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Welcome to my MCU Rewatch, where I write an analysis of the MCU movies in the order of theatrical release. In this installment, I talk about the mischaracterizations of our favorite heroes. 

Release Date: 1 May 2015
Distributor: Disney/Marvel
Director: Joss Whedon

You’ve probably heard it before and I’ll say it again, the idea of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an unprecedented feat of filmmaking that I can only assume requires a lot of organization, a lot of discussion of what is canon and what is not, and clearly defined goals for each and every movie that comes out of the Marvel/Disney machine. The directors for these films work closely with the producers to keep the movie in line with not just the Marvel overlords but also the characterizations of each superhero that appears on screen.

While Avengers: Age of Ultron is a pivotal movie in the MCU with a lot of events happening with ramifications for movies to come, the characters feel off. It starts with Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) line “Language!” and it’s all downhill from there.

I would argue that director Joss Whedon doesn’t know how to write Steve Rogers. A man out of time but still fighting the good fight against bullies, perhaps his difficulty in finding Steve’s motivation for doing what he does. What do you do with a general dislike of bullies? Whedon weaves a twist that Steve doesn’t know how to live without a war to fight. I feel that should have been taken one step further and presented as Steve looking for a way to return to his time. Until he could, he’s always ready for the next mission because that could be the mission that gets him home, finally.

Steve Rogers is not the only character that has seen better days. The romance between Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johannson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) feels forced and out of place. Part of that is the actors lacking chemistry between them. Most of that, for me, comes from the disconnect between Avengers and Age of Ultron.

In The Avengers, Natasha’s biggest fear was the Hulk. This isn’t explicit, but it comes out in subtleties and Natasha’s one-liners. What happened in the years between The Avengers and Age of Ultron that Natasha started falling for her biggest fear? More importantly, what happened to Natasha that she decided to indulge in love? I assume, but don’t know for certain, that her training for the KGB skewed her view on romance to the point where she is unable to see it as a viable option for her future. Can she even trust her feelings? Until that’s cleared up, the Natasha/Bruce romance will always feel awkward and weird.

Finally, in Iron Man 3, we saw Tony destroying the suits that he made because he didn’t need them to protect what he loves most dear. That wasn’t the case, apparently, as seen here where Tony has a brand new suit, a contingent of suits called the Iron Legion, and is working to build a suit of armor around the planet called Ultron. He may not make it obvious anymore, but it seems he is still plagued with dreams of Thanos and his invading army. Now, however, it’s making him into something of a villain. What happens to the Avengers when they start disagreeing among themselves? We’ll see the fallout of that in a couple movies.

Despite these major issues with Age of Ultron, the movie does get some things right. Any interaction between Steve Rogers and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is golden. I understand that these two are a highly competent team to the point where they would make a boring movie together, but I want to see more of them being bros.

Additionally, any interaction between the team that’s based around having fun is pure gold and fanservice. The after-party scene where everyone on the team takes turns attempting to lift Mjolnir is hands down the best scene in the entire movie.

This movie was released at the same time as Matt Fraction’s run of Hawkeye for Marvel Comics. I was (and still am) an avid fan of that run but also that interpretation of Clint Barton. Clint as a hot mess outside of his work in The Avengers is a very human interpretation of the character and one that I appreciate. So, initially, it was jarring that the Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) of the MCU movies had a secret family stowed away in some unknown rural locale.

When he’s with the Avengers, he’s sarcastic and focused and takes responsibility for others. When Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (ACTOR and Elizabeth Olsen, respectively) join the team, Hawkeye takes it upon himself to be a mentor to them. Considering his implied history with SHIELD, taking on and vouching for Natasha when she first joined SHIELD for instance, this seems like an in-character move for him. It would have been interesting to see Clint take on more of a fatherly role, even with some of the other heroes on the Avengers team. He may not be the most powerful or strongest Avenger, but he’s a crucial part of the team nonetheless. That part of him, the part that mentors everyone, is a missed opportunity and I wish I could have seen more of that.

Tune in next time for Evangeline Lily getting the short end of the stick in Ant-Man.

Random Thoughts on Avengers: Age of Ultron

• Iron Man’s worst fear is the Avengers dead and Chitauri coming through a wormhole to Earth. It is not very frightening to say the least. I wasn’t moved by it. Perhaps it came too early in the film but it just feels out of character for Tony.
• When Ultron introduces himself, why is he in a half-finished robot? What is the point of that other than to be intentionally creepy? Please describe your motivations in detail and have them make narrative sense.
• What does Bruce see for his nightmare vision from Scarlet Witch? That’s never clear, but it sets of the Hulk against some poor African coastal town.
• Speaking of, WHICH COAST DID THIS FIGHT TAKE PLACE ON? Africa is not a country, it’s a continent with more countries than anybody realizes and it’d be nice to get specific with where this battle takes place.  Morocco? The Ivory Coast? South Africa? Senegal? All of those countries are thousands miles apart! Where was this battle???