Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in The Avengers

Black Widow tossing out her patented Widow-Taser-Thingys
(left image from Iron Man 2 and right image from The Avengers trailer after Captain America)

Having watched both the Avengers trailers (the full length one and the one at the end of Captain America), we get to see Black Widow a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff (played by Scarlett Johansson) repeat quite a few of her "trademark" moves we saw earlier in Iron Man 2.

Shaft: Inspiration for Ultimate Nick Fury

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (left) and John Shaft (right)

I remember watching Shaft the movie many years back, which starred the Samuel L. Jackson. When I read the Ultimates comics, I recalled thinking "Hey haven't I seen this look before somewhere...".

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill in The Avengers

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill in The Avengers (left) & Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother (right)



It's been sometime since I've posted an entry, been busy with some other stuff...like watching How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM)!

Okay I have a confession to make, as much I watch HIMYM for its hilarious storylines, I also watch it for the lovely Cobie Smulders, who plays Robin Scherbatsky!

In the show, Robin is a tough, no-nonsense, gun-toting gal, who can definitely hold her own in a fight.

As you may know by now, Cobie will also be playing Maria Hill in The Avengers, which is coming out next year.

Anatomy of a Hulk



The Hulk from The Avengers, played by Mark Ruffalo

The Hulk from Hulk (left) and The Incredible Hulk (right)

Last month The Los Angeles Times spoke to Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios on what the Hulk will look like when he appears in "The Avengers" next year. In this movie, Mark Ruffalo will be taking over the role of Bruce Banner/Hulk from Eric Bana (Hulk in 2003) and Edward Norton (The Incredible Hulk in 2008). Below is an excerpt from the interview:  

He'll be about the same size he was in "The Incredible Hulk" [which was about 9 feet tall] or maybe a little bit smaller. His muscles won't be quite as cut. We figure he's been the Hulk now for a few years and [his physique is changing]. He's not as cut or as ripped as he was in "The Incredible Hulk." The most important thing is that face. As you can already see in that concept painting, it is — more than any Hulk that's ever been done in live action — a Hulk that let's you see the actor in there. You will be able to see Ruffalo in there. That was a big revelation for us. It's just a concept painting, but in that you can see the [influence of Marvel Comics pioneer and original Hulk artist Jack] Kirby, as people have already pointed out, but also, and equally important in this case, Ruffalo's eyes and his cheek structure. It is him.The full article can be found here. After reading that Mr Feige says this will be a Hulk where you can "see the actor in there", I began to wonder if he had even watched the previous two Hulk movies? I remember in the 2003 movie, the jolly green giant looked pretty much like Eric Bana to me. As for Norton's Hulk, I didn't quite see the resemblance, but let's see shall we? At the same time I'll also look at the other differences between Bana and Norton's Hulk.

The Ultimates Comic: Inspiration for The Avengers Movie

A shortened version of the Avengers Trailer that plays at the end of Captain America has been released on Yahoo! Movies. Screenshots can be found at Superherohype. With that we've gotten our first actual look at scenes from the upcoming Avengers movie. Coupled with the 7 Avengers character posters that Marvel has released, I must say I'm really liking the look of things to come.

But before all this, there was a comic book series called "The Ultimates". Created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch as a brand new take on the Avengers, set in a more realistic world. With Hitch's "cinematic" panels and layout,  it provided many comic book readers a glimpse of what an Avengers movie might actually look like. I highly recommend anyone who hasn't read it to do so.

Well with the images from the Avengers trailer and poster, lets just see how many of the characters were influenced by their Ultimates counterparts.