While I am immensely excited about next summer's little Avengers flick, there are certain questions I have regarding the Marvel Cinematic Universe in all its cohesive glory. I have dreamed of this movie for literally as long as I can recall, since collecting the first series of Marvel trading cards in 1990 and becoming familiar with the rich cast of characters. And while I recognize that the comics universe is chock full of glaring inconsistencies, I, like many of you, hoped that this brave new world of Marvel Cinema would learn from these mistakes, especially since they are making a billion and a half dollars off us in movie tickets, DVD sales, action figures, and subsequent comic book sales boosts. It is worth noting that I am not by any means nit-picking for the sake of nit-picking. I am merely so submersed into this brave attempt at a connected universe that when I spend money and time appreciating the intricacies, the equal, opposite, and inevitable effect is also noticing the glaring inaccuracies. Here, I submit my first article for CBM, after having been a reader for over a year. Kevin Feige, I hold thee accountable for the answers to these questions of logic:
1. In Iron Man 1, Agent Caulson and Pepper discuss the tediousness of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division as the secret organizations's name. The implication is that this is a recently-formed organization. Yet IM2 and Captain America indicate that the agency has been around for some time(Howard Stark helped form it years prior). By the end of IM1, Caulson declares that they are now called SHIELD. Was this the first time the acronym had really been used? This smells of a writing inconsistency that cannot be rectified, unless the answer is that the agency was only recently named after decades in existence. Which seems unlikely.
2. Iron Man 2 post-credit scene shows Caulson, the apparent connecting thread through most of these films, standing over the site of Thor's hammer. "We've found it." Terrific, Son of Caul, but how did you know to look for it in the first place? From information we gather in Thor, SHIELD is unaware of who Thor is, as evidenced by his interrogation and subsequent surprise of Thor's power display. Was SHIELD privy to knowledge that Caulson was not on a clearance level to possess? This paradox can, and more importantly, SHOULD be explained through clever writing.
3. This next question stems from the comics, and may in fact have been answered in the source material(I'm not well-versed in Thor comic history...if anyone else can cite an example of this, please enlighten me). Loki, son of Laufey, is a Frost Giant adopted by Odin. Yet he possesses god-like powers of invisibility, illusion, the inexplicable unrevealed ability to cross the 9 realms undetected, and general dickery(trickery) capable of battling Thor, who himself is able to fell Frost Giants by the dozen. How did he come to have these abilities when his genetic heritage should be limited to blue skin and moisture temperature manipulation? I can assume that he maybe was granted these powers by Odin himself, but why would the King of Gods grant such obviously deceptive power to an adoptive son already tainted by his secret lineage? Isn't this just asking for trouble? Doesn't this cast doubt upon Odin's wisdom? That, I cannot accept. Before Loki takes his power and revenge to the next level in The Avengers, I'd like answers, please.
4. Here's another one that will be difficult to explain away, therefore will likely be ignored: The background footage of Hulk's college campus rampage in IM2 suggests that Incredible Hulk takes place before IM2. Yet SHIELD, reluctant to allow Stark into the Avenger Initiative due to his recklessness at the end of IM2, hire him as a consultant(as evidenced in the one-shot starring our favorite SHIELD operative Caulson) to approach T-Bolt Ross about this "team" "they're" putting together. Timeline error. Which also raises the question: Why would they ever consider Hulk as an Avenger, who is the epitome of uncontrollable power, when they have such reservations about Stark?
5. In Captain America, we see the titular hero crash in the Arctic in the film's climax. He is frozen there until SHIELD apparently finds him and brings him to New York. His shield was with him the entire time. Yet, in an easter egg backgroud shot in IM1, and then featured prominently in IM2, the shield is somehow in Tony's possession. This is feasible when you consider that Howard Stark designed the shield. But are there 2 shields? If so, this is somewhat disappointing to any real Cap fan, as his shield in the comics is a one-of-a-kind prototype made from the rare metals vibranium and adamantium. I'm afraid that with this one, neither answer will be wholly satisfactory.
Well, that's all I've got for now. I welcome any comments, criticisms, additions, or explanations you all may have. These items aside, I am still very much looking forward to May 4, 2012, when many of our fanboy dreams will come to life on the silver screen.
Until next time,
-Herokiller