The Avengers (film)

The Avengers (also known as Avengers Assemble in the UK and Ireland) is a 2012 superhero film. The film is a crossover of all the films independently produced by Marvel Studios set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, namely Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Plot
Nick Fury, the director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives at a remote research facility during an evacuation. His second-in-command, Maria Hill, explains that the Tesseract, an energy source of unknown potential, has activated and opened a portal through space, from which the exiled god, Loki, steps through. Loki takes the Tesseract, and uses his magic to control the minds of several S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel including Agent Clint Barton, and physicist consultant Dr. Erik Selvig in order to aid in his getaway.

In response, Fury reactivates the Avengers Initiative. Agent Natasha Romanoff recruits Dr. Bruce Banner in India, while Agent Phil Coulson, visits Tony Stark and requests that he reviews Selvig's research. Fury himself approaches Steve Rogers with an assignment to retrieve the Tesseract from Loki, who has allied with the alien race the Chitauri. In exchange for the Tesseract, they agree to help Loki subjugate Earth.

Iron Man, Captain America, and Romanoff travel to Stuttgart, Germany to apprehend Loki, who is stealing iridium needed to stabilize the Tesseract and demanding that people there kneel before him. After a battle with the heroes, Loki surrenders and is being returned to the Helicarrier in the Quinjet. Thor Odinson, Loki's adoptive brother and the god of thunder, attempts to free Loki by trying to reason with him. After a confrontation with Iron Man and Captain America, Thor accompanies them to imprison Loki on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, a flying aircraft carrier that functions as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters.

The Avengers are divided over how to deal with Loki and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. plan to harness the Tesseract’s power to develop weapons. Fury admits that the events in New Mexico a year before made S.H.I.E.L.D. aware of other extraterrestrial races that may threaten Earth. Weapons developed from the Tesseract would form a means of deterrence. As the group argues, Barton and Loki’s possessed agents attack the Helicarrier, disabling its engines. As Iron Man and Captain America attempt to restart the damaged engines, Banner transforms into the Hulk, despite Romanoff's efforts to calm him, and runs amok inside the ship, soon battling Thor. During a fight with Barton, Romanoff discovers that knocking him unconscious breaks Loki's mind control. Loki escapes his cell with the help of a possessed agent and traps Thor in the cell, which Loki drops from the sky intending to kill his brother. Loki then stabs Coulson before getting hit by Coulson's weapon, a gun reverse-engineered from The Destroyer's energy.

Fury uses Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers into working as a team. At Stark's headquarters, Stark Tower, the group realizes that defeating them will not be enough for Loki; he needs to overpower them in a public way so as to validate himself as ruler of Earth. Using a Tesseract-powered inter-dimensional generator Selvig has built, Loki opens a portal to the Chitauri fleet over Manhattan, summoning an invasion. The Avengers rally in defense of New York, but quickly conclude they will be overwhelmed as wave after wave of Chitauri and Leviathans descend. With help from Barton, Captain America and Thor evacuate civilians, while Banner transforms into the Hulk again and goes after Loki, comically beating him into submission. Romanoff makes her way to Selvig's device, where Selvig, freed of Loki's control, reveals that Loki's staff can be used to close the portal.

Meanwhile, Fury's superiors attempt to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Manhattan. Despite Agent Hill and Fury's orders to not fire, a rogue jet launches the missile at Manhattan. Iron Man intercepts it and takes it through the portal toward the Chitauri fleet before running out of power and plummeting back to Earth. The Hulk catches him as he falls. Thor escorts Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard. Fury notes that the Avengers will go their separate ways until such time as a new world-threatening menace emerges.

The Other tells his shadowy master that attacking Earth "would be to court Death". His master, Thanos turns and smiles.

In a second post-credits scene, the Avengers — gathered at a shawarma restaurant — eat in silence.

Cast

 * Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
 * Chris Hemsworth as Thor
 * Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
 * Lou Ferrigno as the voice of The Hulk
 * Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
 * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Tom Hiddleston as Loki
 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
 * Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
 * Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
 * Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig
 * Paul Bettany as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S.
 * Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
 * Maximiliano Hernández as Jasper Sitwell
 * Alexis Denisof as The Other
 * Jenny Agutter as a member of the World Security Council
 * Powers Boothe as a member of the World Security Council
 * Arthur Darbinyan as a member of the World Security Council
 * Donald Li as a member of the World Security Council
 * Romy Rosemont as Shawna Lynde
 * James Eckhouse as Senator Boyton
 * Jerzy Skolimowski as Georgi Luchkov
 * Ashley Johnson as Waitress
 * Stan Lee as himself
 * Damion Poitier as Thanos (No dialogue)

Continuity and References to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

 * Howard Stark found the Tesseract at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, studied it as seen in his notebook in Iron Man 2 and it was in S.H.I.E.L.D's custody ever since as seen at the end of Thor.
 * Erik Selvig is shown to be working on the cosmic cube, trying to find out how to harness its power. This shows that it is a continuation from Thor.
 * Steve Rogers has a number of flashbacks to his time in the war as he punches a boxing bag, many of these are events that occurred in Captain America: The First Avenger. His montage also includes a glimpse of his half-frozen body and a S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists exclaiming that he is alive, a moment that was not seen in the earlier film.
 * Steve Rogers discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. phase 2's contingency plan is to use the Cosmic Cube's energy to make weapons using Arnim Zola's Hydra energy weapons as seen in Captain America: The First Avenger as a reference point to create their own arsenal of weaponry.
 * When Phil Coulson tries to contact Tony Stark in Stark Tower, Stark claims that "This is the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark." This is a reference to Life Model Decoys (LMDs) that appear in the comics as duplicates for characters.
 * Tony Stark reminds Phil Coulson that he was "unsuitable" for the Avengers Initiative, as stated in Nick Fury's evaluation file on Tony at the end of Iron Man 2. Instead, he remains a consultant.
 * When Thor returns to Earth, Loki asks him how much dark energy Odin had to use to send him there, confirming that the Bifrost is still destroyed.
 * Phil Coulson refers to The Destroyer's attack on New Mexico depicted in Thor and reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. is developing weapons made from parts of it.
 * Bruce Banner refers to his fight with Abomination in The Incredible Hulk.
 * A mid credits scene reveals that Loki's ally and the Other's master was Thanos, setting him up as the villain in later films.
 * Agent Coulson tells Thor that his love interest Jane Foster has been hidden from Loki by S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Nick Fury tells Bruce Banner he has been protecting him from other forces searching for him, meaning General Ross.
 * Pepper Potts' friendship with Phil Coulson echoes the extended opening sequence of Iron Man 2 as seen on the Blu-ray.

Production

 * The film was shot in Cleveland, Ohio, Los Angeles, California, Michigan, Long Island, New York and New Mexico.

Reception
The Avengers set the all-time industry record at the box office, grossing $207.4 million in America and $641.8 million globally, twelve days after its release. It opened internationally on April 25, 2012 and by May 8, 2012, it had already made over $700 million globally. It was also the fastest movie to make $200 million domestically, after only three days. It opened May 3, in Russia, with $17.9 million, made $17.4 million in China, and The Avengers was the Biggest opening weekend of all time in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Central America, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Philippines.

Quotes
Steve Rogers/Captain America: Always a way out. You know you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero.

Tony Stark/Iron Man: A hero? Like you? You're a lab experiment Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a BOTTLE.

Steve Rogers/Captain America: Put on the suit, let's go a couple rounds.

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Videos
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