Avengers

[Edmundo]

11/21/2012
Brief update: Several news outlets have reported that the redesigned case will include teasers for Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Ant Man movies, as well as the new "And Then Shawarma After" featurette.

ORIGINAL CONTENT:
Normally I wouldn't review a product that hasn't come out, but I wanted to post an update and let everyone know exactly what seems to be going on. I would also like to give a high star rating so far not because I've received the set, but because I believe that it has been handled so well. In a nutshell, don't cancel your preorder yet.

For those who aren't aware (now that the picture is gone), this set was supposed to be the big promotional release for phase I of the Marvel cinematic universe. That is, this set contains all of the cannonical movies leading up to the release of Avengers that was captained by Joss Whedon. Overall, this is a spectacular set of theatrical releases that has quite a lot of big names involved. The movies are: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel's The Avengers, and special features including an "Avengers Initiative" Disc. This series sets up the first half of Whedon's vision for the Marvel cinematic future, with the Thanos (the purple-skinned bad guy that was finally revealed at the end of the Avengers) being the series' primary antagonist in coming features. This would presumably lead up to something like Marvel's classic Infinity Gauntlet cross-over.

The set was packaged in a replica of the SHIELD briefcase that housed the tesseract (cosmic cube), dossier's on the various members, and a set of beautiful art deco cardboard sleeves that hold the discs. This set was designed by the German luggage company Rimowa BhmbH. According to the luggage company, Marvel did not receive permission to use the briefcase design for any retail release, including the phase one boxed set.

So, when Rimowa BhmbH unexpectedly took Marvel to court the set was labeled as delayed on Amazon. Because I'm sure they're scrambling to figure out what's going on like Marvel, they didn't cancel the orders yet (at least mine) and didn't make any initial effort to contact the preorders.

Recently it was announced that Marvel would be coming out with a new set for the same price as the original. According to recent news, the new set will be slated to hit retail shelves in spring of 2013 and will feature a redesigned briefcase with "even more content and features that were first advertised."

Not only will the preorders receive the set as promised with additional content, but Amazon also extended an olive branch to the early adopting preorders, thanking them for their business. If you have preordered between June 1, 2012 and August 28, 2012, check your email. It seems that you may be eligible to receive a free code for a free copy of Marvel's The Avengers (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) when it is released on top of the new boxed set when it hits.

Needless to say, don't cancel your preorder if you have one sitting in your account. I will try to remember to update this posting if any new news hits, and when the actual briefcase comes out I will add a review of the movies and content of the boxed set. At the moment I am quite happy with how swiftly this was handled by both Marvel and Amazon. I look forward to the release of phase one in 2013, and I am excited to be receiving a copy of the Avengers to enjoy in the meantime.