Week 3 of The Marvel Report’s Road to Infinity War has come and gone and we are that much closer to the premier of Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters on April 27th. The Chronological Order and the Release Date Order have had significant differences in their watch schedules till now. No matter which Road you’ve chosen to travel down, this week you watched The Avengers and Iron Man 3.
Let’s see what Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have been up to so far.
Chronological Order
The Avengers
Is there a person left on the planet who hasn’t seen The Avengers? This movie was arguably the biggest gamble in cinematic history with, luckily for us, the biggest payoff, as well. Loki, the Chitauri and (unbeknownst to them) Thanos himself threaten Earth, and it’ll take a big, green, rage monster, a god from the story books, a billionaire in an iron mask, a soldier from a bygone era and a couple of super spies to stop them all!
This movie is the culmination of Marvel Studio’s “Phase One.” Till now, we’ve seen our heroes battle individually against the likes of Obediah Stane, Red Skull, Whiplash, and yes…Loki. (They don’t call him the god of mischief for nothing!) But when Loki comes to Earth with an Infinity Stone (the Mind Stone)…it’s gonna take more than a single Avenger to stop him.
But not before a couple Avengers-sized meet cutes. (“Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”) With this much power (and ego) on one team, you know it’s gonna take finesse to get this gang to work together. Not to mention a powerful motivator in the form of the death of a beloved friend. Nick Fury knows that the Avengers are what the world needs and he’s not above using dirty tricks to get the job done.
Once the Avengers start working together as the hero unit they were meant to be, it’s “Avengers Assemble” and bad guys better watch their backs!
Other Things to Note
If you’re looking to watch the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, now is a great time to spin-off and watch what happens when Agent Phil Coulson comes back to life. Lots of little nods to the comic books in this film, from “Hulk Smash” to the little smile Thanos makes when The Other talks about courting death. We see not one, but two Infinity Stones in this film. The Space Stone is housed in the Tesseract and the Mind Stone finds it’s home in Loki’s scepter.
End Credit Scene
One word for you…SHWARMA!!
Iron Man 3
After initially becoming a founding member and teaming up with The Avengers against Loki, the Chitauri and the potential demise of all mankind…Tony Stark is feeling…changed. How can a man in a can stand a chance against intergalactic beings bent on ruling Earth?
Tony is forced to abandon his Iron fortress because of attacks from his enemies and from his own mental health. He’s forced to return to his roots as a man who makes things, a tinkerer, an inventor. In Iron Man 3, we see a stripped down, raw version of our beloved Tony Stark. A man set adrift by events that are greater than his human comprehension.
A crazed terrorist called The Mandarin (long time nemesis of Iron Man from the comics) threatens our hero. But looks can be deceiving. We soon find out it’s a once scorned, Aldrich Killian, running things from behind the scenes. By developing a program called Extremis, Killian means to get injured soldiers back in the field by regrowing lost limbs. As we know from other well-intentioned Super Soldier programs, even the best intentions can have dark side effects.
Other Things to Note
With up to 42 Iron Man suits, it’s easy to miss some of the nods to suits from the comic books. Look out for Silver Centurion, Sneaky, Heartbreaker and Red Snapper to name a few! Don’t get too attached to the family of Iron suits, thanks to the “Clean Slate Protocol.” Pepper Potts gets to have a break out moment as a grade-A bad ass when she’s used as a test subject for Extremis and gets to wear the Iron Man suit for a hot minute (a nod to her comic book counterpart, Rescue.) Tony Stark finally has surgery to remove the shrapnel from around his heart and his need for an arc reactor.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that Happy Hogan watches Downton Abbey and thinks it’s “elegant”?
End Credit Scene
Working on your inner demons is hard work and even with the emotional progress made in Iron Man 3, Tony Stark still needs someone to talk to. Enter good friend and fellow Avenger, Bruce Banner himself. Who can’t seem to stay awake long enough to listen to Tony’s outer monologue.
Release Date Order
Like I said, this week the roads collide, so see the descriptions above. And don’t forget to join the #RoadtoInfinityWar on Twitter this week as @NerdintheCity continues live tweeting on Tuesday and Thursday nights.