A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer

Dir: Leythum

2011

***

The Consultant (also directed by Leythum) acted as a bridge between Iron Man 2 and the rest of the Avenger films. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer however, takes us straight to Thor, Marvel's first risk, given that Thor is a mythical God from another world. Thor actually ended up working remarkably well without needing much explanation but Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson was the initial glue the Avengers needed to link together, and also the reason to become Avengers in the first place. Marvel knew the importance of Agent Coulson early on and his popularity was also hard to ignore. Thor's hammer is discovered at the end of Iron Man 2 and Coulson goes to investigate. By this time Marvel knew they were going to make an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV spin-off show, so A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer both linked the films and the show and once more gave a far more personal side to Agent Coulson. Much like the The Consultant, the idea is simple, although this time round it really is a one off story and a character piece. It was a very effective exercise in explaining that S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't just a bureaucratic organisation of worker ants and gives a little bit more of an insight to their methods. It serves a purpose, is a marketing tool but is a likable and very watchable one.