Avengers Assemble? part 9

Right then, we've covered the Avengers themselves and the villains we may or may not see in the Avengers movie. What next? Why, the supporting characters of course! There have been plenty of characters throughout the history of the Avengers who have helped (or hindered) the team in some capacity that could appear in the Avengers movie. Let's start with someone who's definitely going to be there.

Nick Fury



The commander of SHIELD has a long history working alongside, and against on occasion, the Avengers. The film would appear to have them coming together under SHIELD, as in the Ultimate line of comics, and we all know that Samuel L. Jackson has signed an unprecedented nine film deal with Marvel, and that one of those films is, yep, the Avengers.

Edwin Jarvis



Jarvis has been the Avengers butler since the very beginning. He'd spent his life working in Tony Stark's mansion, and continued to do so when Stark donated the mansion to the Avengers. Even when the mansion was destroyed, Jarvis stayed on, serving the Avengers on Hydro Base or in Avengers Tower. His loyalty to the team is absolute, and there are many who would say that, despite no official membership, he himself is an Avenger. Jarvis should be in the Avengers movie, but how that would fit in with existing continuity is unclear. Tony Stark's villa in the Iron Man films is served by an artificial intelligence named Jarvis, voiced by Paul Bettany. Did Stark name this Jarvis after the real deal though? We'll see.

Henry Gyrich



When the American government ordered the Avengers to accept a liaison officer onto the team, it came in the form of Henry Peter Gyrich. Gyrich enforced sanctions on the Avengers, capping their membership number, firing Hawkeye and forcing the Falcon onto the team simply because the Avengers currently didn't have a black member. He caused friction and butted heads with the team a lot, and continued to do so even after he left the post. He had a second tenure as the teams government liaison a few years later, though this time he wished to atone for the past wrongs he'd done the team, and even made piece with the Falcon. Gyrich is one of those characters who shows up in a lot of Marvel books on behalf of the American government, and with SHIELD playing a prominent role in the Avengers movie, having him not appear in some capacity would be a surprise.

Maria Hill



When Nick Fury found out that Latveria was bank rolling a number of technologically powered supervillains, he sent a small group of superheroes into the country. Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, the Black Widow, Daredevil and Captain America waged a Secret War against the Latverian government, all the while questioning what they were doing. Fury had their memories of the event wiped. So when Latveria struck back using a veritable army of techno villains, the American Government wasn't best pleased with what Fury had done. They stripped him of his command of SHIELD and installed Maria Hill instead. Hill and the Avengers, it's fair to say, didn't get on for a good long while, but she eventually mellowed towards them, aiding them during the Secret Invasion and the Siege of Asgard. While no longer the head of SHIELD, Maria Hill continues to work with the Avengers. Her appearance in the Avengers movie would be a surprise, but expect her to show up in the planned Nick Fury movie.

Daredevil (Matthew Murdock)



Daredevil is probably the biggest of Marvel's superheroes to never have been an Avenger, with the possible exception of the Human Torch. DD has worked with them a number of times however, both in his superhero and civilian identities. As DD, he's teamed up with them, as well as working with solo members Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine and the Hulk. As Matt Murdock, one of the Marvel universe's best lawyers, he's often gotten involved when the Avengers needed legal aid (that is when She-Hulk, also a lawyer, wasn't on the team). Throw in the act that one of his ex-girlfriends is the Black Widow, and DD has some real ties to the team, despite never joining. His appearance in the Avengers movie is a longshot, but that said, Marvel are trying to prep a DD movie, which would take part in their shared universe, so a vague reference isn't off the cards.

The X-Men



The Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men have all worked together closely a fair few times. The FF don't appear on this list because there's only four of them, and we've already covered three of them in the individual Avengers lists. The X-Men though? There's loads of those guys, and only three of them have been Avengers (Beast, Wolverine and Sub-Mariner). It won't happen. No way, no how. How awesome would it be if it did though?

Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan



Nick Fury's right hand man, Dugan fought alongside Fury in the Howling Commando's during World War II, and subsequently acted as the deputy director of SHIELD for much of Fury's time there, as well as serving under both Maria Hill and Tony Stark. It'd be nice to see him in the Avengers, mostly because of his moustache and bowler hat, both of which are awesome. I'd say chances are fifty-fifty at this point, but he will surely be in the Nick Fury movie regardless.

Col. John Jameson



The son of Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson was part of the Avengers support staff for a while, serving as Captain America's personal pilot. He also (very briefly) married She-Hulk, and has a long history with Spider-Man, so Jameson's ties to the Avengers are pretty strong. Ya know, when he's not being a crazy werewolf type creature known as the Man-Wolf, but I digress. Since he was in Spider-Man 3, the rights issues with the Spider franchise mean we won't be seeing him in the Avengers movie.

Fabian Stankowicz



Starting out as a truly inept supervillain, the Mechano Marauder, Fabian Stankowicz fought the Avengers a few times. And when I say fought, I mean had his ass handed to him. The first time he showed up, Iron Man challenged him solo, even declining help from other Avengers who happened upon them. To add insult to injury, these Avengers would simply pass by without further comment. The second time Stankowicz attacked, he was beaten by the Wasp. Things finally seemed to pick up when he attacked the Avengers while they were being interviewed on the David Letterman show (really!). Due to the number of innocent bystanders in the audience, and the fact that Stankowicz had built a pretty good forcefield, the Avengers options were limited. However, when Stankowicz demanded Letterman interview him instead, he got close enough that he was finally defeated. By Letterman. Who smacked him one with a comedy oversized doorknob prop. Tiring of life as a joke villain, when Stankowicz was released from prison and offered a second chance by Captain America, he took it. He became the Avengers resident tech support guy, and aided the team right up until they were presumed killed by Onslaught. With the Avengers gone, Stankowicz took it upon himself to protect the world, and using discarded Sentinel parts, created giant robot versions of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and Giant Man. However, in doing so he spent over a year in total seclusion, going a little crazy in the process. His Sentinel-Avengers malfunctioned, and had to be taken down by the now returned Avengers. Stankowicz has yet to be seen since. Chances of being in the movie? You know what, it wouldn't be at all surprising if SHIELD had a tech guy named Stankowicz who cameos somewhere.

Doc Samson (Leonard Samson)



Just as Daredevil is the Marvel universes main lawyer, so too is Doc Samson it's resident psychiatrist. He's worked with the Hulk, the Avengers, X-Factor and the Thunderbolts, among others. Oh, yeah, he also has gamma irradiated blood which turned his hair long and green, and super strength which, I shit you not, was for a while directly in proportion to the length of his hair. No Marvel, that name wasn't too on the nose at all. He's often shown up to council the Hulk, then have a big fight with him. But will he appear in a Marvel movie? Well, he already has. Remember in the Incredible Hulk, Ty Burrell played the new guy in Betty Ross's life? What was his name again? Oh, yeah. Leonard. If that doesn't smack of set up, then what the hell does?

General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross



Speaking of the Incredible Hulk, his erstwhile antagonist, Thunderbolt Ross, is almost certain to appear. After being played by a wonderful William Hurt in The Incredbile Hulk, his little conversation with Tony Stark at the end of that movie would seem to indicate that he's somehow involved with the forming of the Avengers.

MODOK (Mobile Organism Designed Only For Killing)



Okay, so we already covered him last time out in the villains section and established he won't be appearing. I just wanted to show you another picture of him. Beware MODOK! Beware his freakishly large head!

Achem. Right, done then. That's it, I guess. But... seems a shame to end this on part nine. Ten's a much better number. Yes, let's do one more.

To be continued...