I'm going with that little extra clip saying that Clint deliberately did aim to kill Fury at the start and that when Clint tells Loki 'everything' about the Avengers plus the 'Tesseract showed me my next target' adding up to a 'Natasha is gonna eff my shit up and that's the way I'm planning it'. As long as Joss never explicitly says otherwise we're in the clear *grins*. And if he every explicitly says we're right we can break out the happy dancing.

Dude would still have some sense of self-preservation left. LOL yep :D I maintain that that's one of the reasons that it has to be Natasha, because she CAN take him out.

I think using Clint as the brains for Loki was actually a clever move, showcasing Clint as more than just a guy with a bow and arrows. I mean, when this team gets brought together for the first time we've got a lot of loud personalities and Cap's the one throwing around the orders, the planner, and whilst Clint gets to prod Tony in the right direction during the battle that doesn't show off his abilities in planning, tactics, how dangerous he truely is, that he's as bright as Tony in his own area just as Cap is as good as Tony is his own area - because that's what makes the team, that they all excel in their own fields and so compliment each other with their skills. He would be liable to get a but drowned out, but putting him as a bad guy draws the audience's attention, whilst at the same time making the bad guy competent (because the good guys are always the best at what they do and Clint is a good guy, so whilst we might be afraid of what Loki can do we're more likely to believe him capable of it with Clint by his side rather than a straw henchman). Loki is the front man, Selvig is the science, Clint is the brains.

I think that goes back to 'Selvig made goo-goo eyes at the big blue cube'. Selvig loves science and here he gets to play with it, gets to do what he's always wanted. Clint excels at the planning, the tactics, but it's a job. For me Clint's soul isn't in this. His heart is, because Loki is owning that, but his soul, his self, is in his bow and arrow, having Natasha's back, maybe other stuff we don't know yet. It's interesting that Selvig picks up on that whilst Loki...Loki doesn't seem to care, seems to think that having their hearts is enough. Well, Clint (in my headcanon) then goes on to hand himself to Natasha and Selvig builds a failsafe into the machine - because an off switch is, after all, good science - so having their hearts wasn't enough, was it?

I love that it was 'heart-washing' and not brain-washing, the idea that it leaves the people are they, capable of doing everything that they could before, still being skilled. Selvig throwing in the 'soul' as a third thing, a self... Yeah, I can see thinky thoughts happening on this.

*applauds* That meta was excellent.

As a story-teller it also makes sense to break-up the solid partnership BW and Hawkeye had so each of the Avengers is isolated and off-balance pre-Hellicarrier attack. Makes the coming together/ building friendships thing more dramatic and meaningful.

As a story-teller it also makes sense to break-up the solid partnership BW and Hawkeye had so each of the Avengers is isolated and off-balance pre-Hellicarrier attack.

omg yes-- I was saying almost the exact same thing to someone else the other day. **salutes**

I meta-ed? Huh, my rambles are gaining coherence *grins*.

YES! So many layers and thoughts behind things in this film, I love it! (And people scoff at 'superhero movies', ha.)

soul v. heart.... I like this distinction, my friend. Verra nice thinky thoughts....

As long as Joss never explicitly says otherwise we're in the clear *grins*. And if he every explicitly says we're right we can break out the happy dancing.

Dude, I'm about ready to call it quasi-canon. Srsly.

(and why don't we have a 'shit just got real' icon? or a 'i hereby declare this canon icon'? we really need to get on that. **makes goo-goo eyes at youuuuuuuuuu**)

Also, Selvig says 'do you have no soul?' or words to the effect...after Clint has said that the Tesseract has shown him his next target...wereas Selvig says that it's shown him truth... Are they attempting a convert conversation here? So is Selvig saying, 'yo, Clint my friend, I have seen the truth of this matter and the Loki is crazy like a bag full of cats. We must subvert his will! *nod nod wink wink*' and Clint is 'yeah, ten-four, got a target' and Selvig is 'NOOOO, WHERE IS YOUR SOUL, YOUR SELF!' and Clint is '*sigh* communication is not my speciality. Where's Natasha when I need her?' (Which absolutely ties into dictator_duck's fic that Clint can't do communication *whistles innocently*)

Dude, I'm about ready to call it quasi-canon. Srsly. I think i've been meta-ed into it, heh.

(*grins* I will add these to the second promptathon batch!)