Avengers: Age of Ultron

In addition to renting Jurassic World the other day, I also managed to pick up Age of Ultron.

Entertaining but...

To me, Age of Ultron is some well written character drama filled with long fights that probably would've looked better on paper as opposed to the long drawn out mess they were. Sometimes a fight scene is just TOO long.

Now I'm not a purist. In the comics, Hank Pym, the original Ant Man, is the creator of Ultron. Here, it's a combination of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. In the comics, the Vision is purely the creation of Ultron. Here it's a cross between Ultron, a mad scientist, Bruce and Tony.

Do I think they missed some moments that would have come across fantastic in the movie? Like Thor telling Ultron, "We would have words with thee?" (From Avengers Vol 3 by Kurt and George)

Yup. Understandable though. Ultron has been around for decades.



It's not that the movie lacks and 'quip' moments. Captain America and his whole "language" bit has already been made into numerous memes including a great one with Dead Pool.

And it's not that Ultron voiced by James Spader isn't highly entertaining. He almost steals the show, much like Loki has in whatever movie he's appeared in. He's funny and crass, seemingly hyper intelligent yet way overconfident and unsure how he fits into things.

Perhaps it's just that there are too many characters? Hard to say.

Now for gaming purposes though? Fantastic movie. Hell, I can't tell you how many times a long drawn out fight saved my bacon in Champions using 4th Edition Hero back in the day. The rolling of dice, the calculation of damage, all time sucks that I could then use to hope I did a better job of prepping for the next game.

So what can you steal from the movie for your game? Well, if you've playing a superhero game and it doesn't already have a version of Ultron, there's Ultron. He's a robot who in this version at least, wants mankind to 'evolve' or die. Kind of like a real mean version of the older comic character, the High Evolutionary.

In the comic though? Ultron is all about eliminating mankind. All about the end of organic life. All about being the ultimate bad ass. In Champions, that would be Mechanon. Pretty much a straight motif take save for his origin.

For other bits?

There's the whole "don't show a gun if you're not going to use it." In this instance, Hawkeye is injured early on and is healed with some amazing technology. That technology is then the showcase of how the Vision gets built.

Then there's give the players enough rope. For instance, the Scarlet Witch goes around messing with people's minds in this movie. Thor in particular suffers a bad vision. But in this instance, he seeks out further guidance on that vision. If a player has a background that allows him to incorporate it into his character and into the ongoing game? Take it and run! One of the potential problems with a 'group' session is that the 'group' is too much in the spotlight.

The villains turn! One of the bits this movie has, is actually rooted in the comics. When first introduced as mutants way back in the day, The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were minions of Magneto! They later joined the Avengers.

Here, the duo have a hate for Stark because Stark technology was being used to bomb their country and they hold Tony personally responsible for the death of their parents, undergoing intense treatments to become augmented enough to fight against the Avengers.

Their quest is personal. When it turns out Ultron wants an extinction level event... well, they are less than pleased with it.

Minions! One of the things that Mutants & Masterminds did well was the one hit villains and their minions. Sure, you could do the same in Champions if you wanted to really low ball the point creation and character ability and in Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition, they never really used it effectively, but it's can be mighty satisfying to have a lot of villains around that everyone can take out. This can allow characters like Hawkeye, Black Widow and Captain America to be useful while the big guns such as Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk do the heavy lifting.

I enjoyed Age of Ultron more than Jurassic World. It's a bigger setting, it has more characters, it has more going on. It has a feel of continuity that Jurassic World acknowledges was there, but is self contained overall.

Age of Ultron works better when you're familiar with the rest of the characters and their franchises and all of that is going to lead into bigger movies down the road. It's an interesting way of making movies and I'll be curious to see how well it plays out and hopefully continue to mine it for ideas.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Just saw Captain America, The First Avenger. It was a solid movie and I enjoyed it. I actually thought it was too short, which is a rarity for a me to think such of a movie. The actors did a good job with their characters. The little differences between the comic and movies, actually worked in the movies favor this time around. For example,I wouldn't mind seeing the origin of the Red Skull as done in the movie makes a lot of sense and makes the Red Skull and Captain America more alike in some ways.

Now I'll be talking about specifics in the movie and how they bounce around the old brain and how I might relate some of that to a role playing game.

In terms of structure, Captain America is a soldier. Prior to that, he is a patriot. He wants to serve his country. One of the reasons I like games that follow some type of military structure, either mercenary or military, is that they provide a fairly clear structure that allows the game to flow in a manner that the GM has a little bit more leeway in controlling. As shown in the film however, not every soldier always does as he's told and even in those situations, they work out to be action filled scenarios that have the soldier 'officially' in the wrong, but doing such a good job of crippling the enemy, that it still works out to every one's advantage and any actual punishments are wink winked away.

For equipment, Captain America uses a specialized mesh for his uniform to protect him from small arms fire as well as from bayonets. His shield however, is a unique weapon of defense that is painted over and over again in the colors of his home country. With his augmented strength and agility, the shield becomes both defensive and offensive weapon. It is also iconic. Few fans of Marvel Comics wouldn't recognize the red, white, and blue of Captain America's shield.

Supporting cast includes fellow officers and agents who are allied with America. Another reason why I enjoy the military structure, there are opportunities to surround the players with interesting people who may not have the same type of plot protection that the players have. Will an explosion kill a friend? Will a sniper take out an important ally?

The nemesis... I've mentioned the Red Skull already. In this version, he too benefits from the super serum that turns a man into a super soldier. It ties him and Captain America together. the actor playing the Red Skull does a great job of bringing a level of arrogance to the Skull that works well. For example, when first introduced, he is warned away from an item of great power by an old guardian who tells him, "It's not meant for normal men to look upon", or something of that nature. The Red Skull agrees with him! Other opportunities for the Red Skull to shine include his first physical encounter with Captain America, which is cut short by the destruction of the building around them.

This destruction is a good method of keeping the final fight from happening. It allows the audience to get a taste of the Red Skull's physical prowess and reveals his madness as he claims to embrace his greater than human nature, by showcase his well, red skull visage.

In many situations where there is a need for a nemesis, having that nemesis have a similar origin to the players can provide insight into the abilities, methods, and motivations of the nemesis. It also serves to set up the nemesis as someone who is just as capable as the players. a good villain needs a good introduction. He needs a good theme.

The Red Skull also benefits in that he has a lot of neat toys. His car for example, is a slick piece of machinery while his soldiers, Hydra, are all armed with high powered energy weapons with their own signature look. These touches work well for the movie in that they allow viewers to quickly identify who the good guys and bad guys are.

Captain America is also packed with high energy. It keeps moving. There are times I wanted it to slow down as it actually uses a montage of Cap taking down various Hydra bases instead of showcasing specific missions.  Keeping things moving is also vital to a role playing game. It helps keep things moving. It provides the players reasons to pay attention, to keep their hands close to the dice.

While many of the ideas are immediately of use to a super hero based campaign, they are also grounds for any campaign that requires the GM to have a military structure with a villain who shares a common point of origin with the players. Good stuff all around.