Avengers: Age of Ultron

By now, it's the "slut" heard 'round the geek world: during their press tour for Avengers: Age of Ultron, actors Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans referred to Black Widow respectively as a "slut" and a "whore." They've since apologized - well, Evans apologized, Renner offered something else. Plus, a new clip from the movie reveals a rape joke - something proud feminist Joss Whedon should know better than doing. But is the fuss about these things worthwhile? Well, yes. Words have meaning. And the words chosen by Renner, Evans, and Whedon in these situations happen to be words that demean women. When Black Widow is routinely left off of Age of Ultron merchandise, the fact that major players in the movie chose these words is extra uncomfortable.

Announced earlier this year, Funko's Marvel Collector Corps is the latest subscription box service aimed directly at nerd culture. The bi-monthly service offers a handful of unique collectibles and goodies themed around a specific corner of the Marvel Universe, with the first box focused on Avengers: Age of Ultron. Our box arrived this week, and we cracked it open to see if Funko's efforts could stand out in a marketplace already feeling quite full.

Today, a new content update for Kabam's Marvel Contest of Champions drops pitting players against Ultron, the big bad of the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron movie. In addition to new characters, arenas, in-game events and modes, the free Age of Ultron update also offers an exclusive video clip from the upcoming movie sequel. We talked with creative director Cuz Parry about what to expect from all this content, and what lies ahead for Kabam's Marvel Contest of Champions.

Everywhere you go these days, there seems to be a new kind of Ultron-something-something waiting in the wings. There are costumes, playsets, t-shirts, posters, commercials, movies, and even action figures of the genocidal robot. Truly, we are living in an Age of Ultron. Case in point, the latest Hot Toys Avengers: Age of Ultron figure which harkens back to Ultron's origin, such as it is in the upcoming film. The Ultron Mark I figure presents a much more raw artificial intelligence, as his body is an amalgamation of parts, pieces and ideas that haven't fully formed into the Ultron Prime we've already seen in both figure form and in advertisements for Marvel's blockbuster sequel

As a tie-in to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Her Universe is collaborating with Marvel to create a line of Avengers-inspired apparel, available exclusively at Hot Topic. Designed by Amy Beth Christenson and Andrew MacLaine, the winners of Her Universe's "Geek Couture" Fashion Show at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, the capsule collection features bomber jackets, fit-and-flare dresses, and a jacket that resembles Black Widow's signature digs. Unlike the Avengers x Five Four Club menswear collection, the Her Universe x Marvel line opts for unabashedly bold motifs over subtlety, with over-sized Captain America shields and gold Loki silhouettes.

Here we go again. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow was largely absent in the merchandise from the first Avengers film, and you would think that Disney might learn their lesson for Age of Ultron, but they sadly have not. Once again, the lady Avenger is suspiciously left out of the fun in Disney’s newest round of merchandise, featured on only three items. Sorry, boys and girls, but if you’re a Black Widow fan, you’ll just have to make your own action figure.

There’s a lot to like about Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the coolest thing about it is the way it reclaims the comic book part of the phrase “comic-book movie.” Rather than using these characters to do something “edgy” or “adult” or “important,” or sanding down their quirkier edges to appeal to as broad and mainstream an audience as possible, Age of Ultron doubles down on its source material’s geeky origins.

Marvel held a huge press conference in support of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but that wasn’t the only topic on the agenda — Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige debuted a new Ant-Man trailer, which will arrive online today (don’t worry), and Feige spoke a bit about how their tiny superhero fits into the larger MCU.

If you were hoping Hot Toys would release images of another Avengers: Age of Ultron character who's already had a figure before and is merely getting a repaint before we got to see the Vision, Quicksilver or Scarlet Witch, then you're going to love this War Machine news.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is less than a month away and it seems that most of the film’s biggest secrets have managed to remain hidden. The film has done a particularly good job of keeping Paul Bettany’s Vision a mystery from everyone who ... oh, wait. They went ahead and fully revealed Vision on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Nevermind.