With all due respect to The Dark Knight, I’m calling The Avengers the greatest comic book movie so far.

Notice how I didn’t say “Greatest Comic Book Movie OF ALL TIME”. As much as the overacting Internet hooligan in me wants to say it, and as much as I absolutely loved the perfection that is Marvel’s The Avengers, I’m not willing to believe that this is as good as it gets. I say “so far” with the hope that this is the beginning of the new age of comic book movies — an age where films based on superhero comics would not be ashamed of their source material; an age where comic book movies would embrace the absurdity and the larger-than-life events seen in superhero sequential art. I’m looking at you, Superman Returns.

The Avengers is where it starts, hopefully. This film sets the bar for all future superhero movies whether they star an individual costumed vigilante or another super team. The Avengers is not your standard superhero fare. It is, or should be, The Standard, period. I’m looking forward to the day when superhero movies stop trying too hard to satisfy what the general public wants (dark and depressing movies rooted in reality) and start showing everyone what they can really offer — flamboyant moving pictures with humanity, extraordinary circumstances, inspiring heroism, despicable villainy, amusing banter, and lots of explosions. Until then, The Avengers is the mightiest of them all.

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Last week, I got Thor and Hulk tumblers from Petron. Yesterday, thanks to my awesome girlfriend, I got Captain America and Iron Man. My Petron Avengers tumbler collection is now complete!

If you want to get these Petron Avengers tumblers too, you’ll have to shell out at least Php1,000 for gas at any Petron gas station, plus Php60 for each tumbler. Don’t worry, they’re worth it. The figures on top of every tumbler is surprisingly detailed. Also, they can perform pretty neat actions!

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We’ve experienced the hype. We’ve suffered through all the debates and discussions about what the event is all about. We’ve read issues #0 and #1 of Avengers vs. X-Men (if you haven’t, be warned — here be SPOILERS). The war has officially begun and here’s what I think about what’s happened so far.

The Scarlet Witch Goes Solo

She’s back and she’s fighting crime again. It’s been years since Disassembled and Decimation, and I for one was looking forward to the day she comes back to face an army of angry mutants and a team of superheroes she ripped to shreds. I’m one of those people who hoped that she wouldn’t be killed off because it’s more fun if someone who royally screwed a bunch of super people hangs around to face the consequences of said royal screwing.

Aside from ruining M.O.D.O.K.’s day in Avengers vs. X-Men #0, Wanda also does one thing that I’ve been waiting for her to do since she indirectly disbanded the Avengers years ago — visit the new Avengers Mansion. While this Scarlet Witch story doesn’t have an obvious connection to AvX, I really enjoyed the awkward confrontation between Wanda and the Avengers, particularly her synthezoid husband who just came back from the dead.

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Along with the main Avengers vs. X-Men mini-series, there’s going to be a tie-in series that may not really be essential to the story but it’s going to be essential for those of us who love violence. AVX: Versus will feature two fights in every issue and I can’t tell you how much I love this idea.

This is the stuff that sets forum boards aflame. Who’s going to win in a fight between Iron Man and Magneto? How about Namor and the Thing? Forget the main story. Forget the introspective view of secondary characters as seen in previous event tie-in series. This tie-in series is all about the fights and man, I am pumped! Here are some of the bouts I would love to see aside from the announced Iron Man vs. Magneto and Namor vs. Thing smackdowns:

1. Captain America vs. Cyclops

There’s a good chance that these two opposing generals will come to blows at some point during Avengers vs. X-Men and they’ll probably talk a lot while doing it. But I still want to see an entire half of a comic book dedicated only to these two leaders exchanging punches and hurtful words.

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The trailer for The Avengers — the only movie coming out in 2012 as far as I’m concerned — has been unleashed and the Internet has exploded! Even if the trailer contains a lot of scenes we’ve already seen via official promo images or crappy unofficial photos, the fact that it’s the trailer for the biggest Marvel movie so far is enough to give people a multiple-hour fangasm. If you haven’t seen it yet, what’s wrong with you?

And now, here are the scenes from the trailer that caught my attention:

These army boys look like they’re shooting at either something that’s flying (a Skrull ship, maybe?) or something that’s really huge. Judging from the lasers in the latter part of the trailer, it’s probably a ship.

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