Offended, Insulted, and Not Shutting Up

Hey, readers! We regret that we must interrupt this programming with another little piece of criticism aimed at Marvel’s Hierarchy of Seneschals.

Yes, I just called them that. Until they either wake up or are replaced by people who actually know what they are doing, I am not changing that moniker.

Marvel announced that in the next season of their animated series, Avengers Assemble (to be re-titled Avengers: Secret Wars), Jane Foster will debut as “Thor.” Some of you, certainly, see no problem with this. But several other fans, including me, have had problems with this change since it was made in the comics. See the links below to find out how much we dislike it:

http://comicvine.gamespot.com/thor/4005-2268/forums/i-like-jane-foster-as-thor-but-i-dont-1697781/

http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2014/07/say-it-aint-so-stan-female-thor.html

http://community.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?582-By-the-Gods!-It-s-THOR-Appreciation/page52

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/02/14/female-thor-is-what-happens-when-progressive-hand-wringing-and-misandry-ruin-a-cherished-art-form/

https://voxday.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/men-in-women-suits.html

http://kaimaciel.tumblr.com/post/144803890339/my-honest-opinion-on-jane-foster-as-thor

http://www.comics2film.com/if-she-be-worthy-thor-jane-foster-marvel-101/

While I am not a huge fan of the Prince of Thunder, the fact is that I do like him, and I prefer him as a Prince, that is, a male heir to the throne of Asgard. Jane Foster is an agreeable character, and I would be excited to see her in the TV series. But I would prefer that she debuted as herself: no superhuman powers, no magic hammers, none of the “new” idiocy with which the writers and their handlers have decided to outfit her.

Jane Foster’s strength was once her “mortality,” her humanity. It would not matter to me if she turned up in the cartoon as a nurse or as an astrophysicist, as she is portrayed in the films. She has carried herself well in both those fields of endeavor; as either of these professions and many others suit her character.

Yet Marvel, in its attempts to stay ahead of the latest fads, decided this was not good enough for her. Someone, somewhere, must have complained about the enchantment on Thor’s hammer, which of course read: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall wield the power of Thor.” A lot of people are getting hung up on pronouns such as “he” and “she.” “He” is what they come down against most vehemently nowadays.

To raise Cain (ooh, how gender-specific of me) over such an inconsequential thing is beyond dim-witted. Mjolnir can be wielded by whoever is worthy. That can be a man, a woman, an alien (remember Beta Ray Bill?), or an android (did we all forget Vision that fast?). The inscription is a generic; if a worthy lady had come along and picked up Mjolnir, the only reason Thor would have been astonished was because he is used to lifting the hammer, not sharing it with others.

Thor has been a male character for more than a thousand years, since he was created by the Ancient Norse. And, as others have pointed out, Marvel’s version of Thor has been adored by thousands of girls everywhere right from the get-go. His fan base is not getting any smaller, people, and neither are the crushes on him.

But in an effort to appease the talking heads, Marvel has disregarded the feelings of its fans – you and me – in order to curry favor with the ‘elites.’ Never mind that we are the ones who have supported Marvel all these years, they are determined to continue flogging dead horses in order to receive the praise of people who otherwise sniff condescendingly at them and their medium.

Yes, you read that right. I called this gender-switch for Thor a dead horse. It is a dead horse. It has been a dead horse for decades, but the ‘intelligensia’ is so desperate to keep making money off of it that they insist it is still twitching. People continue to scream about women being oppressed in the United States and Europe because, for instance, they “do not make as much money” as men.

Have a look at these links here, readers, and see if you agree with that assessment:

 

ISIS Burns Caged Women

http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/06/06/19-women-burned-to-death-after-refusing-to-have-sex-with-isis-fighters/

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/06/06/19-yazidi-girls-burned-alive-for-refusing-to-have-sex-with-their-isis-captors.html

http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/isis-burns-19-girls-alive-for-refusing-sex-slavery/

 

Persecution of Christians by ISIS

http://www.wnd.com/2014/12/nun-pleads-for-christians-raped-sold-killed-by-isis/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/425942077231304272/

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/10/05/report-syrian-christians-cry-jesus-isis-mass-beheading/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3261075/ISIS-sliced-12-year-old-Syrian-boy-s-fingertips-father-Christians-failed-bid-convert-Islam-executed-group-victims-shouted-Jesus.html

https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/attacks/christian-attacks.aspx

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-crucifies-children-for-not-fasting-during-ramadan-in-syria-10338215.html

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/02/isis-executioners-spare-no-one-killing-74-children-for-crimes-including-not.html

 

Jihadi Brides

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-s-austrian-poster-girl-jihadi-brides-have-changed-their-minds-and-want-to-come-home-9789547.html

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/577347/British-twin-girl-jihadi-brides-want-to-return-to-home

http://nypost.com/2014/10/10/pregnant-teen-girls-who-joined-isis-weve-made-a-huge-mistake/

http://ijr.com/2014/12/220140-150-women-refused-isis-sex-brides-terrorists-responded-heinous-way/

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/08/12/uk-teen-girl-who-went-to-isis-area-syria-reported-killed.html

 

Rape Abroad

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/10/leaked-document-says-2000-men-allegedly-assaulted-1200-german-women-on-new-years-eve/

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/01/21/revealed-full-list-of-1049-victims-crimes-committed-during-cologne-new-years-eve-sex-assaults/

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/636944/Cologne-sex-attacks-list-crimes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3684302/1-200-German-women-sexually-assaulted-New-Year-s-Eve-Cologne-elsewhere.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35231046

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jinamoore/cologne-attacks-on-women?utm_term=.tk5ewAR5Y#.lujLvXlo9

 

Women in the U.S. do not know how good they have it. That is the truth.

Why is Marvel so determined to gender-switch characters like Thor and Iron Man when they have real-life stories like these, which are far more important and only a few minutes from their fingertips, to incorporate into their comics? In the 1940s they lampooned Hitler, and in the 1950s and 60s, they bashed the Communists. But in this brave new world, they are suddenly afraid to so much as mention the beasts that burn women in cages for refusing to be sex slaves? Why would they rather have us watching Captain America be “revealed” to be a secret HYDRA operative, when the real HYDRA (better known as ISIS) is out and about in the world beheading and crucifying children?

Do they really think that we are buffoons with such banal interests that our only care is why the inscription on Mjolnir says “he” instead of “person”? More to the point, readers, is this how you want the people running Marvel to think of you? It is not how I want them to think about me, that is for sure!

But apparently they not only believe we are navel-gazing twits, they are extremely eager to shove that belief down our throats – along with the notion that they “have” to do this because their universe has “too few” super heroines.

That is guff spewed by people who do not know what they are talking about, and I can prove it. Below is a roll call of some female Marvel heroines that regularly see – or have regularly seen – combat in the Marvel Universe:

1. The Invisible Woman/Sue Storm-Richards
2. Wasp/Janet van Dyne
3. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff
4. Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse
5. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff
6. Mantis
7. Moondragon
8. Hellcat/Patricia Walker
9. She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters
10. The Blonde Phantom
11. Miss America
12. White Tiger/Ava Ayallah
13. Squirrel Girl
14. Spectrum/Monica Rambeau
15. Carol Danvers
16. Sharon Carter
17. Crystal of the Inhumans
18. Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans
19. Storm/Ororo Munroe
20. Jean Grey
21. Psylocke
22. X-23/Laura Kinney
23. Jubilation Lee
24. Firestar/Angelica Jones
25. Surge
26. Honey Lemmon
27. Go-go Tomago
28. Julia Carpenter
29. Jessica Jones Cage
30. Rescue/Pepper Potts
31. Silver Sable
32. Black Cat/Felicia Hardy
33. Echo/Maya Lopez
34. Firebird/Bonita Juárez
35. Jocasta
36. Dazzler
37. Rogue/Anna Maria
38. Shadowcat/Katherine “Kitty” Pryde
39. Boom-Boom
40. Silverclaw/Maria Santiago
41. Quake/Daisy Johnson
42. Jessica Drew
43. Mirage/Danielle Moonstar
44. Sif
45. Valkyrie/Brunhilde
46. Yellowjacket/Rita DeMara
47. Gamora
48. Lilandra
49. Wolfsbane
50. Elektra
51. Dust
52. Magma
53. Misty Knight
54. Colleen Wheeler
55. Polaris/Lorna Dane
56. Phoenix/Rachel Grey Summers
57. Dagger
58. Torunn
59. Maria Hill
60. Tigra
61. Songbird/Melissa Gold
62. Namora
63. Namorita
64. Darkstar
65. Magick/Ilyana Rasputin
66. Emma Frost
67. Stature/Cassie Lang
68. Siryn/Theresa Cassidy
69. Sasquatch/Snowbird
70. Domino
71. Marrow
72. Blink
73. Kate Bishop

This is by no means a comprehensive list. Still, if this sample inventory has not made your eyes cross, then you should visit this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_characters:_A. It lists many, if not most, of Marvel’s characters. Scanning through it some years ago, I was left wondering why Marvel seemed to be having so much trouble coming up with new male characters, since they were adding more new females than males!

Now what reasonable critic can look at these catalogs and conclude that Marvel has “too few” heroines? Marvel’s heroines have always stood with their male counterparts to face down evil. But the fact is that some of these ladies have been and remain more popular than others. This is natural, and their male compatriots have suffered the same ebb and flow of fan admiration over the years. Some characters are simply more popular than others. This does not negate the existence of the less well-known male heroes, so why do people seem to think the reverse is true when discussing Marvel’s lesser known heroines?

Marvel has no need to gender-swap its male characters. Avengers Assemble is a perfect platform from which to show their less eminent or forgotten heroines and heroes. They could even use the series as a stage to create new heroines, the way Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends did in the 1980s.

This post was published for two reasons, readers. One, I have had a burning desire to tell off the ignorant critics of Marvel Comics for quite some time. If they want to evaluate Marvel’s characters properly, then they should do their research before they open their big, fat mouths. If they are too lazy or indifferent to do that, then they should sit down and shut up, leaving the people who do know and love Marvel’s characters to enjoy them undisturbed.

Second, I wanted to make clear to Marvel just how deeply offended and insulted I am, underscoring my latest letter to them. (BTW, thanks for all the views, Marvel. It is sooo nice of you to drop by! 😉 ) They believe that to keep my patronage they have to turn their fictional universe upside-down and inside out.

That is a perfect way to lose my money, not keep it. The Mainstream Marvel Universe which Stan Lee, Don Heck, Jim Romita, and all the others created is my favorite Marvel playground. And I want that universe, with all its flaws and foibles, back. This does not mean that I want the characters wearing their original costumes and hairstyles. I do not want them using radio and ‘60s slang. I simply want their histories and identities to stay fixed as they were originally conceived and, if possible, built up for the better.

Alternate universe spin-off comics, TV series, and movies are fun (with the exception of the Ultimate Universe). But they are not the universes I benefited from first. That universe – the 616 universe – is the one I love best and will always enjoy more than any other.

If Marvel thinks they have to ruin that world in order to keep my interest, then they have made a grave error. I understand that it is not easy to continue a series that has survived for fifty plus years. That is not the issue. The issue is Marvel’s desire to play patty-cake with people who despise them while using them as a tool. Once they are done, they will discard Marvel like a hot potato – and then what will become of the heroes we care for and the ideals for which they stand?

I do not want to see Marvel destroyed. I want to be able to share it with many more people over the coming years of my life. But I cannot follow a bunch of lemmings over a cliff into the ocean, nor will I allow them to lead others over said precipice into said sea. Not without a fight.

Whether you agree with this article or not, readers, think about what you read in the links embedded here. Learning is not simply memorizing mathematic formulae or deciding how to identify yourself. Education is supposed to teach you to how to think, not what you are to think. As long as you can think for yourself, the Enemy will have a more difficult time catching you.

I prefer not to be caught, and so I prefer to think. It is a whole lot harder to escape a trap than it is to avoid it in the first place.

So start thinking, Marvel!

Until the next mess,

The Mithril Guardian

Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

Hey, readers! I am here re-blogging a review of Avengers: Age of Ultron by masterleiaofasgard! If you are one of the few people on the planet who has not yet seen the film, I must therefore warn you that this post contains spoilers. Enjoy!

Excelsior!

Yesterday I finally got to watch ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’. It was, in a word, EPIC. So I thought I’d do a review for it, even though I’ve only seen it once.

The movie starts out with the team invading a HYDRA base to get Loki’s scepter, which the HYDRA got hold of. That’s when they also first run into Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, the Maximoff twins. They destroy the base and get back to Avengers Tower, which used to be the Stark Tower but is now their main base. There Tony Stark gets Bruce Banner to help him create Ultron, a robot which Tony plans to use along with his Iron Legion to protect the world from alien invasions and the like.

While everyone is kicking back at a party, (during which all the guys try to lift Thor’s hammer but fail) Ultron springs to life and after a…

View original post 1,015 more words

The Best Dialogue and Lines of The Avengers

Yep, I’m doing The Avengers again!!  This time, though, I am approaching the movie from a slightly different angle.  I thought that this time I would ‘assemble’ some of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies, The Avengers, and share them with you.

One of the things I enjoy about movies and books are the wonderful lessons hidden in each story.  There is always a lot to be gleaned from a story, and one of the best places to look for nuggets of philosophical instruction is the dialogue.

In The Avengers, one piece of dialogue from the film is my favorite simply because of the way that Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) say it.  It goes like this:

Nick Fury: We have no quarrel with your people.

Loki: An ant has no quarrel with a boot.

Nick Fury: You planning to step on us?

This dialogue cracks me up.  In most movies, when the bad guy drops in unannounced, the leader of the free world tries to talk him out of squishing humanity.  Said attempt usually ends with said leader either being chased out of the room or getting killed for being a windbag.  Fury was fortunate – unsurprisingly – and had neither incident befall him.

However, the line is memorable for me because of Loki’s choice of response.  I really hate to say a villain had a great, funny line, but Loki did.  Of course humanity has no beef with the Asgardians.  Trouble is, Loki is not an Asgardian.  Never has been, does not want to be one.  He intends to be the ‘boot’ that steps on the ‘ant’ of the ‘measly’ human race.

Doesn’t really go his way, does it? J

Another line I like is also one of Loki’s zingers.  It occurs after he tells Thor that he does not have the Cube:

Thor [to Loki]: You listen well brother….

[Iron Man tackles Thor, taking him off the mountainside before he can finish his sentence]

Loki [calmly]: I’m listening.

This is just too cute!  Everyone who has ever been to a theater expects lots of speeches from the characters, bad and good alike, explaining Dark from Light.  What Thor would have said we can only suppose, thanks to Iron Man’s timely intervention.  I have to say, that is the whole reason the scene is so memorable!!

Another winning piece of dialogue I like from The Avengers is given near the end of the film.  It is delivered by none other than the Director of SHIELD himself:

World Security Council: Director Fury, the council has made a decision.

Nick Fury: I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision, I’ve elected to ignore it.

The Big Eye Patch knocked this one out of the park and had even me shouting, “Home run!”  It is high time that someone in the movies told the bureaucrats to stick it in their ear.  I am no fan of Fury; just like Cap, I would say “he has the same blood on his hands that Loki does.”  But this was a line that was well worth hearing. It was well spoken, too.

Another of Fury’s well-iterated speeches was this oration at the end of the film:

World Security Council: Where are the Avengers?

Nick Fury: I’m not currently tracking their whereabouts. I’d say they’ve earned a leave of absence.

World Security Council: And the Tesseract?

Nick Fury: The Tesseract is where it belongs: out of our reach.

World Security Council: That’s not your call.

Nick Fury: I didn’t make it. I just didn’t argue with the god that did.

World Security Council: So you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crimes?

Nick Fury: Oh, I think he will be.

World Security Council: I don’t think you understand what you’ve started. Letting the Avengers loose on this world. They’re dangerous.

Nick Fury: They surely are. And the whole world knows it. Every world knows it.

World Security Council: Was that the point of all this? A statement?

Nick Fury: A promise.

In this speech, Fury again tells the WSC (World Security Council) they don’t know zip about what the world needs.  Here he defends the Avengers and leaves the door open for the sequel film.  And he points out that, if fooling around with the Tesseract really is a signal to the other races of the galaxy that Earth is “ready for a higher form” of warfare, then the rest of the galaxy better get the message that Humanity isn’t going to roll over when attacked.

The WSC are roll-over-and-become-dead pencil pushers.  Fury is the “come here to hurt us and we will kill you” general.

There is just one thing I feel I have to say about Nick Fury.  I like him about as much as I enjoy cleaning the bathroom.  But his strategy is the winning one; I prefer him to the WSC.  I just don’t trust him as far as the Hulk could throw him.  And Big Green can throw things a rather long distance.

Speaking of the “Green One,” another scene from the film that I enjoy is this exchange between the Hulk and Loki:

Loki: Enough! You are – all of you – beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I shall not be bullied by…

[the Hulk beats Loki into the floor with repeated smashes]

The Hulk [leaving]: Puny god.

[Loki groans weakly from his crater in the floor]

As soon as Loki began yapping I thought, “Oh, great.  Another villain soliloquy.  This is going to take five minutes – at the least.”

What I forgot was the Asgardian snitch was addressing the Hulk.  I also managed to forget that the Hulk’s patience has a very low ceiling.  So I nearly screamed with laughter as I watched the Hulk “ragdoll” Loki into the floor.  I cannot tell you how long I have wanted to hear the villain in any film get cut off mid-yap like that!  I’ve wanted to do it myself for years.  The two-minute scene was extremely gratifying, and it is one of the scenes in the film that I enjoy the most.

Speaking of funny lines, here’s a zinger from Marvel’s top assassin and Master Marksman that is quotable for almost every situation:

Natasha Romanoff [about the Chitauri coming toward them]: This is just like Budapest all over again.

Clint Barton: You and I remember Budapest very differently.

I agree with Hawkeye here.  How the heck could whatever happened in Budapest be remotely akin to getting charged by hordes of ugly aliens?  Maybe Widow’s memory has begun playing tricks on her…?

Anyway, here’s another gem from the film:

Thor: Do not touch me again.

Tony Stark: Then don’t take my stuff.

Thor: You have no idea what is going on here.

Tony Stark: Mmmm…. Shakespeare in the Park? Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?

Thor: This is beyond you, Metal Man.  Loki will face Asgardian justice!

Tony Stark: He gives up the Cube, he’s all yours. Until then, (puts down his faceplate) stay out of my way.

This exchange is a hoot.  Thor is characterized these days as having a head too big for his helmet, and as prince of Asgard, he probably always has had a slightly inflated opinion of himself.  Now, billionaire Tony Stark is no slouch in the ego department either.  Like Thor, he’s had everything handed to him on a silver platter from the time he could ask for it.  That is not a condition conducive to a healthy ego.  So this banter is more than just a prelude to a clash of titans.  It’s the spark to an explosive meeting of oversized attitudes!

Another exchange to keep the audience smiling is this quip from Cap.  It occurs just as he, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are preparing to leave the Helicarrier.  Problem is, of course, they are going to need a ride…

Maintenance Guy [seeing the three Avengers climb aboard the aircraft to fly to Manhattan]: Uh… You are not authorized to be here!

Steve Rogers: Son… just don’t.

Again, this is a line that I have wanted to hear for years.  Whenever the heroes have to sneak off to fight the bad guys, someone like this poor maintenance guy has to try and stop them.  Here, Cap puts him in his place with three little words – much more comfortable for all concerned than the customary knockout punch others have received for trying to do their jobs. Or those poor souls who simply end up in the wrong place at the wrong time!

Okay, now that I have about covered all of the fun lines, on to the more serious stuff.  One of the best exchanges in the entire movie is where Tony Stark tells Loki in plain terms precisely what the Avengers are going to do to him:

Loki: What have I to fear?

Tony Stark: The Avengers.

(Loki cocks his head at him and Tony rolls his eyes.)

Tony Stark: It’s what we call ourselves, sort of like a team.  “Earth’s mightiest heroes” type thing.

Loki: (chuckling) Yes, I’ve met them.

Tony Stark: (nods and smiles briefly, his expression somewhere between angry and sheepish) Yeah.  Takes us a while to get any traction, I’ll give you that one.  But let’s do a head count here.  Your brother, the demi-god (Loki grimaces and begins pacing); a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins – and YOU, big fella, you have managed to tick off every single one of them.

Loki: (smiling again) That was the plan.

Tony Stark: Not a great plan.  When they come, and they WILL, they’ll come for you.

Loki: (snarling) I have an army!

Tony Stark: We have a Hulk.

Loki: I thought the beast had wandered off…

Tony Stark: (angrily) You’re missing the point!  There’s no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top.  Maybe your army comes and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on YOU.  Because if we can’t protect the Earth (pauses a beat, then continues fiercely), you can be damned well sure we’ll avenge it!

This is, hands down, Stark’s best soliloquy ever.  There is nothing more I need to say about it.

The only scene that might come close to Iron Man’s address is the one which takes place in Germany; after Loki has Hawkeye acquire the iridium he needs and goes out to gloat to the crowd:

[Loki pounds his scepter on the ground, causing a shockwave that intimidates the crowd into silence; they all kneel before him]

Loki: Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.

Elderly German Man [slowly rises to his feet]: Not to men like you.

Loki [smiling]: There are no men like me.

Elderly German Man: There are always men like you.

Loki: Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example.

[Loki aims a blast of power from his scepter at the old man, but Captain America leaps in front of his intended target, deflecting the blast with his shield back at Loki, knocking him down]

Captain America: You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.

Loki: The soldier. A man out of time.

Captain America: I’m not the one who’s out of time.

The first thing that struck me about this scene was the realism: when Loki comes out to make his grand speech about his new world order, no one is paying attention.  Instead, the crowd is running about in an absolute panic.  No one is phoning for help; no one is making a break for the exit out of the courtyard; and no one is paying attention to the goon with the horned helmet.

That is exactly how a real crowd would react in a dire situation.

Of course, the next best part of this scene is when the elderly German gentleman tells Loki, “You ain’t nothin’ special, buddy.  I’ve seen your kind before.  Odds are I’ll see them again at some point in the future.  So get off your fat, high horse and buzz off.”

And thanks to Cap, this German gentleman probably will get to see the next crackpot who tries to conquer the world.

This is the other good part of the scene.  Cap dropping down in the nick of time to save a man he probably fought almost ninety-odd years back has a lot of poetic irony behind it.  I would say that was the reason Whedon added the scene; to show how much had changed for Cap and how the First Avenger was adjusting to his new century.

He adjusted pretty well, I would say.

All right, second last favorite line(s) of the movie. This exchange takes place between Loki and Coulson after Loki has jabbed Coulson with his spear and jettisoned Thor from the Helicarrier:

Agent Phil Coulson: You’re gonna lose.

Loki: Am I?

Coulson: It’s in your nature.

Loki: Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the            sky… where is my disadvantage?

Coulson: You lack conviction.

Loki: I don’t think I…

[Coulson shoots Loki with his Destroyer-made gun, throwing Loki through the wall behind him]

Coulson: So that’s what it does.

Never mind the fact that Coulson approaches his upcoming demise with his typical cool demeanor, the fact is that he is right.  Loki has no conviction in his choice of actions; else he would not be trying to take Earth through subterfuge.  In contrast to him, the Avengers do have the conviction of their principles.  That’s why they win.  That is why they will always win.

I have to say I am going to miss seeing Coulson in the films.  When a guy can stare down the gun barrels of the Marvel villains featured in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Thor with the same calm one would exhibit viewing a museum piece, he is obviously made of some stern stuff.  I suppose it is nice to have him back in the new television series Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I think I will really miss him in the movies.  After Hawkeye, he had to be the most trustworthy ground force S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to date.

Now for the last, best line of Marvel’s The Avengers.  It is the line that sums up the entire movie; the line which ought to be uttered more than it has been in years.  The line that reveals why this movie is one of my favorites and what makes The Avengers one of the best films out of Hollywood in far, far too long:

Steve Rogers: There’s only one God, ma’am. And I’m pretty sure He doesn’t dress like that!

As they wrote in the comics, “’Nuff said!”

                                                                                                                        Later,

The Mithril Guardian