Fancast: New Avengers: Breakout

I read Brian Michael Bendis's (who everyone on this site seems to hate) relaunch of the Avengers, called New Avengers a few years back, and I absolutely loved it. Mainly because it was a fresh take on the Avengers, and featured a characters you'd never expect to be an Avenger (e.g. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine). Anyway, for those of you who don't know the plot of the "Breakout", I'll give it to you:

"Electro causes a mass supervillain break-out at the Raft, a supervillain prison, releasing supervillains from their cells. Forty-two escape, but the remaining criminals are contained thanks to the intervention of Captain America, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Jessica Drew, Spider-Man, and Matt Murdock. Concluding that fate has brought together this new team together, similar to the first Avengers team, Captain America convinces Iron Man to join a new team of Avengers, inviting the other four heroes to join, who were also present at the riot. Matt Murdock declines, unwilling to tarnish the reputation of the other heroes due to the disaster that his life has become, but the other three accept. Having contained Electro, the Avengers discover that S.H.I.E.L.D. is holding something back about the enigmatic man named Karl Lykos, who Electro was hired to specifically break out, while other prisoners simply took advantage of the chaos. Lykos's files were restricted even to Spider-Woman and Captain America. Their quest takes them into the Savage Land, where they are joined by Wolverine, and soon discover Karl Lykos' alter-ego, Sauron. A rogue S.H.I.E.L.D unit were using the native people of the savage land to mine vibranium for super weopons. They are also nearly shot by the second Black Widow."

Anyway, here's the cast and I hope you enjoy it:

The New Avengers:

Phillip Winchester (Warehouse 13, Strike Back) as Steve Rogers/Captain America: The leader of the New Avengers, who reforms the Avengers along with four of the five heroes present at the Raft breakout. Due to the Super Soldier Serum, Rogers posses peak human strength, speed, stamina, agility, durability, healing, mental process, senses, and logetivity. Rogers is also a master strategist an advance military operator, is multi-lingual, and is a master martial artist, acrobat, and marksman. He wields a circular shield made from a adamantium-vibranium alloy, rendering it indestructible.



Reason for Casting: I thought Chris Evans nailed the role of Cap right on the head, but if he was ever, to be recasted, Philip Winchester would be my pick. He has this tough, military look to him, and posses the grit, toughness, and leadership qualities to pull off Rogers.

Patrick Dempsey (Maid of Honor, Grey's Anatomy) as Tony Stark/Iron Man: A former Avenger who joins the New Avengers, and provides them with the Avengers Tower to use as headquarters. Stark wears a suit of powered armor, which capabilities include enhanced strength, flight, repulsor rays built into the palms of his gauntlets, pulse bolts (that pick up on kinetic energy along the way; so the farther they travel, the harder they hit), an electromagnetic pulse generator, a unibeam, and a defensive energy shield that can be extended up to 360 degrees. Other capabilities include creating and manipulating magnetic fields, and emitting sonic blasts.



Reason for Casting: Dempsey's a pretty good actor from what I've seen in him, and I wouldn't mind if he took over the role of Iron Man when RDJ eventually quits. He has the right look and charisma to pull off STark, and can play arrogantly intelligent as seen in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He can even pull off Stark's dry sarcastic humor.

Henry Simmons (Spartacus, Shark) as Carl Lucas/Luke Cage: A superhero/private investigator who accompanied Matt Murdock to The Raft, and ended up becoming one of the founding members of a new team of Avengers. He is currently romantically involved with Jessica Jones, a former superhero turned investigative reporter. Cage's include indestructible skin, superhuman strength, and a healing factor. He is also an experienced street fighter.



Reason for Casting: This isn't the most original pick for Luke Cage, but its a hell of a lot better than Terry Crews or Tyrese Gibson. Anyway, Simmons is tall enough for Cage at 6'4" and is a terrific actor as seen on NYPD Blue. And for those of you saying that Simmons is too handsome for Cage, let me bring up a counter-arguement from my good friend, CBM user DDD, Cage is not suppose to be ugly. He's ruggedly handsome and Henry fits that, seeing as he plays tough guys. I'll end my counter-arguement with something that DDD said on ager's Civil War cast: "Why do people think LUKE CAGE is ugly???".

Evangeline Lily (Lost, Real Steel) as Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman:: A S.H.I.L.D. Agent stationed at the Raft who is also known as Spider-Woman. She joins the newly reformed Avengers after she learns that the only reason she's still at S.H.E.I.L.D. is because of Cap. Drew's powers include superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, senses, and durability, flight, pheromone generation, the ability to stock to walls through bio-electrici attraction, the ability to shoot beams of bio-electricity from her hands (referred to as Venom Blasts), and immunity to all poisons and radiation.



Reason for Casting: I've decided to go with a pick Spider-Woman that wasn't Michelle Ryan for the bazillionth time. Anyway, Lily is a fantastic and feisty actress who knows her way around action, and can easily do the British accent. Plus, seeing her in the suit would be a delight.

Elijah Wood (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Everything is Illuminated) as Peter Parker/Spider-Man: A New York vigilante who responded to the breakout at the Raft, but was beaten by several super villains. He later joins the reformed Avengers. Peter's abilities include wall-crawling, enhanced strength, and a clairvoyant "Spider-Sense". He also uses a pair of web-shooters that fires artificial webbing, which he developed from his father's research on adhesives.



Reason for Casting: Wood's a talented and versatile actor, and after seeing his work in Green Street Hooligans and Wilfred, I think he would bring a dry sense of humor to the role of Spidey. And he essentially played Peter Parker in The Faculty (a social reject with an interest in photography).

Stephen Dorff (Felon, Somewhere) as Logan/Wolverine: A prominent member of the X-Men, who tracked Karl Lykos to the Savage Land, only to end up stranded there when his Blackbird was destroyed. He was later discovered by the New Avengers and eventually joined them. Logan possesses an accelerated healing factor, enhanced senses, and three claws located inbetween his knuckles. His claws and skeleton are also laced with adamantium.



Reason for Casting: I've decided to go with a Wolverine pick that isn't Christian Kane (that pick has been done to death and I'm sick of seeing it) or Tom Hardy (I have him for Taskmaster). Credit for this pick goes to RoadDogXXIV. Anyway, Dorff's a pretty intense actor, and posses the voice, look, grittiness, and personality for Logan. Plus, he's short enough at 5'7".

Supporting Characters:

Lena Headey (Game of Thrones, Dredd) as Maria Hill: The new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after former director Nick Fury resigned. She does not approve of the Avengers reforming. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she has basic training in weapons and hand-to-hand combat.



Reason for Casting: To be honest, I though Colbie Smulders was pretty bland as Maria Hill and didn't do much with the role. Even before, she was casted, I'd prefer Headey. She knows action, as seen in The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and can play the despicable bitch as seen on Game of Thrones (which fits the early characterization of Hill).

Eric Martsolf (Passions, Days of Our Lives) as Robert Reynolds/The Sentry: A superhero who is voluntarily imprisoned in the Raft for murdering his wife. He later defends from its inmates, defeating Carnage by flying him into the atmosphere and ripping him in half. The Sentry's powers include uperhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, senses and durability, energy projection and manipulation, matter manipulation, flight, telepathy, resurrection, a healing factor, and mental projection.



Reason for Casting: I've seen high profile actors such as Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio casted as the Sentry, but I believe that a lesser known actor like Martsolf should be casted for the role. His persona fits and he has the tall, buff build for the Sentry. Just give him long blond hair and he's a shoe-in.

Alex O'Laughlin (The Back-Up Plan, Hawaii Five-0) as Matt Murdock/Daredevil: A blind Manhattan lawyer who visits the Sentry at the Raft to talk about his apparent murder of his wife when the breakout occurs. He is the only hero present at the breakout who doesn't join the reformed New Avengers, because he does not want to tarnish the reputation of the other heroes due to the disaster that his life has become, having recently had his secret identity exposed. Murdock's remaining four senses have been enhanced to superhuman senses, and posses a radar sense similar to echolocation. He can use his superhuman hearing as a lie detector by listening to changes in one's heartbeats.



Reason for Casting: O'Laughlin is a terrific actor, and has the ruggedly handsome looks and dark gravitas to pull off DD.

Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted) as Foggy Nelson: Murdock's law partner who accompanies him to The Raft. During the breakout, he is almost attacked by Carnage, and Murdock throws him The Sentry's cel to protect him. He later convinces the Snetry to fight back against the rioting villains.



Reason for Casting: First off, if you're going to say this pick sucks because of your hatred of MacFarlane's shows, then get the [frick] out of my fan cast. Anyway, in certain episodes of Family guy, he showed the certain pathos needed for Foggy. Ad he's also had success at playing a comic relief in another CBM, Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Plus, this pick is better than seeing Sean Astin for the 1,000,000th time.

Rachel McAdams (Red Eye, The Notebook) as Jessica Jones: A former superhero known as Jewel who soon after being psychologically tortured for months by the mind controlling Purple Man. She currently in a relationship with Luke Cage and is pregnant with their chid.



Reason for Casting: I like McAdams as an actress, and I think she'd make a wonderful Jessica. She's a great dramatic actress, and would have good chemistry with Henry Simmons.

Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Merlin) as Edwin Jarvis: The former butler of the Avengers, who now provides his services to the New Avengers. He considers the six months between the time the Avengers disbanded and reformed as "an extended vacation".



Reason for Casting: I think DDD came up with this pick, so the credit goes to him, Anyway, Head's a fantastic actor and I think he'd be a great Jarvis.

Villains:

Aaron Paul (Big Love, Breaking Bad) as Maxwell Dillion/Electro: An enemy of Spider-Man's, who was hired by an unknown benefactor to break Karl Lykos out of The Raft. When he attempted to leave the states with his girlfriend, he was confronted by the New Avengers, and Iron Man trapped him in an energy bubble that negated his powers. However, he subsequently fainted when given the choice of revealing who he broke out or being beaten up by Luke Cage (who was using Spider-Man's webbing to protect himself). Electro has the ability to manipulate massive quantities of electricity, and can use this ability to fly.



Reason for Casting: Ben Foster as Electro has become quite overused, so I've went with Aaron Paul. It was his work on Breaking Bad and The Last House on the Left that convinced me he'd make a cool Electro.

The Raft Inmates:

Matthew Lillard (Scream, Trouble with the Curve) as Cletus Kasadu/Carnage: A psychopathic serial killer who is bonded to a vampiric alien symbiote. During the outbreak at the Raft, he kills several S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and attempts to kill Foggy Nelson before the Sentry dies him up into the atmosphere and rips him in half. Carnage posses similar abilities to Spider-Man, along with a healing factor, and can create axes and blades from his arms.



Reason for Casting: Lillard's imposing at 6'3", and has played a psychotic killer before in Scream. He's a shoe-in for Carnage, and its better than seeing Robert Knepper for the millionth time.

Tyler Mane (Troy, Halloween) as Calvin Zabo/Mister Hyde: A former medical scientist who created a formula that turned him into a huge, hulking monster. During the breakout, he fights Matt Murdock, who he holds a grudge against, before being knocked out by Luke Cage. Zabo posses Superhuman strength, physical resistance and endurance, and a genius level intelligence.



Reason for Casting: Mane's a huge dude at 6'9", and can be pretty scary an intimidating. He'd make an awesome Mister Hyde.

Jon Benrthal (The Pacific, The Walking Dead) as Billy "The Beaut" Russo/Jigsaw: An inmate at the Rat who gains his name for his heavily scarred face. During the riot at the Raft, he is one of the villains that beat Spider-Man and breaks his arm.



Reason for CastingL Bernthal has been popping up all over casts as Wolverine. However, after seeing his more antagonistic and more violent performance in the second season of The Walking Dead, I can safely say that he'd would own a role like Jigsaw, and give a better and much more memorable performance than Dominic West.

Michael Shannon (Premium Rush, Take Shelter) as Zebediah Kilgrave/The Purple Man: A mind controlling inmate of the Raft who has a history with Jessica Jones. During the outbreak, he attempts to make Cage kill the other heroes and then himself, and personally threatens the lives of Jones and her unborn baby. However, Cage reveals that drugs that negate his powers had been slipped into his food, before brutally beating him in response to his demands.



Reason for Casting: Shannon has been giving great performances lately, and seeing him in Premium Rush was what sold me on casting him. He brings the right about of sleaziness and intensity to a role like the Purple Man.

Savage Land Mutates:

Rufus Sewell (Dark City, The Pillar of the Earth) as Karl Lykos/Sauron: The leader of the Savage Land Mutates, who was a prisoner on the Raft before he was broken out by Electro. Sauron is an energy vampire, and can absorb the life energy of other beings. When he absorbs enough energy, he can turn into a humanoid Pteranodon. While in Pteranodon form, he has the abilities of flight, hypnotic eyes, superhuman strength and stamina, and can breath fire breath.



Reason for Casting: Sewell is a terrific actor who's great at playing villains and bares a likeness to the way David Finch drew him.

AnnaLynne McCord (Day of the Dead, 90210) as Vertigo: A Savage Land mutant who has the ability to induce extreme disorientation, nausea and unconsciousness. She is the one that captures the New Avengers when they arrive in the Savage Land.



Reason for Casting: Credit for this pick goes to DDD. Anyway, I haven't seen much of McCord's work, but she has the right looks and sex appeal to pull off Vertigo.

Andy Serkis (King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as Brainchild: A Savage Land Mutante that posses superhuman intelligence and a computer-like mind which enables him to make scientific and mathematical calculations with the speed and accuracy of a highly advanced computer. He wanted to use the captured Avengers as test subjects in his experiments, but his wish isn't granted when the Avengers break free due to Iron Man's voice activated armor.



Reason for Casting: Serkis is one of the most underrated actors around today, and it was his performance as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy that sold me on casting him.

Léa Seydoux (Midnight in Paris, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) as Yelena Belova/Black Widow II: The second Black Widow, who leads a rogue faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. that forces the Savage Land's inhabitants to mind for vibranium. During the confrontation between the New Avengers and the Savage Land Mutates, she is severely burned by Sauron.



Reason for Casting: Seydoux is a pretty good actress who has this stoic look that fits Yelena. But what sold me casting her was seeing her in Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, where she played a French assassin for hire. With some weapons and dialogue training, she'd make a Great Yelena.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below. I hope you have enjoyed this article. Alsp, rude or hurtful comments will be deleted.