Saw "Avengers" for the second time today...
The theater was about 80% full and I'd say about half of that was still first timers, which surprised me since this is the 3rd weekend now. I noticed a couple of things that didn't really register the first time...
1 - I think part of the reason I like Hawkeye so much (other than the fact that I'm a ship whore) is that I was expecting him to get Joss'd the first time. He's the Avenger we're least familiar with and if Joss was going to off an Avenger proper it was going to be Clint or Natasha; all the others have franchises. He was pretty much in the perfect position for a Wash-death.
2 - speaking of ppl getting Joss'd they really did leave it open to interpretation as to whether or not Coulson was actually killed or just seriously wounded and used as a ploy. We didn't see the medics treat him or call it and as Maria pointed out, the cards weren't in his jacket. I haven't decided yet which outcome I like better in terms of future films. I will of course be reading fix-it fic and he can clearly still appear in other movies in prequel (like the 'confirmed' Black Widow origins project) or flashback scenes. But for Avengers 2...
3 - I've seen some complaints about gender imbalance. While Natasha is currently the only female Avenger I think it is worth noting that this movie basically introduces only 1 new character of consequence and that is Maria Hill. She doesn't get much to do once the Avengers are assembled, but realistically Fury doesn't either.
4 - For the "Black Widow wasn't a good enough heroine" crowd - Yes, she runs from the Hulk and she hides out for a bit after taking a pretty good swat but you know what, when Fury calls for help she pulls herself up off the floor and takes care of business. Her fear of the Hulk is telegraphed from the word "go" but she still brings Bruce in, shows him around and comes pretty close to talking him down before it all goes to shit. Also, she tricks information out of Loki, 'recalibrates' Clint, and closes the damn portal. She might not have been you favorite Avenger or the female Avenger you really wanted to see on the big screen, but you're doing yourself, the movie, and Scarlett a pretty big disservice by dismissing her.
5 - There is definitely 'evidence' to support ALL THE SHIPS and I don't care if the hipster comic geeks hate me for saying that because I'm only a fan of the movies and it doesn't match the decades of comic developed back story or whatever.
How many times have y'all seen the movie? Who are you shipping?
ETA: I haz a tumblr which I don't think I've mentioned here before: TenHoursInTheLab