Previously appearing in other on set photos this week, a few people were complaining Hawkeye didn’t get a new look for the new film. It takes place some time after The Avengers (and he hasn’t made an appearance in any film since), so it would make since that a new wardrobe would be in order. Have a look at the purple archer’s attire below!
If the previous character posters featuring Green Goblin wasn’t enough to show that this new take on the penultimate Spidey villain was going to be awesome, this new picture of him should. The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 does not disappoint with its villain’s appearances.
Dane DeHaan’s look, along with some spectacular prosthetics and practical effects, bring the Goblin Serum to life. This diseased Harry Osborn looks vile, evil, and downright convincing. Have a look at the latest take on the Goblin, if you dare.
Welcome to Level 7. We’re still watching Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. No joke, its only getting better and we feel its time to revisit those early episodes and give you the lowdown of how they relate to the bigger Marvel Universe.
In this series, we’ll be looking into Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD subtle references every week as they relate to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. We will be updating this as each episode airs and other instances come to light. Feel free to let us know if we miss any Secrets of SHIELD along the way, we’d love to have the most complete list available by the time the series hits home release.
**Please not these secrets may contain SPOILERS for the episodes. You have been warned.**
Like every other episode, Coulson talks about being ‘poked’ and dying from the Avengers film. Again, it seems like this will be the never ending reference.
Sky also refers to Captain America as “The Dude,” as from the Lebowski. Fun exterior reference as well.
Also, this episode has focused HEAVILY on a Chitauri helmet, causing all the havoc. So we get to see some more Chituari props and learn a bit about their physiology.
This episode had the return of Agent Blake to the Marvel Universe. He was first featured in the Marvel One-Shot “Item 47” that picked up after the Avengers film. He was giving Agent Sitwell his orders to track down the fugitives with the Chitauri Device.
FitzSimmons mentions they used to work for Sci-Ops which sounds like Psy-Ops, a division of SHIELD in the comics that handles psychic and telekinetic powered people. Although the two previously mentioned there is no evidence of Psionics in the Marvel Universe, this division may prove that to be a lie.
Lastly, Coulson says he has too much iron in his blood…but don’t call him Iron Man. Insert audible groan here.
Episode 7 – “The Hub”
The big one is mentioned here, in the terms of SHIELD buildings. They specifically mention the Triskelion, SHIELD’s homebase in the Marvel Ultimate Universe. They house villains here, the headquarters, and tends to be blown up on the monthly. The beauty of this statement is that the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier film will give us a look at the building and it’s innerworkings.
Agent Sitwell comes back into play during this episode as well. First shown as another SHIELD agent aside Agent Coulson in Thor, Sitwell has appeared in several Marvel One-Shots and The Avengers as well, cementing his place within the universe.
Victoria Hand is also given a real world appearance in this episode as well. Hand was created during the Dark Reign storyline to be the right hand of Norman Osborn when he took over SHIELD after Secret Invasion. She comes across as cold, calculative, and a bitch in the comics, as well as the show.
The Overkill Device that we see the team trying to recover/destroy in the episode is based on the Overkill Horn from the Marvel comic books. It has the same abilities but can also destroy any substance, including adamantium in the comic version.
Sky tells Coulson he is acting like a ‘robot version of himself’ which references LMD’s. Its good that Life Model Decoys get another throwaway in this episode as well. First brought up at the beginning of the Avengers, we all have been assuming the resurrected Coulson is a LMD but we don’t know at this point. LMD’s have also been a staple for Nick Fury during his comic tenure.
Lastly, we get to see a miniature Tardis in this episode in Fitz’s bunk! Any Doctor Who fan would love that reference even if just for a second.
Episode 8 – “The Well”
This episode picks up right after Thor: The Dark World, even using clips from the recently released movie in the opening sequence.
In The Well, we get a throwback to Asgardians again, which are now perceived as ancient aliens rather than gods. We’ve heard about a lot of the science/techy super heroes in the series thus far, but its great to see Asgard get a bone.
Which brings me back to the first point, this whole episode is in response to the actions of Thor: The Dark World movie. The cleanup, the location, everything is from that movie. We finally get to see how the bigger stories play into this series as well.
Not important to the larger Marvel world, per se, but interesting, is the use of the Norse runes on the park sign. Runes are always a sign of Asgardian mischief in Marvel.
Simmons throws out a Chitauri reference, again reminding us that weird aliens exist.
Moments later, Fitz references the energy reading from Thor’s hammer, meaning that cool, awesome aliens also are out there!
This is also the first time we’ve met an Asgardian outside of the Thor films.
We also find out the Bus’s interrogation room is lined with vibranium, which is what Captain America’s shield is made out of. Vibranium also comes from the fictional nation of Wakanda, home of the Black Panther.
Lastly, in a throwaway line, Coulson mentions Portland has a great philharmonic orchestra, a reference to his cellist girlfriend first discovered in The Avengers film.
Episode 9 – “Repairs”
The gas station at the beginning of the episode is Roxxon. We’ve seen a lot of smaller Marvel corporations and businesses get mentions over the past few movies, but none as much as Roxxon. We’ve seen Roxxon appear in all 3 Iron Man films and the Marvel One-Shot “Something Funny Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer” as well. Roxxon is an energy corporation in the mainstream Marvel universe but also been antagonistic along the way. In the Ultimate Universe, Roxxon has been attempting to copy heroes and powers, specifically Spider-Man along the way.
Telekinetics are also confirmed of not existing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…yet.
Fitz states that Tobias is trapped somewhere between Earth and “hell.” This could be a reference to hell in terms of Thor: The Dark World, which is technically Muspelheim, the realm of the dead ruled over by Hela often referred to as ‘Hel.” And with The Dark World showing how realms cross over, it could be actually Hel.
Coulson uses SHIELD 616 for the call sign again. That number shows up a lot…
Agent Coulson’s lock removing mechanism shows up again! He says that only 20 were made, meaning their use is limited.
The scrabble board in this episode had the words ‘espionage,’ ‘strange,’ ‘tales,’ and ‘zodiac.’ Strange Tales was the title of the Marvel series where Nick Fury and SHIELD first appeared. The Zodiac is a villain organization that uses the signs of the zodiac to commit crimes? I’m not sure the full details here, but just know that the Marvel One-Shot “Agent Carter” included the Zodiac as the main villain, leading them on to be something bigger than we currently know.
Episode 10 – “The Bridge”
There were no noticeable references to the larger Marvel universe or comic books tonight. Which is good, since it was the big mid-season point that focused more on character.
A few small references are when Peterson is trying to beat Captain America’s time for pushing a bulldozer. Didn’t know he did that.
This episode refers back to the pilot heavily. Especially Mike Peterson’s condition and powers, especially the extremis in his centipede attachment.
Coulson talks about his death and how he lost his cellist, especially her part in the orchestra. He also alludes to the Avengers now knowing he’s not dead, so perhaps the charade is over?
Peterson refers to the Avengers as ‘the heroes of New York.” A suitable name for the city to call them, since the avenging bit was created by Tony Stark over Coulson’s death.
For those not currently caught up with Daredevil, in an effort to avoid becoming another pawn in a city wide game orchestrated by the white-supremicist group the “Sons of the Serpent”, Matt Murdock was forced to admit in court, that he is the vigilante Daredevil. Murdock has been disbarred from practicing law in the state of New York, and if matters weren’t bad enough, Matt’s life long friend and partner in law, Foggy Nelson, has been battling cancer and is now without income or health insurance.
To help segue Daredevil’s relocation Marvel has released a four part Infinite Comic called “Daredevil: Road Warrior”. Written by Mark Waid & Chris Samnee, “Road Warrior” released one issue a week during the one month gap between Daredevil #36 and Daredevil #1, and tells the story of a mysterious man Murdock encounters who seems to have a knack for punching through walls and lacks a heart beat. The mini-series ends in San Francisco where Daredevil #1 picks up, so readers shouldn’t feel like they’re missing anything if they want to skip straight to Daredevil #1, but having read Road Warrior, I definitely recommend making time for it.
Ever one to roll with the punches, Daredevil is dealing with his challenges pretty well, revealing in the end of issue #36 that he still holds a license to practice law in San Francisco, and with the number of cancer-research specialists in the area, and California’s superior health insurance, it’s the perfect place for Daredevil to have a fresh start. In tandem with this fresh start the Daredevil series is being rebooted as part of Marvel’s All New Marvel NOW. Fret not though true believers, this simply means a reset in the issue numbering for Daredevil, meaning keep your eyes peeled for Daredevil #1, not Daredevil #37.
Cover of Daredevil #1 as part of the All New Marvel NOW
Writer Mark Waid’s Daredevil series is one that does not get enough time in the spotlight. Waid has done the impossible during his on run with the series. He’s made Daredevil cool again. Regardless of your feelings regarding Ben Affleck, or the 2003 Daredevil movie, I think we can all agree that from the eyes of the general public, post-2003, Daredevil was dead as a doornail. Sure he had some great comic adventures post-cinematic debut, but Hollywood producers wouldn’t touch Daredevil with a 10” telescoping billy club! Even the Hulk got a reboot after the Ang Lee movie that-shall-not-be-named. Over a decade later we are just now beginning to see Marvel move forward on a live action Daredevil series soon to debut on Netflix.
If you want to know more about Marvel’s Netflix Series, check out ComicUI’s article from February.
Mark Waid’s name may not have the same weight as say Brian Michael Bendis, or Jonathan Hickman, but over the years he has proven himself a heavy hitter in both the DC, and Marvel Universes. He’s penned adventures of the Flash, Superman, Ant Man, Daredevil and most recently, Hulk. To me the appeal of Waid is he pushes the limits of spirit and soul a comic can possess. In a time where digital artwork is torpedoing comics into strange new worlds of extreme art, and constant unspoken competition exists to raise the stakes and create more apocalyptic scenarios issue after issue, Waid’s work shines because he reminds us that if we want an audience to care about a world, they need to care about the characters in it.
This is Mark Waid’s first Infinite Comic series with Marvel, but this if far from his first attempt at a digital first comic. Waid has been working on digital comics for Marvel since Marvel’s 2012 Avengers vs X-men event. Waid is also the co-founder of Thrillbent.com, is a website that focuses exclusively on Digital First Comics and showcases several free digital series, ranging the gamut of family friendly to horrific.
We can’t recommend Thrillbent.com enough. There’s free comics there.
Daredevil: Road Warrior is proof itself that print and digital can work hand in hand. Daredevil is the perfect character for a digital first comic. To me Daredevil has always been the story of a man who sees the world differently. He teaches us that seeing the world differently is a gift, not a curse. This makes for a very interesting character to see transverse print media and segue into digital comics. Road Warrior is a fun story, and unlike some of Marvel’s other Infinite Comics titles, this one is only four issues long. So financially, it’s no where near the investment that other Infinite Comics titles have been.
A final piece of good news to Daredevil fans, as with all All New Marvel NOW titles, a free digital copy of every issue can be redeemed via the on-line code included in the issue. When Marvel NOW was launched in 2012, Daredevil feel in and then quickly out of providing readers with free digital copies. So know that from now on you may want to hold off on buying your digital Daredevil comics and grab a print copy to get the most bang for your buck.
With all of the filming going on for AVENGERS 2: AGE OF ULTRON, we’re starting to see the characters of the film appear in their new costumes (Or not if you’re Hawkeye). Today, we’ve received our first look at the latest Iron Man armor that will be debuting in the film.
Taking hints of the Mark 42 that featured in Iron Man 3, there seems to be less gold and more red in this version, but no other noticeable differences yet. Take a look at the on-set photo below and let us know why Tony Stark started making his suits of armor again.
And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest creators found themselves united against a common threat, misinformation. When the threat arose, only the combination of Pickled Comics and ComicUI would be the last hope for humanity.
Starting Monday, March 31, a cross-over event between the two sites will premier. The History of Marvel Studios written by ComicUI and fully illustrated by Pickled Comics will be released over 3 days, covering 70 years of Marvel in the movies. Through this team up, we plan to take you to new heights of information, imagery, and hilarity.
Mark your calendars, folks. It is a making of epic proportions.
Its no secret that AVENGERS 2: AGE OF ULTRON has started filming, but things are about to get interesting. Today, during filming, they’ve managed to sneak a few screenshots of a few characters from the film, most notably Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and most importantly, Ultron himself.
From the images obtained, it appears that the man in the metal outfit is in fact Ultron, if not an Ultron-bot. It is hard to tell at this point what the final Ultron design will be, but this may give us our first clue on the direction they’re taking. Bulky, metal, and almost Dr. Doom-like. We can’t say what part of the movie this is taking place in either, but we know that it already kicks ass.
View our gallery and stay tuned as we update with more images!
Monday’s can be the worst. Getting back into the groove of work and catching up from the weekend. However, today, Fox has released the newest (and best) X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST trailer and it will wake you up. Watch the new trailer below and let us know if this makes you more excited for the film?
Note: Don’t the future Sentinels look like Thor’s Destroyer armor??
We’ve already purchased our first tickets to see THE WINTER SOLDIER and we’re going all out. Without any doubt, the 8 PM EST showings are IMAX 3D, but we’re considering what our 2nd and 3rd versions are going to be.
Go ahead and let us know how you’re going to watch the First Avenger’s second outing in theaters! Maybe we’ll try all the varieties they’re offering.
The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 movie seems to be promoting itself like nothing else, with trailers and posters and all other means of materials to get us excited. Currently, three new international posters have surfaced, giving us looks at the Green Goblin, Peter Parker, and Max Dillon.
This is the closest look at the Goblin we have from the film and it definitely makes the transition look like a disease instead of a suit (Spider-Man 2002). I’m excited to see how they handle this interconnected web (yes, I went there) of characters.
