her head to the side slightly and raises an eyebrow, like she's thinking, "yeah: that's pretty good." ]

But I think putting the scepter in their midst was Loki's attempt to guarantee that they couldn't come together.  Yes, initially they didn't see eye to eye, but Loki wanted to make it impossible for them to get along enough to fight him and the Chitauri; to fracture them completely as a potential combined threat, because only working together did they have a chance to defeat the invasion.

[LucasM]

A little over a day left on this one.  $12 plus shipping.

[picture is link]

Honestly, I can't see anyone wearing it, but some of the puns are a bit amusing.

[LucasM]

It's funny... I've seen The Avengers now about seven times.

And, starting with the first time I saw it, do you know what the least believable thing in the entire movie is for me?

Banner and Rogers standing at the edge of the helicarrier when it is starting to take off and not getting instantly sucked into the blades where they'd be chopped to ribbons, when each of the four VTOL-style propellers are generating 1/4 of the lift required to push the entire thing into the air.  I can suspend disbelief for pretty much everything else, but that?  Not a chance!

[Johnny Unusual]

It's funny... I've seen The Avengers now about seven times.

And, starting with the first time I saw it, do you know what the least believable thing in the entire movie is for me?

Banner and Rogers standing at the edge of the helicarrier when it is starting to take off and not getting instantly sucked into the blades where they'd be chopped to ribbons, when each of the four VTOL-style propellers are generating 1/4 of the lift required to push the entire thing into the air.  I can suspend disbelief for pretty much everything else, but that?  Not a chance!

I think you're forgetting the fact that they are awesome.  So, you know, they are immune to such petty concerns as physics.

[Tripe]

Except when it's funny, so a little later on physics smacks Stark upside the head (and all points south) with a vengeance.

[LucasM]

Joss Whedon submits master plan for 'The Avengers' sequel to Marvel  By: Jess d'Arbonne

Because the man simply does not know how to procrastinate, Joss Whedon is rounding out his overwhelmingly successful year by recently submitting his outline for "The Avengers 2" to Marvel Studios. The news came in an interview with Whedon from Entertainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Year issue.

We all know what this means... LET THE WILD SPECULATION BEGIN!

Whedon has said that in writing the sequel he will not try to out-do himself. Quoth the Whedon, he will write the sequel "By not trying to [go bigger]. By being smaller. More personal, more painful. By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself." Make of that what you will, but hopefully it's a good sign for a decently-written follow-up film.

Whedon has also said that he wants to include more female Avengers in the sequel, an idea that gets the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" a resounding "hell yes!" from his legions of fans. But who will he include? Many early rumors suggested that the Wasp would be the next female Avenger to join the team, but so far they are just that: rumors.

And how will Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe factor into the storyline of "The Avengers 2" (or whatever much better title they come up with)? Will there be new characters and plot developments introduced in "Thor 2," "Iron Man 3," and "Captain America 2" that will affect what happens in "The Avengers 2"?

The only fairly safe bet is that the villain will be Thanos, who was seen in the post-credits scene from "The Avengers," grinning evilly and exuding supervillainy. But what threat Thanos poses that could be worthy of Earth's Mightiest Heroes is yet to be seen.

The important thing is that Whedon is well on the way to writing the sequel to "The Avengers." Try to contain your excitement.

[Darth Geek]

A smaller and more personal story when the villain is a cosmic being like Thanos LITERALLY trying to court Death herself? Uh...

[Tripe]

A smaller and more personal story when the villain is a cosmic being like Thanos LITERALLY trying to court Death herself? Uh...

Did it all the time in Buffy and Angel and at least one of those times the villain might as well have been Death herself, albeit in a semi zoftig blonde's body (when not a angsty ER orderly).

[ScottotD]

Isn't Thanos going to be in Guardians of the Galaxy?