Preview - The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel Studios is on a roll as of late and now with their second phase of movies leading up to the second Avengers film, you can expect that any fan would go over any trailer with a magnifying glass in an attempt to find some clues as to what we could expect this summer. This new trailer once again reinforced the theme that in this film the Avengers are failing and falling flat on their face. Joss Whedon had referred to this film as The Avengers "Empire Strikes Back" and the idea behind that is that our beloved heroes will be torn down to their core making it a much more personal ordeal as opposed to the first film when they were just answering the call of heroism. In this article I will go over what stood out from this trailer and what it may mean.

The first lines we hear from Ultron in this trailer continues a thread brought up from Tony in Iron Man 3 in that from his past he has created plenty of his own demons. This demon now is rearing it's ugly head in it's worst way. Tony had always feared creating something that would bring about widespread death, and in response to that it was the main reason why he had created the Iron Man suit back in his first movie. He loathed the idea of handing his suits over to the government in fear of what it would do in the wrong hands. He and Bruce Banner in this film create Ultron realizing that Earth will always be under attack by things that they might not always be able to stop. However, Tony bit off more than he could chew as the very thing he had always been afraid of has come true. Ultron is the biggest threat any Avenger has come face to face with up to this point, the trailer shows that very clearly. Not only is he incredibly powerful but he is incredibly smart.

Another prevailing theme back from the first trailer is that the Avengers are not happy with Tony and what he had created in Ultron. Thor, in fact, grabs Tony by the throat and even tells him that he is meddling in things that he doesn't understand. Which is interesting seeing as how technology and robots would be more in Tony's field then Thor's. However, that theory could be wrong seeing as how there is a rumor that Ultron may have roots to the Chitauri which would make more sense with what Thor explains to Tony in the trailer. Of course this divide between the Avengers and Tony comes to a head as we see the close friends, Tony and Bruce coming to blows. Tony is donning the hulkbuster suit however and looking rather mad just like Bruce is with his red eyes in full Hulk mode. Hulk with the red eyes may be a part of Ultron's plan to tear the Avengers apart from the inside out, but more on that later.

Thor seems rather distressed throughout both trailers. I think this is more because of Ultron's plea to tear them apart from the inside out. Ultron will use Scarlet Witch to do just that. Scarlet Witch has the ability to get inside the head and alter reality which will be used to tear the Avengers apart. Her abilities will most certainly be used mostly on the two Avengers that can dole out the most damage to Ultron, that of course being the Hulk and Thor. That would explain the red eyes on Hulk during his fight with the Hulkbuster suit. More importantly, I think the visions she places inside Thor's head will be so devastating that it sends him back to Asgard. We all know the next time we will be seeing Thor will be in Ragnarok, his third solo film, and in Ragnarok it will bring about the destruction of Asgard and the nine realms but also the death of Thor.

The previous trailer we saw Thor screaming in pain in a small well of water and in this one we see a woman disrobing herself in front of a small well of water. Whatever vision that Scarlet Witch may show Thor might lead Thor to leave Earth for Vanaheim, the realm of wisdom, in an attempt to gain more knowledge. Digging deep into Norse mythology, there is a well at the foot of Yggdrasil named the Well of Wyrd. I think that is the very thing that Thor is led to by this mystery woman and the well shows him his future. This would also explain why we see Thor losing his thunder, no pun intended, it is very literal.

After the confirmation of Black Panther being a major part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it now seems even more certain that Andy Serkis' mystery role in Age of Ultron is that of Ulysses Klaw. Klaw in the comics was a nemesis of Black Panther and if you look closely at the picture of him off to the right you will notice a claw of sorts on his necklace. Klaw has a deep fascination and love for vibranium which will put him at odds with the Black Panther, while it is highly doubtful we will see the Black Panther in this film it is clear that they are laying out the groundwork for his character. Klaw's love for collecting vibranium however will most likely put him on Ultron's map as Ultron will want vibranium in order to become completely indestructible. Granted, we have only seen two shots in two trailers now of Klaw but I am willing to bet he is a man on the run as he had just recently stolen a great amount of vibranium from the kingdom of Wakanda. Ultron will likely provide him safety in return for his vibranium.