I hope you danced in a field in a flower crown to celebrate the summer solstice this week. And since the summer is officially upon us, Fan Vid Friday is BACK IN SESSION. *confetti drop*
Civil War put us back in a very Aveng-y state of mind, so we’re kicking off this round of FVFs with a tribute to Marvel’s chiseled and flawed heroes. Superpowers and super-training aside, these dopes are relatable. Check all of the following Avenger traits that apply to you: emotionally stupid; up on their high horse; hasn’t had a date in years; inability to express feelings; too excited about coffee; comes on too strong when meeting new friends; hides secret wife and children in the unidentified “country”…you get the picture.
We lovingly curated these 14 fan-created videos for you, with much gratitude and respect to the talented editors who made them. Enjoy!
-Sage
Steve & Bucky – “Hallelujah”
Kim: What the actual damn hell is this? I object. Get out of my face. I can’t handle the Stucky angst for the FIRST VIDEO OF THE POST, SAGE.
Sage: Go hard or go home, Kim. Anyway, how could I resist starting off with this one? It even has that scene from Civil War when Steve uses his BARE HANDS to prevent his beloved’s helicopter from taking off. And if that happens to show off his glistening biceps to great effect, so be it.
Tony Stark – “99 Problems”
Kim: Is there a more perfect song for Tony Stark? Methinks not. Also, I don’t know if I will EVER get over how perfect RDJ is in this role? I hope Marvel thanks Jon Favreau everyday for FIGHTING for him. Seriously. I hope they send him fresh flowers every single day.
Sage: Ditto, Kim. I can’t imagine anyone else embodying Tony Stark the way that Robert does. 50% of the time, I’m not sure he’s even acting. Anyway, we have this cocky m-fer to thank for making this whole franchise even possible, so it’s no wonder Tony leads with his ego.
Avengers – “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”
Kim: Perfect song is always perfect. Seriously. I never get sick of this song. I reckon we could do an entire post with “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” videos and it would be a DAMN DELIGHT.
Sage: I just love the idea of Nick Fury singing inspirational Disney songs over a training montage, okay?
Natasha Romanoff – “Gasoline”
Kim: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OUR BLACK WIDOW MOVIE?
Sage: This song is 100% Natasha Romanoff. When we finally get our Widow movie, Halsey should curate the whole soundtrack.
Sam & Steve – “Count Me In”
Kim: It’s called chemistry and Chris Evans/Steve Rogers has it with everyone. SHIP ALL THE SHIPS.
Sage: I am a Stucky shipper to the bone, but Sam and Steve are so damn precious. Am I supposed to just ignore the fact that they have an actual rom-com meeting in Winter Soldier and then proceed to banter and stare at each other through the rest of the movie? Cause I can’t, and I won’t.
Science Bros – “The Scientist”
Kim: Do you think Mark Ruffalo has this video bookmarked in his YouTube favorites?
Sage: Kim, sometimes I wonder if Mark Ruffalo invented the term “Science Bros.” He loves his lab partner so much.
Avengers – “Some Nights”
Kim: This song is actually quite perfect for the Avengers. The constant refrain of “What do I stand for?” basically captures the struggle of many of these characters. Also that 360 shot of all the Avengers with their weapons raised is SO ICONIC it never fails to give me goosebumps.
Sage: “This is it, boys, this is war. What are we waiting for? Why don’t we break the rules already?” This video is a perfect example of how the MCU has inspired so much love for its flawed heroes, unlike that other comic book studio that shall not be named. *coughDCcough*
Wanda & Natasha – “Dangerous Woman”
Kim: THIS VIDEO. LADIES. The thing that’s frustrating about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that they are sitting on these GOLDMINE female characters yet they don’t have enough trust in the characters or the dynamic women who play them (or LBR the AUDIENCE) to let them take center stage without all the menfolk around them. Listen, part of the reason Winter Soldier worked so well (other than the Stucky of it all) was that it was practically Natasha’s movie too. Elizabeth Olsen has been criminally underused thus far but her expanded role in Civil War proved that she can more than hold her own with the big boys. The question is…do I TRUST anyone to make a good movie about these complicated women that won’t reduce them to the scorned and/or lovelorn victim? Aye, there’s the rub.
Sage: Ariana still needs to learn how to e-nun-ci-ate but she’s growing on me. “Dangerous Woman” has that slinky, old school En Vogue vibe dialed up to 11 and it’s a completely worthy theme song for Wanda and Natasha. A.) These ladies need to share more scenes, and B) Kim is right, we’re past the statute of limitations where the lack of a Marvel lady standalone flick is in any way excusable. Just tap Ava DuVernay, Rachel Talalay, or Lexi Alexander to helm it and LET’S GO.
Loki – “Show Me Your Teeth”
Kim: This video ALMOST made me forget that Tom Hiddleston is dead to me. He’s so fucking good as Loki, you guys. SO GOOD. He was the best part of the Thor movies. (No offense, Chris, I just like you better with your boys.) He was the internet’s collective boyfriend as he charmed his way through every press junket and comic con on the planet. SO WHY DID HE HAVE TO GO AND DO A PR RELATIONSHIP WITH TAYLOR SWIFT? WHY. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. Everyone KNOWS it’s fake as all get out SO WHY. (Someone get Harry Styles on the phone so he can tell you JUST what you’re getting into here.) I thought you were better than that, Tom. Honestly. Were we not enough for you? Burdened with glorious purpose indeed.
Sage: You ruined a perfectly good unproblematic fave, that’s what you did. Look at him, he’s got TMZ following him around.
Scott Lang – “Dangerous”
Kim: I still haven’t seen Ant Man and this just gave me all the feels, so I PROMISE I will watch soon. Also, tell me your aging secrets, Paul Rudd, you sorcerer.
Sage: SCOTT LANG WOULD DO ANYTHING IN THE WORLD FOR HIS DAUGHTER. He just wants Cassie to love him and the Avengers to like him. That’s all the man wants, SHIT.
Steve & Bucky – “When We Were Young”
Kim: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. No. THESE TWO ARE SO DAMN TRAGIC. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH. And this SONG. God dammit.
Sage: I rewatched Winter Soldier the night before seeing Civil War and the chorus of this song popped into my head when Bucky walked through the Smithsonian exhibit. Steve looks like a movie, you guys. He sounds like a song. My god, this reminds him of when they were young. (P.S. Your friendly fic peddler here, telling you to immediately begin the Infinite Coffee & Protection Details series. Mission assist? Confirm.)
Clint & Natasha – “Things We Lost in the Fire”
Kim: I just want to know what happened in Budapest.
Sage: Fucking.
Thor & Loki – “Running Up That Hill”
Kim: These two are so upsetting. Thor just wants to love his brother. WHY WON’T HE LET HIM?
Sage: Let him HOW, because it was real hard to find a Thor/Loki video that wasn’t incestuous as hell.
Avengers Cast – “Tonight Tonight”
Kim: All of these guys need to promise me that once their contracts are done and their movie quotas are filled that they will STILL have a press junket once a year. The world will be a darker place without their joint interviews and all of these idiots showing JUST how much they love each other so they should consider it their duty as Avengers to just keep blessing us with their ridiculousness.
Sage: Cosign. The lead up to these movies gets better and better the more actors come into the fold (if Tom Hiddleston and Jeff Goldblum don’t do press together for Ragnarok, I’ll march into Kevin Feige’s office and tell him what’s what) and the more like family the core group becomes. I missed Hemsworth, Hiddles, and Ruffalo during the Civil War campaign, but the rest of their castmates made up for the loss with those instant Team Cap or Team Iron Man Twitter response videos; a candid and amazing Tumblr Q&A; and lots of talk show banter about Sebastian’s lube.
Did we miss your favorite Avengers fan video? We love recs! Throw it into the pile by leaving a comment.
I’m not sure I get your rage at Tom Hiddleston. I accept as a truism that many, if not most, celebrities have badly messed up personal lives, even the lovable, adorable ones. I was born in the early 70s, I grew up on Fat Albert and the Cosby Show, and Bill Cosby was this funny comedian who seemed like the rare exception, a celebrity who was a devoted family man. Believe me, there is SO MUCH WORSE to get mad at a celebrity for than for having a “fake PR” relationship with Taylor Swift. My take on them is the same I have for any celebrity in a relationship: I sincerely wish them happiness together, I’m equally sincerely skeptical that they’ll get it, and I’d be delighted to be proved wrong (which I won’t hold my breath over it, since by its very nature, it’ll take years, if not decades to be “proved wrong”).
Do you…think that we are unaware of the trajectory of Bill Cosby? – S
I’m so confused by this comment. Do we at any point in this post try to compare a grossly fake and irritating PR set-up to the drugging and raping of multiple women? Why is this even being brought up? -S
I sincerely apologize for the extreme, gross, potentially trigger-inducing example I made. It was wrong, and I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.
The point I was (ineptly) trying to make is that there’s so much worse out there about celebrities to get angry over than Tom and Taylor’s relationship. Again, I apologize for the example I used.
At no point in the post do either of us say that there AREN’T worse sins a celebrity can commit. But other people have as much a right to react negatively to something as you do to not be bothered by it. The trick is not to tell people what to do. – S
if you haven’t seen it – you should watch the captain america/avengers fanvid The War Was In Color
It’s incredible
100% my fav always
Holy shit, that was gorgeous. Thanks for the rec! –S