Despite the creative obstacles placed directly in Whedon’s path, he still gave us an Avenger film that absolutely kicked ass.
It’s difficult–really, really difficult–to deliver when you have to give so many characters agency in your story. And the fact that he pulled it off so well three years ago just made his job more difficult this time, not less. The pressure of creating something new and awesome is always more difficult right after you’ve created something else new and awesome. But having David Spader play your villain certainly helps.
When I first heard David Spader was playing the voice of Ultron, I got excited. When I heard he was doing motion capture, I got ridiculously excited. And you could tell–even through the layers of digital animation–that it was him. His deliveries–such the unique inflections, that thing he does when he pinches the corner of his mouth inward, or cocks his head to the side–all of that stuff was there. It gives an eight-foot robot a very interesting personality, which just gives all the other interesting personalities something fun to clash with.
Bottom line: Go see Avengers if you haven’t already. Your day will be better for it.
Superheroes in Prose #11: The Princess of Atlantis on sale in the kindle store now!