Avengers

I watched The Incredible Hulk last night and I must say it was awesome. I don’t know what Ed Norton was complaining about, but it’s obvious to me that Marvel produced the best movie they could. It was true to the comics, Norton was perfectly suited to the role of Banner (much better than Eric Bana in ’03’s Hulk)–in fact the entire cast was nearly perfect. I love me some Sam Elliott, but William Hurt was Thunderbolt Ross. The only cast member that was better in Hulk than The Incredible Hulk was Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross. I’m just not much of a Liv Tyler fan (man hands). By the end of the movie I was riding the high of a pure geekgasm. If you were disappointed in 2003’s Hulk, don’t let that keep you away from The Incredible Hulk–the difference is night and day.

So considering the pure geekgasm that is the movie duo of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and knowing that an Avengers movie is in the offing, I’m offering my two cents worth to the production staff.

The most important thing is to remember that the Avengers are the most powerful super hero alliance there is. If Superman (yes, I know he’s DC, but he’s the most powerful single entity in either world) was acting out of line, the best group to call would be the Avengers. Some of you will say the Justice League, but I’ll still disagree, because Superman is the only true Earth-stopping force in the JLA. Without himself, the JLA wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of fighting Supes. In the Avengers, Thor and Hulk are both Earth stoppers, and Iron Man is no slouch himself. Cap is Cap, the super soldier and field general; he’s the ideal leader that the JLA doesn’t have. You might argue Batman is the leader of the JLA, but IMHO, he may be a genius but he’s no Captain America when it comes to leadership.

That said, it should be realized that, for an Avengers movie, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Hulk are the meat. Everyone else are just vegetables and might as well be in the JLA. Vison, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver and all the rest, while cool, are not why you would call the Avengers if Superman was on a rampage. With all of them you may as well call the X-Men or Fantastic Four. Although, if I were to call anyone in the Marvel Universe to end a Superman rampage, I wouldn’t go with the brute force of the Avengers. I’d call Professor X and let him make scrambled eggs out of Superman’s brains. But for this article I’m talking about sheer brute force; and there are no super groups that can hold a candle to the Avengers in that category.

I should also note that I’ve never been happy with the idea of Hulk being in the Avengers in the first place. Hulk isn’t exactly the “team” type. But with him, they are damn-near unbeatable (at least when it comes to sheer strength). And if they can control him–or at least aim him–then he’s one of the most valuable assets they’ve got. I think Thor could go toe to toe with Superman, but Hulk? Hulk would beat Superman outright. That’s right, I said it, and I know there are geeks the world over who are stamping their feet with outrage at that statement, but you just have to remember one thing when it comes to the Hulk: the madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets. Bearing that in mind, and knowing the near-limitless potential for rage in the Hulk, eventually he would overpower even Superman.