Five Things Joss Whedon Will Bring To The Avengers

Guess what fanboys and fangirls? Joss Whedon is directing The Avengers. Unless you’ve been trapped in a nebula for the last six months you already knew that, but Marvel decided to make the worst kept secret in La-La Land “official” during Comic-Con this past weekend. Actually, the announcement was nothing more than a glorified photo op consisting of the entire cast and Whedon standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a scene that resembled something akin to a chorus line.

Then again, all of Comic-Con is one gigantic marketing ploy engineered by the studios to draw attention to projects that are months, or in the case of The Avengers, years away. The days of a few hundred introverted nerds digging through boxes of comics and Star Wars toys in some cramped hotel convention room are long gone. Once corporate sponsors get their grubby mitts on an underground event, everything that made said event hip and cool is rapidly sucked out and replaced with guerrilla ad campaigns and well-oiled hype machines.

But I digress. I’m here to talk about Joss Whedon and what exactly he brings to the table as a writer and director. At first glance, he might seem like an odd choice to helm one of the hottest movie properties in Hollywood. After all, he has directed only one big screen bonanza: 2005’s Serenity, based on his short-lived 2002 sci-fi/western TV series Firefly. Great flick, but nobody except hardcore Firefly fans saw it, and even some of them didn’t care for the plot.

Whedon has penned a couple high-profile films like Toy Story and Alien: Resurrection, but he’s primarily known as a TV and internet guy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible’s Sing- Along Blog have achieved varying degrees of success. Buffy was a smash hit, Angel a quality spinoff and Dr. Horrible an online cult fave, while Dollhouse proved to be an ambitious misfire.

As someone who has seen every episode and movie in Whedon’s oeuvre, I have a fairly good grasp on his creative style. Based on his work up to this point, here are five things to expect in his version of The Avengers.

1. A heavy dose of sarcasm

One of the things I dig most about Joss is his utilization of sarcasm. Whether it’s Xander from Buffy firing a quick jibe or Dr. Horrible making fun of sarcasm with a sarcastic remark, Whedon is a master at razor sharp mockery. He will absolutely LOVE writing dialog for Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Jackson, both of whom excel at the art of verbal assassination. The interaction and banter between the men in tights should be one of the film’s strongest attributes.

2. Strong female characters

Let’s be real. Black Widow was mere window dressing in Iron Man 2. I doubt that will be the case in The Avengers. The list of kick-ass women in the world of Whedon includes: Buffy, Willow, Faith and Glory from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Zoe, Inara and Kaylee from Firefly; Echo and Sierra from Dollhouse. Not only can these ladies hang on a physical level, but they are also fully-developed characters. Needless to say, Scarlett Johansson can look forward to increased screen time.

3. Elements of the macabre

Vampires, demons, werewolves, Reavers and a host of other monstrous villains inhabit the Whedon universe, as do scenes of grisly death and sadistic torture. He’s not one to wear kid gloves for very long. Dr. Horrible is a hysterical parody until its final tragic minutes. On the surface, Buffy seems campy and light-hearted until you watch episodes like “Innocence” and “The Body.” Serenity is a rocking good time until Wash gets impaled to death. Whedon knows when and where to drop the emotional hammer. Whoever gets pegged as bad guys for The Avengers will most assuredly be getting their hands dirty.

4. The group dynamic

Joss prefers gangs. Be it the Scoobies in Buffy or the crew of Serenity, the dude is extremely adept at giving every character his or her due. This should serve him well when attempting to balance the larger than life personalities of The Avengers. Iron Man and Captain America are the big Kahunas, but that doesn’t mean Thor, Hawkeye and the rest won’t be allowed to get their superhero on. Whedon is accustomed to juggling six or seven heads at once, so he should be able to provide all of them meat to chew on.

5. A musical number

Would it be out of place? Sure it would, but Joss gets downright giddy for song and dance routines. See “Once More, with Feeling” from season six of Buffy and Dr. Horrible from start to finish if you don’t believe me. I envision a quick duet featuring Downey Jr. and Johansson. The fanboys might hate it, but I think Joss can pull it off without ruffling too many feathers.

When Whedon is on his game he’s as good as there is in Hollywood. The Avengers will be a tall order, but there’s little doubt he will put forth maximum effort to ensure the movie reaches a gold standard. As long as he’s allowed to do things the Whedon way.