Assembly Required

The day of reckoning is nearly upon us my dear friends as The Avengers drops this Friday and can be seen in 3D and IMAX at a theater near you.  Pre-release tracking on the film projects Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to have the biggest domestic box-office opening of all time.  Why all this huss and fuss, jibber-jabb, and riggamaroo over a silly film about a couple of guys in leotards you ask?  Because the core concept of the story is that there are four basic kinds of people.

Quote1.pngPeople are different in fundamental ways.  They want different things ; they have different motives, purposes, aims, values, needs, drives, impulses, urges.  Nothing is more fundamental than that.  They believe differently, they think, cognize, conceptualize, perceive, understand, comprehend, and cogitate differently.  And of course, manners of acting and emoting, governed as they are by wants and beliefs, follow suit and differ radically among people.Quote2.png Please Understand Me p. 2

IRON MAN

TONY STARK

Rational

On top of being an eccentric genius, a billionaire, a playboy and a philanthropist, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is also the armored super hero known as Iron Man.  Fresh off of defeating enemies the world over, Stark reluctantly agreed to serve as a consultant to Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) top-secret peacekeeping and intelligence agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D.  Now, with a global crisis on the horizon and the fate of the world in the balance, Stark must again power up his Iron Man armor to save the world, and become a full fledged member of The Avengers.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

STEVE ROGERS

Guardian

After a top secret Super-Soldier program transformed frail Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) into the powerful and heroic Captain America, his amazing WWII exploits made him a living legend.  Steve saved New York City and turned the tide of the war, but crashed into the Arctic during his final mission.  Awakening in the modern day, Steve learned that he had spent decades frozen in the icy tundra.  Now, Steve Rogers finds himself alone in the modern world that he hardly recognizes.  When Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of the international peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D., calls on Rogers to help save the world again, he quickly suits up as Captain America, taking up his iconic shield and bringing his strength, leadership and no-nonsense attitude to The Avengers.

THE HULK

BRUCE BANNER

Artisan

After a gamma radiation experiment went awry, mild-mannered scientist Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) found himself with a peculiar condition.  When angered or provoked, he would transform into an uncontrollable, green-skinned monster known as the Hulk.  Now, fearful of the damage that the Hulk could inflict, Dr. Banner chooses to live a discreet life in remote parts of the world, working to cure the sick and help the poor while trying to elude those who would take advantage of his ability to change into the enormous, green menace.  When a mounting threat calls for Banner’s specialized scientific expertise, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury recruits him, knowing full well that the incredible strength of Banner’s alter ego, the Hulk, would be an asset to The Avengers.

THOR

GOD OF THUNDER

Idealist

An arrogant prince from the distant land of Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was banished to Earth after his irresponsible behavior threatened his homeland.  While in exile on Earth, Thor learned humility and helped to save his new friends from a destructive threat sent by his brother Loki.  In the process, Thor redeemed himself in the eyes of his father, Odin, the King of Asgard.  After being welcomed back to Asgard as a her, Thor must now return to Earth once again to prevent a cosmic-level catastrophe.  With Mjolnir in his hand, a legendary hammer with immense power, the mighty warrior soon finds himself drawn into an unlikely alliance with Nick Fury’s secret initiative, The Avengers, lending his power to their cause against his wayward brother, Loki.

New trailers for The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spiderman have been confirmed as attached to the North American release of The Avengers.

Stay tuned for updates and hit us up on twitter

UPDATE:

NEW video featurette with director/writer Joss Whedon and Tom Hiddleston:

AND: a video review which seems to bode well:

7 thoughts on “Assembly Required”

  1. Due to your blog posts I definitely sometimes had the temperaments on my mind while watching the movie..but I enjoyed it anyway 😉 What about “Tony Stark” being an “Artisan” and “Bruce Banner” being the “Rational”. Maybe their alter Egos are different temperaments, but from what I can tell from the movie those temperaments could fit for their real-lifes, too. Tony Stark being the playful, action oriented, etc. and Bruce Banner being the actually more introverted, analytical person who is working on solutions for the problem, is talking about what new problems may come up, etc. I’m not sure about “The Hulk” – he might be an Artisan, but Bruce Banner feels more like a Rational, whereas Tony Stark acts like a classical Artisan in many ways. What do you think?

  2. Yes I definitely agree Bruce Banner is a Rational. Essentially for this concept I am focusing on the superhero and not the alter-ego. Especially with the Hulk. Tony Stark however may seem very Artisan but also displays many signs of being a Rational. Writer Stan Lee said that he more or less based the character off of Howard Hughes, who is a prototypical Inventor Rational. I give reasonable arguments as to why Tony Stark is an Inventor here:

    http://keirsey.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/utilitarian-comradery-2/

    But again, I am mainly referring to their superhero personalities.

  3. Question: What do you think are the types of Thor and Captain America?

    I know that you have the Hulk as a Crafter Artisan and Iron Man as a Inventor Rational (also my type!)

    Am curious as to your thoughts.

    1. I’ve typed Thor as a Champion Idealist, link here:

      http://keirsey.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/thunderous-diplomacy/

      And captain America as a supervisor Guardian, link here:

      http://keirsey.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/marvels-super-squad-assembled/

      The argument for Cap is small, but if you do the research:

      http://marvel.wikia.com/Captain_America_%28Steven_Rogers%29

      he is a commanding leader and would probably fit most into Supervisor Guardian.

      Let me know what your personal thoughts are!

      1. I agree with Cap being a Supervisor Guardian. Was indecisive about whether Thor would be a Champion Idealist or a Teacher Idealist..he definitely seems like one of the more energetic types of Idealist.

  4. Going off the movie without reading the comics, I thought Black Widow was a better example of an Artisan than Hulk. I mean in terms of showing an actual human character with that personality.

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