By Alex Newhouse on Jul 16, 2015 11:11 pm
Find Out Everything You Need to Know About the Halo Universe
Nine games, eighteen novels, two miniseries, short stories, comic books, and an anime series make up the Halo universe. It's daunting to try to keep track of all the different story elements that go into each Halo game. As a quick glimpse of the expanded Halo universe, we've put together a short look at some of the most important characters and events to help prepare you for the release of Halo 5: Guardians on October 27. There will be spoilers discussed throughout this gallery, so proceed accordingly.
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, or The Master Chief
He's the main character of the Halo series, and one of the most iconic video game heroes of all time. The Spartan-II super solider was taken from his home at six years old and trained to fight human rebels. At age 14, he was physically enhanced to be stronger, tougher, quicker, and smarter. Among his group of Spartans, he was the leader. Following the fall of the planet Reach, Master Chief was pivotal in taking down the Covenant army and saving Earth from the Flood.
Cortana
Cortana is an artificial intelligence entity based on the brain of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the founder of the Spartan program. Cortana was taken off Reach by Noble Squad, and then accompanied Master Chief throughout the events of the four numbered Halo games. She was instrumental in the destruction of the Didact in Halo 4, helping to keep the Promethean attack at bay and ultimately blowing up the Didact's ship and herself.
Thel 'Vadam, or The Arbiter
As the leader of the Elites (aka Sangheili), the Arbiter was a crucial ally to John in achieving victory over the Covenant and the Flood. During the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, 'Vadam tried and failed to stop John from destroying Installation 04, one of the Halo rings. This caused the Covenant to strip him of his position and bestow upon him the indignity of the Arbiter rank, a designation meant to mark an Elite as a failure. The Arbiter then discovered that the Halo rings were actually weapons meant to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy, and this revelation caused him to split from the Covenant and join forces with the humans.
The Covenant
This union of alien forces was composed of Elites, Brutes, Jackals, Grunts, Hunters, and Prophets. The Prophets led while the Elites had control over the military, a division resulting from a past war between the two races. The Covenant was based on a religious belief that Forerunners were gods, and that to activate the Halo array would begin a "Great Journey" of divine salvation. The war with humans began because the Covenant wanted to gain control of Forerunner artifacts on human worlds.
The Flood
Nothing inspires fear in the Halo universe quite like the Flood. This parasitic enemy takes control of corpses, reanimates them, and uses them to swarm over its prey. Although unintelligent normally, the Flood can amass bodies and minerals to create a sentient, self-aware organism known as the Gravemind. After the creation of the Gravemind, the Flood becomes incredibly dangerous and capable of using advanced technology. The parasite reached Earth during the events of Halo 3, but ultimately it was beaten back and completely wiped out by Elite strikes on Earth and Master Chief's destruction of the Ark, the construction point of the Halo Array.
Halo Array
The Forerunners built the Halo rings as a last-ditch weapon to fight against the Flood. They have immense power, capable of destroying all sentient life in the galaxy if activated. Since the Flood needs to consume sentient organisms to survive, an activation of the Halo Array would effectively starve the parasite. The rings have only been used once in their entirety, when the Forerunners used them to drive the Flood nearly extinct. During Halo: CE, Master Chief destroyed Installation 04, which triggered the Ark construct to automatically begin building a replacement. In Halo 3, he blew up the replacement ring at the Ark.
Forerunners
Over a hundred thousand years before the events of the Halo games, the super-intelligent species known as the Forerunners lived and built a civilization. Forerunner society stretched across the Milky Way, and their structures and machines still are found throughout the galaxy. They were able to access a mental Internet of sorts, called the Domain, that connected the Forerunners to a massive store of information. They, along with the Domain, were destroyed after the Forerunners activated the Halo Array to combat the first infestation of the Flood. The Halo ring custodial AI known as "monitors," like 343 Guilty Spark, are also products of Forerunner technology.
The Didact
The highest commander of the Forerunner warrior class, the Didact fought against the humans in the Human-Forerunner War and also struggled against the Flood during the first infestation. There were actually two Didacts with the same personality and memories; the Iso-Didact led the charge against the Flood and died when the Halo rings were fired, and the Ur-Didact fought in the Human-Forerunner War and then was imprisoned in hibernation in a chamber for the next 100,000 years. Ultimately during the events of Halo 4, Master Chief was tricked into releasing the Ur-Didact, who had been corrupted by a Gravemind during the first Flood infestation. The Ur-Didact attempted to wipe out the entire human race, as he was warped by the Gravemind into believing that humans would usurp Forerunners and bring about the Flood's victory.
The Librarian
The Librarian was the Didact's wife and one of the most important Forerunners. She was responsible for cataloguing and preserving every life form possible before the activation of the Halo Array. These species were kept on the Ark, one of the only places in the galaxy protected from the blast of the rings. The Librarian also had the power to imprint commands on the minds of organisms, affecting seemingly millions of humans from birth and giving them certain boosts to awareness or environmental knowledge. She gave one of these imprints to Master Chief, granting him immunity from the Didact's Composer weapon.
Prometheans
These robotic life forms based on the essences of other organisms make up the Ur-Didact's personal army. Using the Composer, the Ur-Didact could effectively digitize people and upload their sentience and autonomy into robotic frames. Although the Composer was originally only used on willing Forerunners to make them immune to the Flood, the Ur-Didact began digitizing innocent humans as his forces grew smaller. Prometheans will feature prominently in Halo 5: Guardians.
Great Schism
During the events of Halo 2, it became clear to the Arbiter that there was no "Great Journey" linked to the Halo rings and instead the Array was designed to wipe out all life in the galaxy. Discovering this lie perpetuated by the Covenant leadership, the Arbiter and most of the Elites broke away from the Covenant and joined forces with the humans. Brutes took over as leaders of the Covenant army.
Covenant Remnant
After the end of the Human-Covenant War and the events of Halo 3, the Covenant was dissolved and the surviving aliens went back to their home planets. A radical faction of Elites, however, still believing in the divinity of the Forerunners and the Great Journey, came together to form the Covenant Remnant. It is led by the Elite Jul 'Mdama. This sect fought against the Arbiter's government on the Elite home planet and ultimately sided with the Ur-Didact as Master Chief attempted to stop him. The Covenant Remnant will likely appear as an enemy force in Halo 5: Guardians.
The Spartan Program
The legendary training program that created the Spartan super soldiers has been through four iterations. The first, Spartan-I, was costly and ineffective, used more as an experiment in bioengineering than an actual military force. Spartan-IIs are the most effective. These soldiers were taken from their homes as six-year-olds, trained from childhood, and augmented at puberty to grow faster and stronger than normal humans. Master Chief is one of these Spartans. Spartan-IIIs were cheaper and less deadly than Spartan-IIs. They were deployed on Reach during the Covenant invasion. Noble Team, the squad of Spartans followed during Halo: Reach, are Spartan-IIIs. The Spartan-IV force is composed of willing adults who undertake biological enhancements; this program began after the events of Halo 3. Agent Locke and Sarah Palmer are both Spartan-IVs.
Agent Locke
First seen during the Halo: Nightfall miniseries, Jameson Locke is an agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence who is tasked with bringing Master Chief in after the soldier disappears. He was part of the team that investigated the Alpha Shard of Installation 04, the Halo ring destroyed during Halo: CE. He is a playable character in Halo 5: Guardians.
Blue Team
Blue Team was one of the only contingents of Spartan-IIs still active during the events of the first three Halo games. Composed of Fred-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058, Blue Team will fight alongside Master Chief during Halo 5: Guardians. After several fights against the Covenant Remnant, Blue Team was considered AWOL by the Office of Naval Intelligence, and Locke was sent to bring them in.
ONI
As the top-secret branch of the human government and military, the Office of Naval Intelligence has virtually unlimited funds to use for the purpose of one goal: protect Earth at any cost. From ONI came the Spartan Program, artificial intelligences such as Cortana, and the massive warship, the UNSC Infinity. ONI's methods have been controversial, especially the abductions of children used to build the Spartan-IIs and its role in stimulating the creation of the Covenant Remnant.
Precursors
This mysterious species lived before the Forerunners and achieved the greatest technological understanding of any species ever in the galaxy. They eventually succeeded in both intergalactic travel and the creation of new life. The Precursors brought Forerunners and humans into being, although the Forerunners eventually fought a war with their creators that consequently drove Precursors extinct. The Flood exists as the only direct relic of the Precursors; during the Forerunner-Precursor war, the Precursors were warped and mutated into Graveminds.
Halo: Reach
The events of Halo: Reach are chronologically the first in the series. After attacking humans on the planet Harvest, the Covenant traveled to Reach, one of the most important human colonies besides Earth. On Reach, Noble Team, a squad of Spartan-IIIs, were tasked with holding off the Covenant as long as possible and allowing important information to escape. They also helped evacuate a city and were responsible for getting Cortana off of the planet and into the ship Pillar of Autumn, where she was given to Master Chief to use. Only Noble Three, known as Jun-A266, survived the battles on Reach.
Halo: Combat Evolved
Following the fall of Reach, the Pillar of Autumn went through a Covenant slipspace portal and ended up near a Halo ring, Installation 04. Knowing that the Covenant wanted something with this ring, the human leadership sent Master Chief and a contingent of marines under command of Sergeant Johnson to investigate. During the ensuing clash, the Covenant accidentally released the Flood upon the ring world. The parasite multiplied quickly and the monitor 343 Guilty Spark attempted to get Master Chief to activate the ring, but Cortana stopped him. Instead, John destroyed the ring by blowing up the Pillar of Autumn.
Halo 2
After the destruction of Installation 04, the Covenant blamed Thel 'Vadam and made him the Arbiter. Meanwhile, John returned to Earth followed closely by the Covenant. The aliens launched an assault on Earth, and Master Chief helped beat it back. The Covenant soon located another ring and dispatched the Arbiter to try and activate it. John, who was in a ship pursuing the Covenant fleet, also went down onto the Halo to attempt to stop its activation. Both the Arbiter and Master Chief ended up in the clutches of a Gravemind after fighting the Flood which had been released on the ring. Together with the Gravemind, Master Chief convinced the Arbiter that the rings were weapons meant to destroy life. The Arbiter and Master Chief then departed, with John going onto the Covenant ship High Charity while the Arbiter fought against Covenant forces on the ring. They stopped the ring from being fired, but High Charity was overrun with Flood and Cortana was left behind on the ship.
Halo 3: ODST
Between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, a contingent of elite soldiers called Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were deployed on Earth to combat the Covenant assaulting there. The squad became scattered around the city of New Mombasa following a slipspace rupture which knocked their descent to Earth off course. Rookie, the main character, then explored the city, eventually reuniting with his squad. While looking for information on the Covenant presence in New Mombasa, the group stumbled across an Engineer, an organic Forerunner creature, which had massive stores of information on the Covenant's activities. The group escorted the creature back to a human ship, where it provided information about the aliens to the human leadership.
Halo 3
Coming back from his battle with the Flood on High Charity, Master Chief dropped onto Earth where Sergeant Johnson and the Arbiter were preparing for extraction from Covenant-held positions. Master Chief then fought against the Covenant for control over a Forerunner artifact which was believed to be the Ark, capable of activating the Halo Array. The Covenant fleet escaped Earth through a portal, while a ship overrun with Flood crashed into Earth. Along with Master Chief, the Elites allied with the Arbiter held off the Flood. John then left through the portal and ended up on the real Ark, where the Covenant were attempting to activate the rings.
Halo 3 (cont.)
John and the Arbiter assaulted the Covenant positions and ended up fighting alongside the Flood as the Covenant managed to activate the Halo Array using an abducted Johnson, who was one of a certain group of humans who could activate the rings. After deactivating the array, John traveled to High Charity to destroy the Gravemind inside it, as well as to rescue Cortana who was left on the ship during Halo 2. Succeeding, John traveled back to the Ark, uploaded Cortana into the structure, and activated the ring being built there in order to finally kill off the Flood. He and the Arbiter escaped via the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, but the slipspace portal they escaped through split the ship in half. The Arbiter made it to Earth, while Master Chief and Cortana drifted through space toward a planet called Requiem.
Halo 4
Three years after Halo 3, Master Chief and Cortana arrived near the Forerunner Shield World Requiem in the broken remnants of Forward Unto Dawn. Cortana woke John from cryostasis and the two fought through Covenant Remnant forces who had landed on the ship. After the fight, the ship crash-landed on Requiem and Master Chief set off to find a way off the planet. He and Cortana then discovered the Ur-Didact, contained within his suspended-animation shell called a Cryptum. After tricking John into releasing him from the Cryptum, the Ur-Didact overwhelmed Master Chief as the Covenant forces swore allegiance to him.
Halo 4 (Cont.)
John attempted to get in contact with human forces nearing Requiem, but the UNSC Infinity crashed into the planet, forcing Master Chief to go attempt to rescue them from the Promethean forces closing on their position. Using the Composer device, the Ur-Didact attempted to eliminate humanity and upload them into Prometheans, but Master Chief fought onto his ship. While Cortana attacked the Didact's defenses and contained him in hard light constraints, John attacked him and forced him into a slipspace rupture. Cortana blew up the Didact's ship, then spoke with John for the last time before ceasing to exist.
Halo 5: What We Know
There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding Halo 5's story, but we do know that it will focus on the conflict between Master Chief and Agent Locke. Both will be playable, and both will have squads of Spartans accompanying them. Locke is pursuing Master Chief because of his suspected role in an assassination of a human ambassador to the Elite home planet, although this attack was actually carried out by a human splinter group called Sapien Sunrise.
Halo 5: What We Know (Cont.)
We also know that Halo 5 will feature new, massive enemies called Guardians. These Forerunner AI machines seem to have awoken due to the events of the Human-Covenant War, the elimination of the Flood, and the defeat of the Ur-Didact. Additionally, while Master Chief tries to make sense of these new Forerunner enemies, it appears that the Arbiter and his loyal Elites fight a civil war against the Covenant Remnant.
By Leslie Gornstein on Jul 16, 2015 10:55 pm
Fallout 4
Few RPG franchises have as loyal a fan base as Fallout. We already knew that the game will be set in Boston and will feature a rather fearless German shepherd along with his vault-dweller human. But at a June 14 press conference, creator Bethesda also revealed a megaton (see what we did there?) of new images, features and abilities. Even better: A real release date, for November 2015. (Photo by: Bethesda)
Dishonored 2
More intrigue! More backstabbing! More sneaking around! And now there's a new character to play: Emily Kaldwin, the rightful scion in the original game. The first game raked in plenty of awards and accolades, so the sequel should get a lot of attention. (Photo by: Bethesda)
Halo 5: Guardians
We're talking about a franchise that has raked in more than $3 billion in revenue, so, naturally, expectations are high for this release. The gameplay demo revealed at E3 looks righteous, and fans have been waiting a long time for this new installment. (Photo by: Microsoft)
Doom
The seminal first-person shooter is back! The original Doom series from the 1990s is credited not only with birthing a new gaming genre, but also racking up a serious following. (We're talking 10 million units sold.) Bethesda's resurrection looks as slick as it does utterly sick. (Photo by: Bethesda)
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Again, the existence of this game is no surprise. But it remains one of the most anticipated games out there, and the new footage shown at the E3 showed a scope and attention to detail previously unseen in the franchise. (Photo by: Microsoft)
Gears of War 4
Long rumored and even longer awaited, the latest game in a $1 billion franchise finally got some official love at E3 this year. The footage shown was dark (way too dark) but what we did manage to see looked pretty darned promising. (Photo by: Microsoft)
Dark Souls III
It's official: Dark Souls fans will get to die, die, and die some more (presumably in fresh ways) via a third installment of this vicious action franchise. And expect it to be huge; the first two installments have sold into the millions of units. (Photo by: Bandai Namco/Microsoft)
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars fans have been waiting for years for a brand-new cooperative online shooter to call their own, and Electronic Arts made that dream officially come true at E3 this year. Recruit a scrappy team of fighters, and enjoy classic Star Wars mainstays like the AT-AT here. (Photo by: Electronic Arts)
Mass Effect: Andromeda
The story of Commander Shepard may be over, but that isn't stopping Electronic Arts from rolling out a brand-new story set in the wildly popular Mass Effect universe. Bring on the reapers! (Photo by: Bioware)
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
A stealth action-adventure franchise with more than 70 million copies sold has to be doing something right. Syndicate is expected to fire on all cylinders, thanks in part to a new assassin protagonist and a refined combat system. (Photo by: Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
This military-ops franchise has been around for more than a decade, so, naturally, it has a huge fan base. Now the series finally gets its Skyrim-ification, with a new, open world.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
It's the adventure-action series that has moved more than 21 million copies worldwide, and now comes the fourth installment, which brings our hero back from retirement. Its lush graphics–one of the hallmarks of the series–look to be more gorgeous and colorful than ever. (Photo by: Naughty Dog)
The Last Guardian
Movies aren't the only projects to suffer through development hell. Just ask gamers who have six years for this highly anticipated puzzle solver. Maybe it just takes that look to put feathers on a giant chihuahua.
Final Fantasy VII remake
Yes, it's a remake. But given the reaction from fans when Sony announced said remake at E3, this is one huge deal for Final Fantasy fans. The original 1997 title has sold more than 9 million copies and spawned a straight-to-DVD feature film.
No Man's Sky
Perhaps the most ambitious game announced at E3, this title introduces a world so open, so huge, that even the designers didn't know exactly where they were going when they shared some of the gameplay at the con. This is one highly anticipated debut. (Photo by: Hello Games)
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
Any new Zelda title is big news for Nintendo fans. The upcoming 3DS encourages friends to cooperate to solve puzzles and collect items to make cool wardrobes. (Photo by: Nintendo)
Super Mario Maker
Nintendo fans already knew this title was coming, and they already knew that the game (finally!) allows players to get in on the level-building action. But at E3, it finally got a release date: September 11, 2015.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
A cyberpunk franchise with more than 4.5 million units sold is getting a new title. Again, fans knew it was coming, but a Deus Ex announcement is always an event, and the new weapons teased at E3 look to add even more options to the gameplay.
By Matthew Walden on Jul 16, 2015 10:54 pm
1. Legless Princess Peach
Nintendo's Amiibo toy figurines have become quite the rage in the collectible market. While the typical retail price for an Amiibo is only $12.99, their relative scarcity has caused prices to skyrocket. For example, this legless Princess Peach, the result of a manufacturing defect, sold for $25,100 on eBay.
2. Dual Cannon Samus
Metroid's famous bounty hunter, Samus, gets a serious price upgrade when she dual-wields her iconic arm cannon. For thrifty shoppers, two-can Sam can be found for a mere $2,500–ten percent of the cost of her compatriot, legless Peach.
3. No-Lefty Luigi
Rounding out the collection of top-tier manufacturing defects, this Luigi Amiibo showed up on eBay missing his left hand. The auction winner is now out $500. Beyond Peach, Samus and Luigi, though, most defects don't seem to positively impact the value of Amiibo figures.
4. Villager
If you're not into factory mistakes and want to focus on collecting intact Amiibo, finding the Villager from Animal Crossing is a quest in itself. Unless you spot one in the wild, expect to pay upwards of $70 on auction sites to grab the little guy.
5. Greninja
Good luck grabbing a pre-order for the elusive Pokemon ninja. As is often the case with Amiibo figures, Greninja sold out long before he even hit store shelves.
6. Little Mac
Little Mac became one of the most popular Nintendo fighters after his inclusion in the new Super Smash Bros. That new stardom led to his Amiibo becoming a hot commodity, too. Pro tip for winning him in an auction: Dance like a fly, bite like a mosquito.
7. Gold Mario
He's not quite worth his weight in gold, but if you manage to find a Gold Mario Amiibo, he's currently valued at around around $60. Mama mia.
8. Marth
Marth's come a long way. He flummoxed many players in his first Smash Bros. appearance, but after the surprising success of Fire Emblem in the West, Marth has received a huge popularity boost. Acquiring his coveted Amiibo will cost you more than $50.
9. Pit
After languishing on the sidelines for more than a decade, Kid Icarus has officially made a comeback, thanks to the tireless efforts of Nintendo designer Masahiro Sakurai. Some Amiibo figures are rare because they're relatively unknown. Other characters, like Pit, are rare because they're so loved.
10. Wii Fit Trainer
That's it, feel the burn ... in your wallet, that is. Considered a rare unicorn by serious Amiibo collectors, the Wii Fit Trainer still goes for more than three times her retail price.
11. Ness
In a more just universe, the words "rare" and "Earthbound" would never appear together, but sadly, this is the timeline we inhabit. The consummate yo-yo artist Ness is an upcoming GameSpot exclusive. If you didn't pre-order, though, you'll need to cast PSI Hypnosis to persuade someone else to fork him over.
12. Meta Knight
Meta Knight got an avalanche of nerfs in the recent Smash Bros. game, but his weaker range didn't affect his popularity as a toy. Rumors abound that he'll be restocked in stores, but expect to pay close to $40 until then.
13. Ike
If you've kept your ear close to the ground, then you know the mercenary Ike is rumored for a summer restock. The smart bet would be to wait out his current price spike–$40–until then, just in case this royal bodyguard becomes a mere commoner.
14. Shulk
Behold the power of the Monado! Thanks to his rabid fanbase, Shulk's Xenoblade title became a bonafide hit in the West, and his Amiibo proved just as popular. Unfortunately, like the Wii game from which he hails, Shulk is a difficult man to track down.
15. Captain Falcon
Winning isn't about being lucky. It's about being bold. And you'll need to be bold to hunt down your very own Captain Falcon figure. Once you do, he'll cost you close to $35.
16. Rosalina
Who knew Rosalina would become such a lightning rod for controversy? One collector managed to frustrate the entire Amiibo collecting community by purchasing huge numbers of Rosalinas simply to keep her off store shelves. Luckily, the truly committed can still find her for around $30.
17. King Dedede
For the longest time, Dreamland's king has been unfairly maligned. Maybe Nintendo fans are finally celebrating his heroic nature, because his Amiibo has been one of the most popular.
18. Lucario
A well-trained Lucario can identify creatures more than half a mile away. We wish we had the same telepathic ability to spot which Toys "R" Us has the fabled Amiibo in stock. Expect to pay twice his retail price for a Lucario in the wild.
19. Fox
Fox McCloud may have what it takes to save the Lylat Galaxy, but you'll have to find him first. He's not impossible to discover, but he still remains one of the less common Amiibo originals.
20. Dankey Kang
What's a collector to do after tracking down the rarest and most valuable Amiibo figures? Well, there's a cool niche market of custom painted Amiibo characters to explore. Creators offer unique spins on classic characters, like the famous Jeopardy-themed meme "Dankey Kang," pictured above. While not officially produced by Nintendo, a custom painted work can be truly one of a kind.
By Array on Jul 16, 2015 10:52 pm
1. Black Widow
Everyone's excited about the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, so we've rounded up the absolute best Avengers cosplay from comic conventions across the country. Scarjo better watch out. This fan rendition of Black Widow is near perfect.
2. Iron Man
"Please, no gang signs." This guy's the spitting image of Tony Stark, down to the salt and pepper moustache and disapproving scowl. Way to go!
3. Thor
Don't let her ease with the Mjolnir hammer fool you. That thing is heavy.
4. Loki and Thor
Thor can barely hide his distaste over the indignity of posing with his adopted brother Loki. You just know it's gotta be another trap.
5. Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch casts a transfixing hex on WonderCon in Anaheim.
6. Captain America
Steve Rogers prepares himself to take on Ultron, the sentient A.I. run amok. Avengers assemble!
7. The Hulk
What this guy lacks in size he makes up for in sheer adrenaline fueled rage. There's no defusing this gamma bomb.
8. Black Widow and Hawkeye
Hawkeye's ready to defend his life long love Black Widow. He's always been a straight shooter.
9. Loki
Loki prepares some black magic energy blasts. Asgard's resident God of Lies and Mischief does have a reputation to maintain, after all.
10. Thor
For once, Thor actually seems to be in a gaming mood. Whosever holds the hammer shall possess the power.
11. Thor (and Rainbow Brite)
When the citizens of Rainbow Land need protecting from the King of Shadows, Thor is waiting in the wings.
12. Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America and Hawkeye
Wolverine and Spider-Man have yet to join forces with The Avengers in the movies, but with a rich history of comic book cooperation, their eventual participation seems inevitable.
13. Nick Fury
Nick Fury politely poses for a picture, on a short break from fighting the forces of HYDRA.
14. Thor
Thor casually profers the jewel of Odin's treasure room. Hey buddy, you do realize the Tesseract can open a portal to the Chitauri army, right? You might wanna put that thing away.
15. Hawkeye
This Hawkeye's got a nice callback to the character's original regal color scheme from the comics.
16. Iron Man
We're pretty sure the stock price of Stark Industries just tripled when the world got a look at this excellent costume. This man means business.
17. Thor
Thor has no plans to die today. Especially not when he's got the best costume at the convention.
18. Captain America
His shield is nearly indestructible, but Captain America's got an even fiercer stare. You do not want to cross the first Avenger.
19. Captain America
If you're gonna fight a war, you've gotta wear a uniform. This one would make Steve Rogers proud.
By Array on Jul 16, 2015 06:14 am
12. Thor: The Dark World (Metacritic Score: 54)
Poor Thor. His recent film sits at the bottom of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in terms of critical reception. Despite the fact that most of the characters seem to be merely going through the motions of saving the cosmos, when it comes to entertaining special effects extravaganzas you could do far worse.
11. Iron Man 2 (Metacritic Score: 57)
After Iron Man became an international break out hit, the sequel frustrated many by being surprisingly soulless. Let's face it: competing with the charismatic Jeff Bridges as a villain may have been too tall an order for Mickey Rourke and an army of drones.
10. Thor (Metacritic Score: 57)
For a film adaptation of the legendary son of Odin's adventures, Thor is a rousing and exciting action fest, notable for its imaginative take on the world of Asgard. Ranked among its fellow Marvel films, however, Thor comes up slightly lacking with a plot bogged down in backstory and explanations. It's still worth a watch for fans of the Norse hammer-wielding god.
9 The Incredible Hulk (Metacritic Score: 61)
The Incredible Hulk may have arrived too soon on the heels of Ang Lee's awkward arthouse rendition in 2003 to receive a fair hearing. This update does a considerably better job at capturing the spirit of the character, and at the time, its special effects were unparalleled.
8. Iron Man 3 (Metacritic Score: 62)
After the disappointing Iron Man 2, Marvel swung back again with the third film in Stark's storied saga. While the plot of Iron Man's showdown with the Extremis virus never quite reaches the heights of the original film, it definitely manages to inject back some of the heart missing from Iron Man 2.
7. Ant-Man (Metacritic Score: 64)
Ant-Man might be the smallest of the Marvel superheroes, but he makes up for it with his big heart and super strength. Paul Rudd (The 40-Year Old Virgin) plays ex-con man Scott Lang who is out to save his mentor Dr. Hank Pym in this action-packed, yet hilarious summer blockbuster.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger (Metacritic Score: 66)
Captain America definitely scratches that retro itch for everyone looking for a classic WWII comic book fable. With a fun pulpy style reminiscent of Indiana Jones, Captain America finds the perfect balance between action thrills and corny nostalgia.
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (Metacritic Score: 66)
Technically, Age of Ultron scores a direct tie with Captain America: The First Avenger in terms of critical reception, but its stellar box office opening gives it a slight edge. The second Avengers adventure doesn't quite top their first film; however, its sincere sense of fun easily secures it a top slot as one of the best Marvel movies.
4. The Avengers (Metacritic Score: 69)
You knew only good things would result when they combined the maverick talents of Joss Whedon with an all-star lineup of fan favorite Marvel characters. The Avengers runs neck and neck with Guardians of the Galaxy as the most fun of the Marvel films, with its witty script and playful banter.
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Metacritic Score: 70)
The most recent Captain America film barely edges out The Avengers in a surprising critical upset. Steve Rogers may have a classically simple superhero name, but it's the movie's moral complexity and breakneck action that appealed to audiences, making it one of Marvel's highest grossing films worldwide.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy (Metacritic Score: 76)
Guardians of the Galaxy delivered a breath of fresh air to the often overly-serious world of comic book movies. A collection of scruffy underdogs with an unending barrage of witty jokes make it an easy film to fall in love with. An upbeat catchy soundtrack that captures the movie's energetic spirit catapults Guardians to its status as a new classic.
1. Iron Man (Metacritic Score: 79)
The film that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains king of the pack. The first Iron Man simultaneously revitalized Robert Downey Jr.'s career and, along with Batman Begins, made comic book movies very cool again. Ten movies later, Iron Man is still the Marvel movie to beat when it comes to worldwide critical acclaim.
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