'Iron Man 3' and 'The Avengers' Animatics Reveal New Ending and The Wasp; Joss Whedon Talks Killing Characters

Those who read Marvel comics regularly probably have recognized that at times it seems they enter into major crossover events with the question "Who can we kill off?". It doesn't necessarily make for the most organic of stories coming from perspective, and thankfully Joss Whedon doesn't subscribe to that approach when it comes to the Marvel movies he's spearheading. While he's already killed off the popular Agent Coulson, it didn't really stick as the character will be back for Agents of SHIELD. So what would it take for him to off an Avenger for good? While talking to EW, he revealed that it would take a major whopper of a story...

Whedon: "I'd have to have a really good reason, a really great sequence for [Marvel executives] to go, 'We'll cut off a potential franchise, that's fine!' They know as any good studio does, that without some stakes, some real danger, how involved can we get?" We don't just rule it out across the board, but neither is the mission statement 'Who can we kill?' We try to build the story organically and go, 'How hard can we make it on these people?' You go to the movies to see people you love suffer-that's why you go to the movies."

Unless they're Uncle Ben or Bruce Wayne's parents, nobody really stays dead in comics anyway. So I'd love it if Whedon would "kill off" a few heroes, only to bring them back later. And they should make it a character fans really love, too, like Iron Fist. Have him pop up in the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron and get vaporized in the span of seconds. That would be awesome.

Anyway, storyboard artist Federico D'Alessandro, who has been working with Marvel ever since Thor, has released a number of the unused animatics for Iron Man 3 and The Avengers. The Iron Man 3 ones show an alternate version of the final battle, concluding with a more complete "ending" for Ben Kingsley's Mandarin. Whedon has spoken frequently about his early plans to include Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp as part of the Avengers roster, before settling on Black Widow, and a close look at one of these animatics show Wasp in the frame. Keep an eye out for her around the 17 second mark.