A lot of you have heard by now of the extra scene that plays out after the Iron Man end credits (read no further if you don't want to find out), where Tony Stark comes home to find Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson, as envisioned in the picture to the left) mentioning the "Avengers Initiative".Rest assured that comic book fans (especially fanboys) had their hearts leap at that moment, for the promise that movies have held for so long, to breath life into superhero adventures long trapped on the page, might finally come to pass.
This isn't the first time that hints have been dropped at a future superhero storyline. In X-Men: The Last Stand, Professor X, who had been seemingly obliterated (in Scanners fashion) by Dark Phoenix, was implied to have survived in a post-end-credits scene. In Superman (1978) and its sequel, both their endings mention clearly that Kal-el would definitely return. What makes Iron Man's post-finale finale special in that it teases us beyond mere sequels.
Comic Books have long dabbled in crossovers, where heroes of different title issues appear in their peers' storylines. Boys always want to know which hero would beat whom, and how they would do so, and crossovers enable these fantasies to be played out. The idea is so appealing to its fans that even competing comic book companies are willing have their mainstays slug it out once in a blue moon.
Until now, the idea of extending a superhero storyline has been limited to franchises (be they sequels or prequels; trilogies or spin-offs). With the Iron Man end scene, we have the tantalizing possibility of Hollywood developing a web of comic book storylines, with protagonists and their plots spilling into each other on the big screen, as in print. Anyone who knows who the "Avengers" are knows that it isn't just about Iron Man.
D.C. and Marvel, the two primary players in the comic book industry, surely must have been kicking around this idea for a while now. The former was the first to dip its feet into major film adaptations, and set the bar on how a definitive superhero movie should be made (with its Superman and Batman quadrilogies). But the latter has caught up (and perhaps raced ahead) by launching as many titles as it can, and making the effort to hire the best talent possible (e.g. Sam Raimi for Spider-Man, Ang-Lee for Hulk, Bryan Singer for X-Men, etc.). The two have been battling for supremacy on and off the screen ever since.
One obstacle to film crossovers of this sort was due to ownership. Roger Ebert wrote in his review of Daredevil, that the blind hero and Spider-Man, "...grew up together in Marvel comics, sometimes sharing the same adventures, but you won't see them fraternizing in the movies because their rights are owned by different studios." Marvel has rectified this by agreeing to a seven-year deal with Paramount Pictures (in 2005), to produce a cadre of superhero movies, all clearly with cross references.
But will it work? It sure can, as the factors for success are in place. For one, the proper market conditions exist, as film attendance in the US is strongly driven by the teenage male demographic; the generation that has soaked up much of comic history more than any of its predecessors. Even Manohla Dargis of the New York Times has observed this by lamenting the lack of female leads in major US releases this year.
Then there's the question of aging. Superheroes live forever in print, but the actors that play them can only dream of such sustained youth. Marvel's deal with Paramount will hopefully be enough time, provided everybody meets project deadlines (Allow my inner project team member to exclaim -- "HAH!"). Let's also pray to God that no one dies during that time (not so funny when you think about Heath Ledger).
More questions. If (and it's a big if) this all culminates in an Avengers film, will all of the marquee names reprise their roles? And if they do, will they take pay cuts? Will the storyline be accessible to regular filmgoers who might not have a clue what the Avengers are or what they're up against? If the answer is yes to all of these, Marvel will have a series of huge hits, not just in the box-office, but beyond it. Can you imagine the DVD box-set this would produce if all goes well?
When I was a kid, I daydreamed what an X-Men live action movie would look like. I wondered if Schwarzenegger could play Colossus, if Van Damme could play Gambit, and if Jack Nicholson could play Wolverine. Yes, it's all ridiculous in hindsight, but the point is that if I thought of this growing up on comics, countless others did to. Even though X-Men didn't turn into the epic I dreamed it would, it's immensely gratifying to know (as a semi-fanboy at heart) that some people are still out there trying to make that dream a reality.
Comic Books have long dabbled in crossovers, where heroes of different title issues appear in their peers' storylines. Boys always want to know which hero would beat whom, and how they would do so, and crossovers enable these fantasies to be played out. The idea is so appealing to its fans that even competing comic book companies are willing have their mainstays slug it out once in a blue moon.
Until now, the idea of extending a superhero storyline has been limited to franchises (be they sequels or prequels; trilogies or spin-offs). With the Iron Man end scene, we have the tantalizing possibility of Hollywood developing a web of comic book storylines, with protagonists and their plots spilling into each other on the big screen, as in print. Anyone who knows who the "Avengers" are knows that it isn't just about Iron Man.
D.C. and Marvel, the two primary players in the comic book industry, surely must have been kicking around this idea for a while now. The former was the first to dip its feet into major film adaptations, and set the bar on how a definitive superhero movie should be made (with its Superman and Batman quadrilogies). But the latter has caught up (and perhaps raced ahead) by launching as many titles as it can, and making the effort to hire the best talent possible (e.g. Sam Raimi for Spider-Man, Ang-Lee for Hulk, Bryan Singer for X-Men, etc.). The two have been battling for supremacy on and off the screen ever since.
One obstacle to film crossovers of this sort was due to ownership. Roger Ebert wrote in his review of Daredevil, that the blind hero and Spider-Man, "...grew up together in Marvel comics, sometimes sharing the same adventures, but you won't see them fraternizing in the movies because their rights are owned by different studios." Marvel has rectified this by agreeing to a seven-year deal with Paramount Pictures (in 2005), to produce a cadre of superhero movies, all clearly with cross references.
But will it work? It sure can, as the factors for success are in place. For one, the proper market conditions exist, as film attendance in the US is strongly driven by the teenage male demographic; the generation that has soaked up much of comic history more than any of its predecessors. Even Manohla Dargis of the New York Times has observed this by lamenting the lack of female leads in major US releases this year.
Then there's the question of aging. Superheroes live forever in print, but the actors that play them can only dream of such sustained youth. Marvel's deal with Paramount will hopefully be enough time, provided everybody meets project deadlines (Allow my inner project team member to exclaim -- "HAH!"). Let's also pray to God that no one dies during that time (not so funny when you think about Heath Ledger).
More questions. If (and it's a big if) this all culminates in an Avengers film, will all of the marquee names reprise their roles? And if they do, will they take pay cuts? Will the storyline be accessible to regular filmgoers who might not have a clue what the Avengers are or what they're up against? If the answer is yes to all of these, Marvel will have a series of huge hits, not just in the box-office, but beyond it. Can you imagine the DVD box-set this would produce if all goes well?
When I was a kid, I daydreamed what an X-Men live action movie would look like. I wondered if Schwarzenegger could play Colossus, if Van Damme could play Gambit, and if Jack Nicholson could play Wolverine. Yes, it's all ridiculous in hindsight, but the point is that if I thought of this growing up on comics, countless others did to. Even though X-Men didn't turn into the epic I dreamed it would, it's immensely gratifying to know (as a semi-fanboy at heart) that some people are still out there trying to make that dream a reality.
I would love it if the Hulk and Thor movies have ending teasers related to Ironman's.