Super-Heroes
on Film

The Avengers

The Avengers - was the original band of Marvel super hero characters:

Marvel's best-known team of Avengers debuted in the comic book The Avengers # 1 (September 1963), created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Marvel was fiercely competing with another team created by DC Comics, the Justice League of America. The original five Avengers ("Earth's Mightiest Super-Heroes") included:

• Thor (Thor Odinson) (see separate section)
• Ant-Man (Henry Pym) (see separate section)
• Hulk (Dr. Bruce Banner) (see separate section)
• Wasp (Janet van Dyne aka Janet Pym)
• Iron Man (Tony Stark) (see separate section)

Others soon were added:

• Captain America (Steven "Steve" Rogers) (The Avengers # 4, March 1964) (see separate section)
• Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanova or Romanoff) - first appeared in Tales of Suspense # 52 (April 1964) - "Introducing The Gorgeous New Menace Of...The Black Widow", an orphan raised in a Cold War spy school, blessed with a strong immune system and delayed aging, the sole female Avenger!
• Hawkeye (Clint Barton) - first appeared in Tales of Suspense # 57 (September 1964) - "How Can One Man With a Strange Bow and Arrow Harm Ol' Shell-Head? Don't Try to Answer Till You've Seen The Sensational Hawkeye", in a story titled "Hawkeye, The Marksman!" Soon after, Hawkeye joined the Avengers in The Avengers # 16 (May 1965), as a skilled cross-bow archer. Other characters in the 1965 issue that were part of the Avengers included Captain America, X-Men mutant Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff), and Quicksilver's twin Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff).

Debut of Avengers	Debut of Captain America	Debut of the Black Widow	Debut of Hawkeye
The Avengers # 1 September 1963	The Avengers # 4 March 1964	Tales of Suspense # 52 April 1964	Tales of Suspense # 57 September 1964

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

Writer/director Joss Whedon's and Disney's superhero ensemble film Marvel's The Avengers (2012), was from Marvel Studios.

It was the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was the highest-grossing (domestic) superhero film of all time for many years, with $623.4 million. (During its reign as the # 1 superhero film, the second-place superhero film wasn't even close, the Batman franchise's The Dark Knight (2008) at $534.9 million.) It was ultimately surpassed 6 years later by Marvel's Black Panther (2018) - the 18th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It featured a slew of iconic Marvel Comics superheroes - a group led by one-eyed, eye-patch-wearing spymaster Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the leader of a government high-tech law enforcement agency named S.H.I.E.L.D..

He brought together a team of good-guy Avengers to combat a galactic threat to destroy Earth, led by Thor's villainous, megalomaniac, adoptive and exiled brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston):

• Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), narcissistic
• Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans)
• Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), a Russian agent from Iron Man 2 turned into a ninja-twirling, S.H.I.E.L.D. commando
• Thor (Chris Hemsworth), hammer-pounding
• the Incredible Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo)
• Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), a crossbow archer

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) (aka The Avengers 2)

Writer/director Joss Whedon's sequel was Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - with all the major characters reprising their roles, and additional characters including a twin brother-sister team:

• Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), fast-moving
• Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), a sorceress

It was the eleventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

This was the third Avengers installment, a sequel to the previous two films (in 2012 and 2015). It was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.

It was the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Avengers would join with the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle against supervillain Thanos who was attempting to acquire six Infinity Stones.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

This was the 4th Avengers installment, following after: (1) Marvel's The Avengers (2012), (2) Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and (3) Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

It was the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At 3 hours and 2 minutes, it was the longest run time of any Marvel film, and with tremendous box-office, it became the most successful Marvel film (to date).

As a sequel, it continued the story of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), when the Mad Titan and evil demi-god Thanos successfully collected the six Infinity Stones and wiped out half the universe. The surviving Avengers were assembled to confront Thanos by traveling back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones and reverse Thanos' dastardly actions.