“There was an idea … called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could”
Imagining a world without superhero films seems like a dream. While they’ve been around for decades, the sheer volume of these popcorn flicks has picked up in the last two decades, causing a tidal shift in box office revenue and captivating stories. The release of the highly anticipated super team flick The Avengers was a huge cinematic benchmark, which has become a mere splash in the greater context of Marvel movie properties. Since its release in 2012, The Avengers planted a flag for all comic book cinema. How many Marvel fans can hear that famous Alan Silvestri score and not think of that sweeping circular shot of our heroes assembling before they save New York City from the alien-army known as the Chitauri?
The answer is none.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been cranking out film after film annually with no real sign of slowing down, having released a grand total of 28 films and grossing $26.6 billion worldwide. The Avengers served as the first true culminating cinematic event, setting the pace for what was to come. While the MCU certainly didn’t start with The Avengers, it wouldn’t have become the giant that it is without the success this particular film brought.
Being the sixth film released in the MCU, The Avengers was the last film on the “Phase One” slate, culminating in story threads that had been in motion since the end credits scene in Iron Man (2008).
“We have a Hulk”
The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, and is based on famous characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It boasts an expansive cast with Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth), Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, who replaced Edward Norton), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) rounding out the six core Avengers. All but Black Widow and Hawkeye had their own films leading up to the 2012 denouement. Black Widow would later get her own singular film nearly a decade too late in 2021, and Hawkeye would find a place for a solo story on Disney +. Filling out the supporting roles in The Avengers are the enigmatic Samuel L. Jackson as shadowy S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury, Clark Gregg as beloved Agent Coulson, Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill and the love-to-hate-him Loki played with terrifying conviction by Tom Hiddleston.
What is so great about this film, besides its superb cast, is the movie itself. It is fun, explosive, and loud. It’s an audible assault on the senses. The plot isn’t too remarkable or original, but it doesn’t need to be. In fact, the rather simple delivery of the story’s arc should be laid back in the background. The characters are having too much fun quipping, squabbling and fighting, either with the enemies or with themselves.
The plot points here have become a model for many MCU big baddies. Bad guy wants an item that gives them power, good guys have said item, good guys lose item to the bad guy, bad guy is later vanquished by good guys, said item is recovered by the good guys, until next time…
But, who cares? The Avengers isn’t truly about Loki possessing the Tesseract. Sure, that happens, but that is incidental. Both Loki and the Tesseract are MacGuffins, playing hot potato in the hands of more interesting and intriguing characters. What really had everyone hyped was the first big superhero film that stuck the landing. The homogenous mixture of Stark’s charisma and Rogers’ leadership was the cherry on top of a cast of heroes that complimented themselves through action and agency.
RELATED: ‘SPIDER-MAN’ BROUGHT OUT THE HERO IN ALL OF US
Iron Man, released in 2008 as a one-two punch set with The Dark Knight, and they set the wheels in motion for superhero movies to take the next leap. The MCU then smartly built layer after delicious layer of world-building and character development with the introductions of Captain America and Thor. This allowance saved The Avengers from walking the dog on set-up and let the action and fun jump right in and last for two hours without wearing out their welcome.
Will The Avengers go down as the best MCU movie? Probably not. That accolade will probably land with Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame. The true takeaway from the MCU production rollout process is that all of the latter films owe their success to what The Avengers brought to the table. Granted, many of the Phase Two follow-up films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Iron Man 3 were well into production by the time The Avengers was released.
It was The Avengers first outing as a solid team-up adventure film that gave audiences and critics alike the buy-in that the MCU was an investment worth their time and money. It would go on to become the highest grossing film of 2012, netting over $1 billion at the box office. It’s hard to believe that a whole decade has passed since The Avengers landed on the big screen. But the splash it made will be felt for many years to come.
