# Avengers Pro Pinball from Stern Pinball **Source:** Stern Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2012-12-26 **Duration:** 2m 54s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOFJ2Yss9-c --- ## Analysis George Gomez provides a comprehensive walkthrough of the Avengers Pro pinball machine, explaining core gameplay mechanics including Avenger collection, multiball modes, toy interactions (Hulk, Tesseract), and shot sequences. The game features a physical three-ball lock, multiple modes tied to individual Avengers characters, and requires players to assemble the team to battle Loki. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Avengers Pro features a physical three-ball lock on the right ramp at game start — _Direct description of game mechanic by designer_ - [HIGH] The Hulk is a reactive toy that responds to ball contact and playfield interaction regardless of game mode — _Explicit statement: 'The Hulk will always react regardless of whether you're in his modes or not'_ - [HIGH] The Tesseract cube is designed to constantly interact with the player through various mechanics — _Direct description of toy design philosophy_ - [HIGH] Every Avenger has four lights in front of them indicating progress states — _Designer description of playfield layout_ - [HIGH] Spelling C-O-S-M-I-C starts a mode where certain shots are lit and previously accumulated value is collected — _Detailed explanation of 'Cosmic' mode mechanics_ ### Notable Quotes > "Somewhere along the line in traditional Avengers fiction, there's always this conflict between Avengers. And so to collect the Avengers and focus them on a common enemy is always a theme in Avengers fiction." > — **George Gomez**, ~0:45 > _Explains the thematic foundation of the game design and narrative structure_ > "The two big toys are the Hulk, which fights and reacts, and the tesseract cube, which is kind of a fun toy because it always seems to be doing something, always seems to be interacting with you." > — **George Gomez**, ~1:15 > _Highlights the two primary interactive toy elements and their design philosophy_ > "The Hulk will always react regardless of whether you're in his modes or not. So if you get the ball back there and you move him or you hit him, he's going to say something. He's going to try to send the ball screaming back at you." > — **George Gomez**, ~2:30 > _Demonstrates reactive toy design philosophy — toys engage player even outside dedicated modes_ > "Every Avenger has a different versus mode. You may get a versus mode where Hulk is fighting Thor." > — **George Gomez**, ~3:45 > _Illustrates mode variety based on Avenger selection, adding strategic depth_ > "The Hulk smash target is one of his big jackpots. It also happens to be the shot for the special. The Hulk eject, which is one of the toughest shots to make, also happens to be the extra ball." > — **George Gomez**, ~5:00 > _Demonstrates shot economy design where critical shots serve multiple functions, creating risk/reward decisions_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | George Gomez | person | Legendary Stern Pinball designer explaining Avengers Pro mechanics and design philosophy | | Avengers Pro | game | Pro-tier variant of Avengers pinball machine being demonstrated and explained | | Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Avengers Pro; George Gomez is designer at Stern | | Hulk | product | Reactive toy on Avengers playfield that responds to ball contact and player interaction | | Tesseract | product | Interactive cube toy on Avengers playfield; spinning it builds points through gameplay | | Loki | product | Game antagonist; physical figure on left-hand corner with associated lock mechanism and multiball mode | | Black Widow | product | Avenger character with associated ramp on playfield | | Thor | product | Avenger character referenced as part of versus mode example | | Nick Fury | product | Target on playfield where shield agents award is collected | ### Topics - **Primary:** Game mechanics and shot sequences, Toy design and player interaction, Multiball modes and ball locks - **Secondary:** Avengers theme and narrative design, Mode variety and character-specific gameplay, Playfield economy and shot scoring ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Designer presentation is enthusiastic and proud of mechanical and gameplay design elements. Focus on interactivity, toy responsiveness, and mode variety conveys confidence in the product. Tone is informative and celebratory of design achievements. ### Signals - **[design_philosophy]** George Gomez emphasizes reactive toy design where Hulk and Tesseract engage players continuously, not just within specific modes, suggesting a philosophy of constant player interaction and feedback (confidence: high) — Explicit statements about Hulk always reacting and Tesseract 'always seems to be doing something, always seems to be interacting with you' - **[product_strategy]** Avengers Pro demonstrates three-tier strategy with specific feature distribution; Pro version walkthrough suggests differentiation through toy interactivity and mode complexity vs other tiers (confidence: medium) — Focus on explaining Pro-specific mechanics suggests intentional feature positioning for this tier level --- ## Transcript Hi everybody. This is George Gomez and I'm going to take you through the Avengers Pro pinball. Avengers assemble. Now get back in there and fight. The goal of the game is to assemble the Avengers and do battle with Loki. Somewhere along the line in traditional Avengers fiction, there's always this conflict between Avengers. And so to collect the Avengers and focus them on a common enemy is always a theme in Avengers fiction. Every Avenger has four lights in front of him. And of course the two big toys are the Hulk, which fights and reacts, and the tesseract cube, which is kind of a fun toy cuz it always seems to be doing something, always seems to be interacting with you. This game also has the physical three ball lock on the right ramp at game start. Obviously, you can put the ball in the back of the game and play the top lanes. If you light all the top lanes, that's your multiplier. Or you can short plunge the game and get the ball back on the right flipper and then take a shot at something, get an Avenger started, play with the tesseract, knock down some Hulk drop targets. The Hulk will always react regardless of whether you're in his modes or not. So if you get the ball back there and you move him or you hit him, he's going to say something. He's going to try to send the ball screaming back at you. Four drop targets in front of him. Black Widow ram feeds the left flipper or it feeds the Hulk eject. Also has a spinner. Every time you spin the tessrack, you are building up points. Spell out cosmic. You start a mode in which certain shots are lit and you collect the value that you built up. The Loki lock has three lights attached to a figure of Loki. He's located in the lefthand corner associated with the orbit shot. That was a lucky shot. So essentially, you're going to go around the playfield, collect Avengers, further shots on that Avenger will start that Avengers versus mode. Every Avenger has a different versus mode. You may get a versus mode where Hulk is fighting Thor. Dr. Banner, hear me. You must control the beast. That mode will require shots to obviously those characters. In addition to that, you also have the shield agents. You build it up by hitting the shield targets and then you collect it on the Nick Fury target. It will award you some secret award. Other things to note, the Hulk smash target is one of his big jackpots. It's also happens to be the shot for the special. The Hulk eject, which is one of the toughest shots to make, also happens to be the extra ball. The Loki multiball is on the outlanes and the inlanes at the bottom of the game. Spelling LO KI, qualifies the ramp, making ramp shots. At that point, instead of letting the ball come through the lock, they actually hold the ball. Once you have three balls in the physical ball lock, then you will start the multiball. Initialize pinball. Time's running out. Mighty bonus. Avengers disassemble. Player win. We have a new champion. _(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: af41e788-7d0e-4b6a-92fc-76cd0e98a48d*