So many people make a fuss over superhero films refusing to reveal synopses when there are new promotional items released to remind audiences of their arrival. Usually it results in a bunch of guys in front of keyboards asking, "What is this even about?" even though everyone has a pretty clear idea of which good guys are going to be fighting which bad guys and what’s exactly at stake. Fortunately, that’s not the case as far as The Avengers: Age Of Ultron, which seems to have several actors and moving parts in place. And if Latino Review is to be believed, there’s yet another moving part about to be introduced.
The site claims that in addition to Ultron, played by James Spader, there’s another villain onboard the superhero mashup. And after a bit of detective work, they’ve concluded that the part is Baron Von Strucker. Credit where credit’s due, but the solo Avengers characters each have way more famous enemies, but Ultron and Von Strucker are classic Avengers antagonists. If this rumor is true, it’s likely there will be hints of Von Strucker in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, or maybe even an appearance.
Von Strucker, for those of you who were cool in high school, is one of the leaders of HYDRA, the terrorist organization in Captain America: The First Avenger. Strucker was a Nazi who helped form HYDRA in the comics, and it could very well be established that he was behind the Red Skull’s actions in the first Captain America film as well. Though ageless thanks to an age-resistant serum, the Baron is basically a goose-stepping mixture of brain and brawn, and in a movie universe, his approach seems decidedly different than the lethal Ultron. This is where the confusion sets in: what would a modern-day Baron Von Strucker want, and how will he interact with a genocidal robot?
Treading into spoiler territory here, but the report also states that the characters of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, played by Aaron Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen, will be working for Strucker. This fits in with the villainous beginnings of those characters, though it does seem to make things a bit awkward for a third-act team-up. Quicksilver and the Witch are classic Avengers, but in the movie universe, how is Captain America going to be comfortable fighting side-by-side with two heroes that use to hang out with a Nazi HYDRA member?
Reportedly, the two names in contention for the role are Marton Csokas and Dougray Scott. Both are tall, intimidating and vaguely Euro-y, so it makes sense, though it’s not certain if there has been an offer out to either of them. Csokas has played a number of villains before in films like XxX so it kind of seems like sloppy seconds to bring him on, never mind the fact that he’s one of Hollywood’s least interesting good-looking actors (speaking of which, Stephen Dillane would kill this and only this part). Scott is more interesting, given that (TRIVIA TIME) he was the original Wolverine, before the Mission: Impossible 2 shoot ran long and he had to surrender the role to Hugh Jackman. It would be awfully sweet to know Marvel hasn’t lost the guy’s number nearly fourteen years later.
The Avengers: Age Of Ultron, which stars Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Johnson, probably Don Cheadle, definitely James Spader, maybe Gwenyth Paltrow, possibly Cobie Smulders, potentially the voice of Paul Bettany, and perhaps either Marton Csokas or Dougray Scott or maybe neither, hits screens on May 1st, 2015.
