10 years of Assembling Marvel Superheroes to battle Thanos in Avengers

Just over a decade ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched with the release of Iron Man. It was Marvel Studios first direct foray into film production using what was perceived at that time a second-tier comic book superhero; the first-tier titles like Spider-man and X-men were  licensed out to other film studios. Financed as a blockbuster movie with a budget of USD140 million (almost RM550 million), Iron Man in 2008 would either make or break the new studio. As history would tell, Iron Man won over the cinema audience across the world, in no small part owing to Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark. Watch to this featurette where Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Director Joe Russo, and the stars of the MCU reflect on their 10-years of the MCU:

After eighteen movies in three phases setting up this shared universe of superheroes, everything (and everyone) comes together in Avengers Infinity War opening in Malaysian cinemas today. Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo (Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War), Avenger Infinity War looks to be the ultimate superhero team-up movie against a supervillain so powerful that no single hero, or even a team of heroes like the Avengers, could hope to challenge.

Official Synopsis

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain. 

Featuring an all-star cast (which probably cost half the movie's purportedly USD300 million / RM1.173 billion!), our attempt at a headcount racked almost forty Marvel characters, of which around thirty-five have previously featured in at least one of the preceding movies. Here is our attempt at the featured cast list grouped according to "factions" of some relevance:

Avengers post-civil war, Team Iron Man (7):

• Iron Man / Tony Star, Robert Downey Jr
• Pepper Potts, Gwyneth Paltrow
• War Machine / Rhodey, Don Cheadle
• Black Widow / Natasha Ramanov, Scarlett Johansson
• Vision, Paul Bettany
• Spider-man / Peter Parker, Tom Holland
• Happy Hogan, Jon Favreau

Avengers post-civil war, Team Captain America (4):

• Captain America / Steve Rogers, Chris Evans
• Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff, Elizabeth Olsen
• Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf, Sebastian Stan
• Falcon / Sam Wilson, Anthony Mackie

“Lost” in Space (4):

• Hulk / Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo
• Thor, Chris Hemsworth
• Heimdall, Idris Elba
• Loki, Tom Hiddleston

Guardians of the Galaxy (8):

• Star-lord / Peter Quill, Chris Pratt
• Gamora, Zoe Saldana
• Nebula, Karen Gillan
• Groot (voice), Vin Diesel
• Rocket (voice), Bradley Cooper
• Drax, Dave Bautista
• Mantis, Pom Klementieff*
• The Collector / Taneleer Tivan, Benicio Del Toro

Wakanda (5):

• Black Panther / T'Challa, Chadwick Boseman
• Okoye, Danai Gurira
• Shuri, Letitia Wright
• M'Baku, Winston Duke
• Ramonda, Angela Bassett

Others (4):

• Dr. Stephen Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch
• Benedict Wong, Wong
• Maria Hill, Cobie Smulders
• Stan Lee!

Villains, The Black Order (5):

• Thanos, Josh Brolin
• Proxima Midnight, Carrie Coon
• Ebony Maw, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
• Cull Obsidian, Terry Notary
• Corvus Glaive, Michael James Shaw

Plus Peter Dinklage in undisclosed role.

Surely it would be a monumental challenge to fit all these characters together in the same scene, so we expect much of the movie to comprise grouping of our heroes on separate adventures to stop Thanos. For anyone who has watched the movie trailers and many promos, it would be non-spoilery to expect the following team-ups hinted by these exclusive posters from Odeon Cinemas of UK:

No more "science bros", Tony Stark is now teaming up with Dr. Strange. "Facial hair bros"?

Thor teams up with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Steve Rogers ever loyal to Bucky was in Wakanda at the end of Civil War.

Black Panther with many of the former Avengers.

All banding together to save the universe from this BIG BAD, Thanos.

A decade of movies is way to much to recap, so let's just simplify to major events of the Avengers relevant to Infinity War as summarised by the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki:

The Avengers, also known as the Heroes of New York, were a team of extraordinary individuals, either with superpowers or other special characteristics. Its purpose is to protect world stability from inner or extraterrestrial threats, and to work with the peaceful interests of the whole world rather than a specific country or organization. The Avengers were first assembled by S.H.I.E.L.D. when Loki invaded Earth with his Chitauri army to conquer the planet. The team defeated him and went to their separate ways.

After S.H.I.E.L.D. became a defunct agency, Stark Industries remodeled Stark Tower into Avengers Tower and the team joined the fight against HYDRA. After they finished the war, Tony Stark built Ultron hoping that the AI would be able to defend the world from any threats necessary. The plan backfired and Ultron started a war against humanity, ending with Ultron's defeat. When Ultron was defeated, the team gained new recruits and relocated to the New Avengers Facility.

Under Captain America's leadership, the team successfully completed some missions, though the collateral damage caused during their conflicts made the United Nations pass a document, known as the Sokovia Accords, to regulate their actions. The different opinions regarding this oversight made the Avengers disband as a team, and it split into two different factions, with its members and other heroes gathering around Iron Man and Captain America, respectively. After Captain America stopped Helmut Zemo, the instigator of their fight, the team disbanded.

Behind-the-scenes of Avengers Infinity War

The major binding element between many of the MCU movies has been the Infinity Stones, featuring since the Captain America: The First Avenger (2001). So before stepping in the Infinity War, it is worthwhile relook into what are these powerful artifacts. As explained by Taneleer Tivan, The Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), "Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots... Infinity Stones."

The six Infinity Stones as seen on Thanos Gauntlet, although he has yet to possess the stones at the onset of Avengers Infinity War. Photo: Replica Infinity Gauntlet by Hot Toys.

Here's our intel on the six Infinity Stones:

Space (blue): During World War 2, the Tesseract was obtained by the Red Skull used its unlimited energy as a power source for Hydra weapons. When Captain America defeated Red Skull, the Tesseract was retrieved by Howard Stark and kept by SHIELD. In 2012 it was used by Loki to allow the Chitauri invasion but was repelled by the Avengers. The Tesseract has since be stored in the Asgard Vault until destruction of this world from the events of Ragnarok.

Loki with the Tesseract housing the Infinity Space Stone retrieved form Asgard Vault.

Mind (yellow): Formerly part of Loki's Spectre used in the Chitauri invasion, it was kept by SHIELD until it's collapse fell into the hands of Hydra. In addition to mind control, it granted super powers to the Maximoff twins, Pietro and Wanda, during experiments by Hydra. Ultron obtained the stone intended for its nefarious rebirth but was thwarted by the Avengers leading to the creation of the andriod Vision. It now resides on Vision's forehead.

The Infinity Mind Stone is embedded in Vision's forehead like a fashion accessory.

Reality (red): As the Aether, the dark elf Malekith attempted to use its reality bending powers to bring the Nine Realms into darkness. Foiled by Thor, the Aether has since been handed to The Collector by the Asgardians for safekeeping.

The Asgardians left the Infinity Reality Stone with The Collector for safekeeping (seriously why him lah?)

Power (purple): Sought by the Ronan the Accuser on behalf of Thanos, the Power stone grants its user the destructive power to obliterate planets. Ronan was stopped by the combined resilence of the Guardians of the Galaxy using the stone to obliterate him. The stone is present safeguarded by the Nova Corps on Xander.

The orb containing the Infinity Power Stone stored by the Nova Corps.

Time (green): The time stone is able to control the flow of time. In is contained in the Eye of Agamotto, an mystic necklace used by with Dr. Strange to fend out Dormammu's  invasion from the Dark Dimension. Dr. Strange remains current bearer of the Eye of Agamotto.

Dr Strange wields the Eye of Agamotto which houses the Infinity Time Stone.

Soul (orange): Abilities and whereabouts unknown, although Director Joe Russo hinted it is in Singapore during the Marvel Avengers Infinity War Red Carpet event!?

Alright so now that we are all up to speed with the MCU, let's get going to Avengers Infinity War! And remember this is a Marvel movie so stay back for post-credit scene(s); at least one confirmed so far.

Leading up to this movie release, Marvelites in Southeast-Asia were treated to a special Avengers Infinity War Red Carpet event at Marina Bay Sands Singapore attended by stars of the MCU: Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Stephen Strange), and Karen Gillan (Nebula). Also present were Director Joe Russo and Executive Producer Trinh Tran, offering autographs and selfies with some of the most ardent fans of the region. Watch this video of the highlights from this special event on 16 April 2018:

Thanks to Petron Malaysia, the largest contingent of fans outside Singapore were sixty Malaysians selected from an online contest. Our Commander was lucky to be chosen for this roadtrip and provided coverage from ground zero at the red carpet fan box:

Some of the Malaysian Marvel cosplayers in front of the red carpet stage at Marina Bay Sands.
Don't mind the "intruder" into the MCU.

Benedict Cumberbatch / Dr. Strange offers a selfie on the red carpet.

The human form of Nebula as Karen Gillan.

Director Joe Russo on the red (actually purple) carpet.

Marvelites on a roadtrip of a lifetime!

Find more photos on Outpost Productions Facebook Photo Album as well as videos from the Red Carpet event. Thanks Petron! #PoweredbyPetron #JourneytoInfinity

When Robert Downey Jr makes an entrance like his alter ego Tony Stark at last night's Avengers Infinity War Red Carpet. #Marvel #IronMan #TonyStark #RobertDowneyJr #PetronFuelHappy #PoweredByPetron #AvengersMY #InfinityWar
Posted by Outpost Productions on Tuesday, 17 April 2018

Whilst the Avengers themselves are not coming to our local shores, it does seem that Earth's Mightiest Heroes might have setup a branch in Menara TM, Kuala Lumpur.

Secretly, Menara TM is Stark Tower 😎 Marvel #MenaraTM #InfinityWar #WeAreAllSuperheroes
Posted by unifi on Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Our intel did not find any shopping mall concourse events promoting Avengers Infinity War, although retail product promos are plenty. For a bit of local thrill, the iconic Petronas Twin Towers at KLCC is having thematic Avengers light show projections onto its shopping mall walls every night until 29 April 2018 at 8.15pm, 8.45pm, 9.15pm and 9.45pm.

As a special treat for Marvel fans, TGV Cinemas is conducting their Heroes Homecoming Fan Party on Saturday 28 April from 6pm to 8pm simultaneously at four of their cineplexes across the country: Sunway Velocity in Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Indah in Johor Bahru, Gurney Paragon in Penang, and Vivacity Megamall in Kuching.

The event is FREE to attend with goodies bags offered to the first 100 fans to register on-site. Follow what's happening on TGV's Facebook Page and Event Listing for Heroes Homecoming.

Reviews are out for Avengers Infinity War though whatever they say good or bad it does not matter... fans will still flock to see the movie! The movie scored 10 out of 10 in review by Star2.com. For those curious about the comic book origins of the Infinity War (or need a brief recap for older fans), Star2.com also has a handy article about the first appearances of Thanos upto the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series event in the early-1990s.

So as the legendary Stan Lee would say...

EXCELSIOR!

#AvengersMY #InfinityWar #Marvel

In cinemas NOW!

Disclaimer: Avengers and associated trademarks are copyright to Marvel Entertainment, referenced here for fan service purposes only without intent to infringe.

Captain America Civil War : Spoiler REVIEW & Event Recon REPORT

by contributing writer Xavier Fong

At this point of writing this review, I've already watched Captain America : Civil War twice! As far as Superhero movies go, Marvel Studios definitely know their stuff and they know very well where their Cinematic Universe are heading into. As compared to the DC Universe, DC is going in a direction where they are disregarding the comics and they keep telling themselves, "Let's do scrap that and do it our way." The one thing why fans are so in love with comic book movies is that their characters and stories stays true (at least 80% of it) to the the original contents (Comics).

I'm a big fan of Marvel and I am definitely a big, big, BIG fan of Spider-man ever since I was a kid. I've stressed this again and again in my reviews that every single time a movie is made based on comics (Marvel/DC comics), novels (Hunger Games/Harry Potter), short stories (Ender's Game), cartoons (Transformers/Ninja Turtles), and games (Battleship [God this movie was awful]), there will definitely be changes and adaptations that has to be made when you adapt or transition a different entertainment medium to another. And to support that, we have got to be fair to the movies for adapting original sources of material to the silver screen in order to make the plot or the story itself more relevant to the current era.

First thing's first, I wanna just say... Captain America : Civil War is the BEST Marvel movie to date! I've read the entire story arc of the 2005 Marvel's Civil War comic, and that event itself is one of the best stories I've ever read. The movie in a way did justice to the comics.

So, let's cut the chatter and head right into the review!!! This is gonna be a long a$$ review :P

SPOILER ALERT!

SPOILER ALERT!

SPOILER ALERT!

Before we go on talking about the movie, let's have a background on what the original Marvel's Civil War comics is all about. Everything started with a group of teenage Superheroes led by Speedball who were filming their own TV Reality series about catching villains, somewhat of a Bounty Hunters TV series copycat, except with super powers. They were this group of villains where one of the villains turn out to be Nitro, (His powers were similar of Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the 2016 Deadpool movie) and out of desperation, Nitro exploded violently in front of a school, killing hundreds including 60 plus more children in the blast. This led to the birth of the Superhero Registration Act (SRA) where every super powered person is to register under the government in order to keep superheroes in check and limiting the 'vigilantes' from operating under unlimited force. In short, the government in America has the control over every super powered being there is in America... Including super villains... Iron Man approves of the SRA as he believes that there is a need for Superheros to have supervision from a higher authority so that there will be less catastrophy. Captain believes otherwise. Captain believes that the SRA was founded on breaking the law because the law was wrong. The SRA is another step towards government control and while Captain loves his country, he does not trust many politicians. Not when they're having their strings pulled by corporate donors and not when they're willing to trade freedom for security. Hence, the war begins between Team Iron Man and Team Captain.

Roll call #TeamCap (left to right): Hawkeye, Agent Sharon Carter, Steve Rogers, Falcon, Bucky.

Roll call #TeamIronMan: War Machine, Black Widow, Tony Stark, Black Panther, Vision.

The movie picks up from Ant-Man and opens with Bucky waking from his cryo-sleep on December 16, 1991 and was given orders by Hydra to retrieve a package. Moving forward 25 years, we see The New Avengers on a mission to apprehend Rumlow (Now known as Crossbones), ending up in an amazing battle but unfortunately all good things come to a tragic incident when Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) tried to save Cap by enveloping Crossbones in a shield when he decided to self-detonate, causing the explosion to lose control and the blast just wiped out a Wakandan peace meeting in a building nearby.

Secretary Ross, previously General Ross (last seen in The Incredible Hulk), makes a visit to the Avengers Facility and drops a bomb on them with the Sokovian Accords (Similar to the SRA in the comics). The Avengers are now torn about wanting to sign this Accord that could forever tie them down from freedom. Tony is all out into supporting this Accord, while Captain doesn't want this Accord to stop them from saving more lives or doing some mission that they do not believe in doing. Hence, the war begins.

I'd love to write more of the synopsis but I think this'll do as I believe that you guys should just watch the movie for yourselves to enjoy it.

I was impressed with how they were able to adapt the complicated and chaotic story of the Marvel's Civil War comics onto the silver screen. The plot was written so well to reflect on the current era and I can truthfully say that it is not easy to make a continuation from 12 prequels. Everything that happened is connected in the most creative and unique way.

The characters were developed with great balance and everything that happened in Civil War leads up to a new era in the Phase 3 MCU.

Personally I loved Spidey, Ant-Man and Black Panther in the mix. The rebooted character of Spider-Man made sense into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it gives a fresh and new dimension amongst our favourite heroes. This rendition of Spidey is a young Peter Parker who is still in highschool, and was recruited by Tony Stark into the Avengers to arrest the now fugitive - Captain America and his team of rebels. Tom Holland did a fantastic job playing this version of Spidey where it makes sense for Spidey to talk non-stop as it shows Peter's inexperience in being a superhero and his inexperience in being in any fights or battles. 'Nuff said, Spidey is a breath of fresh air in the movie.

The addition of Black Panther in the mix makes the story stronger as T'Challa is out for revenge for the death of his father that was killed in the Accords signing at the United Nation's conference. Bucky was to blame for the bombing that happened and Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, escalates the tension between the two factions. 

The return of Ant-Man a.k.a. Paul Rudd was a joy to watch. It was amazing how the Russo brothers were able to incorporate all these superheroes in one movie and the battle at the airport was magnificent in every way possible. Remarkable, exciting, funny, light-hearted, serious, intelligent, it is what anyone could ever ask for in a superhero movie. Just a cool spoiler for you, Ant-Man turns into Giant-Man! I for one never thought that they would actually bring that side of Ant-Man in the movies, as it would go either very bad or very awesome and it is safe to say, Ant-Man/Giant-Man was freaking awesome and hilarious in this movie!

#TeamCap runs into action at that spectacular airport battle scene!

The other returning characters - Captain America, Iron Man, Falcon, War Machine, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were balanced very well to meet the plot of the story.

The Civil War between them had a meaning, each of them had a reason for why they joined their respective factions, and even within their war, they still felt bad for fighting one another because of this circumstance that was dropped on to them.

The featured villain - Baron Zemo did a great job in igniting the Civil War in his own dirty scheme to seek revenge for the death of his family by the hands (inderectly) of The Avengers vs. Ultron. I'd wish they'd do more for his character though like what he was in the comics, but if that were to happen, I would imagine the storyline might be a little too messy and too overdone.

In the end, it really is entirely up to you who you side with in the movie. Captain has his own reasons for rebelling while Tony is trying too hard to make amends for all the deaths caused by the battles the Avengers had. At the end of the movie, I was left sitting on my seat in awe, as well as a little sad to see that our favourite heroes had to go their separate ways due to some stupid government act. I did not know who am I to support. They were both right. And they were both wrong.

Visually the entire movie was astounding, Vision got to utilize more of what he could do with his powers, Scarlet had more character development, Black Widow was torn apart, Sharon's relationship with Cap was not overdone, Falcon and Bucky's brotherly love-hate relationship was a fun thing to watch, Hawkeye was still a great fatherly figure to Scarlet, Black Panther - I can't wait to see more of his character in the next movies, Tony was in a dilemma to do the right thing and to listen to authority for once...

It was a very well balanced movie in every aspect. Personally, it's the BEST MARVEL movie to date.

Definitely a must watch for everyone! F*** Batman v Superman! Captain America : Civil War is the real deal!

My final verdict!

9.5 out of 10!

p/s: Please, I beg you to go watch this movie! Stay until the very end of the credits for 2 post credits scene!

== / ==

Here is another local (non-spoilery) review by The Star and alternate (less-spoilery) review by IO9.com.

While Marvel movies are currently flying high (most of the time), we thought to end this blog post with a reminder of the darker days are Marvel movies with this Honest Trailer of Captain America (1990 release):

Comments and opinions expressed in this review are solely by the writer and do not represent an official view by Outpost Productions.

== / ==

EVENT RECON REPORT

by the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.)

In conjunction with the launch of Captain America Civil War in Malaysia on 28 April 2016, a number of fan engagement events took place recently. The grandest event would be at Sunway Pyramid shopping mall with official appearance by Captain America himself! Other activities at the LG2 Orange Concourse included Captain America and Iron Man shooting games for chance to win a #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan badge respectively. The event also showcased Hot Toys 1/6 scale collectible figurines associated with the movie and unfortunately non available for sale. Instead official merchandise on retail were toys by Hasbro and various apparel.

Meet & Greet session with Captain America at Sunway Pyramid.

#TeamCap for sure!

Iron Man vs. Captain America showdown.

Hot Toys 1/6 figurine display from the Civil War.

This Iron Man Repulsor shoots NERF darts and if you are lucky scores you a #TeamIronMan badge.

Hasbro Captain America Civil War toys.

Marvel apparel.

More photos on the official Sunway Pyramid Facebook Page.

Baby-sister mall, Sunway Putra, hosted a smaller scale movie promo event at the main concourse. Although lacking the presence of Captain America, the event hosted alternative fan engagement as a Cosplay Gathering and Cosplay Competition, of which Outpost Productions Commander Richard Chua was invited as Guest Judge. Also showcased were Marvel statues by XM Studios and assorted merchandise on retail.

The Cosplay Competition featured by Star TV.

Civil War setup at Sunway Putra.

Cosplay Competition adult participants.

Cosplay Competition kids participants.

Life-size statue of Captain America.

Augmented photo booth. Choose between Captain America or Iron Man.

Civil style Civil War statues.

Iron Man Mark 42 statue by XM Studios.

Ant-Man comic style statues.

Cosplay Spider-men.

Official merchandise for sale.

More photos of the Cosplay Competition at the Outpost Productions and Sunway Putra Mall Facebook Pages. Hurry over now as both Sunway events conclude on 8 May 2016 today.

At the cinema, fans cosplaying Marvel superheroes gathered for the movie Premiere at TGV Sunway Pyramid on 27 April 2016. Both #TeamCap and #TeamIronMan were well represented.

Quicksilver lives! LOL!

Check out more photos by photographer John Gullidge on his Facebook album for this Premiere event.

Meanwhile that same night over at TGV 1 Utama, guests at the Maybank Premiere spotted with a squad of Captain Americas! 5 cosplayers sported uniforms of Captain Rogers from each movie appearance to date: The First Avenger, Avengers, Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron, Civil War.

Captains America!

For customers, Golden Screen Cinemas organised a Captain America Civil War roadshow at select cineplexes last month. Customers registered to be a Super-Human and participate in 3 challenges for the opportunity to win exclusive movie premiums. Here's a rundown of the roadshow by GSC:

GSC is also offering customers nationwide a chance to take home a piece of the action with exclusive posters free with ticket purchase and t-shirts as a combo set with drinks and popcorn.

Meanwhile TGV Cinemas is offering an exclusive set of posters for their IMAX customers, plus a rather cool-looking drink tumbler as part of it's popcorn or hotties combo.

Close-up of the Captain America "torso" tumbler.

On movie cups, Cathay Cineplexes once again has their popcorn compo with mini-figurines. 3 characters are available this time round: Captain America, Iron Man and Black Panther.

MBO Cinemas also has it own collectible cups with cutesy mugs of Captain America and Iron Man. The latest Civil War Funko POP! figurines are also available at their cinemas. Check out their other online promos at the official website.

Disclaimer: Captain America, Avengers and other trademarks are copyright to Marvel Entertainment and/or Walt Disney Pictures, and their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.