The Marvel Cinematic Universe has created a monster. And no, I'm not talking about Ultron.
Its interlocking plot points, characters and mythology from film to film has certainly helped the MCU differentiate itself from all of the big-budget superhero movies that have come before it, making it the highest-earning movie franchise of all time, according to Box Office Mojo, in the process. And who doesn't love seeing an Easter egg or a character from another film pop up when you least expect it? I'm not going to lie. I get giddy when I see a familiar face as much as the next person.
The MCU has found a way to perfectly play into our nostalgia-crazed culture always eager to find out what may have been missed in an initial viewing with tools like Reddit and online video streaming to help. The fact that Marvel always sets up future films in its current cinematic effort helps feed the online speculation and creates hype for upcoming movies from the get go. Kudos to Marvel. Seriously.
However, Marvel's latest cinematic effort Avengers: Age of Ultron may be the first time the enormity of the MCU has become overwhelming. There are SPOILERS from here on out, just so you know.
As a sequel to the 2012 film about a super group of superheroes banding together to keep the world from complete and total destruction, Avengers: Age of Ultron is already jam packed. Fitting in the larger-than-life personalities and backstories of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye is already a tall order. Although, I will say getting a glimpse into Black Widow's time in the Red Room and Hawkeye's home life was a nice touch that allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of Avengers that didn't get quite as much screen time in the first film. Couple that with the introduction of a few new heroes (Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision) and a ton of cameos from characters throughout the MCU, and Avengers: Age of Ultron can be a lot to take in.
But let's focus on the cameos, shall we? They're always a highly anticipated part of any Marvel movie because they wink to the past and often hint at what's to come in future films. Here are the cameos in Avengers: Age of Ultron:
| • Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who has appeared throughout the MCU • Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes/War Machine from Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013) • Stellan Skarsgard as Erik Selvig from Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012) and Thor: The Dark World (2013) • Idris Elba as Heimdall from Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013) • Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and the Agent Carter ABC series (2015) • Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill from The Avengers (2012), the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) • Josh Brolin as Thanos from The Avengers (2012) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) • Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/The Falcon from Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) • Thomas Kretschmann as Baron Strucker from Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) • Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, who is rumored to be appearing in the upcoming Black Panther, slated for a July 2018 release • Claudia Kim as Helen Cho, a geneticist involved in building Ultron and mother of Amadeus Cho in the comics • Julie Delpy as Madame B, a mysterious character in the Red Room seen during Black Widow's mind warp by Scarlet Witch • Stan Lee as a World War II veteran that gets drunk on Thor's Asgardian spirit |
As you can see, there's a mix of old and new characters making cameos in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Some of them help move the plot forward, like Anthony Mackie's Falcon from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, who appears briefly near the beginning of the film but then returns at the end to preview the new formation of the Avengers now with Scarlet Witch, Vision and War Machine also in tow.
However, some of the cameos verge on fan service, which may make you smile at first before you quickly feel like it's just a cheap way to get audiences to cheer. Hayley Atwell appears as Agent Peggy Carter briefly to give Steve Rogers that dance. Even though Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Portman do not appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron, their characters Pepper Potts and Jane Foster, respectively, are still included in a way when Colonel James Rhodes asks Tony Stark and Thor where their significant others are, which really seemed like an attempt to pack as many characters from the MCU in this movie as possible.
We wouldn't have realized their absence if their names weren't brought up, and even so, I think the audience is smart enough to assume that these ladies just had other stuff going on without their partners telling us, even if it did produce a comical little competition between the two superheroes.
Still, Marvel is very good about leaving us wanting more. The most successful cameos were, of course, the ones that give us a hint of a new character or point to the future, such as the enigmatic Madame B in the Red Room played by Julie Delpy or the always wonderful Andy Serkis portraying black-market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue, who many have speculated will be the villain in 2018's Black Panther.
And then there was Thanos. The Mad Titan puts on his Infinity Gauntlet and says, "Fine. I'll do it myself," in the movie's mid-credits sequence. He looks like he is getting ready to finally take on the Avengers himself, instead of being the behind-the-scenes puppet master that he briefly was in The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, this scene alludes to Thanos' upcoming quest for the whole kit and caboodle of infinity stones in the two-part Avengers: Infinity War slated to hit theaters in May 2018 and May 2019.
Clearly, Thanos' cameos have been the most important in building up hype for the long-awaited showdown. I just hope these past cameos don't make his highly anticipated appearance as a full-fledged character less powerful.
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