tt stern-enzi

Rather than watch and wait for the final count in this week’s box office brawl led by Chris Hemsworth’s mighty Thor (in Thor: The Dark World), I settled down for a more in-depth examination of the real match-up I’ve been skirting around for awhile. The idea of Marvel’s filmed universe locked in heated battle against itself. Very nearly divided, neatly even, down studio lines that mirror the sides of the epic comic book series Avengers vs X-Men, I have longed to see what some of the match-ups from the books would look like on the big screen. How would Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man fare against either the young master of magnetism (Michael Fassbender) or the older, wiser metal manipulator (Ian McKellan)? Or what about the Captain America (Chris Evans) from the trailer of the new Winter Soldier installment (who looks rather kick-ass, if you ask me, in that gritty spy-thriller mode with blockbusting action potential) going head-to-head against The Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who happens to be a little battered and bruised after his Japanese adventure, but is still ready to carve his way through any obstacle standing before him?

Thor’s in a curious position among his avenging crew. He and the Hulk (by which I mean Mark Ruffalo’s rendition from The Avengers, since he’s got the long-term strangle-hold on the character, right?) have all of the smash and grab power (in that department, there’s no contest for them worth considering), but story-wise Thor’s been downgraded. No longer a thundering god, he’s more of a sci-fi creation, a brawling version of Captain Kirk with a half-brother in Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who is an evil-trickster Spock, always scheming to take over The Enterprise. And I have to say I miss the gods of old. The real Asgardians would sing the praises of a model-warrior like Captain America and likely be more than a little envious of the berserking Wolverine. Somehow though, watching Thor and the Warriors Three fighting a bunch of laser-beam blasting elves just doesn’t make sense to me.

Marvel, as a film studio, has certainly been able to fashion a box office brand, but have these collected stories truly captivated and engaged audiences (either the comic book faithful or the action-oriented movie junkies) in a meaningful way. As a former comic book geek, which means I’m just a lapsed fan lurking around the edges waiting to stumble back under the big tent, I’ve gone into each of the Marvel movie events (the Iron Man franchise, the various Hulk installments, the Captain America origin, the Thor, well, whatever we’re going to call the Thor films, and The Avengers) with a heart full of hope and emerged not exactly dashed or devastated, but definitely less inspired to return for a second helping. Every last one of these movies has been serviceable enough for one sitting, but none of them made me want to crack them open again for a deeper, fuller reading.

On the flip side, while I can’t profess to be a huge fan of the filmed X-Men titles as a whole, the dizzying style and jazzy way that X-Men: First Class incorporated the swinging ’60s and a Bond-like homage into Magneto’s development, demanded repeat viewings. And as a series, let’s just say that weaving in a credible exploration of the mutant agenda into the world of Man offers more grounding than the barely conceived notion of Thanos as a big bad that might not appear until sometime in the next decade.

And while the death of Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) may have spurred the Avengers to assemble and kick some alien butt (and set up the sputtering television series Marvel’s Agents of Shield), it lacks the mythic gravitas of the end of the subway sequence in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, where those New Yorkers pass Spidey’s limp body back into the subway car after he has saved their lives. That moment is truly epic and heroic in that age-old sense. I’m talking Joseph Campbell. The closest we’ve come since then, in terms of big screen heroes would be Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, which found ways to combine a philosophical take on heroism with top-notch action set-pieces that drew butts into seats again and again.

But Thor: The Dark World continues in the Marvel mode, the gee-whiz fun (found here in the world bouncing battle that dominates the finale) and a big broad romance to mix and match up a demographic one-two punch. I had, for the first time, a fine time, from start to finish, despite missing the Norse trappings, which had been replaced with sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. And thanks to the Captain America: The Winter Soldier extended teaser, I’m looking forward to the film that just might make me re-think everything I’ve said here. Yet, Marvel’s movie Avengers remain solidly in second place behind the X-Men film franchises and Sony’s neighborhood web head. The Avengers look like the beloved favorites (as they have tended to be in print as well), but the more discerning enthusiasts will likely line up alongside the mighty mutants when it truly counts because they speak to us, they reflect something human and organic. They are our past, present, and future, and the days to come look bright, even in the darkest moments.