Wow, it's been a while. But considering I now have a bunch of spare time to write, I figured I'll start of with a bang! Welcome to Comic Book Movies 101, where I'll try to educate casual comic movie watchers on characters, stories and much more!
So what's on the horizon for 2015? Well, based on the very basis that you're reading this, I'm sure you've heard of Avengers 2: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, both of which are set to release in 2015. I'm also sure you must have caught the trailers for each film that have been released, all of which are super hype!
 |
| awwwww yeeeah |
 |
| AWWWWW YEEEEEAH |
But of course, just like Guardians of the Galaxy, there are going to be some super obscure characters and plot devices that need to be answered so you can go into these movies fully appreciating them.
Just what is Ultron? Who is The Vision? Why is there a character named Ant-Man? I'll attempt to answer as much of this as possible in this one post. So get ready true believers, here I go!
ANT-MAN: HANK PYM
 |
| From bottom top: Ant-Man,Hank Pym, Goliath, Yellow Jacket, Giant-Man, Ultron |
In order to make this as linear as possible, I'm going to have to start at the 'beginning' of sorts. So instead of jumping into Ultron territory, we need to look at one of the most important Marvel characters in history.
Hank Pym is a genius, a scientist, a co-founder of the Avengers, and the original Ant-Man. Oh, he's also responsible for creating the super sentient A.I. Ultron. However, this is all within the comic book universe, not the cinematic universe, but I'll get into that later.
As mentioned before, Hank Pym was Ant-Man. But he's also had numerous other personas such as Yellow-Jacket, Wasp, Giant-Man, etc. Pym also co-founded the Avengers alongside Tony Stark int he comics. Pym uses his scientific prowess to create suits that give him super human abilities such as shrinking to the size of an ant (while improving his overall strength) or providing him with weaponized technology such as "stingers" in his gloves as Yellow Jacket. Hell, he even uses his helmet as Ant-Man to communicate telepathically with insects, allowing him to use them for his own heroic means.
 |
| Yeah, dude sure loves to dress up |
In a sense, Hank Pym is like a much more like-able Tony Stark, using science and technology to create super suits to enhance his abilities. Unlike Stark, however, Pym has always had a more humbling background. See, Stark started off as a weapons salesmen, making money off of wars and what not. Pym abhors violence and tries to do everything in his power to mitigate it. As such, he develops technology specifically to pacify violent individuals. It should also be noted that Pym creates numerous personas due to his mental instability and his self conscious attitude towards the rest of the Avengers.
Over the years, Pym undergoes severe mental stress, and the only way to cope with it is to done different suits with different abilities. His mental instability can be linked to his accidental inhaling of chemical fumes in his laboratory, changing his stance on anti-violence and allowing him to become Yellow Jacket for a period of time, causing some issues between him and the Avengers as he tried to 'prove himself' to them, donning the persona of Giant-Man to prove himself. His budding romance with Janet Van Dyne (his long time assistant and also known as The Wasp) also leads to him kidnapping her (under his extreme mental instability) and forcing her to marry him. Once the Avengers approach him and stabilize him, Pym and Janet eventually decide to let the marriage stand, forming one of the more long-standing relationships in Marvel comics history. Also one of the catalysts for Ultrons hate and obsession over his 'father'.
 |
| HANK, PLEASE |
This mental instability would eventually lead to the A.I. Ultron's insanity and desire for destruction of mankind. More on that later.
In regards to the cinematic universe, Pym will be in the new Ant-Man movie, but not as the young, adventurous hero that founds the Avengers, he will be portrayed as an aged scientist who has been developing technology for the greater good of humanity, only to pass down the mantle of Ant-Man to one Scott Lang.
In order to make his technological prowess make sense (to an extent) in the cinematic universe, Pym will have a company that was developing Ant-Man technology (shrinking and what not) for medical purposes, but has his company taken over by Darren Cross, the films villain. More on that later...
ANT-MAN: SCOTT LANG
 |
| Dude looks like he's seen better days |
Scott Lang, in the comics, was a down to earth, desperate man who eventually found his way taking up the Ant-Man mantle. A man who failed to support his own family as an electronics expert destined to be one of the greatest Avengers in the Marvel universe.
But how desperate can a man be to be labelled as "desperate"? Well, Scott Lang is a family man who's entire life revolves around his daughter Cassie...well, that and burglary. You see, Lang used to rob places just to get by, but eventually gave that up as his daughter came into his life.
 |
| Well, at least her sickness had SOME good come out of it |
Unfortunately, Cassie falls seriously ill. So to pay the medical bills, Lang takes up burglary once again. So what's the best method to rob places? Becoming undetectable of course! Lang was hired by Stark Industries after he got out of prison and was tasked by Tony Stark to install security measures at Avengers Mansion. As such, Lang basically got to know Hank Pym to a certain extent alongside other Avengers members.
Because of his desperate situation, he goes to Pyms personal home and steals the Ant-Man suit so that he could steal to keep his daughter alive. During his antics, Cassie's situation worsens, and it's only when Lang tries to steal from Cross Technological Enterprises (a leading company in Tech next to Stark Industries and Oscorp) discovers that the only doctor that can save Cassie's life is being held prisoner.
 |
| That's a pretty hype suit. Not gonna lie. |
To cut things short, Lang saves the doctor and essentially saves Cassie. Lang returns to Pym's home, wanting to return the suit and turn himself in for the theft, but since Pym is such a good guy and learns of the ends that Lang used the suit for, allows Lang to keep the suit and take up the mantle as Ant-Man...as long as he uses this power to be a hero.
ANT-MAN: DARREN CROSS/YELLOW JACKET
Darren Cross is, as his name suggests, the head of Cross Technological Enterprises. He is also the villain of the Ant-Man movie who militarizes the Ant-Man technology created by Hank Pym after he takes over Pyms company.
With Cross' leadership, CTE becomes one of the leading companies in tech next to Stark Industries. He will also develop the Yellow Jacket suits and wear one himself, eventually fighting Scott Lang.
The Yellow Jacket suit looks PRETTY FUCKING SICK baed on image leaks, so I'll talk about it a little here:
 |
| THAT'S A PRETTY HYPE SUIT |
Just like the Ant-Man suit, Yellow Jacket allows for the user to alter their size, both shrinking and growing at will. The Yellow Jacket suit is much more combat ready than the Ant-Man suit, equipped with energy projection, missile-like "stingers" and the ability to fly. The Yellow Jacket suit is created by Pym in the comics because of his mental instability and desire to be more of a 'contributing' member to the Avengers.
AGE OF ULTRON: ULTRON
 |
| I always try to use this image whenever possible. I mean look at it...DAYUM |
The big baddie of the new Avengers flick, Ultron is a force to be reckoned with. Numerous times this super sentient A.I. has caused mass chaos and destruction. Simply uttering his name has caused the Avengers to freak the fuck out. But what makes this robotic monstrosity so...awesome? Why is he an A-List villain that's getting his own movie? Well, I'm going to answer these questions and more right here, right now.
First off, let's discuss Ultron's history in the comic books. As mentioned before, Hank Pym is Ultrons creator. What started off as an invention for the greater good of humanity quickly turned into one of humanities greatest threats. Bit of an oversight, I must say.
Pym was simply experimenting with artificial intelligence, wanting to create a robot that could learn and feel human emotion. Possibly put this A.I. to good use for humanity and help aid the avengers when needed. Hell, he was even going to use it to keep an eye on his micro-prisons for him. Unfortunately, the A.I. that Pym was experimenting with was modeled after his own brain waves, and as we've already covered, Pym is incredibly unstable at this point in time. As such, the A.I. that would become Ultron lacked human consciousness but had all of that mental instability residing in it's "brain". Ultron would immediately come to hate his "father", developing an oedipus complex (even going as far as obsessing over Janet Pym).
 |
| Oooo...you dun fucked up, Pym |
After he gains sentience, Ultron brainwashes Pym into forgetting that he ever created him, retreating to the shadows, upgrading himself and preparing for the right time to emerge. Of course, when he does show up, Ultron has decided that the human race is the ultimate cause of all the world's problems, vowing to eradicate it and bring about a new world modeled after himself.
Ultron's obsession over his "father" and "mother" leads him to kidnapping them numerous times, primarily using Pyms brainwaves as a blueprint for creating his very own "family" of lesser Ultrons to serve as his own army. Hell, Ultron is also responsible for creating The Vision, an Android of incredible power and one of The Avengers greatest allies (more on this later).
Ultron proves himself to be one of the most dangerous villains the Avengers will ever face, often resulting in the team "cheating' their way to victory. I'd go into detail about this, but that would result in it's very own post. Just know that Ultron is a bad ass who, whenever he shows up, always ALWAYS gets his way one way or another.
 |
| So this is from the front cover of The Age of Ultron hardcover book...yeeeah... |
In the cinematic universe, Hank Pym will not be the creator of Ultron, so the entire history between these two characters will not exist, but the general theme of "father and son" will be explored through his new creator, Tony Stark. In fact, it's arguable that the resulting destruction caused by Ultron will eventually lead to the Civil War storyline in the future Captain America 3.
AGE OF ULTRON: THE VISION
The last character I'm going to talk about is one that we have yet to see any footage of. The only thing we have going for us is a couple of promo art/posters revealed early. The most recent promo art release gives us a pretty decent look at The Vision:
 |
| Yup. That's The Vision alright. |
Luckily, I have enough knowledge of The Vision to sort of give you guys a general understanding of his importance in the cinematic universe.
The Vision, in the comics, was created by Ultron in secret and was initially used to lure The Avengers into a trap. The Vision is capable of shooting optic beams from the solar jewel on his forehead, able to alter his density (allowing him to phase in and out of solid objects or becoming incredibly hard to near invulnerable states) and is a skilled hand-to-hand fighter thanks to the training he receives from Captain America.
His importance in the comics universe is mainly revolved around the fact that in his early days, he's often controlled by Ultron, being used to rebuild the insane robot. Hell, The Vision is also responsible for rebuilding Ultron with Adamantium (yes,the same stuff Wolverine's skeleton is made of) making the robot almost impossible to damage. The Vision is also often used as a catalyst by Ultron, manipulating time and space and what not (yay comic books!). Most importantly, The Vision is often the main weapon that the Avengers use against Ultron, often cheesing out the sentient A.I. out of a close victory.
 |
| Yeah I didn't lie. The Avengers eventually win here. But get a good look at Thor's dumb helmet! |
We don't know much about The Vision in the film. But we do know that he won't be created by Ultron. Instead, he will be created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. For what ends, we have yet to see. But it does explain his red/green colour scheme!
So I hope this post has helped you guys understand the lesser known characters of the upcoming Marvel films. I would have gone into detail about the Maximoff twins (Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch) but considering their comic book history with Magneto, it would be too much to put into this already lengthy post. Perhaps another day!
Until then, keep being awesome, read more comics, play more video games and Nerd it up a Notch!
No comments:
Post a Comment