Guardians Of The Galaxy
Released: July 31st, 2014
Runtime: 2hrs 1min
Directed by: James Gunn
Written by: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro
Significant characters introduced: Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax The Destroyer, Yondu Udonta, Nebula, Ronan The Accuser.
Notable universe developments: The Guardians Of The Galaxy team is created; the Inifinity Stones are explained; Thanos’ desire to collect the Infinity Stones is explored.
Guardians Of The Galaxy is based upon the Marvel superhero team of the same name, formed from existing characters by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning in 2008.
Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is abducted from Earth by a group of space pirates named The Ravagers, following the death of his mother. The Ravagers are led by Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker). Decades later, as a grown man, Quill steals a powerful orb-shaped artefact that sets the much-feared Ronan (Lee Pace) – a member of the militaristic Kree alien race – on his tail. Ronan sends assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve the orb from Quill.
Fighting over the orb, Quill and Gamora are apprehended by bounty hunters Rocket (a raccoon) and Groot (a tree). All four are arrested by the Nova Corps (an interstellar law enforcement agency), and incarcerated. In jail, they are attacked by Drax The Destroyer (Dave Bautista) who wishes to kill Gamora as revenge for Ronan having killed his family. As the group negotiate with each other, they discover that they are all, in fact, working against Ronan, and can help each other. They decide to team up and escape.
As Ronan meets with Thanos – who is Gamora’s adoptive father – the group attempt to sell the orb, and eventually take it to The Collector. Here it is revealed to contain the Infinity Power Stone, which has the capability to destroy all but the most powerful of the people to wield it. The Collector explains that the Infinity Stones are 6 different artefacts (Space Stone, Power Stone, Reality Stone, Mind Stone, Time Stone, and Soul Stone) that existed before the universe, having been created by Death, Entropy, Eternity and Infinity.
The orb falls into the hands of Ronan, and the group must work to retrieve it, and save the galaxy. In the closing moments, the group hand the orb to the Nova Corps, and their criminal records are wiped clean. Quill is informed that he is only half-human, and that his real father was part of an unknown alien race. Yondu Udonta can be heard remarking that his original plan had been to deliver Quill to his real father.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Released: April 23rd, 2015
Runtime: 2hrs 21mins
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Written by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Linda Cardellini, Stellan Skarsgard, Andy Serkis
Significant characters introduced: Ultron
Notable universe developments: The Avengers are haunted by hallucinations of death and destruction; Scarlet Witch joins The Avengers; The Vision is created with an Infinity Stone; Bruce Banner/Hulk departs to an unknown location.
Now working as a cohesive team, the Avengers raid a Hydra facility in the Eastern European country of Sokovia. The facility operates under the supervision of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), and he has been overseeing a program of experiments on humans that test the powers of the Chitauri Sceptre – as seen in Avengers. Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) are two of his prisoners. He is super-fast, and she has the power of telekinesis and hypnosis. The Maximoffs blame Tony Stark for the deaths of their parents, as he designed the weapons that killed them.
The Avengers retrieve the sceptre and, when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner begin to work on it, the find that it contains an artificial intelligence. Stark defies the opinion of the group and uses the AI to complete his Ultron program – a global defence system borne of the intense vulnerability he experienced during his brush with death at the end of Avengers. Ultron (James Spader) becomes sentient, seemingly destroys J.A.R.V.I.S., and attacks the Avengers – having determined that the biggest threat to the planet is humanity.
Ultron recruits the Maximoffs and they visit arms dealer Ulysses Klaue to acquire Wakandan vibranium – a rare metallic substance that can absorb all vibrations in its vicinity, increasing its level of invulnerability. Wanda Maximoff defends Ultron by causing disturbing hallucinations in each of the Avengers – with Thor’s including the Infinity Power Stone and The Aether.
Ultron forces a scientist to make him a new, synthetic body that incorporates vibranium and the Infinity Stone from Loki’s sceptre, but the Maximoffs realize the extent of his genocidal plan and switch their allegiance to the Avengers. The heroes take the dormant, synthetic body, and Stark infuses it with J.A.R.V.I.S. (retrieved from the internet), powered by the sceptre gemstone. This creates The Vision (Paul Bettany), who bears the Infinity Mind Stone in his brow.
In the final battle, Vision confronts Ultron and destroys him – but only after Pietro, and countless Sokovians, are killed. During the credits, Thanos is seen to be frustrated by the ineptitude of his minions, and vows to collect the Infinity Stones himself – revealing one Infinity Gauntlet in his possession.
Ant-Man
Released: July 17th, 2015
Runtime: 1hr 57mins
Directed by: Peyton Reed
Written by: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Hayley Atwell
Significant characters introduced: Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, Cassie Lang
Notable universe developments: Scott Lang becomes Ant-Man; Hydra’s attempt to gain the Ant-Man technology is revealed; Hank Pym gives Hope van Dyne The Wasp suit.
Ant-Man is based on the Marvel character of the same name, created in 1962 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby.
Newly released thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is persuaded to commit a burglary with his old cell-mate, Luis (Michael Pena). He breaks into a large home and finds a strange suit. He takes it home and puts it on, but finds that it has the power to shrink him to the size of an insect. Disturbed, he breaks back into the home to return it, but is arrested.
Former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) approaches him with a job offer, involving stealing. It transpires that Pym has been forced out of his own company, Pym Technologies, by his protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) – who has discovered Pym’s shrinking suit technology, and plans to sell it Hydra. Pym’s estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) still works for the company, and acts as something of a ‘mole.’
Motivated by the chance to prove himself to his young daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), Lang agrees to help Pym, and an elaborate heist is planned to retrieve the shrinking suit from Pym Technologies. The team then find that Cross has used the invention to create his own suit – the Yellowjacket – and he uses this to battle Lang as Ant-Man.
During the credits, Hank Pym reveals a newly-engineered suit to Hope Van Dyne – the Wasp, the previous version of which was worn by her mother – and Hope welcomes the chance to become a superhero herself.
