Sorry, but we don't answer to Samuel L. Jackson - Why the Pentagon quit The Avengers

THE green monster didn't put them off. Nor did the alien god with the mean throwing arm. The flying aircraft carrier barely creased a brow.

So why did Pentagon chiefs decide to withhold its help from the makers of The Avengers?

Because the Pentagon doesn't answer to Samuel L. Jackson, or his international peacekeeping force, S.H.I.E.L.D.

Phil Strub, the Pentagon's man in Hollywood, told Wired.com that the film's murky treatment of military bureaucracy made his bosses nervous.

"We couldn't reconcile the unreality of this international organisation and our place in it. To whom did S.H.I.E.L.D. answer? Did we work for S.H.I.E.L.D.? We hit that roadblock and decided we couldn't do anything. It just got to the point where it didn't make any sense."

The Pentagon had no such qualms when lending its equipment and personnel to Transformers and Battleship. Does that mean the Pentagon thinks there is a distinct possibility that the Earth's at risk from invading hordes of alien scum, even those that can change into planes or tanks or ghetto blasters?

With The Avengers grabbing more than $700 million at the box office in less than two weeks and movie bosses greenlighting a sequel, geeks are spoilt for choice when it comes to Avengers news. But here's one you may have missed: The New Yorker got film critic Hulk to write a review of The Avengers Hulk. Here's a taste:

HULK GETS ASKED THE QUESTION ALL THE TIME: WHAT MAKES A GOOD HULK?

AND THE ANSWER IS ANYTHING IF YOU CAN MAKE IT COMPELLING ENOUGH. BUT THERE’S NO DENYING THAT HULKS SEEM TO BE MOST COMPELLING WHEN YOU GROUND THEM IN CONTRADICTION AND EXPLORE LIFE’S GRAND DUALITY. RUFFALO’S BANNER/HULK IS ONE OF THE MORE DEXTROUS AND ALL-ENCOMPASSING VERSIONS WE’VE EVER HAD AND IT’S NO ACCIDENT THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LOVING THE CRAP OUT OF HIM IN THE FILM.

SO OF COURSE HIS VERSION OF THE HULK CAN BE A CONTRADICTION, BECAUSE THE HULK IS A CONTRADICTION.

SO WHETHER IT’S BIXBY OR BANA, NORTON OR RUFFALO, FEMINIST OR DRUNK, THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY TO EXPLORE THE HULK CHARACTER AND METAPHOR IN A LARGER SENSE. FIND A DUALITY. FIND A CONTRADICTION. AND EXPLORE TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT.

HULKS MIGHT BE BIG, BUT THERE MORE THAN ENOUGH ROOM FOR ALL OF US.