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Iron Man 2 had some fundamental flaws. It was crammed full of different story lines, plot drifts and references to the upcoming Avengers movie in 2012. One of its biggest flaws was that apart from the main character Tony Stark, the rest of the cast fell a bit flat. The worst case was Scarlett Johansson's character the Black Widow.

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In the comics the Black Widow (Natalia Romanova) is a former Soviet spy who was sent to spy on Tony Starks company, but after meeting Hawkeye (played by Jeremy Renner in the Avengers) she defects to the US and becomes an agent of SHIELD. Her abilities include unmatched athleticism, expert fighting skills, and mastery over various gadgets.

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Apart from one brief scene in Iron Man 2 where the Widow attacks some guards from Hammer Industries, the character has been a real disappointment. Despite the character having one of the best back stories in Marvel comics, Scarlett's portrayal made me wish fellow actor Emily Blunt had taken the role instead. Sure Johansson looks the role of Natalia Romanova, but her acting came off flat and too similar to her performances in her other movies. I call it Jenifer Aniston syndrome. The Widow is also well known for having a Russian accent, but the guys behind Iron Man 2 seemed to think it would be a good idea to leave it out even though it's an essential part of the character. Despite fan boy speculation, I doubt we'll actually see Johansson pull of a Russian accent in the Avengers movie. We'll just have to get past the butchering of the character. Also the Widow is famous for being a spy, yet her antics in Iron Man 2 seemed like she joined Tony Stark's company just to do a profile on him for Nick Fury. It's hardly corporate espionage is it?

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Critics and fans have criticised how the Black Widow came off as a constant sex symbol in Iron Man 2 (car undressing scene), but that's a more of a flaw with the character itself. The Black Widow is known for doing anything that gets the job done, even if it means sleeping or flirting with the enemy.

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Another reason why the Widow may be a thorn in the Avengers side is that she's not actually a full on member of the Avengers in the comics. She's primarily a SHIELD agent or an Avenger fringe member, yet Marvel have decided the Widow should be a main member of the roster come 2012. Why is this a big deal? It's because iconic Avengers members such as Ant Man (Hank Pym) and the Wasp (Janet Pym) have been left out to avoiding over crowding the roster on screen. Ant Man and the Wasp are two founding Avengers members in the comics, therefore their exclusion is likely to irritate long term fans of the comics come 2012.

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I hope Scarlett Johansson pulls a surprise incredible performance in the Avengers movie. For too long women characters have suffered in superhero movies. After all, we need a character to finally wash the bad taste of Elektra and Catwoman out of our mouths.

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It's still many months away from being released, but fans are already getting frustrated with the Avengers movie. Whilst the movie cannot possibly live up to fan boy expectations, it wasn't too long ago people were really excited about seeing the world's finest superheroes united on screen. My question is, what's changed?

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Similar to next year's The Dark Knight Rises, leaked videos and photos are already swarming from the The Avengers film. What seems to be the cause of the criticism are the recent pictures showcasing our first look at Captain America fighting alongside Hawkeye and Black Widow. I'll skip my initial concerns for Cap's goofy looking costume, to get to the main point. Nothing looks spectacular. I'm sure Iron Man and The Hulk will look impressive, but Hawkeye and Black Widow look entirely out of place, and to be honest quite dull. When you have a team of war machines, super soldiers, gods and monsters, two assassins seem to come up short. I'm not saying they shouldn't be in the movie, but considering no one has been greatly overwhelmed by the performances and cameos from Black Widow and Hawkeye so far, is it likely they're going to blow us away with scene stealing performances next year? Perhaps Marvel should have considered this when they set out creating their cinematic universe. What the Avengers needed, is Ant-Man and Wasp.

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If Whedon had originally chosen to include Hank and Janet Pym in the Avengers movie it would have added a whole new dynamic to the team. The two original Avengers founding members would have created a sub-plot far more interesting for older viewers. I'm not suggesting Whedon should have looked at the Ultimates series and have Hank unleash an army of ants on his wife, but considering their unstable relationship, including Hank and Janet would have really added some much needed substance into Marvel's cinematic universe. Would the movie suffer from having a congested cast if Ant-Man and Wasp were included? Mark Millar's Ultimates series managed to handle all members of the team just fine. Joss Whedon's excellent Astonishing X-Men run proved the man in the director's chair could handle ensembles brilliantly. I don't believe it's a question of what might work for the comic book medium might not work for film. After all, these are meant to be comic book movies!

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One thing I have to praise Joss Whedon for is that he isn't giving anything away too soon. Yes we have set-pics, and we know Loki is the main villain, but we still don't know what threat brings this team together. There have been rumours of shape- shifting aliens, sea monsters and frost giants but that's all speculation. Thanks to leaked photos and plot details, we already know most of the plot line for The Dark Knight Rises. Considering it's still many months away, I'd rather not know too many story details about the Avengers at this point.

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Too summarise I think it's a little too soon to be judging The Avengers movie. We haven't even gotten our first full-length trailer yet, and fans are bashing based on leaked pictures. I'll admit, there are factors that could have been improved on, and I'm not a big fan of the film's roster. You have to give Marvel some credit though. They've put a huge amount of work into making this movie happen; therefore perhaps we should just be happy with what we're being given. It won't pack the substance of The Dark Knight but it's not like we've got a Justice League movie to look forward to.

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