One of the things that Hollywood seems incapable of appreciating is that actors in movies with special effects have to either 1. act to nothing because literally nothing is there, 2. react and pretend something is happening because again, nothing is happening, and 3. interact with characters that will later be put into the scene with special effects.
This example is just one of many. Think about what you’ve seen, not only in the past decade or so of CGI, but before then when Star Wars (the originals) revolutionized the whole of sci-fi fantasy films. Hollywood rolls its eyes, reaps the benefits with the ‘popcorn movies’ but rarely (if ever) rewards them. The Return of the King was a fluke that probably will never be repeated. It’s one reason I will always ALWAYS talk about the acting skills of those in these films (and the directing prowess), because it isn’t easy. At all.
So thank you to all the actors, directors, production teams, special effects teams, etc. You made it possible and I, for one, am grateful.
I’m gonna keep this to the MCU because thinking about 616 Howard Stark (who is a drunk, unpredictable, abusive asshole who belittles Tony and fucking threatens him with violence what the fuck) makes me foam at the mouth in rage.
Let’s pick this one quote from IM2:
“He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me, he never told me he liked me so it’s a little tough for me to digest when you’re telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he’s passing it down. I don’t get that. We’re talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school.”
This meta hits all the right notes for me. And I’d like to add that when Steve is on the table, about to undergo a procedure that will likely kill him, Howard doesn’t even say a single word to him, just looks him up and down with this cold, removed stare like Steve is just another component in a machine. And all props to Dominic Cooper for that look, too, because I find that moment the most chilling of all.
To answer your question, laire, that silver fox at the end is Tony from Next Avengers, an absolutely adorable and deceptively heartrending kids movie wherein the Avengers are all killed by Ultron and Tony is left alone to raise their children.
AND BUILDS ROBOTS OF HIS DEAD TEAM MATES. YOU ARE LEAVING THAT OUT.
CREEPY, CREEPY ROBOTS
I’d genuinely love to see Armored Adventures Tony drawn in this style, because the AA here is Avengers Assemble, not Armored Adventures. (Maybe with a tragic post-school soul patch, like in a couple of the fics of young Tony that I’ve read.) Love the EMH Tony in particular.
In which Tony is a former weapons manufacturer with his faithful automaton Jarvis, the hellicarrier is a mechanical balloon and the Avengers are a group drawn together by a new villain.
knitting in the dark 