The Avengers

This is my favourite Marvel movie yet. Honestly, Marvel is my new favourite movie company.

The Avengers was awesome! I loved that as the viewer I could see not only what each of the characters was like and how they acted in certain situations, but also how they interact. Plus, I loved all the humour and witty banter that the characters had.

I think it was an interesting choice to make Loki the villain, although it makes sense. Had Loki not been the villain, Thor would have had no reason to find a way back to earth and protect it. Side note: I know it probably didn't fit the plot, but I find it odd that Thor did not make more of an effort to find Jane (if he was in a chick flick, he would have...clearly I watch too many chick flicks). I was blown away by Loki's power and intelligence. I know that he double-crossed everyone in Thor, but I wasn't expecting him to be so manipulative. Yes, he had his staff and the Tesseract, but he managed to drive wedges between everyone. An ships power to duplicate himself never ceases to confuse me.

I had forgotten how arrogant and stubborn Thor could be until I saw him in comparison with the others. Yes, he has leadership. Yes, he fights for good. The problem, however, is that he thinks himself wholly capable of doing everything on his own because he is a god. Nonetheless, he helped the Avengers save the day.

Iron Man is as egotistical as it gets. In fact, he was the reason that the Avengers didn't work out the first time around. He is the most intelligent one there, though possibly second to Bruce Banner (but since their fields of knowledge are different, it is hard to compare). Iron Man's greatest struggle is that he always wants to be the reckless party guy; the centre of attention. Still, he is persistent in a fight and will do what is right, even if it is for his own glory most of the time. He still has regard for other people and under good leadership will stick to the plan, even sacrificing himself, to save the day.

Captain America is amazing. He is quiet, unsure, humble. And may I point out, a good Christian man. He joins only because he wants to do what is right and protect the world. He fights when he knows he needs to, and is incredibly brave. He is also the one who is smart enough to realize what S.H.I.E.L.D. is hiding regarding the Tesseract and proves that sometimes it's better to do things the old-fashioned way, sans technology. Of course, the greatest part about it all, is that he steps up and takes control of the Avengers, finally giving the group purpose and saving the day.

Black Widow is very neat. I like that she was a spy who reverted to serving for the greater good. What I am confused about (which I might know if I had actually watched ALL of the preceding movies) is what her super power is supposed to be. She seems to be very good with martial arts / combat stuff, but besides super flexibility I'm not really sure what it is. She is clever, and very sweet when you get to know her. I also love that she allows herself to be vulnerable to Loki in order to help the others. One last thing that confuse me: which of the guys was she interested in? She seemed to be in love with Hawkeye except that she also seemed interested in The Hulk and Captain America.

Hawkeye, I can only say a little about since for most of the movie he was Loki's puppet. He definitely seems to have feelings for Natasha. From his small appearance in Thor combine with this, I would say that he always enjoys a fight, but may be probe to fight for the side that HE feels is right. I think he is still a good guy, and may have done the most in the final fight...or at least racked up the highest number of kills.

Bruce Banner is so humble, but almost beyond it to the point of hating himself. I love that he ignores the super part of himself because it involves so much anger and destruction. Instead of trying to use his powers to save the world, he is  using his medical knowledge to improve the world. Both parts I him are greatly needed by people everywhere. It is quite sad how much he fears himself when he becomes the Hulk, but I love that Iron Man taught him to not only come to terms with it, but to control it. I only wish that they had shown more of how that happened. I think it is great that he has those two opposite sides...it reminds me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. If Bruce had not learned how to control the Hulk, the Avengers may not have succeeded.

Lastly, a small shout out to the fearless Nick Fury, the leader who made it all happen. To Agent Coulson who did anything necessary to bring the team back together, including faking his own death and sacrificing his Captain America trading cars. To Agent Hill who showed that us mortals can be heroic sometimes too. And to Erik Selvig for always being on the side of good (except, of course, when Loki has control of him).

As the closing credit song so motivationally put it: "Like the sun we will live to rise."