The Avengers – Some Assembly Required, Page Nine - Ben Rosenthal

PAGE NINE

1.  Captain America stands, shield raised.  He is beaten, bruised and bloody, however he will not give up. Beside him stand Hawkeye and The Black Widow.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Avengers!

2.  Loki has teleported to the street, scowling.  His plan has failed.

3.  Thor stands, Mjolnir in his hand.  Behind him, Hulk snarls.

4.  Loki has duplicated a couple of times.

5.  Iron Man’s armour is mid way through attaching itself to Tony Stark.

STARK

Assemble.

6.  The Avengers are facing off against a large group made up entirely of Loki and his duplicates.  They rush each other, about to battle.

The Avengers - I Never - Ryan K Lindsay

1. Avengers tower against a night sky. This is a tall and thin establishing panel and the rest of the page is a checkerboard of squares.

Caption: "I've never slept with Hawkeye."

2. Black Widow proudly takes a drink.

Black Widow: I don't recall much sleep occurring.

3. Spider-Woman drinks, but she doesn't look as happy as the Widow about it.

NO COPY

4. Wolverine chuckles to himself.

Spider-Woman (op): You think that's funny? I've never had adamantium inside of me.

5. Wolverine drinks. Natch.

NO COPY

6. Spider-Man drinks. Yes, his mask is half up for this. And yes, he's drinking milk.

NO COPY

7. Wolverine looks across at Spidey with disgust on his face.

Spidey (op): What? It was a fight with Doc Ock.

Wolverine: Sure it was.

8. Spidey looks all sad.

Wolverine (op): Sure that's how you got adamantium inside you. Ha.

Wolverine (op): It's always the quiet ones.

Why The Avengers?

"And there came a day, a day unlike any other,

when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines

found themselves united against a common threat.

On that day, the Avengers were born

—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand!"

If you really need an explanation for why they're showing up this week, either you're new around these parts or you haven't been paying any attention over the past 2 months. The Avengers, comic book icons, are finally seeing the culmination of years worth of build up that has all pointed to this. In some places, the movie is already out. For others, the wait is almost over. To repeat what I said when Thoughtballoons began this journey:

"So here we are, four years later. And with the summer of 2012 will come the debut of a film most of us no doubt thought would never see the light of day – The Avengers, on the big screen. 

Naturally, there was certainly the expectation that Thoughtballoons Would do a week for The Avengers, following the tradition Ryan unwittingly started when he picked Iron Man for the very first week of ThoughtBalloons on at least partial account of the second movie having been released recently.

However, thinking about this brought an idea to my head – as a film, The Avengers ranks somewhere between the biggest movie of the summer and the biggest superhero movie of all time. So why not do something extra special for it? My answer: Instead of a single week dedicated to The Avengers, why not several weeks dedicated to The Avengers - one for each major character from the movie?  

Since everyone else thought it was a great idea, that’s exactly what we’re doing. Starting today with Nick Fury, Thoughtballoons is launching it’s multiple-week ‘Avengersthon’ extravaganza, with each week dedicated to a different major character from the film, all leading up to the final The Avengers week when the movie actually comes out. Because a comic book movie this big deserves it."

And so we've come to what everything was leading up to - the final 'The Avengers' week. Because a movie this big deserves it.

But, of course, this wouldn't be a proper 'Why?' post without explaining what's so special about the team of the week - but even that's simple enough as pointing to the sub-heading that so often accompanies their name. They aren't just 'The Avengers', they're "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes".

And that's what's the big deal about them - as I've heard it described elsewhere, while DC's Justice League is about putting the most popular characters they have together, The Avengers are about who can best defend the Earth. Not just anyone gets to be an Avenger. When you become an Avenger, you've made it. For years, the mainstays haven't been people like Spider-Man or Wolverine (which, I suppose, just goes to show how lax their recruitment policies have been in recent years). ((I kid, I kid)). No, when people read The Avengers, they expect people like Captain America - Super Solider and living legend. Or Iron Man - one of the worlds most intelligence engineers who drives one of the most powerful weapons in the world. Or Thor - the Asguardian with a hammer who inspired the myths of old.

They're popular characters, sure, but what's more important is what they can do - protect the Earth from threats, wherever they may come from. Because they're The Avengers - Marvel's premier Superhero Team and Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Iron Man's Armour- Pilgrimage -Dan Hill

I went for something a bit more simple with this one (pun not intended).

Pilgrimage

Page 1 (6 panels)

1.1
We open on a tight shot of Tony looking dead ahead, straight at us.

TONY (CAPTION): One day every year--

1.2
Fixed panel. Tony brings the Mark 1 Helmet down over his face.

TONY (CAPTION): -- I simplify.

1.3
Wide panel. A worms eye view of Tony in the Mark 1 armour as he touches down somewhere in a desert, sand kicking up from his landing.

TONY (CAPTION): I go back to basics--

TONY (TO HIMSELF): Still works.

1.4
Wide panel. Tony, his back to us, stands before the mouth of the cave where Iron Man was born. He has the Mark 1 helmet tucked under his arm as he looks into the cave.

TONY (CAPTION): --back to the beginning.

1.5
Wide panel, fixed viewpoint. Tony enters the cave, promptly being swallowed up by the shadows.

TONY (CAPTION): I give thanks to the man who saved me--

1.6
Inset panel. Close up of the desert floor in front of the cave and one of the footprints left by the armour.

TONY (CAPTION): -- and the mark he made.

Iron Man: The Armor – Ultimate Comics: Nova Corps – MK Stangeland Jr.

(Long story short: my take on the ultimate version of the Nova Corps is that rather than being this unified bunch of space cops all possessing the ‘Nova Force’, they’re more like an unaligned galactic version of SHIELD or teams of cosmic heroes out to protect the galaxy on their own terms. In this case, PETER QUILL, STAR-LORD, is part of GUARDIAN SQUAD (the Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy), and is out in space with a suit of halfway-reverse engineered Ulimate IRON MAN armor (the cool, ultimate-unique armor, that is, not one of those 616 look-alikes) by way of Richard Rider’s Nova-Prime costume.

Ok, so maybe that wasn’t quite so short after all.)

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: LAMBDA-ZERO is grabbing STAR LORD around the neck with one arm, while trying to stab him with the energy staff being held in the other. STAR LORD is grabbing onto both, though an energy surge is rippling around the hand that’s keeping the energy staff at bay.

STAR LORD (1): Astro’veek! Bug! Nikki! Anybody!

STAR LORD (2): I could use some help here!

Panel 2: BUG leaps at LAMBDA-ZERO with the two broken halves of his blaster-staff, preparing to try to strike at the enemy. LZ doesn’t APPEAR to be paying much attention to him.

BUG: On it, *tik* Quill!

Panel 3: LAMBDA-ZERO rebukes the effort, delivering a kick to BUG’s mid-section.

SFX: bzump!

BUG (1): gughf!

Panel 4: ASTRO’VEEK (ULTIMATE MAJOR VICTORY) having attempted to attack from the other side, is blocked when LAMBDA-ZERO swings his energy staff at him and shatters ASTRO’VEEK’s energy shield.

SFX: Bzz-kr-chk-chich-zzkzz!

Panel 5: STAR LORD, no longer trying to hold the energy staff at bay, swing his free hand down towards LAMBDA-ZERO’s head. His palm is open, face down, and STAR LORD delivers a burst of repulsor energy out of the armor’s hand-unit as it nears LAMBDA-ZERO’s head.

STAR LORD: That’ll do it.

SFX: BzzzEW!

(END PAGE)

(I didn’t put it in panel six because it would deserve more room, but the following panel would be the rather cool explosion that follow the above sequence.)

Iron Man's Armour - Only A Matter of Time - Grant McLaughlin

Page 8

I'm not super picky on how you lay this one out. Just make sure that panel 3 gets the space it deserves.

1 – Clint walks off in another, bigger huff. Bruce and Natasha keep talking.

HAWKEYE (1) (in background): rassum frassum.

HAWKEYE (2) (in background): No hammer. No shield. Might as well say no fun.

BRUCE: Are you sure you won't reconsider, Natasha?

BLACK WIDOW: I'm sure.  I appreciate everything you've said, but I still need time to prove to myself that I'm worthy.

2 – Natasha puts her hand on Bruce's shoulder in reassurance. She is confident in her words.

BLACK WIDOW: I know that things look bad, but with your strength, my skill, and Clint's... unique talents, I know we'll be fine.

HAWKEYE (off-panel): Hey guys!

3 – Switch to Clint. He's wearing a suit of Iron Armour. The helmet is not on, enabling everyone to see the huge grin of excitement he's wearing on his face.

HAWKEYE: Whaddya think?

4 – Close-up of Natasha's mouth. She smiles knowingly.

BLACK WIDOW: I think it's time to Assemble.

Iron Man’s Armour – Some Assembly Required, Page Eight - Ben Rosenthal

PAGE EIGHT

1. Iron Man’s armour stands, arm raised and hand open next to Thor’s face. Thor is in sneering through pain.

2. Captain America’s shield has knocked the Iron Man armour’s hand away just as it fires. It singes some of Thor’s hair.

3. Thor has summoned the last of his strength, and has hit the Iron Man armour full force under its chin with Mjolnir. The force has separated the helmet from the rest of the armour.

4. A close up of the Iron Man helmet. It has come to rest on the ground, the background behind it blurry. However, the background is of a skin tone.

5. Same as Panel 4, however the background is no longer blurred. It is the upper torso and face of Tony Stark. His eyes open and looking at the helmet. He weakly mutters:

TONY STARK

Cellar door.

6. The Iron Man armour crumples to the ground, lifeless. Loki no longer has control of it.

Iron Man’s Armour – In The Hall Of The Mountain King – Shaun Richens

PAGE 9.

6 PANELS.

Panel 1 is a page wide panel. 2,3,4 and 5 are small and tight panels showing just what they need to. 6 is another page wide panel.

1. The Avengers stand assembled. The destroyed outline of New York is behind them. CAPTAIN AMERICA is in the middle flanked by IRON MAN, HAWKEYE AND BLACK WIDOW. The HULK stands tall behind them.

2. THOR throws his hammer towards LOKI.

3. LOKI dodges to the side as the hammer sails past.

4. IRON MAN grabs LOKI around the waist and holds him tight. As only a man in a super suit can.

5. HULKS fist cracks LOKI in the side of his face. Leaving him bloodied and bruised.

6. LOKI lies on the floor looking up at the AVENGERS defeated.

         LOKI 1: I.

         LOKI 2: I… yield. 

Iron Man's Armour - Level Up - Ryan K Lindsay

PAGE 21 - 4 PANELS

1. Luke Cage is holding up Iron Man's helmet and yelling at Ms Marvel. She is yelling back. They are in the rain within an intergalactic jungle in a strange planet.

Cage: What do you want me to do?

Ms. Marvel: Find him!

2. Ms Marvel is looking off into the foliage.

Ms.Marvel: Stark's out there, in pain, and we have to find him.

3. Cage stands next to Ms. Marvel, they both look out at the dangerous world in front of them.

Cage: We will, but we have to be smart. We have to--

Iron Fist(op): Guys, I think I've got this.

4. Big panel. Iron Fist stands in the rain with an Iron Man gauntlet on - the palm reactor is being powered by Rand's chi power.

Iron Fist: Let's grab Stark, kick some alien ass, kiss the girl, and make the next RandJet home.

Cage(op): What girl?

Iron Fist: I'll find a girl. Let's roll.

Why Iron Man’s Armour?

Iron Man has already been looked at here on Thoughtballoons, but it is not the man who makes the hero but the iron. 

They always say it’s what’s on the inside that counts. However with Iron Man I'd have to say it’s all about what’s on the outside.

It's not Tony Stark flying through the skies or taking down supervillains, it’s the armour he wears. It's the armour that turns him from a mad scientist into a superhero, it’s the armour that lets him fly and take a punch to the face from the Hulk. This suit makes the man a hero. So lets all give the tech its dues and show off just how great it can make a man. 

Besides I mean any suit that can get you a job on a superhero team made up of a Super Soldier, a Hulk and a God is one hell of a thing. 

Captain America’s Shield – In The Hall Of The Mountain King – Shaun Richens.

PAGE 8.

7 PANELS.

Panels 1 and 2 take up the top of the page. 3, 4 and 5 are tall vertical panels that make up the rest of the page.

1. Tight shot on CAPTAIN AMERICA’S shield hanging on caps arm.

2. Pull back to show CAP from the waist up, he is holding the shield out in front of him as if preparing to receive a charge, his other arm is raised up in the air, his fist clenched and mouth wide open as he screams.

         CAPTAIN AMERICA: Avengers assemble.

3. A small shield aircraft is in the sky, its hanger doors wide open, the huge mass of THE HULK is crashing down towards the earth.

         HULK: Hulk is hero.

4. IRON MAN still carrying the BLACK WIDOW in his arms is lowering himself to the ground to land like a harrier jump jet.

5. A bloodied and bruised HAWKEYE is getting back to his feet using half of his broken bow to steady himself. 

Captain America's Shield- Method In His Madness- Dan Hill

I tried to come up with something different, something less obvious, for this one.

So, I took a minor detail concerning a villain and turned it into his whole raison d'etre.

Method In His Madness

Page 1 (5 panels)

1.1
A tight shot of an open manila folder sitting on a metal desk. A H.A.M.M.E.R logo sits on the inside cover. One of the photos in the file depicts a grainy shot of the MOLECULE MAN in his costume. The photo looks like it was taken by a bystander. A stamp over the photo reads ‘DECEASED’ in red type.

The text of the report is unreadable to us. The whole panel is gloomy, bathed in a warm, orange light from off panel.

MARSHA (CAP): Madness got to him long before The Sentry did.

MARSHA (CAP): They said he had a troubled childhood. They said the power went to his head.

1.2
A tight shot of a FIGURE hunched over the file. It’s Marsha Rosenberg (aka Volcana).

She’s sat at the metal desk dressed in an overcoat, t-shirt boots and jeans. The only light source in the room is a small volcanic flame protruding from her finger.

MARSHA (CAP): They didn’t know him like I did.

1.3

Small inset panel. Close up on Marsha as she looks over her shoulder, anxious that someone will catch her.

NO COPY

1.4
Large panel. We zoom out a little to see the rest of the room. We’re in a large lockup. In the middle of the room is the desk that Marsha sits at. Strewn around it are various files, boxes and journals.

Marsha picks up one of the journals with her free (non flamey) hand.

MARSHA (CAP): He saw and did things normal men couldn’t begin to understand.

MARSHA (CAP): He touched the fabric of reality and legendary relics.

MARSHA (CAP): In the end it wasn’t the god’s hammer that drove him mad, nor the herald’s board--

1.4
A TIGHT SHOT from Marsha’s POV looking at the journal. Inside we see the spidery handwriting of Owen Reece (aka The Molecule Man). Accompanying the journal entry is a picture of Captain America’s shield.

MARSHA (CAP): --but the patriot’s shield.

MARSHA (CAP): “The weirdest of all” he called it.

1.5
Marsha touches the picture of Owen from the file.

MARSHA (CAP): Something that should not be.

MARSHA (CAP): One in a million.

MARSHA: I miss you, Owen. I wish they understood.

Captain America: The Shield – Shieldboarding – MK Stangeland Jr.

(4 Panels)

Panel 1: Long panel. AGENT TASKMASTER (see my Exiles-based script from Apocalypse week for more information) is wearing a winterized version of his normal costume. He is chasing after the fleeing enemies by using CAPTAIN AMERICA’s shield – which he picked up in a different universe – as an impromptu snowboard.

AGENT TASKMASTER’s speech bubble should carry from this panel to each of his other speech bubbles on the page to indicate that everything he’s saying on this page is part of a single phrase.

AGENT TASKMASTER: D@*%, -

Panel 2: Close-up on the fleeing enemies as they turn around to fire their guns on AGENT TASKMASTER.

Again, his speech bubble continues from the previous panel and continues on to the next one.

SFX: THU-THU-THU-THU-THU!

AGENT TASKMASTER: - do I –

Panel 3: Large Panel.

AGENT TASKMASTER jumps into the air as he continues to move, causing the shield to block the oncoming gunfire even as it remains near his feet. One of his arms reaches down to the edge of the shield to help pull this off. Whichever arm does this should be reaching across to the opposite side of his body, in order for him to seamlessly move from this panel to when he’s throwing it forwards in the next panel.

Behind AGENT TASKMASTER is a ‘ghosted’ image of a snowboarder performing the same move (but with a snowboard instead of a shield) in order to show what moves AGENT TASKMASTER is copying in order to pull the maneuver off, much in a similar style to what’s been used previously when he’s copied other peoples abilities – this could potentially be a lawyer-friendly version of a famous professional snowboarder like Shawn White in order to both help get the idea across better and make the move seem all that more impressive.

Again, his speech bubble continues from the previous panel and continues on to the next one.

SFX: tink! TINK! tink!

AGENT TASKMASTER: - ever love –

Panel 4: Large panel as AGENT TASKMASTER flies towards the panel. He is throwing the shield ahead of him as he does to try to smack the two fleeing enemies with it – the way he does this should flow naturally from the previous panel.

Behind AGENT TASKMASTER is a ‘ghosted’ image of CAPTAIN AMERICA as if he were throwing the shield, indicating just who AGENT TASKMASTER is copying the move from, if it wasn’t obvious by itself.

Again, the speech bubble from this panel should continue from the previous panel.

AGENT TASKMASTER: - this shield!

(END PAGE)

Captain America's Shield - Lest We Forget - Ryan K Lindsay

PAGE 3 - 5 PANELS

1. The helicarrier sits amongst the clouds.

Caption: It’s hard not to stare.

2. We see a section of the helicarrier open, a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. troops sit in two aisles, kind of like the soldiers you see in the backs of helicopters waiting to be dropped off somewhere. Cap is amongst them.

Caption: You’re sitting there with America’s greatest trooper. And you’re going to follow him into battle.

3. We are now closer and we see one soldier looking across at Cap.

Caption: I’m here to do what’s right.

4. We are close on Cap now. He holds his shield in his lap so the back is facing parallel with his chest. His eyes look at the back of the shield, looking to his bottom left – the bottom right of the panel.

Caption: I might be about to save his life.

Caption: But one question keeps circling my mind…

5. The exact same panel but now Cap’s eyes look to his bottom right – the bottom left of the panel.

Caption: …is he reading something back there?

Captain America’s Shield – Some Assembly Required, Page 7 - Ben Rosenthal

PAGE SEVEN

1. Captain America’s shield is flying through the air due to the impact of the explosion from the previous page.

2. A red gloved hand has grasped the shield in mid air.

3. A pull back of the previous panel – A barely conscious and badly beaten Captain America now holds his shield.

4. Loki floats in the air, shocked that Captain America is standing. He does not notice a dark shadow beginning to cover him.

LOKI

What?

5. Hulk is coming down from a leap, reaching out for Loki. Loki has noticed right at the last moment, and is midway through teleporting out of the Hulk’s way.

LOKI

No.

6. Captain America is throwing his shield as he yells.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

He’s distracted. NOW!

Captain America's Shield - Alternatives - Grant McLaughlin

Page 7

Four rows of equal size, each made up of a single panel. Each panel frames the same shot, with the characters being the only movement.

1 – The angle has switched sides. We're looking from the doorway into the room. Natasha and Bruce are talking in the foreground. In the background, Clint has given up on Mjolnir and is trudging off-panel in a huff.

BLACK WIDOW: I don't know about that, Bruce.

BRUCE BANNER: Natasha, I know you can do it.

HAWKEYE (in background): Forget this noise.

2 – Natasha and Bruce continue talking. Natasha is rather hesitant, looking away from Bruce (and towards Clint), while Bruce is trying to reassure her. Clint (now off-panel) is going through other things in the armoury. You can see a small pile forming in the background of things he's passed on. Such items include an Ant-Man helmet, Wonder Man's sunglasses, a Nova helmet, and the like. Feel free to have some things flying through the air on their way to the pile as well.

BLACK WIDOW (1): I did a lot of bad things.

BLACK WIDOW (2): Back then.

BRUCE BANNER: But you've done a lot of good since!

CLINT (off-panel): No. No. No --

3 – Natasha and Bruce continue talking. Bruce continues to try to reassure her, but Natasha has reached a decision – just not the one Bruce was looking for.  She looks back at Bruce, more self-assured.  Clint's pile is larger, but the throwing has stopped. He's found something.

BRUCE BANNER: By my calculations, I'm 99.6% certain that you would satisfy the hammer's exigencies.

BLACK WIDOW (1): I appreciate your vote of confidence, Bruce, but I'm not ready to test that theory. Not yet.

BLACK WIDOW (2): Besides...

HAWKEYE (off-panel): Yes.

4 – Natasha has walked back a bit to where Clint is. She has grabbed something from him. Clint stumbles forward onto the panel from the force. Natasha is now holding (you guessed it!) Captain America's shield!

BLACK WIDOW: This is much more my style.

HAWKEYE: Hey!

Why Captain America's Shield?

We've already covered the man himself here at Thought Balloons, but the fact remains that Captain America's shield is an integral part of who he is.

Superheroes are iconic.  And I don't know if there's any more recognizable part of comic book lore than Cap's trusty vibranium buckler.  Some might argue that Batman's batarangs could fit the bill, but while those little guys are easily identifiable, they aren't nearly as unique or central to the Dark Knight as the shield is to America's premier Super Soldier.  That thing has been on Cap's arm or back pretty much since he first burst onto the comic book scene, and it certainly won't be leaving any time soon.

Every character who has filled-in for Steve Rogers has used the shield.  It's as much a part of who Captain America is as the man who wields it.

Every single adventure that he's gone on, the shield has been along for the ride.  I imagine that that would add up to a good number of untold stories.

I think it's time we tell some of them.

I'd also like to point out that I'm pretty sure that there aren't any other comic book accessories currently hanging on Stephen Colbert's wall, which I think we all know counts for a lot.

And that's The Word.

Thor: Mjolnir – In The Hall Of The Mountain King – Shaun Richens.

PAGE 7.

4 PANELS

1. A page wide panel. THOR’s Mjolnir hammer spins and flies through the air, IRON MAN blasts along beside it arms out stretched.

2. Mjolnir has smashed LOKI in the side. He drops his grasp on BLACK WIDOWs neck.

3. IRON MAN grabs BLACK WIDOW in his arms and takes to the sky.

4. THOR stands proudly, Mjolnir back in his hands, he is ready to fight.

THOR 1: You have shamed all of Asgard with your actions here today brother.

THOR 2: I Thor shall not allow you to continue. We shall end this here and now. Man to man, brother to brother, god to god. 

         

Thor: Mjolnir - Equal and Opposite Reaction - Ryan K Lindsay

PAGE 22 - 3 PANELS

1. Mjolnir is struck from Thor's hand by a mighty hammer similar to Mjolnir but different slightly in colouring.

SFX: Thwack!

2. Thor looks incredulous. How, who?

Thor: (empty speech balloon)

3. The hammer arrives back in someone's hand. On it we read the inverse inscription; Whosoever holds this hammer, if she be worthy, shall possess the power to kill Thor.

Caption: Come back next month for the vivacious return of Jane Foster!

Thor: Mjölnir – Old Man Barton: Last Great Hope – MK Stangeland Jr.

(Same continuity as the OLD MAN BARTON page from Hawkeye week, but taking place several years later in Hammer Falls.)

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: The rain from the storm starts to come down hard as HAWKEYE grabs the hilt of MJOLNIR and starts trying to lift it. While most of the crowd is well on it’s way to dispersing by this point, a few onlookers remain.

HAWKEYE (1): If you can hear me out there, Thor, I could really use your help right now.

HAWKEYE (2): We all could.

Panel 2: HAWKEYE begins his serious effort to try to lift MJOLNIR. Naturally, he’s not making any progress.

SFX: grrRRUGGHH!

Panel 3: HAWKEYE looks up into the heavens as he continues his futile effort to lift MJOLNIR. He shouts at whatever being of Asgard might possibly remain and be willing to hear him.

HAWKEYE: *#%^&%, THOR!

Panel 4: HAWKEYE’s grip slips off of MJOLNIR as a spectacular lightning bolt clashes in the background. HAWKEYE’s shouting something as he goes down, but the sound of thunder drowns out whatever’s coming out of his mouth.

SFX: KRA-KOO-KA-SHA-BOOOOM!

Panel 5: HAWKEYE lands on his back in the mud that the rain has created in the ground surrounding MJOLNIR. The Lightning SFX from Panel 4 should carry over into this panel as well.

(END PAGE)

Mjolnir - Worth It? - Grant McLaughlin

Page 6

1 – Natasha, Clint, and Bruce are walking quickly down a hallway in Avengers' Mansion. Natasha and Clint are supporting Bruce between them, as he is still pretty wiped from the fight on the previous page.

BLACK WIDOW: What were those?

BRUCE BANNER: I'm still not sure, but I can tell you they can put up one hell of a fight.

HAWKEYE: Well, if we're worried about it, why don't we get everybody assembled?

2 – Quick scene change. Nick Fury, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are all lounging by a pool in their bathing suits. Like in the opening Nick Fury page, though they're wearing bathing suits, each character is still wearing the upper part of their regular costumes.  Because of course they are.

NICK FURY: And you're sure that the rest of the team doesn't need you?

CAPTAIN AMERICA: They'll be just fine. What's the worst that could happen?

3 – Back to our trio. Bruce looks rather sheepish at answering the question, changing the topic as quickly as he can. The group stands before a door clearly marked “Armoury”.

BRUCE BANNER: Uh, they're busy. Official Avengers... stuff.

BRUCE BANNER (2): It'll be up to us to fight these things. Fortunately, we still have a trick or two up our sleeves.

4 – Shot from the interior of the Armoury. Natasha, Clint, and Bruce stand in the doorway towards the background of the panel. The focus here is that Mjolnir, which sits on a pedestal in the centre of the panel. Natasha is a little surprised. Clint is nonplussed, too brash to be offput by this revelation. Bruce's sheepishness is gone, now firmly back in control (although he's still drained, leaning on Natasha for support).

BLACK WIDOW: Mjolnir?! But how? Wouldn't Thor --

BRUCE BANNER (interrupting): It's very simple, really ---

HAWKEYE (also interrupting): Shotgun!

5 – Clint walking towards the hammer. He is confident and cocky. Natasha has her head in her hand, unbelieving that someone could be so oblivious. Bruce is confused.

BRUCE BANNER: “Shotgun?”

HAWKEYE: With this bad boy in hand, we'll be cleaning those clocks' clocks in no time!

BLACK WIDOW: We all know it's not that easy, Clint.

6 – Clint tries to lift the hammer. He doesn't have much success, straining with all his might to move it at all. It doesn't move.

HAWKEYE: It is when you have Hawkeye on board! --

HAWKEYE (2): Uhngg!

BRUCE BANNER: Clint, I'm sorry to say I didn't have you in mind to wield Mjolnir...

7 – Clint holds the same position, but he's no longer straining to lift the hammer. He is distracted by Bruce's explanation, eyes wide in surprise. Natasha looks up, equally, if not more, surprised.

BRUCE BANNER: I had Natasha.

HAWKEYE: Her?!

8 – Close-up on Natasha. Stunned, she can't believe what she's hearing.

BLACK WIDOW (quietly): Me?

Mjolnir - Hammer To Fall - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Thor sits alone in a darkened room, huddled and slumped and drained. He is weak and thin, withered. His helmet is slipping down to one side, his gold locks desiccated, his chain mail armour hangs off him, baggy and oversized. He is a shadow of his former self. As he leans forward, he holds the strap of Mjolnir. The hammer itself stands upright (head on the floor) before him.

The only illumination in the room comes from a doorway to Thor's left. Shadows fall across him as three men enter (off-panel).

Strange (O/P): Thor…?

Panel Two.

Thor lifts his head wearily and stares at his comrades. Iron Man, Captain America, Dr. Strange. We can see a little more of the background now: we are in Stephen Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. Thor is putting on a brave smile; his friends look grim.

Thor: So, gentlemen. Your learned diagnosis…?

Captain America: There’s no easy way to say this, old friend.

Iron Man: It’s the hammer, Thor.

Strange: A grave enchantment is upon it. Dark magics even I can’t combat…

Panel Three.

Cap crouches before Thor and rests a hand on his old friend's shoulder.He holds tight onto his own shield as he does so.

Captain America: You need to relinquish your hammer, Thor. You need to send it far, far away...

Captain America: Before it kills you.

Panel Four.

Close on Thor, weak but determined.

Thor: Nay, Captain. If Mjolnir and I are destined for Valhalla, we shall journey there together.

Panel Five.

It’s a struggle for him to even lift Mjolnir now, but somehow he manages it. Holding it with both hands, the Thunder God staggers to his feet. Defiant.

Thor: Shortly... after... we have slain my damn'd brother...

Thor: Loki...

Mjolnir – Some Assembly Required, Page 6 - Ben Rosenthal

PAGE SIX

1. The Iron Man armour, with Captain America’s shield in opposite hand, reaches has a handle around Mjolnir’s handle.

CAPTION: Now.

CAPTION

Whosoever holds this hammer,

2. A close up of Loki’s face. He is eager to see if his spell has worked.

CAPTION

If he be worthy,

3. The Black Widow’s small explosive device is shown midflight.

4. The device has landed on Mjolnir, it’s LED timer reading 0:00:01.

5. The device explodes, sending the Iron Man armour flying back. It releases Cap’s shield due to the force.

6. A badly beaten Thor stands, holding Mjolnir limp at his side. He is angry.

CAPTION

Shall possess the power of Thor.

Mjolnir- The Spark - Dan Hill

This one is a sequel/companion piece to my Loki script from a few weeks ago.

Yes, Mjolnir is a narrator. Deal with it.

The Spark

Page One

Panel One
We open on a close up of THOR picking up MJOLNIR from a sandy desert floor. The focus of the panel here is Mjolnir. We can't see Thor’s face.

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): We always find each other.

Panel Two
Close up on Thor’s hand gripping Mjolnir’s handle.

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): I am his to hold.

Panel Three
Fixed panel.

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): He is mine to protect.

Panel Four
A flash of lightning cuts through a sky that's suddenly dark.

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): Tonight we will dance for the last time.

Panel Five
Large panel. We’re in the same vast desert as the Loki strip, this time looking towards Loki in the distance.

The sky over the desert is thick with storm clouds, thunder brewing inside them, casting an eerie light over the desert.

Thor walks away from us, towards Loki, Mjolnir at his side.

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): My last breaths will extinguish this world’s flame--

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): -- my rebirth will ignite the spark and set this cycle into motion once more--

MJOLNIR (CAPTION): --and then my voice will call out to him for the first time.