Five Avengers I'd like to see in future movies

My post on The Avengers will go up next week, but before that, I hope you'll forgive me as I indulge in my inner geek and talk about semi-obscure comic book characters. Actually, given the levels of geekdom in the online media, not to mention in Hollywood studios, I should probably stop thinking of comics this way. I mean, in recent years, we've seen movies based on some pretty unlikely properties: Scott Pilgrim, Constantine, The Losers,  A History of Violence - not to mention The Walking Dead on TV. Regardless of quality, it's assuring to know that Hollywood is investing in more than just superheroes.


But for those of us of a certain generation, we first discovered comics through Marvel and DC superheroes. (For younger people, manga - Japanese comics - are the thing now.) The Avengers was one of my favorite comics for a long time, and like the X-Men, they've had a wide variety of characters over their half-century of publication. Here are a handful that I'd love to see make the jump to the big screen:

- The Wasp. At one point she was gonna be in this movie, but it didn't happen. The Wasp is one of the original Avengers, and when I started reading the comic, she was beginning a crucial transition from ditzy, one-dimensional, stereotypical female to a more well-rounded, competent and confident hero who would go on to be one of the greatest team leaders - without losing her femininity and becoming grim and gritty and dark. Chances are she'll wind up in the Ant-Man movie (she and Ant-Man are an item), if they ever get it off the ground. I've always liked her, and as one of Marvel's first ladies, she deserves some respect. Who I'd cast: Elizabeth Banks. She radiates the perkiness and spunk that would work perfectly for the character.

- The Vision. Another long-time Avenger, I would like to see a theoretical movie version of him that either avoids the "artificial intelligence learns the meaning of humanity" angle or finds a new way to approach it. He's a "synthozoid," which is not quite an android, nor is it a robot. That's definitely something that should get explored, since that's relatively unique in sci-fi movies. He has ties to Ant-Man (and to a lesser degree, the Wasp), as well as another Avenger, Wonder Man, which could either be used or not, I don't care, but he would make for an excellent addition to the cast if long-time villain Ultron, another AI, is used for the sequel. Who I'd cast: I dunno. Gerard Butler?

- The Scarlet Witch. Can't have Vision without her. They were married for a very long time in the comics, but I think they might've broken up recently. Comics marriages tend to be as fleeting as Hollywood ones, most of the time, except of course for Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four - they're like the Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward of superhero comics. The Scarlet Witch is a mutant, however, so Fox may want to stake a claim on her (and her brother Quicksilver) at some point, but I hope not. Her powers are a bit hard to define - it used to be simply altering probability, but now she's become a full-fledged witch, I think (it's been awhile since I've read the comics), so I would pick one or the other and stick to it for the film version. Who I'd cast: Um... Not sure. Preferably someone European, since she's from Eastern Europe. I'd like her to have an accent at least (still kinda disappointed that the Black Widow doesn't have one).

- Firestar. Speaking on behalf of everyone who ever watched Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends growing up, I think this would be awesome, but again, there's that fear that Fox would claim her for the X-franchise (I'm surprised they haven't already). Not every mutant needs to be an X-Man or an X-villain or whatever. She could fill the role of the youngster still learning how to use her powers and learning through interacting with the rest of the team. (And no, we can do without her boyfriend Justice.) Who I'd cast: Jennifer Lawrence would be perfect, but she's a little busy with a franchise of her own. How about Elizabeth Olsen?

- Captain Marvel. This will never happen, but a fan can dream: she's actually gone by several different code-names, but she debuted as Captain Marvel (no, she didn't yell "Shazam!"; that's somebody else). She probably wouldn't go by this name if she appeared in an Avengers movie, but that's how I still think of her. Anyway, she's a New Orleans naval officer with vast energy-based powers. She led the team for awhile, but in recent years, she's been written wildly inconsistently (but then, what superhero hasn't at some point?). I've always loved her too; during her first few years as an Avenger she was part of some epic storylines, and I'd totally geek out if somebody found a part for her. Who I'd cast: Gabrielle Union.


Now I know you've got some dream choices of your own, so don't be shy; let's see 'em. Oh, and by the way, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that today is Free Comic Book Day, so if you liked the Avengers movie, take a visit to your local comic book shop today and take home some freebies.


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'Avengers' will be a fanboy's dream come true

Let's put a bounty on cell phone users!

...You can't just let The Text-Crazy Kids blaze up Facebook in a theater in order to boost box office without messing it up for everyone else -- and that includes the rest of us old people and that segment of the teenage populace that, you know, doesn't need to compulsively check their phones at the movies and maybe, just maybe, hates it as much as the rest of us when other people do it. To officially allow texting in a theater is to effectively encourage texting in a theater. And while folks like Miles might experiment with outside the box teen baiting strategies -- and good luck to her in that -- how can you even effectively host a text-friendly screening? By offering specialty showtimes, a la Baby Brigade or 21 and Up screenings, maybe?

This has been in the wind for awhile now - the possibility of some movie theaters experimenting with allowing texting for certain films at certain times. I think we can all agree that this idea is wrong, wrong, wrong for so many reasons. I had to confront a cell phone user at a movie recently, and while it may be necessary, it's not always pleasant (I consider myself lucky that I didn't have to yell or get physical in any way). Still, if dwindling ticket sales are the root problem that this idea is supposed to solve, let's find a better solution - one that doesn't reward bad behavior. 

A fine for cell phone use is a good idea, but it would require vigilance on the part of theater staff, and not every theater has the amount of people available for the task. And ushers can't be in the theaters all the time. So why not give the audience the ability to police itself... and in a way that would not only encourage them to root out cell phone users, but actually reward them for the effort!

Think about it: how many more people would turn out for the movies every week if the theaters offered a lucrative reward for catching cell phone users in the act? When you go out this summer to see Avengers or Amazing Spider-Man or Men in Black 3, you don't wan't the experience ruined by some douchebag texting in the middle of the movie, but most people don't feel inclined to do anything about it. Well, if you knew that the theater would reward you with, say, a $50 gift certificate and unlimited popcorn at your next screening, would you do something about it then? You bet your ass you would! And if you're there with a bunch of your friends, well then, you've got a whole posse backing you up, pal! What's one little pimply-faced teenager gonna do against that?

The theater could also provide some sort of silent signaler which one could use to alert the staff, for those times when the cell phone user may have friends backing him or her up. Because after all, you wanna collect on that bounty, but you don't wanna have to fight for it - unless you feel you can win, that is!

And of course, it's entirely possible that more than one person could lay claim to the bounty, in which case management can simply split the reward equally. The important thing is to emphasize teamwork. Everybody should be encouraged to work together towards a common goal. And management should recognize that you've gotta spend money to make money - because isn't a little financial incentive worth a bigger ticket-buying audience?

I think it's worth a shot, don't you?

[Eh, okay, so this is only half-serious. Feel free to improve on my idea all you like.]

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Related:

Five ways for theaters to get butts back in seats

Thank you, Alamo Drafthouse, for giving a damn