I'm sure comic book and movie fans in general are all wonderfully stoked for the upcoming Phase 2 of Marvel's little cinematic experiment. What has worked and what I feel will make the movies continue to work is if the sequels and new movies continue to advance the characters themselves as opposed to trying to one up the action of previous movies, after all the big show should be saved for the next Avengers outing, in between time, make us care and root even more for these characters with their own stories.
Stan Lee from the get go in the 60's had the brilliant idea of taking the traditional superhero mythology and make the characters feel like actual people, thus making us care and relate even more when we charge into battle with them to punch an evil doer in the face.
So how is Marvel gonna keep this wonderful carnival a running? Well look no further than the latest Ironman trailer.
In it we see a very different Stark than we're used to, and of course he should be, he was visibly shaken during the events of the Avengers film even though he tried to keep himself and image intact using his two most impressive sets of armor, his ego and his humor. In his third outing from what we've seen his short trip into the abyss of space has had a heavy toll on him. Insomnia, trying to hide himself from the press, paranoia of the "hundred people trying to kill him" and his fear of losing the one woman whom he truly cares for. Heavy stuff one would think.
Which brings me to my next point, the suit is up and about the place and Mr. Stark isn't in it, so what gives? Is someone else controlling the suit has Jarvis become self aware and has had it up to here with Tony's wacky hijinks??? Or better is the suit acting out Tony's subconscious, literally trying to protect from outside aspects in his life, who's in charge of Tony's life, the man or the tech?
I couldn't begin to comment on Thor's next outing besides some new adversaries and a promise of a more immense look into Asgard, we don't know much to speculate on. And come to think about it, that's good. I mean let's be honest, we all know what site were on at the moment but a bit of mystery for an anticipated movie is a wonderful thing.
What I can hope for Thor's journey is that after learning humility from his afternoon stroll through Midgard is that his brother's actions deeply affected him. Throughout the movies he has had the least character development in my opinion. Though his godly stubbornness is quite true to his comic book counterpart, he should be hit and hit hard by his brother's actions. At the end of The Avengers he seemed like the same guy, stubbornly thinking his little bro is just up to some shenanigans and a stern talking too will bring everything back to normal. That would be a happy ending but what we need is some tragedy. Thor must learn not everything in his life is infallible. The good Dr. Selvig and Jane Foster will no doubt find their way into Asgard and The God of Mischief and Lies* will have a lot of opportunities for a bit of both.
Which brings us to the leader of the pack and my personal favorite hero (Though T'Challa is quite quickly scaling up that list)Captain Steve Rogers.
So let's talk title shall we? Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that brings up a few ideas for anyone who's read an issue or two on Ed Brubaker's run on the series. So how could that affect the theme of the movie? Well let's look at a few things According to the Marvel movie Timeline Captain America awoke no more than two weeks before the events of The Avengers, which doesn't give him alot of time to adjust. The same way The First Avenger had the wonderful advantage of being set in the 40's to see a bit of the olden days of the MU. With the second outing we have a different distinction 90% of the previous movies character's cannot return unless via flashback or because comics.
We will join Captain America the way he feels, lonely, big new world trying to fit in. I'm not sure what span of time will occur between this movie and The Avengers but I am sure of one thing, Cap's gotta be feeling a wide array of emotions. The 'Man out of Time' quip by Loki and the name of the series run will be an interesting angle to look at it. I hope the movie really handles this delicately after all Cap has got it bad, in his head during the Avenger's events, 2 weeks ago was one of the most brutal and horrific events that has ever plagued mankind and he was given the duty of carrying his country's spirits on his shoulders. Though a bit rushed in the film, he lost his best friend. The one guy that stuck with him no matter what and sometime shortly after he again faced his greatest adversary which climaxed in him giving a valiant sacrifice to save the world from HYDRA's new weapons.
He succeeded, he thought it was over death was justifiably embraced. A few dreams later and Rogers awakes in a hospital with the biggest shock of his life. Everyone he's ever loved or known is gone and he's plunged himself decades into the future. Keeping that all in to lead a squad of soldiers into battle against an alien invasion is but a small facet of why Cap's greatest power is his determination.
Where does that leave us for the sequel? We will most likely see him return to what he does best leading another group (Fingers crossed for Falcon, Agent 13 and Rikki Nomad Barnes) to carry out missions for SHIELD. Right now it's the closest thing he's got to a home and right now Cap needs something to keep his mind off things. While he's trying to fit in and move on with this new extreme aspect of his life his past will literally haunt him with the emergence of his best friend Bucky Barnes. It's a very interesting prospect they could explore, while one man tries to forget about his past the other is stuck in it, molded by the ills of man and his intentions with war. Captain America will not only grapple with his future but resolve the mistakes of his past.
A solid and very fulfilling new chapter in each of these character's lives. Then again who's to say what will happen in the upcoming movies this is just a thought from a fan, one thing is for sure, Marvel as always will keep turning out exciting new adventures for fans to cherish for many more years to come, Nuff Said.