By Brandon T. McClure (@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast)
The MCU, specifically the Infinity Saga (2008-2019) has meant a great deal to me, as I am sure it has for many people. What first started as a book pitch is now a series of essays of mine that will be (hopefully) published every week. The goal is to pick a specific moment within The Infinity Saga and share with you why I believe it’s a defining moment. To revisit previous posts, visit our site HERE.
Enjoy the ride as we count down from 50 of the most defining moments and share your thoughts in the comments.
• “AVENGERS…” NOT YET•
MOMENT# 40
MOVIE: Avengers: Age of Ultron
DIRECTORS: Joss Whedon
WRITERS: Joss Whedon
The Avengers used to change up their roster pretty frequently in the comics, so in the second Avengers movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron, the creatives behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe decided to shake-up the team from the one originally introduced in 2012's The Avengers. As Captain America looked out onto his new team of heroes, which now consisted of Black Widow, The Vision, Wanda Maximoff, The Falcon and War Machine, he proudly called for them with the iconic line “Avengers…” and the film cut to credits.
The end of Avengers: Age of Ultron was buzzing with hints to the new status quo of the MCU’s premier team. Thor and Iron Man have seemingly left the group, Hawkeye apparently retired to be with his family, and Captain America with Black Widow were left with a brand new team. The Avengers had moved out of the tower in the heart of New York and relocated into the Avengers Compound. The compound was buzzing with characters like Maria Hill and Eric Selvig, implying a vast organization to replace S.H.I.E.L.D. As always, fans couldn’t help but speculate and dream for what the next Avengers story would be. Then the MCU revealed them.
The new Avengers were an exciting group of characters to lead into the next story. Sam Wilson/The Falcon was a fan favorite coming out of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Rhodey/War Machine deserved a seat at that table since Iron Man 2. Wanda and Vision were newly introduced to the franchise with Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the promise of furthering their development was enough at the time. As the film was coming to end, there was only one way to call upon this new team, or so audiences thought.
But then the credits rolled.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson), Quicksilver(Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Thor (Chis Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)
Marvel certainly enjoyed playing with the audience expectations for the iconic line. It truly felt like Captain America was finally going to say it. There were surely many rolled eyes and disappointed groans from the audience. After all, it had been two movies and the line had never been said. The closest audiences had was Iron Man saying “Avengers, time to work for a living”, which isn’t as catchy.
This playful tease wasn’t just a moment, it was a promise. They had to hold the line from audiences so that when it was said, it would matter. The next phase of the MCU (Phase 3) wouldn’t be announced for another couple of months, so the journey that these new Avengers could go on was nothing but speculation and expectations. Only the creatives behind the scenes knew when the next Avengers movie would be released. So the questio was how long would audiences need to wait before they heard Captain America exclaim his famous line? Expectations have always been the thing that kept the MCU train moving from one movie to the next, but eventually the expectation had to pay off. Eventually Captain America would have to say “Avengers…