The Avengers Death Revealed in Spoiler-Filled Review

In spite of a hard embargo placed on reviews of The Avengers, the identity of the aliens leaked within hours of the film's premiere. Director Joss Whedon later confirmed that particular spoiler, explaining himself a little along the way. Later, the secret of the post-credits (or, according to a later story, mid-credits) bonus scene was revealed. But until today nothing seemed to have leaked regarding the film's other major spoiler: the death Whedon has been teasing in interviews. If you don't want to be spoiled, turn around now. The official ComicBook.com review of The Avengers will run on May 2, when the embargo placed on reviews by Disney expires. Assuming the source is credible, the Avengers death has been spoiled in a review posted at Comic Book Movie. Prior to now, they had been adhering to the review embargo but apparently the reviewer in this case is a contributor and not a staff writer, so they've been able to skirt that policy. According to the article, Agent Phil Coulson, the fan-favorite character played by Clark Gregg who has been featured in every Marvel movie since Iron Man, is killed by Loki during an invasion. The death is then used by the team as a kind of rallying point to motivate them during their battles. It isn't surprising, when you really think about it--not only did Marvel add another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to the film in the form of Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill, but she's signed to an eight-picture deal, which presumably will include cameo appearances in the Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and Avengers sequels. Along with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, it might become unwieldy to have three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents running around the Marvel Universe needing to get a line in, so Coulson's passing--coupled with the fact that he's got a soft place to land on the studio's Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon--makes him an obvious choice.