Image Credit: Jeffrey Neira/CBS
It’s the season of season finale television, and up next we have The Good Wife‘s spring ender, where we’ll learn if the firm can survive its looming bankruptcy. And by the end of this week, we’ll also have the answer to another very important question — Will The Avengers have the biggest weekend opening ever? (Or at least until July, when The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters.) Plus, stars in funny hats! (Because who doesn’t love a funny hat.) READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Marvel Entertainment
Unsure who Black Widow is? Having trouble deciphering the Hulk’s roar? Can’t tell the difference between Iron Man and the Iron Giant? In anticipation of the release of The Avengers on May 4, EW’s team of super geeks is here to help guide you through the mythos with our seven-part series of superhero primers, the recently declassified “Avengers Files.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a comic book connoisseur or a Nick Fury newbie — follow along this week as we deconstruct Earth’s mightiest heroes and pose the question: Which Avenger is the mightiest?
Name: Hawkeye/Clint Barton
First comic appearance: Tales of Suspense #57 (September, 1964), written by Stan Lee, penciled and inked by Don Heck.
First appearance in The Avengers (comic): Issue 16 (May, 1965), written by Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby.
First movie appearance: To set the stage for Hawkeye’s bigger role in The Avengers and to cultivate greater continuity among its movies, Marvel squeezed the the bow-twanging lone wolf agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (that’s Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division in Marvel movie lingo) into last summer’s Thor (gross $449 million worldwide), where he came thisclose to giving Thor the shaft in his brief cameo. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Marvel Entertainment
Unsure who Black Widow is? Having trouble deciphering the Hulk’s roar? Can’t tell the difference between Hawkeye and Katniss? In anticipation of the release of The Avengers on May 4, EW’s team of super geeks is here to help guide you through the mythos with our seven-part series of superhero primers, the recently declassified “Avengers Files.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a comic book connoisseur or a Nick Fury newbie — follow along this week as we deconstruct Earth’s mightiest heroes and pose the question: Which Avenger is the mightiest?
Name: Thor, God of Thunder
First comic appearance: Journey into Mystery #83 (August 10, 1962), created by Stan Lee, written by Larry Lieber, and pencilled by Jack Kirby.
First movie appearance: Thor (2011); $181 million domestic, $449.3 million worldwide READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Ron Phillips
On this week’s episode of our podcast Entertainment Geekly, Jeff Jensen and I examine every major nerd-baiting Hollywood blockbuster hitting theaters between May and August. Whether you’re a camp-TV cultist, a comic book obsessive, a three-breasted mutant-prostitute enthusiast, or just someone who has ever played a board game, there’s something for you. The source material comes from every corner of the ComicCon-verse: There’s the Total Recall remake, and the Dark Shadows remake-spoof, and Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Prometheus, which is a prequel or a remake or…well, a something of his sci-fi classic Alien. There’s also a holy trifecta of superhero films — The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises — which form a handy state-of-the-genre examination of the whole notion of comic book movies. Oh, and Battleship. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Marvel Entertainment
Unsure who Black Widow is? Having trouble deciphering the Hulk’s roar? Can’t tell the difference between Hawkeye and Katniss? In anticipation of the release of The Avengers on May 4, EW’s team of super geeks is here to help guide you through the mythos with our seven-part series of superhero primers, the recently declassified “Avengers Files.” It doesn’t matter if you’re a comic book connoisseur or a Nick Fury newbie — follow along this week as we deconstruct Earth’s mightiest heroes and pose the question: Which Avenger is the mightiest?
Name: Iron Man/Tony Stark
First comic appearance: Tales of Suspense #39 (March 10, 1963), created by Stan Lee, written by Larry Lieber, and designed by Don Heck and Jack Kirby
First movie appearance: Iron Man (2008); $318.4 million domestic, $585.1 million worldwide
Portrayed by: Save for an array of voice actors that have brought the metallic toon to life, Robert Downey, Jr. was the first thesp to bring Iron Man to the tough, non-pixelated reality of live-action.
Origin story: After a car crash killed both of his parents, brilliant engineer Tony Stark inherited Stark Industries. During a military field test, a land mine exploded and sent a piece of shrapnel into Stark’s chest, lodging somewhere near his heart. While Stark was held prisoner at a terrorist camp and instructed by his captives to construct advanced weapons, he instead worked with his cellmate to manufacture a magnetic chest plate that prevented the shrapnel from ever reaching his heart. At the same time, Stark built a crude battlesuit — the first Iron Man armor, replete with unrefined weaponry and basic defenses — that he used to break out of captivity and return home. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images
Liam and Chris Hemsworth are on the verge of something improbable, if not unprecedented. Not only did both brothers hit the genetic lottery, but both are essential components of studio franchises that will dominate the box office this year. Liam, 22, laid the foundation for his character, Gale, in The Hunger Games, and has a role in the upcoming AARP action film, Expendables 2. Chris, 28, is, literally, a Norse god, playing Thor again in The Avengers, as well as the Huntsman in the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman.
What makes the Hemsworths’ success so unusual is that it contradicts one of the quirky unwritten laws of Hollywood stardom, which seems to predicate that when brothers experience renown in the movie business, one of them absorbs the celebrity and enormous success while the other operates in the shadows. Jeff and Beau Bridges. Matt and Kevin Dillon. Alec and Every Other Baldwin. (In a way, it’s not unlike Sith lords.) READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images
So The Avengers is one huge movie uniting six superheroes with amazing super origins and super skills. They partner up, somewhat reluctantly, when the Earth is threatened by Loki and his minions. But if push came to shove, as it does in a few scenes in the film, who would emerge supreme? Thor is a god, Iron Man is a flying weapon of mass destruction, and the Hulk is an angry green mutant. Would Black Widow and Hawkeye even have a chance? We asked the cast members at last night’s premiere in Hollywood which character would win a hypothetical battle royale in a steel cage, and they seemed to agree on the supe who would come out on top. (Hint: He’s green.)
Of greater interest, perhaps, was the general consensus on which actor would handle all comers. “I think in the end, Renner would probably win,” said Scarlett Johansson, echoing some of her other castmates. “Because he is a scrappy kind of guy. He’s done so many Bourne and Mission: Impossible type movies at this point that surely he’s picked up some special skills.”
“Really? They said me?” said Renner. “I don’t know about that. Hemsworth and Evans have way more muscle than me. I’m not a fighter. I would rather shake some drinks and make martinis for everybody than fight them.”
Click through our photo gallery to see the stars on the red carpet and read their opinions on who’s the biggest, baddest of them all.
(Reporting by Carrie Bell.)
Read more:
‘The Avengers’ clip: Tony Stark confronts Loki, takes superhero head count
‘The Avengers’ clip: Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill tussles with Nick Fury, verbally
‘The Avengers’: 21 New Photos
Will Tony Stark arrive in a limo, or fly in via jet pack? How will Steve Rogers handle the paparazzi? Can Thor live-tweet while holding his hammer? Will Nick Fury bedazzle his eye patch? Will Clint Barton bring the gun show to the red carpet? Can Natasha Romanoff answer the same inane questions from the press line without beating a poor journalist to a pulp? And what brave designer will create the likely-to-be-ripped-to-shreds outfit for Bruce Banner?
Sure, today’s world premiere of The Avengers at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood would be much cooler if Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo all showed up as their respective characters. But it’s still going to be the most super-heroic red carpet of the year — and you can watch the live-stream of it right here on EW.com starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
HULK SAYS WATCH LIVE STREAM BELOW! HULK GOT MANI/PEDI JUST FOR OCCASION! READ FULL STORY »
Will Tony Stark arrive in a limo, or fly in via jet pack? How will Steve Rogers handle the paparazzi? And what brave designer will create the likely-to-be-ripped-to-shreds outfit for Bruce Banner?
Sure, tomorrow’s world premiere of The Avengers at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood would be much cooler if Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Mark Ruffalo all showed up as their respective characters. But it’s still going to be the most super-heroic red carpet of the year — and you can watch the live-stream of it right here on EW.com starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
HULK SAYS CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE-STREAM!
Read more:
‘The Avengers’ clip: Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill tussles with Nick Fury, verbally
New ‘Avengers’ clip: Scarlett Johansson fights Russians, in a leotard, with both hands tied behind her back
‘The Avengers’: 21 New Photos
