It’s nearly 2011 and you know what that means! We’re going to be buried in Avengers rumors until the damn thing wraps.
I don’t mind villain oriented rumors, like the Kree / Skrull one that broke over Christmas. You probably saw it — AICN had a strange scan from the Albuquerque Journal that claimed the Avengers would be battling the Skrulls and the Kree in The Avengers.
We didn’t report it because it was debunked so quickly by Marvel and Coming Soon. Besides, we here at CHUD been claiming the Skrulls would appear for awhile now. Don’t act all surprised if they do show up, denials or not. (What does Joss Whedon love more than third act death? Secret organizations pulling puppet strings. I can see how shapeshifting aliens would align pretty well with that.)
Yesterday, we passed on the rumor that Demi Lovato might be part of The Avengers. Though we had every indication that the Avengers were a done deal (they were, after all,
posed beautifully onstage this past July at ComicCon), the Internet continued to spin wildly with tales of Nathan Fillion or Alan Tudyk as Ant-Man, or various hot brunettes as the Wasp. It’s what messy entertainment sites do when they’re hard-pressed for a Batman rumor.
Here might be a good time to stress that in no way is the above rant intended as criticism of our David Olivier who was doing a fine job of digging up content to be discussed on a deathly news week. And as you’ll see in a moment, there was some truth to it.
The Hollywood Reporter has debunked the rumor, but they’ve added a little more grist to the mill. Marvel might undermine their Avengers Assemble! moment, and add a little more femininity. Sources claim that they are looking to add another female Avenger in order to balance the male dominated line-up. (Who wants to bet the feminist-friendly Whedon is the real impetus behind the idea, and not Marvel?) Perhaps we may see The Wasp or Ms. Marvel sign up for duty. If you can surprise us with Hawkeye, there’s no reason you can’t work a superheroine in.
So, yes. Bring on the rumors so we may dissect them and make educated guesses on characters. But really online tabloids, pick someone who isn’t in rehab. Here’s a tip — it’s more believable that way.