We’re coming into the home stretch of marketing for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which means we’re getting more in the way of spoilers. Many of which come from Disney itself, in the form of “fun facts.”
Some of these are just obvious attempts to get dumb questions out of the way, or explain to annoying fanboys why, precisely, Hawkeye’s bow is a different color. For example, Marvel Studios finally has a technological explanation for why the Hulk isn’t butt-naked all the time:
Hulk got a welcomed upgrade to his wardrobe with the addition of stretchy pants, which he wears underneath his clothes. No more will he be caught in the embarrassing situation of being half-naked in shredded clothing when he Hulks-out—the pants, made of high-tech, microfiber fabric, stretch with him.
Yeah, but do they have a fly? That would seem to be the most urgent question now that we know he’s not the Green Flasher.
That said, we do see a few plot points revealed. The fan theories about Scarlet Witch mind-controlling at least the Hulk would appear to be correct, as they’ve revised her vague “hex powers” to more clear “Professor X” powers:
Wanda possesses the power of telekinesis, and she is able to fire neurons in people’s brains remotely using her powers and as a result can manipulate their minds.
That’s a lot better than the weird reality-warping powers she has in the comics, which have been used repeatedly to goofy ends. Secondly, it turns out that the Hulkbuster armor has been built with the full participation of one Bruce Banner:
The Hulkbuster Armor was developed by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, after they studied the Hulk’s physical actions and strength levels in an effort to find a way to contain him and minimize the damage caused by his rages. A satellite in low orbit is always around Banner and at a moment’s notice, Tony Stark can deploy the Hulkbuster armor, get into it and stop the Hulk in his tracks—theoretically.
One suspects the fact that they can always find Bruce Banner is going to be a rather important plot point. Joss Whedon’s not the kind of man who lets a MacGuffin go to waste. The rest of them are mostly amusing behind-the-scenes tidbits, but really, it just underlines that the first of May can’t come soon enough.
