A guide to the Marvel universe
With the release of the trailer “Avengers: Age of Ultron” this past week, Marvel fans are getting excited to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes reassemble. But for those who aren’t caught up with the multi-film universe, here’s a spoiler packed guide to the intricate world of the Avengers.
Genie Tran | Rawr
Iron Man
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is wounded in a kidnapping gone wrong, requiring him to have an arc reactor implanted in his chest to keep him alive. Tony escapes in a suit of armor, which he then perfects into a more sophisticated design to fight off evil. Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or SHIELD, agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) comes up with a cover story for Tony, but Stark blows it by announcing, “I am Iron Man.”
Post Credits Scene
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) approaches Tony about the Avengers Initiative.
The Incredible Hulk
Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is radiated with gamma rays, causing him to turn into a Hulk when he gets angry. General Ross tries to recreate a super soldier program from World War 2, using Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) as a test subject. Blonsky reacts in a different way and becomes the Abomination, causing Bruce to Hulk out and save the day.
Post Credits Scene
Tony tells Ross that he’s putting a team together.
Iron Man 2
Tony’s Iron Man suit is catching up with his health and Fury sends Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) to help him figure out the solution from his father’s notes. Tony uses his dad’s blueprints to upgrade his arc reactor and teams up with his pal James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) stop Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) from destroying the world.
Post Credits Scene
Coulson arrives in New Mexico to see the hammer Mjolnir.
Thor
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki live in Asgard under their father King Odin. After Thor’s arrogance sparks a war with the Frost Giants, Odin banishes his son to Earth, where he meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Erik Selvig. But Loki has aligned with the Frost Giants to take control of the throne. Thor returns to Asgard to stop Loki and must destroy the Bifrost bridge — his only way to Earth — to save Asgard. Loki falls off the bridge and into space.
Post Credits Scene
The still alive Loki compels Selvig to look at the Tesseract.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) signs up for a super soldier program during World War 2 and becomes Captain America. He faces off against Red Skull and his organization HYDRA with the help of Bucky Barnes and Howard Stark. Bucky dies in action after being experimented on by HYDRA and Cap must fly a plane with the Tesseract on it into the Arctic. In modern day, he is recovered by Fury.
Post Credits Scene
Fury recruits Cap into the Avengers Initiative.
The Avengers
Loki attacks SHIELD and steals the Tesseract, prompting Fury to assemble Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Captain America to stop him. Coulson is killed by Loki as he summons an army of aliens to take over New York City. The Avengers stop him and Thor takes Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard.
Post Credits Scene
The true leader of the alien army is revealed to be Thanos.
Iron Man 3
Tony comes under attack by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who uses Extremis infected soldiers to commit acts of terrorism under the guise of the Mandarin. Tony blows up Killian and all of his Iron Man suits in the process before having the arc reactor removed from his chest.
Post Credits Scene
Tony laments his problems to Bruce Banner.
Thor: The Dark World
Asgard comes under attack by Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who is seeking the Aether, which has possessed Jane Foster. Thor teams up with Loki, who dies trying to save Thor from being killed. Thor destroys Malekith and resigns the throne of Asgard. What he doesn’t know is that Loki is alive and is masquerading as Odin.
Post Credits Scene
The Aether is put in the care of the Collector.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Cap and Natasha team up to investigate after Fury is killed by the Winter Soldier, a HYDRA agent. Cap discovers that HYDRA has completely corrupted SHIELD from within and that the Winter Soldier is Bucky Barnes. With the help of Natasha, Sam Wilson and the secretly alive Fury, Cap exposes HYDRA at the cost of dissolving SHIELD.
Post Credits Scene
Baron von Strucker (Thomas Krestchmann) shows off his captive twins Peter and Wanda Maximoff.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) steals an Infinity Stone coveted by Thanos (Josh Brolin) and is hunted by his assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The two are captured by Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) and meet Drax (Dave Bautista) in prison, who wants to kill Thanos. The group discover the true power of the Infinity Stone and use it to kill Ronan the Accuser before he can deliver it to Thanos.
Post Credits Scene
Howard the Duck laughs at the Collector.
Bradley Burgess can be reached at [email protected]