The Avengers

> "There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people, so that when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we couldn't."
>
> - Nick Fury

## The Avengers

### Based on

*The Avengers*
directed by Joss Whedon

### Number of multiball modes

2 (mandatory)

***The Avengers*** is one of the four *Marvel* pinball tables that are part of the *Avengers Chronicles Pack*, released in 2012 and available for *Zen Pinball 2*, *Pinball FX 2* and *Pinball FX 3*. Based on the blockbuster film *The Avengers*, this table involves uniting various Marvel superheroes under the leadership of SHIELD director Nick Fury to confront Loki and thwart his scheme to rule the world with an alien army.

Months after this table was released, Stern produced a physical pinball adaptation of the film with different designs, mechanics and behaviors than Zen's *The Avengers* table.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table and gangway mini-playfield

The entire table is designed to resemble the innards of the SHIELD Helicarrier, in which the Avengers meet aboard to plan a mission to defeat Loki, as well as interrogate him while he is held prisoner aboard. At the back left corner of the table is a two-lane mini-playfield resembling the gangway used to board a Quinjet, in which a toy model of it is placed at its end. There are four trapdoors in the that open and close randomly arranged in rows of 2, with the first row in the middle of the playfield and the second row at its end. This gangway can be tilted sideways with the flippers to allow the ball to drop into a locker inside the Quinjet model, and becomes accessible once a robotic arm lowers the gangway so that it connects with a short, incomplete branch at the apex of Hawkeye's ramp, which is sealed off with a gate that would normally allow the ball to fully travel the entirety of the ramp.

Below the Quinjet is the table's left orbit, representing Thor, and it is gated by a flag resembling the head of Mjolnir, his enchanted hammer. Next to it is a hairpin ramp representing Black Widow that takes a sharp U-turn below the underbelly of the Quinjet, before traveling down into the table's looping leftmost return lane. A miniloop representing SHIELD goes under the Black Widow ramp's entrance as it rises, with its left end being part of Thor's left orbit.

Next to that miniloop, at the center of the table, is a crosslane that bypasses the left to take the ball down the right orbit or into a bumper area. The left corner of its entry also has a target marked with the SHIELD logo. Weak shots up the right orbit can cause the ball to travel down this crossline, which represents Iron Man and also briefly wraps around a platform where a figure of Loki stands. The platform has a cross-section that can rotate to expose various target banks to start different missions. The target banks obstruct a hidden sinkhole and can collapse to allow the ball to be locked inside it. To the right of this platform is the Captain America ramp, a right-curving, horseshoe-shaped ramp that drops the ball down the right orbit. To the right of this ramp is the abovementioned Hawkeye ramp, which makes a large arc from the right side of the table all the way to the left, with a branching ramp leading to the Quinjet gangway when it lowers as mentioned above.

The right orbit is right next to this ramp. This orbit wraps around a bumper area and contains three bumpers. Incomplete orbit shots will lead the ball to this bumper area, passing through one of three rollovers, and balls exit the bumper area by draining right down to the right orbit. There are six target posts that spell SHIELD placed in between the entrances to the table's major lanes. A mini-flipper is installed on the right side of the table, used to access Iron Man's crosslane.

### The lower half of the table

Consoles, computers and control panels that are used to operate and manage the Helicarrier are seen near the bottom of the table. A figure of Thor stands on the left side of the table, near his orbit. Beside him is a twin target bank spelling ODIN, his father. On the other side of the table is a figure of Iron Man. Near him is a sinkhole representing SHIELD headquarters where the ball can potentially return to the plunger to change Avengers.

There are two rebounds, two flippers and five return lanes, 3 on the left and 2 on the right, that spell TRICK ARROW, Hawkeye's signature weapon, with two letters per lane. The leftmost return lane is a loop lane where balls returning from Black Widow's ramp travel down, then cross the adjacent left outlane and under the left rebound to go straight to the left flipper. Each outlane has a subway-jump kickback that can be activated to save the ball, which diverts the ball to a nearby VUK at the table apron that pops the ball back into play. In the dead space directly behind the flippers are eight lamps that spell ASSEMBLE.

### The plunger

The plunger is a simple spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight shaft under the platform of Iron Man's figure, and takes the ball up the right orbit. To perform a skill shot, the player must guess the correct amount of plunger power that will cause the ball to drop into a lit bumper rollover.

Hanging directly above the plunger is a ball rack containing six different balls, themed after the major Avengers who were called to battle Loki. A ball from this rack that the player chooses is dropped into the plunger at the start of each ball and whenever the ball is returned to the plunger via the headquarters sinkhole. The player will need to choose different balls at times strategically during a session to achieve high scores and make good progress on the modes.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to unite the Avengers, consisting of Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America and Hawkeye, and lead them on a mission to stop Thor's brother, Loki, the god of mischief, in his scheme to rule the world with the Chitauri, under orders from Thanos, through six missions that each have a different start procedure. Each mission can only be attempted once before starting the wizard mode.

The following six missions must be attempted in order to access the wizard mode:

* **The Quinjet Multiball**: The Quinjet is a useful aircraft that can quickly transport SHIELD personnel and members of the Avengers, while possessing great recon and combat capabilities. This mission solely consists of starting up the Quinjet Multiball as described later in this section; and an attempt to lock balls for it can be started by shooting the Hawkeye ramp 4 times, which will open a gate at its apex that diverts the ball to the Quinjet gangway, which will lower down to an accessible height once the four shots are made. After the ball is shot up that ramp a fifth time, the ball will enter the gangway and randomly go down one of two lanes on the gangway, and the player must carefully tilt its mini-playfield so that it avoids the opening trapdoors on it and rolls all the way down to the Quinjet cockpit. After 2 balls are locked in this manner, a 2-ball multiball will begin in which the player can shoot either Black Widow's ramp or Hawkeye's ramp for a chance to earn a jackpot by shooting either of 2 sinkholes at Loki's platform. After either ball is lost, the player is given a 30-second opportunity to shoot the Iron Man crosslane for a final jackpot to repair the Quinjet. This mission will be successfully completed once the multiball ends with either ball being lost, lighting up the letter A in the word ASSEMBLE.
* **Repair the Engines Multiball**: Onboard the Helicarrier, while the Avengers are divided over what to do with Loki, help arrives for the villain when a few heroes he brainwashed, Hawkeye and some SHIELD agents, attack and damage the Helicarrier. In the ensuing chaos, the Avengers must put an end to their bickering and work together to avoid defeat. To start this mission, the player must shoot Iron Man's crosslane or Captain America's ramp so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform will rotate to expose a single red target with Iron Man's arc reactor icon on it, flanked by two sinkholes. Then, without shooting any other character lane, the player must lock 2 balls, one into each of these sinkholes. The two balls will then be launched back into play for a 2-ball multiball mission and the player must help Captain America and Iron Man repair the damaged engines during the attack by shooting both orbits and the Hawkeye ramp while juggling the two balls representing them. Every time each of these three lanes are shot, the player must quickly shoot Captain America's ramp within a 20 second time window (or 30 seconds if Captain America and Iron Man's balls are used for this mission). The player has a limited amount of time to make the six necessary shots to make most of the repairs, then can finish the mission by locking either ball back into the sinkholes flanking the Iron Man target in the rotating target bank to exit the engine room. One attempt of this mission will light the first S in the word ASSEMBLE.
* **Duplicates**: One of Loki's powers is to clone himself to evade the Avengers, but the Hulk is ready to smash up Loki and call him a "puny god" once he can find him. To start this mission, the player must shoot the right orbit so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform rotates to expose a moving green target with a radiation symbol on it. Then, without shooting any other lanes, the player must hit it 6 times, two for each major position (left, center and right), to knock it down and open a sinkhole, which the ball must be brought into. Then two clones of Loki will spawn at the entrances to two major lanes, and they must be hit with the ball in order to be eliminated. The player must defeat 3 pairs of Loki clones in order to find the real one, who will be standing by himself on one random lane, which must be hit to knock him down and end the mission successfully. However, the player has only a limited amount of time to defeat each pair of clones, as well as defeat the real Loki. One attempt of this mission will light the second S in ASSEMBLE.
* **Thor vs. Loki**: For Thor, Loki's evil plans are a personal matter as his stepbrother, and Thor resolves to reason with him shortly after Loki is captured in Germany. To start this mission, the player must shoot the left orbit so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform rotates to expose three target banks marked with a Mjolnir icon. Without shooting any other lane, the player must hit these targets 4 times to begin a showdown between the two brothers. To help Thor vanquish Loki, the player must give him a taste of Thor's fully charged Mjolnir, which is powered up by spinning the Mjolnir flag on the left orbit as many times as possible until a meter on the scoring display fills completely, then hit the Thor target bank at Loki's platform to hurl the hammer at him. However, Loki can attack Thor after a time limit is reached, so the player must help him avoid Loki's attack by shooting a ramp that is far away from where Thor is standing. A successful dodge will cause Thor to switch sides on the table, but he may interfere with the flippers while this is being done. The duel ends when either Thor or Loki are struck three times, resulting in the letter E being lit in ASSEMBLE.
* **Thor vs. Hulk**: When the Helicarrier falls under attack, the chaos and stress of the situation causes Bruce Banner, the alter ego of the Hulk, to assume superhero form, but become too agitated to do anything heroic. Thor must use his powers to restrain Hulk before he reels out of control. To start this mission, the player can choose either to spin the Mjolnir flag in the left orbit to fill up Thor's name on the scoring display, or hit the bumpers near the right orbit to fill up Hulk's name on the scoring display. Once either name is completely filled, this mission will begin from the perspective of which name was filled up first. An on screen rage meter will appear, indicating how much of an advantage Hulk has over Thor. If the player started the mission on Thor's perspective, the goal of the mission is to reduce the meter, but if the player started the mission on Hulk's perspective, the meter must instead be completely filled. Regardless of perspective, the mission can be completed successfully by shooting lit lanes quickly before the rage meter moves away from the goal. After the battle ends, the letter M will be lit in ASSEMBLE.
* **Interrogation**: After Captain America, Iron Man and Black Widow capture Loki in Germany and Thor agrees to allow him to be imprisoned onboard the Helicarrier, Black Widow decides to visit Loki in person and try to interrogate him. To progress through this mission, the player must shoot Black Widow's ramp so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform rotates to expose three target banks marked with Black Widow's symbol. The player must hit these targets without shooting any other lanes so that the center one collapses to reveal a sinkhole that the ball can be shot into to for a chance to get one of three pieces of crucial information from Loki in hopes of defeating his invasion. Once that occurs, Black Widow will ask Loki a question and the player must race against time to shoot a lit lane to make Loki give out its answer. This entire procedure must be repeated three times, one for each question and answer, to complete this mission and light each of the last 3 letters in the word ASSEMBLE.

Completing all 6 missions and spelling ASSEMBLE in the dead space above the flippers will immediately start the wizard mode, **Avengers Assemble**. This is a 4-ball victory multiball, involving 4 of the possible 6 Avengers characters at any given time, where all the Avengers will unite to finally confront and defeat Loki, stopping his invasion. Any lane will award a jackpot, but if the player shoots a particular character ball into its matching lane, a super jackpot will be awarded. Only 4 Avengers can be represented on the table at a time, but before the first ball is lost, the player can lock a chosen character ball into the SHIELD HQ sinkhole to swap it with a ball for one of two other Avengers at the ball rack above the plunger, selected at random. After the first ball is lost, shooting that same ball with one chosen ball will replace it with a random character ball. The multiball will continue until only 1 ball remains, and the table will then reset.

## Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

* **Captain America's Ball Saver**: Captain America uses his trusty vibranium shield to deflect attacks as well as defeat enemies from afar. A 30-second ball saver is awarded at the start of each ball and multiball, and once it expires, it can be reactivated by shooting Captain America's ramp 4 times.
* **Trick Arrow Kickbacks**: Hawkeye is well known for shooting trick arrows, including one that takes down Loki at the end of the battle over New York. If the player spells TRICK ARROW on the return lanes, the left kickback will light. This 10-letter phrase must then be spelled again to light the other kickback. Once activated, kickbacks stay on until they are used.
* **Iron Man's Tech Score Multiplier**: Iron Man brings technical expertise to the table in the mission to defeat Loki. If the player shoots Iron Man's crosslane 4 times, the score multiplier will increase, up to a maximum of 20x. The multiplier is only good for the current ball and can also be increased 4 times every time a mission is completed successfully with the correct ball.
* **Odin's Blessing Double Scoring**: Thor is also supported by his father, Odin, who can use the Odinforce to strengthen his son. If the player spells his name with 4 hits to his target banks with Thor's ball, all scoring will be doubled for 30 seconds.
* **Captain America's Combos**: Being a super soldier, Captain America possesses great athleticism. The player can earn more points by shooting combos, but if the player is using Captain America's ball, the amount of time allotted for the next step in the combo will increase, and there will be a chance to earn an extra ball for an 8-way combo with his ball.
* **Black Widow's Mission Bonus**: Black Widow is committed to completing whatever assignment she's given. Shooting her ramp 4 times will slightly raise the rewards for completing missions permanently.
* **Hawkeye's Marksmanship Skill Shot Reward**: Hawkeye is well-known for his marksmanship. If the player lights all 3 bumper rollovers representing bullseye icons, the reward for skill shots will increase.
* **SHIELD Award**: The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division is committed to defend the world from threats, enlisting superheroes to keep the peace. If the player spells SHIELD on the target posts, then hits the SHIELD logo target with a cross-shot, a random award will be granted, which ranges from extra points to an extra ball.
* **Extra Balls**: Extra balls are awarded by earning one from the SHIELD award, executing an 8-way combo with Captain America's ball or collecting all Super Jackpots in Avengers Assemble. All earned extra balls must be claimed by shooting the SHIELD HQ sinkhole.

### Avenger balls

To reflect each Avenger's unique strengths and personalities, there are six unique balls, each with different gameplay properties, that the player can choose from and play with. The player must choose them strategically to earn more points or accomplish tasks more easily. The player will be prompted to choose a character at the start of each ball, as well as when the ball is locked into the SHIELD HQ sinkhole after the SHIELD miniloop is shot 4 times. The player uses the flippers to choose a ball and presses the launch button or waits seven seconds to confirm the choice. Every time a character is switched, the player will have a chance to perform a skill shot.

The following 6 Avengers are available to play with:

* **Black Widow**: A former spy for the Soviet Union, Natasha Romanova instead has become a valuable ally for SHIELD, providing it her intelligence, martial arts and small weaponry skills to confront threats. With her ball, the player only needs to shoot her ramp twice to raise mission rewards, and only needs to shoot Hawkeye's ramp twice for a chance to lock a ball for Quinjet Multiball. Also, during that multiball mode, the player earns an increased jackpot if the player locks her ball in the left sinkhole.
* **Captain America**: A super soldier created in World War II to help the Allied forces defeat the Axis powers and save democracy, Steve Rogers ended up in the present day after he makes a sacrifice that instead leaves him frozen in the Arctic. He offers to improve team morale to help the Avengers defeat Loki. With his ball, the player will have more time to extend combos, and is given a longer ball saver. An extra ball can be earned from shooting an 8-way combo with this ball. The time limits for the mission Repair the Engines will also be longer with this ball.
* **Hawkeye**: A skilled archer who can also shoot arrows that induce other effects, including ones that explode, Clint Barton has become known as The World's Greatest Marksman and can provide ranged support. With his ball, the player only needs to shoot his ramp twice for a chance to lock a ball for Quinjet Multiball and the skill shot reward increases for each successful skill shot, or whenever all 3 bumper rollovers are lit. Furthermore, this ball can also activate kickbacks twice as fast than other balls, as each return lane rollover it hits will light both letters in that lane instead of one of them. During Quinjet Multiball, the player earns an increased jackpot if the player locks his ball in the right sinkhole.
* **The Incredible Hulk**: Bruce Banner, a scientist exposed to gamma rays, develops the ability to transform into a large, green monster when under stress. His muscular strength is a great asset to the team. With his ball, the player is able to start up missions that require hitting targets at Loki's platform much faster, as hits to these targets are "power hits" due to his great strength, counting as a double hit to the target as opposed to single hits from other balls. This ball also increases the scores for hitting rebounds and bumpers, and will also decrease the number of bumper hits needed to start the mission Thor vs. Hulk from his perspective.
* **Iron Man**: High tech billionaire Tony Stark, after becoming a victim of his own weaponry during an American military campaign on the other side of the world, is given a second chance at life and seeks to use it to become a superhero with his technology, inventing powerful weapons and technology that are of invaluable use for SHIELD. With his ball, the player only needs to shoot his crosslane twice to increase the score multiplier, and can also earn better prizes from the SHIELD random award. The time limits for the mission Repair the Engines will also be longer with this ball.
* **Thor**: Thor Odinson, an Asgardian known as the God of Thunder, has the power to master thunder and lightning, and is worthy to wield the enchanted battle hammer Mjolnir. With his ball, the player can activate Odin's blessing for double scoring, as well as decrease the number of Mjolnir flag spins needed to start the mission Thor vs. Hulk from his perspective. This ball also charges up Mjolnir faster during the mission Thor vs. Loki.

## Tips

* The persistence of kickbacks across balls due to the typical difficulty of activating them - combined with how Hawkeye's ball activates kickbacks with just half the effort needed with other balls, should convince you to consider beginning each session with that ball and using it to get the kickbacks turned on quickly so that they can be at your service, extending ball survivability. In the meantime, you can also increase ball survivability even further by shooting Captain America's ramp 4 times with any ball (it does not matter) to reactivate the ball saver once the initial one expires at the start of each ball.
* It should not be difficult to get to the wizard mode because you do not need to clear most missions successfully to get there. However, you might need to get some extra balls to survive the long way there, which you can get from SHIELD rewards, or by mastering long combos with the Captain America ball.
* If you drain the ball down the left outlane without the left kickback available, you can possibly save it by making a well-timed nudge (specifically right before the ball rolls down the diagonal portion of the left outlane) that will force it through the one-way gate that balls going down the looping return lane next to it will pass through to go straight to the left flipper.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
* Official table soundtrack on Bandcamp (tracks 19 - 23 of *Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles Soundtrack*)