It's not hard for Marvel to get their faithful fans to do pretty much anything-- the amount of people dressed as Captain America or Iron Man around the San Diego convention center pretty much constitute a small army-- but the fans really went above and beyond the last few days. Participating in a massive scavenger hunt across San Diego, a few hundred lucky fans were finally rewarded with wristbands that got them into a screening of "Item 47," the twelve-minute Marvel One-Shot short film that will appear on the Avengers Blu-Ray that drops in September.
Before Comic Con all we knew about the film was a teaser poster and brief description, which promised Jesse Bradford and Lizzy Caplan as a pair of New Yorkers who decide to go on a Bonnie and Clyde-style crime spree after happening upon one of the alien weapons left over after the Avengers' big battle with Loki's alien forces. Tonight the film premiered at Comic Con, so we know a great deal more--but wouldn't telling you too much kind of spoil the fun of it? Suffice it to say the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are none too happy about this weapon that's gone missing, and even if you can rob enough banks to have the money to do whatever you want for the rest of your life, Nick Fury's agents are going to find you one way or another.
The Q&A after the panel started off with a lot of questions about the alien weapon itself-- "What's it made of? How much does it weigh?"-- before turning into an opportunity for audience members to ask Marvel co-president Louis D'Esposito, who directed Item 47, questions about upcoming Marvel movies. Unsurprisingly he answered virtually none of them, though he did whisper something into the ear of a kid who asked if there would be a Black Panther movie (maybe promising!) and said that it was probably not possible for Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man to ever team up with the Avengers. When another kid asked if The Avengers 2 would make room for Ant Man and Wasp, the reticent silence among those answering questions seemed to strongly suggest that answers might be revealed at tomorrow's Marvel Hall H panel-- so keep a close eye out for news on that.
It was also clear by the end of the Q&A, without spoiling anything, that both Caplan and Bradford are crossing their fingers that their story might tie into the larger Marvel universe someday. So when you catch "Item 47" on the Avengers Blu-Ray this fall, you may be getting an introduction to characters who stick around for a long, long time.
