Who wants to talk about The Avengers?
I've got it bad guys, and by it I mean I have a bad case of The Avengers fangirling.
I freaking LOVED this movie you guys. I've always been a fan of the superhero movie genre, not fannish in a fandom way but I have always enjoyed everything from Superman, Spider Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor...well you get the gist. I dig them! Good, Bad and in between it's good old fashioned popcorn movie fun. I knew I was going to enjoy The Avengers for more than just the superheroes, this was a Joss joint...how could I not? I knew he would break my heart at some point because that's how he rolls but I knew he would have me emotionally invested in these characters. I was not prepared for how much though!
Full disclosure. I have never read Marvel comics. Anything I've learned and base my opinions on are 99.9% movie-verse Marvel and like .01% internet research. So if there are any hard core comic fans out there I apologize if I get anything wrong.
I want to talk about the whole movie but I've got to unload about the biggest thing I took away from The Avengers which is my newest OTP of awesomeness. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton (aka Black Widow and Hawkeye) in fandom circles they're usually referred to as "BlackEye" "BlackHawk" or "Clintasha". (There's a current poll/discussion about what to name these awesome two over at the C/N comm be_compromised - come join and look around, there is tons of awesome fic already as well as graphics, icons, etc)
These TWO. You guys...THESE TWO. I know there isn't tons of canon yet but there is potential for it in a big bad way. Not only do I want more of them together but I want to know everything about their characters. You can tell they're both emotionally damaged/distant and that clearly comes from a very angsty path. Black Widow was created as a Russian super spy/soldier. She was taken at a young age and trained to use everything she has to disarm and take down a target. Her "very specific skillset" includes mackin on dudes and then taking them out. YOU GO GIRL. I will always root for a master assassin who can choke out a man with her thighs...I have no regrets. Joss' script treated Natasha not as the "female member who balances out the look of the scene" but as a full fledged member of the team. She was an integral part at every single stage of the game. She was strong but she wasn't cold. She clearly has emotions and while she definitely holds them back you see them right below the surface. The best example of this is when she's with Clint. She wants to comfort him and ease his mind but she's guarding herself. She can't completely cross that line. It's right up my alley of character traits. Repression, angst, emotion...all wrapped up in a woman who is clearly capable of anything except putting her heart out on her sleeve. I have hope that one day something is going to come along and break down that barrier and let her feel every joy she really deserves to have (Basically I have all the wishes and hopes I did for Kara *sigh* here we go again!) I have alot of Natasha feelings, I think she could potentially be one of the best female characters I've seen in a long time. You have no idea how excited I am that we are officially going to see an origins movie for her. F-YEAH FEMALE SUPERHEROINE MOVIE. I trust that Marvel will do it right, you know that once they saw the opening weekend figures they knew they had captured a female audience. You don't get to 1 Billion + in sales without women. They've got the ball...they just need to run it into the end zone. My personal wish is that Joss writes and directs her movie. I love the way she was presented in The Avengers so I'm all for continuing in that vein.
I'm not a meta type fangirl, I'm a flail/excitement kind of fangirl. But I feel deeply for her and I know my words aren't doing it justice. There was an article written at Indiewire about the movie and the female aspect of it and it's an excellent read. It basically says most of what I am thinking just more eloquently and with much better grammar. The article also references a great piece written over at Think Progress which sums up everything I feel about Natasha in this one paragraph:
"She never becomes a victim or a lesser member of the team. Her pain and exhaustion after a CG Marvel battles triggers our empathy, and centers us. And while all this superhero battling may look fun, without superhero augmentation, it must be terrifying. Johansson offers a true career-best turn here, easily negotiating splinter-thin spaces separating old pains and a chilly professionalism that hides we’re not sure what-regret? Denial? Lingering rage over the childhood abuse that turned her into Black Widow? It’s all hinted at as the actor works Whedon’s many shades of dark grey beautifully. In short, and despite all the Wagnerian bam-boom-pow, Whedon and his star never lose sight of the fact that Natasha is profoundly vulnerable, with nothing but smarts, heart and a .45 for protection."
Agent Romanoff...LET ME LOVE YOU (and while you're at it...let Hawkeye love you too. He already does, it's written all over his face and in the breathy way he says "Tasha")
So as you can tell, I'm very attached to her. Don't get me wrong, I'm also attached to Clint and his loner "I see better from a distance" sniper thing he's hanging on to but that boy wears his heart on his sleeve. He doesn't just look at her, his eyes are GLUED to her in all their scenes. I can't figure out if that's the character or Jeremy Renner (who is in love with Scarlett..SHUT UP HE IS). It's rather intense though. He knows everything about her, her deepest darkest secrets and because of his call not to kill her he gained a partner who I think obviously appears to be his best friend. She saved him and in my head canon that this is what their relationship is like. They keep saving each other not physically but emotionally and they keep a tally and it's a debt that's never going to be paid off. One day they're going to realize they're in a relationship and not just a work partnership. Because when you love someone you do everything to keep them safe and it doesn't matter how far you have to go to do it, you just do it and you would kill anyone who gets in your way. I also think the debt comment is interesting because if they keep saving each other I think individually they always feel one save behind but really it's their excuse to stay together. They just need to admit it to each other and realize the ledger is inconsequential and the things they do aren't out of obligation to a past kindness but due to not being able to live without each other.
I also have alot of ideas of things that might happen once these things are admitted to each other. Once the cat was out the bag is would just as difficult and they would have to work at being together. I think Clint would definitely get frustrated with her and her inability to let all her walls down and I think Tasha would have a hard time sorting out what real love, passion, intimacy is with someone she wants it with. Basically it wouldn't be hearts and rainbows quickly and I think they would hurt each other a bit and I don't know what it says about me that I love the idea of them getting dark and dirty before they can get their prize. *shrug*
Look I just like it when a couple I ship fights it out in every way possible including the occasional smack to the head.
I can't wait to see what we learn about both of them in the Black Widow movie. Obviously he's the reason she's with SHIELD so he's going to play a big part in at least the latter portion of the movie I would think. I just really need to know about Budapest too. Come on Joss? You knew the fangirls were going to get that bone between their teeth. He did it on purpose. I love and hate him so much. *shakes fist* WHEDON!
This post has gotten ridiculously long so I won't go into all the other things I loved about the movie but I'll just say I loved it all. I enjoyed every fight, every joke, every eye roll, every moment Loki was being his awful awesome self. I didn't want it to end. I've watched the movie 3 or 4 times already and that kind of obsessing with movies doesn't happen very often but I'm glad there is a game plan in place with Marvel and I hope to see these characters popping up in all the upcoming movies.
So what did you guys think? Anyone else out there shipping or potentially shipping Clint/Natasha? What were you favorite scenes? I have gifs...I want to use them! Even if you're not shipping it come talk to me anyway!
P.S. bonus Coulson because deep down he ships C/N too. He knew what to say to Natasha to get her to move. I look forward to him returning from sabbatical to wrangle his Avengers once again.
I freaking LOVED this movie you guys. I've always been a fan of the superhero movie genre, not fannish in a fandom way but I have always enjoyed everything from Superman, Spider Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor...well you get the gist. I dig them! Good, Bad and in between it's good old fashioned popcorn movie fun. I knew I was going to enjoy The Avengers for more than just the superheroes, this was a Joss joint...how could I not? I knew he would break my heart at some point because that's how he rolls but I knew he would have me emotionally invested in these characters. I was not prepared for how much though!
Full disclosure. I have never read Marvel comics. Anything I've learned and base my opinions on are 99.9% movie-verse Marvel and like .01% internet research. So if there are any hard core comic fans out there I apologize if I get anything wrong.
I want to talk about the whole movie but I've got to unload about the biggest thing I took away from The Avengers which is my newest OTP of awesomeness. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton (aka Black Widow and Hawkeye) in fandom circles they're usually referred to as "BlackEye" "BlackHawk" or "Clintasha". (There's a current poll/discussion about what to name these awesome two over at the C/N comm be_compromised - come join and look around, there is tons of awesome fic already as well as graphics, icons, etc)
These TWO. You guys...THESE TWO. I know there isn't tons of canon yet but there is potential for it in a big bad way. Not only do I want more of them together but I want to know everything about their characters. You can tell they're both emotionally damaged/distant and that clearly comes from a very angsty path. Black Widow was created as a Russian super spy/soldier. She was taken at a young age and trained to use everything she has to disarm and take down a target. Her "very specific skillset" includes mackin on dudes and then taking them out. YOU GO GIRL. I will always root for a master assassin who can choke out a man with her thighs...I have no regrets. Joss' script treated Natasha not as the "female member who balances out the look of the scene" but as a full fledged member of the team. She was an integral part at every single stage of the game. She was strong but she wasn't cold. She clearly has emotions and while she definitely holds them back you see them right below the surface. The best example of this is when she's with Clint. She wants to comfort him and ease his mind but she's guarding herself. She can't completely cross that line. It's right up my alley of character traits. Repression, angst, emotion...all wrapped up in a woman who is clearly capable of anything except putting her heart out on her sleeve. I have hope that one day something is going to come along and break down that barrier and let her feel every joy she really deserves to have (Basically I have all the wishes and hopes I did for Kara *sigh* here we go again!) I have alot of Natasha feelings, I think she could potentially be one of the best female characters I've seen in a long time. You have no idea how excited I am that we are officially going to see an origins movie for her. F-YEAH FEMALE SUPERHEROINE MOVIE. I trust that Marvel will do it right, you know that once they saw the opening weekend figures they knew they had captured a female audience. You don't get to 1 Billion + in sales without women. They've got the ball...they just need to run it into the end zone. My personal wish is that Joss writes and directs her movie. I love the way she was presented in The Avengers so I'm all for continuing in that vein.
I'm not a meta type fangirl, I'm a flail/excitement kind of fangirl. But I feel deeply for her and I know my words aren't doing it justice. There was an article written at Indiewire about the movie and the female aspect of it and it's an excellent read. It basically says most of what I am thinking just more eloquently and with much better grammar. The article also references a great piece written over at Think Progress which sums up everything I feel about Natasha in this one paragraph:
"She never becomes a victim or a lesser member of the team. Her pain and exhaustion after a CG Marvel battles triggers our empathy, and centers us. And while all this superhero battling may look fun, without superhero augmentation, it must be terrifying. Johansson offers a true career-best turn here, easily negotiating splinter-thin spaces separating old pains and a chilly professionalism that hides we’re not sure what-regret? Denial? Lingering rage over the childhood abuse that turned her into Black Widow? It’s all hinted at as the actor works Whedon’s many shades of dark grey beautifully. In short, and despite all the Wagnerian bam-boom-pow, Whedon and his star never lose sight of the fact that Natasha is profoundly vulnerable, with nothing but smarts, heart and a .45 for protection."
Agent Romanoff...LET ME LOVE YOU (and while you're at it...let Hawkeye love you too. He already does, it's written all over his face and in the breathy way he says "Tasha")
So as you can tell, I'm very attached to her. Don't get me wrong, I'm also attached to Clint and his loner "I see better from a distance" sniper thing he's hanging on to but that boy wears his heart on his sleeve. He doesn't just look at her, his eyes are GLUED to her in all their scenes. I can't figure out if that's the character or Jeremy Renner (who is in love with Scarlett..SHUT UP HE IS). It's rather intense though. He knows everything about her, her deepest darkest secrets and because of his call not to kill her he gained a partner who I think obviously appears to be his best friend. She saved him and in my head canon that this is what their relationship is like. They keep saving each other not physically but emotionally and they keep a tally and it's a debt that's never going to be paid off. One day they're going to realize they're in a relationship and not just a work partnership. Because when you love someone you do everything to keep them safe and it doesn't matter how far you have to go to do it, you just do it and you would kill anyone who gets in your way. I also think the debt comment is interesting because if they keep saving each other I think individually they always feel one save behind but really it's their excuse to stay together. They just need to admit it to each other and realize the ledger is inconsequential and the things they do aren't out of obligation to a past kindness but due to not being able to live without each other.
I also have alot of ideas of things that might happen once these things are admitted to each other. Once the cat was out the bag is would just as difficult and they would have to work at being together. I think Clint would definitely get frustrated with her and her inability to let all her walls down and I think Tasha would have a hard time sorting out what real love, passion, intimacy is with someone she wants it with. Basically it wouldn't be hearts and rainbows quickly and I think they would hurt each other a bit and I don't know what it says about me that I love the idea of them getting dark and dirty before they can get their prize. *shrug*
Look I just like it when a couple I ship fights it out in every way possible including the occasional smack to the head.
I can't wait to see what we learn about both of them in the Black Widow movie. Obviously he's the reason she's with SHIELD so he's going to play a big part in at least the latter portion of the movie I would think. I just really need to know about Budapest too. Come on Joss? You knew the fangirls were going to get that bone between their teeth. He did it on purpose. I love and hate him so much. *shakes fist* WHEDON!
This post has gotten ridiculously long so I won't go into all the other things I loved about the movie but I'll just say I loved it all. I enjoyed every fight, every joke, every eye roll, every moment Loki was being his awful awesome self. I didn't want it to end. I've watched the movie 3 or 4 times already and that kind of obsessing with movies doesn't happen very often but I'm glad there is a game plan in place with Marvel and I hope to see these characters popping up in all the upcoming movies.
So what did you guys think? Anyone else out there shipping or potentially shipping Clint/Natasha? What were you favorite scenes? I have gifs...I want to use them! Even if you're not shipping it come talk to me anyway!
P.S. bonus Coulson because deep down he ships C/N too. He knew what to say to Natasha to get her to move. I look forward to him returning from sabbatical to wrangle his Avengers once again.
