We saw it, and based on the boffo box office (this is one of those rare times when a word like "boffo" is truly appropriate), you did too! On this bonus episode of 24 Panels Per Second, we discuss The Avengers: what it does right, where it's lacking, and what it means both for the future of Marvel Studios and the future of the superhero genre in film. It takes us almost 100 minutes.
Dru and Dave's excitement about The Avengers could not be contained in a single Between Panels bonus episode! In the first half of this epic, two-part Between Panels, D&D discuss their impressions of the "Road to The Avengers" films and what they're hoping to get out of Joss Whedon's upcoming team-up film. Stay tuned for next week's exciting conclusion, in which we nurse a post-Avengers hangover.
THIS IS A BONUS EPISODE. If you're new to the show, we'd recommend starting elsewhere.
This week, Dru and David are back with the second instalment of the MADE-FOR-TV AVENGERS series with The Incredible Hulk Returns, the classic team-up between the Hulk and Thor. The film was originally intended as a backdoor pilot for a proposed ongoing Thor television series, but like Dru's proposed spinoff from 24 Panels - Hot Toddy Talk - it sadly never came to be. By Odin's beard!
Episode breakdown:
0:00 - 13:37: Intro banter (Sin City 2 and Sabrina the Teenage Witch announced, Avengers buzz, #hoganfacts)
13:37 - 14:07: The Incredible Hulk Returns trailer
14:07 - 1:23:09: Main discussion: The Incredible Hulk Returns
1:23:09 - 1:26:28: Closing remarks
2012 may prove to be the biggest year for comic book movies yet. In addition to Marc Webb's reboot The Amazing Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, his final entry in his Batman trilogy, the summer will also see the release of Joss Whedon's The Avengers. The film is a culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing together a number of characters including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, and various others that have made appearances in virtually every Marvel-produced film since 2008's Iron Man. Based on this first trailer, it still looks like Robert Downey Jr.'s charismatic Tony Stark will be the centre of attention, but if anyone will be able to balance all of these characters it's Buffy and Firefly creator Joss Whedon. Here's hoping, too, he'll be able to impart his own brilliant brand of wit and style to this juggernaut of a film.
