Marvel Web

By: Hollis Conners

With “Thor: The Dark World” now in theaters and the realease of “Iron Man 3” back in May, Marvel fans have had reason for excitement. These movies, along with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” are leading up to Marvel’s the “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The following is a re-cap of how the heros were connected before the first Avenger’s movie came out.

Captain America (Steve Rogers)

1. “Iron Man”: A replica of Rogers’ shield appears briefly.

2. “The Incredible Hulk”: Thunderbolt Ross mentions a project in the 1940s to create a super soldier (refering to Rogers becoming Captain America).

3. “Iron Man 2”: The replica of Roger’s shield from “Iron Man” appears again.

Nick Fury

1. “Iron Man”: Appears in the post-credit scene to talk to Tony Stark about the “Avenger’s Initiative.”

2. “Iron Man 2”: At the end of the movie, Stark tells Fury he doesn’t want to join his “super secret boy band” (appearing to be refering to the Avengers).

3. “Thor”: In the post-credit scene, he is seen talking to Erik Selvig about a “cosmic cube” (the Tesseract). 4. “Captain America”: In the post-credit scene, he proposes the Avengers to Steve Rogers.

The Hulk (Bruce Banner)

1. “Iron Man 2”: When Tony Stark is talking to Nick Fury in the S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse, footage of the Hulk is seen on a screen, along with a detailed map with specific locations noted. They seemingly point to locations of specific heros.

2. “Thor”: Erik Selvig mentions a scientist he knows, who studies radiation and mysteriously dissappeared (reference to Bruce Banner).

Black Widow (Agent Natasha Romanoff)

1. “Iron Man 2”: Natasha Romanoff is introduced when Tony Stark makes Pepper Potts the CEO of Stark Industries. Romanoff takes Potts’ place as Stark’s personal assistant before revealing she is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent sent to see if Stark could be part of the Avengers.

Iron Man (Tony Stark)

1. “The Incredible Hulk”: Thunderbolt Ross is seen talking to Tony Stark, who mentions “putting a team together” (seemingly meaning the Avengers). Along with the scene with Ross, it is shown that weapons made by Stark Industries were used against the Hulk (Ross was the head of the Gamma Bomb Project, which ultimately turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk).

2. “Thor”: There is a reference to the Stark Techno-Suit.

Howard Stark

1. “Iron Man”: Introduced as Tony Stark’s father, who started Stark Industries.

2. “Iron Man 2”: It is revealed that Howard Stark founded S.H.I.E.L.D.

3. “Captain America”: Young Howard Stark starts Stark Expo, and Tony continues the tradition in “Iron Man 2.” The movie also shows that Howard worked on the Super Soldier Project, and that Stark Indurstries created the technology used for the project

Thor

1. “Iron Man 2”: The post-credit scene shows S.H.I.E.L.D. finding Thor’s hammer embedded in the ground in New Mexico.

Loki

1. “Thor”: Introduced as Thor’s brother, who is jealous of Thor’s destiny to the throne. In the postcredit scene, while Selvig and Fury are talking about the tessaract, it is apparent he is planning to steal it.

2. “The Avengers”: All the heros come together to stop Loki after stealing the tesseract.

Agent Phil Coulson

1. “Iron Man”: Agent Phil Coulson is introduced when informing Tony Stark about the creation of a government organization called S.H.I.E.L.D.

2. “Iron Man 2”: Coulson returns as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

3. “Thor”: Coulson plays a major role. He takes all of Jane Foster’s research and data about the wormhole that transported Thor to Earth. He sets up a S.H.I.E.L.D. camp around Thor’s hammer, which interferes with Thor’s attempts to reclaim it.