Marvel's heroes team up to combat Thanos in first 'Avengers: Infinity War' trailer

In 2008, Marvel Studios began their connected universe with the first Iron Man film. After Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury met with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, letting him know "you've become part of a bigger universe," we have gone on many adventures, seen classic heroes come to life, and battles waged against friends and foes from Earth to the outer reaches of space. 10 years of adventures and excitement. Marvel has created a decade of heroes.

Now, we see the culmination of their work in the next installment in the Avengers ensemble saga as seeds that were laid after the first Avengers film in 2012 will chaotically bloom in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War. 

When we last left Earth's Mightest Heroes, they were quarreling with each other over the policing of their activities. Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) went into hiding, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) has taken a young Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) under his wing. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), unaware of their former comrades issues, enjoyed their own off-world adventure. We were also introduced to a new hero, King T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) of the hidden African country of Wakanda.

In the new trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, the advanced, secretive nation of Wakanda emerges from isolation in order to save a world that has otherwise viewed them as a threat.

We catch up with our other heroes such as Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living together and Bruce Banner crashing in to meet Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and librarian-warrior, Wong (Benedict Wong). But this trailer gives us the best first look at the MCU's Big Bad, Thanos (played and voiced by Josh Brolin). The purple Mad God is menacing and all powerful as he collects the infinity stones and beats down heroes such as Iron Man and Spider-Man.

Heroes such as battle-weary Captain America, a humbled Iron Man, a more human-looking Vision, and a Thor perplexed to be fighting alongside a talking teenage tree and a fast-talking raccoon are some of the dozens of Marvel heroes who are joining forces to fight the cosmic tyrant during the May 4 film.

According to the trailer, most of these heroes will stand together in the fields outside Wakanda's capital to make a stand and defend the Earth. It goes to show that those who have quarreled in the past will find common ground when an even greater threat looms.

I personally cannot wait until this decade of heroes culminates into what's to be an action-packed, emotional adventure. Avengers: Infinity War arrives on May 4, 2018.

'Justice League' is a fun and entertaining, but flawed, adventure

As a fan of superheroes, there has never been a better time to be alive than right now. From Netflix and Hulu to big budget films, our heroes are coming off the glossy pages of comics and becoming flesh and blood. The one type of superhero films fans love are the ensemble team-ups. The best example to date is 2012's Marvel's The Avengers. After the solo film build-up of the main players, fans were pleased to see Earth's Mightest Heroes come together to defeat an alien threat.

Unfortunately, DC Films has stumbled out of the gates with their films; Dawn of Justice most notably. Despite this, the build to the Justice League was completely underway. After seeing the success of Wonder Woman earlier this summer, my hope was renewed for the team up. And DC delivered with an exciting ensemble film years in the making, but it still had its fair share of troubles.

Picking up months after the events of Dawn of Justice, the world is in mourning after the death of Superman (Henry Cavill) and plunged into chaos. Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) do what they can on their own to honor his memory. When an interdimensional threat arrives on Earth in the form of Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), the amazon princess and the caped crusader seek out others with abilities to join forces with them and save the world.

The film begins in Gotham City with Batman fully back on duty, but encountering an alien scout  while on patrol. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman took down a terrorist group in London. Knowing the upcoming threat can't be defeated alone, Bruce Wayne tracks down the aquatic swimmer, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) and quirky Central City speedster Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) to recruit them. Diana encounters half-man, half-machine Victor Stone (Ray Fisher). Like Batman and Wonder Woman before, they are hesitant to fight, whether by choice or lack of experience. Once they encounter the gigantic monster-warrior, who is menacing with his axe, but also cliche with his lines, the five do their best to stop the beast. But they know it will require more help (I don't think I have to go further into that). In the end, what mattered is that the hope was back in this universe.

Despite the short run time of 2 hours, it crams in a lot of action backed by a thin storyline. Like with Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad before it, this movie felt like too many hands were touching it. From director Zack Snyder to Joss Whedon, who finished up some rewrite work, and DC Films leader Geoff Johns, the movie just felt messed with. The editing could have been done better and I was hoping to have a longer run time in order to spend time with the new heroes we were being introduced to, especially The Flash and Aquaman. While some fans depend on comic book knowledge to understand these characters, it would have been more fair to them and the movie to expand their individual worlds as this movie expands the DC universe.

All the actors did a solid job with the superhero characters, understanding their motivations and how to be a hero. The new additions to this universe fit nicely, especially the performance of Momoa of Aquaman. He stole each scene he was in as the ripped, aggressive, and fun-loving Atlantian. It was obvious that Momoa had fun in each scene, erasing Aquaman's history as the "useless character" of the group. Ben Affleck gave what I felt was a half-hearted performance, despite revealing a deeper pain in Bruce as the billionaire was envious of the life Clark had created for himself as a man and a hero, but also the weight of guilt of his end. Ezra Miller took a little while to get used to as the Flash, especially given the success of the CW television series, but he fulfilled the comic relief as the team's youngest member. The chemistry of the characters was brilliant to watch.

Overall, the long awaited team up was worth the wait, but I can't say that I absolutely love this movie. Despite the flaws in story, editing, and special effects, the movie didn't have many slow moments and kept the audience in the action. The iconic shot of the Justice League near the end was epic. Two post-credits scenes sets up the future of this universe, making everyone eager for what's to come. Like Dawn of Justice, it's best to go out and form your own opinion of the film.

A perfect balance of humor and action makes ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ a fun ride

Out of all the characters to grace the silver screen from Marvel Studios, I’ve always seen Thor has the weakest of the solo trilogies. The origin story in Phase One was okay, but not as strong as the others in that phase. Thor: The Dark World was not terrible, but possibly the weakest out of ALL the entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and that says a lot, according to Rotten Tomatoes and the fresh score that movie still holds).

Entering Phase Three, we didn’t know what to expect from the God of Thunder in his third outing, his first appearance since Avengers: Age of Ultron. With fresh director, Taika Waititi, at the helm, fans were gifted with a wild, colorful adventure that possibly sets the stage for the future of the MCU.

While the Civil War raged on Earth, what was one of the original Avengers doing? Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was off on his own adventure to discover the purpose of the mythical infinity stones that has been the focal point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the first Avengers film. After he returns to Asgard and finds how much has changed, including a missing Oden (Anthony Hopkins), Thor reluctantly teams up with his adopted and morally challenged brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to find their father. With some mystical help on Earth, the Asgardians bond with their father one last time before his unfortunate departure. The all-father's leaving opens the door for a dark force to arise: Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death.

Quickly dispatching of Thor, he lands on Sakkar, an intergalactic dump of a planet. Captured by hunters working for the eccentric Grandmaster, played hilariously by Jeff Goldblum, Thor must fight for his life in the gladiatorial arena and escape to prevent the destruction of Asgard in the prophesied Ragnarok. The fight won't be easy as he comes face-to-face with Grandmaster's champion and Hulk's former ally, the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

Thor has always been the more serious and Shakespearean of all the heroes, but audiences learned something last summer during the box-office bomb, Ghostbusters: Chris Hemsworth has serious comedy chops. As easily as he flexed his physical muscles in this film, Hemsworth gave his best performance as the God of Thunder by not taking himself seriously and making the audience laugh along with him. Tom Hiddleston and the rest of the cast followed suit as they were quick with the humor as the action came along with it. The evolution of the Hulk began to take shape in this film as fans found out what the green guy has been up to in the past two years. If we aren't going to get another solo Hulk movie (thanks, Universal), he's definitely worthy of a sidekick role. Even then, he still had wonderful moments. From his full on conversations with Thor to wearing Tony Stark's close as the scrawny Dr. Banner, Mark Ruffalo gave fans another solid performance as the Hulk. My one regret with the characters was that we didn't get enough time with Hela. Cate Blanchett played one of the most dangerous and threatening villains the MCU has had for a long time. Truly menacing and filled with vengeance, Hela was a force to be reckoned with. One performance that I can't forget to mention that I wish we had more time with was Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie. Beautiful and able to handle herself in a fight, this bounty hunter wasn't waiting for Thor to be a hero and save her from any predicaments. Valkyrie was tough, but hiding from her past and didn't join the fight until a helpful nudge from the lost Asgardian.

Director Taika Waititi gave us a colorful and funny balance of humor and action, taking a page from Guardians of the Galaxy by moving away from the shades of gray that were in the previous Thor outings and giving fans a splash of color needed in the world of this pillar of the MCU.  Thor's arc in this film was the most exciting as he was broken down but built back up to discover his true power. It's a hero's journey that this original Avenger needed to keep him fresh for when he reunites with Earth's Mightest Heroes next Summer.  While there were a few things you could find to pick at over the film, Thor: Ragnarok was funny, exciting, and all around fun throughout its two hour, ten minute run time. Not only did it set a new standard for future Marvel films, it set the stage for next Summer's Avengers: Infinity War.