Jumping the shark.

It’s a Happy Days saying about a certain Arthur Fonzarelli who, ah, jumped over a shark.

As you do.

But this phrase has also become shorthand for whenever a show becomes so successful, it turns into a parody of itself.

And yes, Game Of Thrones, I’m getting perilously close to looking at you.

As for comic book films, well let’s just say Ben Affleck’s strapped on some water ski’s and Zach Snyder is gunning a bat shaped motorboat towards a jump pointed in the direction of seaworld.

Yet Joss Whedon has done the improbable with his Avengers: Age Of Ultron film, by locating the off ramp and delaying the inevitable for just a little while longer.

For those of you who can’t remember – and spoiler alert for every comic book film ever made – our collection of marvel superheroes miraculously saved the world last time around.

Who could have imagined that?

Luckily for multi-millionaire hollywood studio exec’s and actors alike though, there are always more villains out there who need to be defeated to keep the world safe from harm.

Which is where this new avengers film picks up, as they hunt down the last remaining members of shadowy underworld organisation shield.

Or is it spectre… tomayto, tomato.

Having cornered these bad folk in their last remaining hideout, the usual cgi bang, smash, wallop ensues, until our avengers find some magic stone and lived happily ever after.

Except for that last bit.

You see, Tony Stark – being the richest and most famous member of the avengers both on and off screen – has seen what’s really out there.

And he’s scared.

If only there was some sort of on-trend artificial intelligence project he could use said magic stone for, that would help keep the world safe from extra terrestrial ne’er-do-wells.

Well there is, and Stark’s built it.

And it turns out this magic stone is exactly what Tony needs to finish his new favourite toy, Ultron.

What are the chances, huh?

Of course, there’s a teeny, tiny possibility Ultron could go rogue when Stark finally powers up this A.I. bad boy – and my god it better, otherwise we’ve got two hours of the avengers eating shawarma to look forward to.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron is the latest installment from the marvel universe that will most definitely disappear up its own arse one day soon.

But Whedon made sure that is not this day, who pulls off the seemingly impossible task of making the latest avengers film even bigger and better than the first.

Considering this second film is essentially filler til some pretentious nonsense called Infinity Wars (Part one…) is released in a couple of years time, that’s no mean feat.

Apart from marrying together multiple storylines for more superheroes than you can shake an alien stick of unimaginable power at, Whedon also has to deal with the Pharrell Williams law of marvel movies.

Because no-one ever really dies, at least no-one who signed up to the original avengers film and have since became the equivalent of mafia made men.

Still, Whedon takes the scarcely believable source material on offer here and spins it into a story that you’ll not only believe in but actually engages you.

God knows what the avengers films will turn into now marvel have removed Joss from the equation, but my money’s on them not being nearly as good

But I’m looking forward to the day some shark finally brings comic book films down.

Jonathan Campbell