Film 8 - Thor

After going behind his father's back, Thor is cast out of Asgard, doomed to live a mortal life on Earth forever more. However his brother Loki finds out he was adopted and causes great destruction back on Asgard. Thor realises what he has done, and with the help of this friends, he defeats on Ice Giant on Earth before going back to Asgard to help out.

Thor has an extraordinary power of being super strong and he can wield his hammer which he can send lightning bolts out of. Thor has his own moral code which at first is to protect Asgard which he thinks will be achieved by killing all of the Ice Giants but then is cast out to Earth so then he feels it's his duty to protect it and it's people as well. Thor has a lot of supporting characters such as his friends in Asgard and his new companions on Earth. Thor doesn't have a motif but his symbol is his hammer which he carries about with him everywhere. Thor's backstory is of him growing up in Asgard with his brother Loki, in which he thought he could rely on him. However when Loki finds out he is adopted, he turns against everyone, including Thor, which breaks his heart. The rogues gallery is the Ice Giants which Thor has to fight both on Earth and Asgard while the real villain is Loki. Also Thor doesn't have the traditional tight fighting costume which normal superheros wear. Instead he wears a medieval costume and cape.

The film is aimed at teenagers and above because although there is a lack of sex and nudity (the only time you see this is briefly when Thor is getting changed, you can see his buttocks). As  for violence and gore, Thor fights several Ice Giants but they don't bleed, only crack and crumble. Also several of the character receive a frostbite from the giants. The time when you do see the blood is when Thor flies through the head of a monster but this blood is black. Also another time is near the end of the film where you see Thor violently backhanded by the Destroyer leaving bloody contusions and wounds on face and chest. Young children might also get scared at the scenes of fighting with the Ice Giants.

The first binary opposition present in this film is the hot/cold. The warm colours of Asgard, such as the red, gold and amber reflect the hot and how they are always full of life there in Asgard. Thor himself dons a red cape whereas Loki represents the cold as he wears a green cape. Also the Ice Giants physically represent the cold (hence the name) and it is dark and the colours reflect this as is dark blues and browns. The second binary opposition is the God/Human. Asgard represents the 'Godly' world that Thor lives in and they all refer to the people on Earth as Mortals. However the people on Earth think that Thor and his people are Gods as they have an unearthly power which they cannont match (such as Thor's strength).

This film does reinforce gender stereotypes. However firstly the women on Asgard are seen as strong and independent, they hardly appear and the only main characters in Asgard are Thor's friends and his mother but even at the end of the film, his mother continues to stay at Thor's beside while his friends are elsewhere. On Earth, Thor meets his love interest, Jane, but during the fight scene with the Destroyer, she is told to stay out of the fight and on the sidelines.

In conclusion, this film seeks to entertain it's audience by firstly taking a different approach to the Superhero film genre. It's not about a person on Earth being extraordinary, but a person from another different planet entirely. Also there is the complex relationship with Loki and Thor, as Loki finds out he is adopted and suddenly takes on an entirely different stance on their relationship, feeling very jealous of Thor. Finally we get to see Thor grow, from a naive man who think he can kill of of the Ice Giants, to a man who wants nothing more than peace between his people. The opposite can be said for Loki as he at first, is a peaceful person but as soon as he realises who he is, he then wants to wreak havoc on everyone.

Film 1 - Avengers Assemble

After a wild underground chase, the tesseract is stolen from S.H.I.E.L.D by the powerhungry Loki, who then in turn converts some of S.H.I.E.L.D's most loyal agents into his own bidding servants. Provoked and angry, Nick Fury begins his most daunting mission to date; assembling the worlds most mighty band of warriors! However it proves difficult as the Avengers have trouble working together at first but after a major blow to the S.H.I.E.L.D airship, the Avenger realise that they have to stop bantering with each other and start battering the enemy.

Interestingly enough, although it revolves around six superheros instead of just the one main character; Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and the Black Widow. All of them possess either a special power (such as the Super Serum which was injected into Captain America and the Hulk, and Thor's unearthly strength and power) and skill (Iron Man's unrivaled intelligence, Hawkeye's smooth grace with a bow and arrow to the Widow's incredible elasticated body moves). 
Each Avenger has their own moral code although each very similar; to protect the Earth from Loki and the Chitauri, for slightly different reasons (from Thor still trying to believe that Loki can be convinced otherwise to Bruce Banner who initially only came to join to help find the Tesseract but then was angered by Loki for letting him destroy part of the airship).
Each Avenger has their own secret identity, such as Bruce Banner is the Incredible Hulk. Yet however Thor is the exception to this convention as he doesn't reside on Earth, as an Asgardian God he can travel between worlds, so he doesn't need to create a secret alias for himself.
The motif is for them collectively, S.H.I.E.L.D's logo is an eagle encased in a circle.

At the start of the film, S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters are destroyed by Loki, so Nick Fury uses an airship to be the base of his operations as it is unusual and more dynamic in the search for the Tesseract.
Although the Avengers have their own backstories, Marvel doesn't include these in this movie due to the fact that they all have their own premovie. However the exception to this rule is Hawkeye and the Black Widow as they have only appeared in small parts of the other films. But in the Avengers movie, small snippets of their past are slyly revealed. "You and I remember Budapest", Hawkeye refers to a possible battle where he and the Black Widow were both on different sides before she joined S.H.I.E.L.D as an agent.
Another one of the strong characters we see in the Avengers, is the clumsy yet fiercely loyal Phil Coulsen who ultimately becomes the archilles heel, as the Avengers are temporary unhinged as Loki murders Coulsen. Yet this backfires on Loki as Nick Fury uses this to his advantage to give the Avengers a final 'push' in working together.
Finally the Avengers each have their unique costume, in which they don for different purposes. For instance, Tony Stark has invented his own fascinating "iron" armor which has multiple function including; shooting 'bolts' of electricity out of his hand, the ability to fly, shoot missiles, send off flares, increased strength and also the ability for him to go underwater and into space still breathing!   

The film in itself is rated a 12a which you would think means that Marvel has aimed it's target audience for male teens, due to the fact that it contains the typical fight scenes, awe inspiring stunts and witty humour . Yet this film appealed to all ages, from the comic books buffs to secondary school teenagers, the kind of people who themselves "fangirls" and "fanboys" whether they are new to the franchise or spent several years obsessing over the Marvel comics. The thing they have in common is that they have spare time to sit down and read/watch any fictional character franchise (as opposed to soap operas which are more realistic like Eastenders).

There are many binary oppositions present in the trailer for this film. The most obvious one would be the fight between 'good' and 'evil' which can be symbolised as the team of Avengers fighting against Loki and the Chitauri. 

This film does reinforce gender stereotypes, with five out of the six main characters being male. However Natasha Romanoff  (the Black Widow) does challenge the gender stereotype as females of usual superhero films are seen as sweet, caring, and generally on the whole weak. Natasha does well to challenge this; she's sly, manipulative and cunning. Although she has no superpower as such (compared to Thor or Captain America), she's incredibly skilled as espionage agent earning her nickname "the Black Widow". 

This film seeks to entertain it's audience by firstly creating complex battle sequences to wow the audience (the big fight in New York). It also uses CGI to create a visual scene meaning that the audience can imagine the scene better for themselves (again especially with the New York battle scene to create a more realistic and indepth feel). Finally Marvel uses humour, especially from Tony Stark, to make the movie more memorable to the audience.