Guest Writer: Marvel's Expanding Universe, Pt. I

get. pumped.

With mere weeks left until the premiere of the Marvel juggernaut, The Avengers directed by Joss Whedon, it's kind of hard to think about anything else in the Marvel universe. For instance, Peter Parker and Mary Jane have gone to another reality where they have no memory of each other, have never met, and maybe will never meet again, and they did so by choice! "whaaa...?" is the appropriate response. Captain America was dead, but not really. He was just in a different time stream because bullets do that because comics. And in the ultimate universe Spiderman is Latino and can turn invisible? Cool beans! *Insert Bill Nye sound effect of "now you know..." here*.

Anyways, it seems like Marvel is always up to something awesome, and so soon we have to ask ourselves, "what's next?" See how soon that was? At this point I have 100% confidence in Whedon and the Avengers team that The Avengers movie will be fantastic. Early clips show witty dialogue, insane action, cool effects, and classic character moments (Hulk smash!).

...and then the staged collapsed under the awesome.

So with that pit completely removed from my stomach I can look forward to some other things now. At The Avengers premiere on April 11 in Los Angeles, one of the reporters who had already seen the movie let slip that it's probably a good idea to stay after the credits. At this point I rarely think about it anymore when I see a Marvel movie (or...really any summer blockbuster-y type). It's just kind of like the credits are that part right before the end where a bunch of magic words start floating down from the sky when the sun apparently goes out. Basically it's how I imagine the apocalypse. The world goes dark, and then then the words "A God production" glow in the sky. Anyways... Marvel's "buttons" or "stingers" have become a trademark. Except for The Incredible Hulk, every one of the 5 movies leading up to The Avengers has contained one of them. They always point towards something larger in the Marvel world, or begin a segue into the next installment. Even The Incredible Hulk featured a cameo by Tony Stark, right before the credits, just to get everyone excited. We can expect no less from The Avengers. So what will it be? What will the post-credits-pleasure direct us towards.....?

I would totally go see a solo
Black Widow movie...

The yet to be named three-peat of Ironman begins principal photography in May, despite not yet having cast their main villain yet. Captain America 2 has been green-lit, despite having their director bail on them. The sequel to Thor was announced previous to that and has a 2013 release date, as well as a director. The Hulk has a new actor, but also an okay-ish track record when it comes to films (and actors). Finally there's Nick Fury and the rest of the SHIELD family, which not only should have their own movie, but also a neat 80's sitcom theme song to go with it. They only have enough members to outnumber the Brady Bunch (Ha! Who am I kidding!?).

However I was kidding earlier when I said "finally", because there's also thousands of new characters that could be brought in, and plenty of crossovers I'd like to see happen eventually. These range from bug-related (Ant-Man???) to cosmos-related, but also have tons of potential in this wonderful universe. I'll be covering each one of these possibilities mentioned leading up to The Avengers premiere, and then we'll see if this "stinger" will offer any insight into what we'll be seeing next from Marvel Studios!

With regards,

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman (AKA Zack)