I really don't see the holdout being Sony though. If they let Marvel use the character in a movie, they get a percentage of some of that fat Avengers-cash, without having to spend anything.

Am I the only one who thought of Eddie Izzard's bit about finding a squirrel with a gun when visiting other planets?

In the Ultimate version of the Marvel Universe, Ronan is Thanos' son. Since the Ultimate stuff is clearly part of the immense salad bar Marvel Studios enjoys picking from, IF the rumor is true I'd be willing to bet up to five whole dollars that's the way they're going.

I've been arguing this at another site, so it's kinda nice to be able to just condense it all into one argument here.

Yeah, Fury lies. But there's really not any clearcut evidence in the film that Coulson survived being STABBED IN THE CHEST, that doesn't require imagination. If they'd cut after Coulson and Fury having…