I know I said a few posts ago that I didn’t like the behind-the-scenes photos that fans take of films while they’re being filmed. That it ruined some of the magic of the movie. I stand by that decision. However, some new pics of Avengers filming arrived on the Interwebs a few days ago and they are so crystal clear and so mouth-wateringly awesome that I just have to share them and gush over them!

I’m a hypocrite, I know. In this case, I don’t mind!

First we have some of the Avengers running.

Perhaps they have somewhere really important to go

And then several full costume shots of Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye. I am still very much loving these costumes. Though Cap’s looks a little flustered without all the movie magic. Still, I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. I’d say it’s not as awesome as the original war-based costume from the movie. But it’s still pretty cool as an updated, modern version.

Captain America's looking a little tuckered out

I like the visible zippers. Such a thing was a joke when you could see the zippers on the old monster costumes, but for this purpose, it’s perfect. Nobody wants to see the sort of costume that Captain America wore during the musical number in his movie. People want to see realistic-style costumes, not stretched spandex. The zipper adds to the authenticity. At the same time, nobody wants Captain America to just wear black leather, like they did for the X-Men movies. It worked for that team, not for the Avengers.

That being said, both Black Widow and Hawkeye stick to the black leather look. Which works, because that’s what they wore in the comics.

Scarlett Johannson looking awesome

Here’s the thing about movie Hawkeye: he’s not dressed like traditional Avengers Hawkeye. And that’s a very, very good thing. Movie Hawkeye is dressed like Ultimate Hawkeye, and I’ll explain to you the difference. In the world of Marvel Comics, there are many alternate universes. There’s the main universe, which we’ve been reading about since the 60s. And then there are other universes featuring alternate versions of characters. Those are just side stories, for fun.

The most popular alternate universe is the Ultimate Universe. Published in 2000 onward, the Ultimate Universe is a more realistic take on superheroes. Costumes, characters, conflicts and stories are all written with an eye towards being real. Granted, in the past 11 years, that idea has kind of gone off the rails. But when the Ultimate Universe first started, things were more focused. The only way to truly understand what I mean is to read the books. And someday I’ll post a bit more.

But for now, take a look at these two different versions of Hawkeye. The one on the left is the classic Avengers Hawkeye, the one on the right is Ultimate Hawkeye. Notice the realism over the fantasy elements.

Old, classic Hawkeye on the left. New, modern Hawkeye on the right

If you’re going to make a modern day superhero movie that you want people to take seriously, which version are you going to choose? That’s right, you’d choose the modern, Ultimate option. And it looks amazing!

Though honestly, Jeremy Renner looks kind of...ordinary