The world is in danger once again, and this time the attack is far too great for one superhero. The movie that many Marvel fans have been waiting for, The Avengers came out in theaters on May 4, 2012, and has topped Harry Potter’s first weekend box office sales with $207 million. Writer/director Joss Whedon (best known for creating TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” “Firefly,” and “Dollhouse”) was given a humungous task on making the film. Whedon, who’s most significant aspect in his career, is bringing great actors together and having great chemistry that shows in the film. In the previous films, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has worked to gather up Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), to work together to battle galactic threats, while dealing with their personal problems, their powers, and various super-powered enemies.

Ever since Nick Fury made the announcement of gathering up a team at the end of the first Iron-Man film, fans of the Marvel world have been anticipating the release of the film. The Avengers is the culmination of Iron Man 1 and 2, Thor, and Captain America, which showcased the individuals of the team, and provided background information on the characters. In this film, Mark Ruffalo makes his debut as Banner/Hulk. Many critics were worried whether Ruffalo would make a good Banner as compared to the other two previous films that portrayed, yet many consider him to show the true colors of Bruce Banner, hiding his anger within himself.

Iron-Man was the first to introduce S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate) and their intentions on creating the team. In Iron-Man 2, you have Agent Coulson following Tony Stark, along with the Black Window’s debut. If you stayed at the end of the credits, you see Agent Coulson driving through the open plans to a crater, where Thor’s hammer is found. In Thor, you get a bit more information on what The Avengers film build up to. Thor, who at the beginning of the film is very pompous, finds that a true king does whatever to avoid war, not seek it. His brother, Loki, who is the antagonist in The Avengers, shows his true intentions for power, and his striving to get more. This film also introduces Hawkeye, and shows his prowess with the bow and arrow. The Incredible Hulk was a film that continued Hulk’s story of exile and away from contact with anyone he knew. And as for Captain America, Steve Rogers fights in World War II against Red Skull and his army, as they intend to control the world with the tesseract, a powerful cubed energy source. But he soon finds himself in the present time with everyone else.

As they are brought together, tensions arise. Nick Fury has assembled the heroes but it’s a challenge to mesh the individuals into a team. Throughout the film, the heroes find enough to fight about between each other as well as Loki’s forces. Iron-Man and Captain America are the two who clash the most at first, then the others follow, thank to Loki. Just when things look at their worst, a tragic moment pulls them together, which was just what Fury hoped for “a push”, and they face the alien race that looks down upon humans, including Loki, who seek to rule the world.

Despite the film’s length of approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes long, you rarely have enough time to keep track as the movie intensifies. There’s action from the start of the film and the special effects give it an extra thumbs up. The SHIELD helicarrier is brought to life quite convincingly, along with the explosions, and the effects of the main weapon: the tesseract, and they all contribute to the awe of the movie. If I had a third thumb I’d lift it up to give it three thumbs up. $207 million and growing internationally, it’s a must for Marvel comic fans, and a great action packed film for all, I recommend watching it before we are faced with another greater threat.