Hello, ComicBookMovie.com users! My name is dylanmm5 and this is my first article. To be perfectly clear, I am a huge Marvel fanboy and have a deep passion for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I love Marvel Studios so much that I am very critical and honest when it comes to their films. Now I hope you enjoy my take on their films as I tweak some paths these charcters and storylines take. Not to discredit anyone that was a part of this amazing film but I feel AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON could have exceeded the studio's own expectations as well as its audience. So let's get right to it!
1. Ultron's Evolution
Every great story needs its villain and Ultron, stunningly voiced by James Spader, fell a bit short of being the menacing A.I. the comics portrayed him (or "it") to be. Not only was his physical appearance a bit rushed and at times not very obvious but his character development did not seem to go anywhere. When he and Vision had a deep and meaningful conversation in the woods about being afraid of death, I never got the sense of Ultron having some sort of fear or at least getting the grasp of life throughout the film. Seems farfetched for a robot to show any emotion or development but he is an A.I. afterall. Perfect example would be I, ROBOT. Maybe less scenes of him cracking jokes and more of his simple thought process would have furthered this villain's ranking in Marvel's rogue gallery. If only the movie's direction and tone stayed within that famous "Party" scene. A menacing creepy machine talking about human extinction as it were in last week's newspaper was what we were promised. Also, I want the element of surprise to hit the Avengers when they find out Ultron is back. In this version, it would be fun to see the team think they destroyed the A.I. back at their headquaters. Tony would simply delete the program but little does he know Ultron is already off the books and his own being. Intel comes in about illegal trades with Vibranium going on in Africa, a natural resource that would get the Avengers attention, and goes to investigate. Oh look, Ultron is still around! *glares at Stark*
And going back to his physical appearance. As the film went on, Ultron began to look less threatening. How am I suppose to be worried about the Avengers if their villain looks like a puppet? Instead of this type of transition...
I believe a more effective approach in Ultron's design should have gone like this...
This shows drastic improvements to his armor, especially in this final form as he's coated in Vibranium, as well as his mental capacity. (Need I remind you, in this version his facial features do not have any type of movement like a Michael Bay Transformer) If anything this makes Vision's presence more impactful for Ultron. Vision's body was originally made for Ultron and for that to be taken away from him by his somewhat own creation, you can only imagine his envy and anger towards the android. I wanted to go from fear to pity towards Ultron during this scene! Now maybe there was too much going on in this film that there wasn't enough time to fully flesh out Ultron. Which brings me to my next change...
2. No Black Widow/Hulk Romance
I am, in fact, part of the obvious demographic that was not on board with this side scenerio but let me explain my reasons. These two characters did not benefit or grow in the best way and it did not further the plot in any way. We want to see each member of the Avengers contribute to the story as well as expand in character. Individually, Black Widow and the Hulk could have easily shined on their own with exploring there strengths and weaknesses as independent human beings. That's why I decided to seperate these two and help them become better charcters.
Last time we saw Bruce Banner (aside from that pointless post credit scene in IRON MAN 3) he seemed to have a clear grasp on his inner monster in THE AVENGERS. Even the ending of THE INCREDIBLE HULK suggested the scientist was in control of his emotional state, not happy but in control. I went into AGE OF ULTRON thinking we were going to get a much more fun Hulk, helping his team out hunting HYDRA bases while trying to tame himself in the process. Having the audience think Banner is finally in control of the Hulk sets up panic when he looses that control with the help of Scarlet Witch. Also shifting the screen time from the bad romance with Black Widow and giving it to Tony Stark builds up their "Science Bromance" that sparked in THE AVENGERS. Having a stronger bond with Stark and seeming collected within himself gives that Hulkbuster scene much more meaning! It can be played out as heartbreaking to see these best friends fight as well as hoping that Dr. Banner overcomes these mind tricks if properly set up right. All this emotion for these charcters and the possible outcomes wrapped in an epic blockbuster fight sequence is what story is all about!
As for Natasha Romanoff, her character is already set up perfectly just like the others who got manipulated by their own nightmares. Here we explore Black Widow's past and get to somewhat understand the character a bit better without getting carried away. If anything, her sucking up this nightmare she is under while still kicking ass shows how strong of a woman she really is. I do in fact like the idea of Black Widow being the only one who can actually help Bruce turn back to him normal self, it's shows her importance to the team, interaction between other characters is always a good thing, and even her overcoming a fear (remember her being traumatized by the Hulk in the first film?). Another reason I was not fond, though I do appreciate the concept, of the forced romance was due to one person. Clint Barton! We have all seen the fan art, the theories, and Budapest. Building up their relationship in the beginning of this film would have payed off when it came to that farm scene. A little shock value to the audience who thought these two assassins were a thing since the first film would have been subtle when revealed. I know I was I sad when Hawk/Widow was not a thing anymore. Which brings me to my third alteration...
3. Kill Off Hawkeye...?
Now I thought a lot about this change. At first I wanted Hawkeye dead just because it was built up so well with his family and all. Then I went back to just keeping Quicksilver's death as is. But death seems to be toyed with in Marvel Studios, to point where it is not that effective anymore. Every other character has cheated death and it becomes this expectancy in these films. Killing off Dr. Cho showed Ultron was a threat, so how much more death do we really need? But I started to think... why not keep them both alive? We can still have that infamous scene play out to where we think it's the end for Hawkeye and suddenly show Pietro in front of him full of bullets caught in hand because he's really fast, remember? Even throw in that "You didn't see that coming" line in there because it's not out of place anymore! (Do you really think Quicksilver's last dying words would have been a checky one-liner to an archer he barely knows) And in this case, it's more of a moment of relief than a comedic one and can also play out as a slight breather from the non-stop action happening in the final act.
And to add on with that, give Hawkeye more of a presence in this movie. Seems odd to say since he had the best lines of dialouge and his own side story but that seemed expected since he was just a zombie in the first installment. Seeing him save his other teammates from their own nightmares was great and I wanted more of that. Hawkeye is the average joe compared to these gods, his bad ass-ery would just grow! The opening scene of the film could have been him navigating the Avengers to the HYDRA base, in a way leading them. It's the small things that count.
5. Alternate Hulkbuster Scene
We can all admit the fight between the Hulk and Iron Man was pretty epic! Now with my second change this sets up an even bigger fight because this time it's personal. Did we need Tony to drill a raged Hulk through an abandoned skyscraper and a cop out sucker punch to solve the problem? No! Another option is to stop this fight right after Hulk's arm is handcuffed to Hulkbuster's armor. (Watch the "Go to sleep, go to sleep" section of this fight and you will know what I'm talking about.) Have the Green Giant punch the suit with his available arm, striking the arc reactor! Stark's Hulkbuster is out for the count. But who comes leading the pack? Captain America and the rest of the Avengers! Here we get to see an actual Avengers vs Hulk scene! I know the team just got invaded mentally through Scarlet Witch but people are in danger, of course the Avengers' immediate adrenaline can shake it off and fight a bit more. Now while Tony is getting himself out of the Hulkbuster suit, we see Rogers yelling orders to Hawkeye, Black Widow, and even Thor! Midway through this battle, Iron Man would jump in for support (in his Mark XLIII of course)! This reminds the audience on how strong the bond, communication, and teamwork is between these characters. Showing the world of the MCU, as well as us, how far our team has come since the Battle of New York. Now I will let your imagination ster how this fight would work out from there! But I will say it would be cool to end it off where Thor has a clear but quick shot at Hulk. He charges up the Mjolnir that's now glowing and producing sparks of lightning and aims for a head shot. This would be a reminisce to the Helicarrier scene in THE AVENGERS but this time Thor doesn't miss and Hulk won't see it coming. Might seem like a sucker punch as well but from a fully charged magical hammer of the gods, Hulk will go down like a champ.
The image above is the perfect follow up to the bout! We see a god, a leader, a monster, and an assasin all clearly troubled and worn out. Their brains have been tampered with and for the first time it seems like our heroes are not the greatest team anymore. You can now know how this plays out including the previous changes. This is our climax! Ultron uses his new allies against the Avengers, our team finally set off that "time bomb" amongst themselves, and hope seems to be lost. This can even plant a little CIVIL WAR seed with Stark confronting Rogers that he had the whole Hulk situation under control. The Avengers are dysfunctional yet again. Which is why we need to go to the farm and take a breather. Ultron has the upper hand and our heroes need to regroup and come up with a plan!
5. Come Back Thor!
One of the biggest gripes I have with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is their main concept! A shared universe within these movies is as much of a curse as it is a blessing. Joss Whedon did the best he could with this movie as he had to rebuild the bridge of bringing these characters together, setting up future films, introducing new characters, growing old ones, and telling an actual story that would make this film stand on its own. For me less is more! Thor's little adventure was so unnecessary and confusing! All it did for me was tell me what I already knew was coming... Infinity War! Instead, have his nightmare be about the destruction of Asgard. The God of Thunder now has this guilt lingering inside of him throughout the movie. Should he go back to his people or stay in this world he still cannot understand? Who is worth protecting more? Imagine Captain America having a heroic conversation with Thor right before he decides to storm out of Barton's house (and not to meet up with Professor Erik Selvig for a psychic baptism but to Asgard) and convinces him to fight with them one last time. Setting up future plans for the studio is fine when done in a subtle way, like introducing Ulysses Klaw or hinting at a Scarlet Witch/Vision romance. Guardians of the Galaxy already explained to use how the Infinity Gems work. Hell, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR has two movies to set up this epic story!
Honorable Mentions
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Have Falcon Join War Machine!- I have no idea why Marvel did not do this!
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No More SHIELD!- Nick Fury should be "dead" and we should leave it like that. Falcon and War Machine coming to help out alone was great enough. I could settle having Maria Hill drive the Helicarrier with a hand full of agents (maybe from the ABC show if you want to provide fan service) to help civilians off the meteor city.
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Thanos Scene- "I'll do it myself!" Please! How about showing a war going on in Odin's vault (and the rest of Asgard) and we see the Mad Titan simply walking through the destruction towards the Infinity Gauntlet! Boom! I just linked some movies together!
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No More Shawarma?- I guess the production team and cast were so burnt out from the movie that they didn't care to film a short fun credit scene...
Well that concludes my first "Changes 5" article and I hope you all enjoyed my rants and chants as much as I enjoyed writing this. Please LIKE this article and share it! I would love to hear your own changes to this film. Feedback is much appreciate it. If you would like to read another installment of mine, let me know! Thank you!