Which Avengers should be in the next Avengers Movie?

Now that the Avengers Movie has hit the big screens and hopefully, you've managed to catch it (and if you have not, what are you waiting for?), I think it's safe to say that a sequel is VERY likely to happen.

These are the Avengers whom I thought should be included in the next Avengers Movie:


Vision & Scarlet Witch

 

The Avengers' very own power-couple - these 2 have been in almost every incarnation of the team as as far as I am concerned, the Avengers are not the same without them. Just like Hawkeye & Black Widow, despite starting their careers as villains, they have proven time and again that they are true heroes and have earned their place with the team.

Wasp & Ant-Man (aka Yellow Jacket/Goliath/Giant-Man)

Ant ManYellow JacketWasp

The Avengers' drama-couple. These 2 were founding members of the team (Yes, they formed the team when Capt. America was still taking a nap in the North Pole). Just Like the Vision & Scarlet Witch, they were in almost every incarnation of the team and it makes perfect sense for them to be included in the next movie. Moreover, need I mention Ultron?
Black Panther
Altho' he first appeared in the Fantastic Four in #52, to me, he's most associated with the Avengers. Married to Storm (of the X-Men), a monarch of the Wakandan nation that is the sole supplier of a rare metal that helped make Capt America's Shield - Vibranium (OK, we're not going to mention the Savage Land at this point.) a scientist of almost the same caliber of Reed Richards & Tony Stark and providing sorely needed diversity & fighting prowess to the team.

Capt. Marvel/Photon/Ms. Marvel
Photon
Ms Marvel
Capt Marvel 
As the Movie's post-credit teaser scene reveals who the villain for the next movie will be, it makes a lot of sense that 1 of the Marvels be on the roster to provide some much needed cosmic fire-power. These 3 characters have taken on the "Capt Marvel" Legacy at one time or another in the Avengers' various incarnations.
Quicksilver
Sure, he gets on everybody's nerves plus he's Magneto's son, but where the Scarlet Witch is, he won't be far behind.
She Hulk

Being more of a team player (she was part of the Fantastic Four for several years) and not to mention, mental stability, If the Avengers needed a bruiser, Jen Walters would make a better Hulk to the Avengers than her cousin Bruce.

War Machine

Since movie audiences have already been introduced to him in Iron Man 2, his inclusion in the next movie is a natural progression.

Agree? Disagree? Who do you think should be in the NEXT movie?

Game Review - Marvel Avengers Alliance

Developer
Playdom (not Zynga this time)

Gameplay
Players start the game as a customizable (Name, Gender & Appearance) SHIELD agent who has been tasked by Nick Fury (the black Ultimate & Movie version) to an event so big that it has caught SHIELD's attention.

With the heli-carrier as your base, you go thru' the various districts of New York City (cleverly packaged into game-play chapters) where in each area, you would face villains in the form of the  Maggia, HYDRA, AIM, etc. At the end of each district you'd need to defeat Marvel villains as each district's Boss or/and Mini Boss before you are able to advance to the next district. The Bosses include Whiplash, MODOK, Loki & Baron Zemo.

There are several dimensions to the game, as is ilk of facebook games where you need to have friends who have "joined" you so that you can accumulate various kinds of points or energy for you to advance or level up. This can be a little frustrating when you do not have enough of a certain game resource for you to proceed.

Of course, as with other facebook games, when all else fails, you can use "gold" to short circuit the process. However, as "gold" is very hard to come by in-game, players can opt to but "gold" with REAL WORLD MONEY!

Users are also required to do in-game research. Only when something has been researched will it become available to players. For instance, if you did not research Electrolytes, you would not be able to buy or get Stamina Boost Packs (Bummer!). So, if players think they can hoard their resources and save up for the heroes, they would sorely lose out on the goodies they can get from the SHIELD Store or End-Level Bonuses!

Games of this nature usually allow players to amp up their character stats (such as attack & defense) as they level up. 1 interesting twist to this game is that the stats do not level up in such a straight forward manner. Players need to perform research in order for you to get better weapons, equipment or SHIELD uniforms (that have differing stats based on 1 of the 6 classes*!)
* see below

Another layer of complexity is that they have incorporated 6 classes to the game - all characters have been classified as either a
- Generalist
- Tactician
- Bruiser
- Blaster
- Infiltrator
- Scrapper

Each class has a strength and a weakness against another, leaving no clear-cut advantage of any single class.

Lastly, players get to pit their Avengers against other players in the PVP (Player vs Player) area. This is an area where players can go when they have either run out of energy to do further missions or just to challenge friends (or rivals). 1 good thing is also players are able to get resources or equipment from the fights.

Characters
Players are spoilt for choice as there are 40 Marvel characters to choose from, including characters from X-Men (Phoenix, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Cyclops,Storm & of course, Wolverine) & Fantastic 4. There are a couple of really unexpected choices in the game such as Sif (Thor's girlfriend), Dr Strange (who is more associated with the Defenders than Avengers) & Black Cat (Spider-man's 1-time girlfriend). Players start off with Iron as the 1st Avenger in your team but the game would soon require players to start recruiting other heroes.

This is where things get interesting as these heroes all start with only 1 power and they gain more powers (up to 4) as the level up. I tend to let my curiosity get the better of me as I want to learn what each hero's powers are and how they would look in-game.

Appeal
This game is a dream come true for geeks like me who grew up reading and loving these characters for many years. Of course there have been other games like Capcom's Street Fighter vs X-Men and the Marvel Ultimate Alliance (both of which I had never had the pleasure to try).

It's fairly easy to get started as the in-game instructions (disguised as Maria Hill & Nick Fury's orders) make the learning curve very gentle.

This game has sucked quite a few hours of my life these past few weeks and I'm sure many of you would find it enjoyable as well.

1 gripe I do have is that a few of the more recognizable Avengers such as the following didn't make it to the game while characters Like X-Men & Fantastic 4 are in there.
- Vision
- Scarlet Witch
- Wonderman
- Beast
- Black Panther
- Wasp

Verdict
It's fun to get to play with the heroes you loved from a younger age but it it by no means a perfect game. Continuity geeks would have a field day with the inconsistencies of the characters. So relax, just enjoy it for what it is - a game with many of the characters you love.

Play it (it's FREE) & let me know what you think!

Comic Review - Baltimore: The Curse Bells

Title/Storyline

Baltimore: The Curse Bells 1-5

Publish Date/Year

2011

Creative Team

Story: Mike Mignola &Christopher Golden 

Art: Ben Stenbeck

Publisher

Dark Horse Comics

Story
1916, Lucerne, Switzerland - in the middle of his pursuit of Haigus (the one-eyed vampire responsible for his family's deaths & the Monsters that are overrunning Europe) and ultimately the Red King, king of all vampires. Following reports that Haigus is holed up in a castle, one shrouded in death and dark magic, Lord Henry Baltimore and his new accomplice, Mr. Hodge, investigate the castle. While searching the castle, Baltimore stumbles upon a sinister ritual to raise the dead.

The supernatural ritual in which a pregnant woman is being sacrificed by an evil warlock priest to raise a powerful dead witch from beyond the grave - Madame Blavatsky.

The ritual is completed and the witch is born again. The priest wants the witch to grant him the power to put a curse on the bells of a famous church atop the town's hill, which will give him the absolute control over all who hear the bells' tolls.

Meanwhile, in a subplot, we are introduced to a zealous no-nonsense Inquisitor who, believing  Lord Baltimore to be an agent of the Devil, is hunting Lord Baltimore. This is a character to watch because, when he catches up with Baltimore, it would make for a very interesting confrontation.

Lord Baltimore finds the enemy that he’s been searching for - Haigus, who has also been captured in a holding cell by the evil priest. Baltimore is torn between eliminating his long time foe, Haigus, and stopping the priest that is trying to use the cursed bells of the church to control the population of the nearby town.

With the deformed & diminutive Madame Blavatsky preparing to curse the bells. Driven solely by his thirst for vengeance,Lord Baltimore breaks out of prison & faces the horrific Haigus in his cell.

Lord Baltimore fights the evil warlock priest that now has taken control of the townfolk nearby by cursing the bells of an old church. Everyone is under the priest’s control except for Lord Baltimore. Baltimore takes on the evil priest’s undead army of nuns and saves the day while Haigus escapes to fight another day.

Art

Ben Stenbeck is no Mike Mignola but he is no pushover! His art has clean lines, not in the way Tintin is clean but more like a cross between Aaron Lopresti (Justice League International - New 52) & Darick Robertson (The Boys). Despite the clean lines, it didn't feel inappropriate. Still manages to evoke some scares & convey the creepy/dated feel to the series. The coloring was of course brilliantly executed to complement the artwork.

Since the Plague Ships, I was anxiously looking forward to seeing more of his work here in The Curse Bells! I am not disappointed!

Overall

If you love Mignola's Hellboy or BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Defence), you will love this as well! Mignola is REALLY GOOD at mixing up historical events such as WWII (Hellboy) and WWI here with supernatural elements. So his stories feel real and truly believable, so much so that you can truly immerse yourself into the story. DO NOT MISS THIS! Go read it now! 

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!