The term "one-shot" springs from the world of comic books, and basically what it means is a single story that wraps up in a single issue. Usually these comics help to flesh out a larger story, and Marvel Studios has adopted this strategy for their cinematic universe. We've seen a pair of Marvel One-Shot short films already, in A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to Thor's Hammer, and The Consultant, both featuring Agent Phil Coulson(Clark Gregg). When the Blu-Ray announcement was made for Marvel's The Avengers, it wasn't a shock to learn one of the special features was another One-Shot, titled Item 47. Now we're learning more about it, and it may be the coolest one yet.
EW has the details, and it sounds as if S.H.I.E.L.D. is again up to their necks in trouble, dealing with the unexpected fallout from The Avengers' battle with Loki. Lizzy Caplan(Party Down) and Jesse Bradford(Flags of Our Fathers), play Benny and Claire, a downtrodden couple who see their luck turn around when they find one of the left over alien weapons after The Avengers' final battle in the streets of New York. They proceed to make some really bad choices. Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents(Maximiliano Hernandez and Titus Welliver) are tasked with cleaning up their mess and retrieving the weapon once and for all.
Of all the smart moves Marvel has made in building up their cinematic universe, the One-Shots may be the best idea they've had. The plan from the beginning was to tell little stories that add depth and texture, and they're moving in a direction where they'll have real significance in the larger scheme of things. They're currently developing scripts for other short films to be attached to the upcoming features such as Iron Man 3, Captain America 2, and Thor 2, and you can expect to see some lesser known heroes introduced in these One-Shots as well.
Marvel's The Avengers Blu-Ray releases on September 25th. Pre-order yours now here!
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