The Avengers

The Avengers (2012) is the culmination of a long term plan by Marvel to bring the Avengers to the big screen. Here are some facts about the film: 1. The first film to gross $200 million in its first three days in the USA. 2. The original Avengers were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and consisted of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and Wasp. 3. Joss Whedon explained that two of the founding Avengers members Ant-Man and Wasp were cut from the script because the film had too many characters. 4. In the movie, Captain America is a founding member. In the comics, Captain America was unfrozen in Avengers #4 when he was accidentally discovered when the team was looking for Namor the Sub Mariner. 5. Disney had the film's title changed in the United Kingdom to "Marvel Avengers Assemble" to avoid confusion with the iconic British espionage franchise The Avengers (1961)/The Avengers (1998). 6. Thor vs Hulk: The fight involving Thor and the Hulk in the Avengers is NOT the first time it's happened. The first "live-action" fight happened in the 1988 TV movie, The Incredible Hulk Returns. 7. Edward Norton was originally set to reprise his role from The Incredible Hulk (2008) but negotiations between him and Marvel Studios broke down. Norton was replaced with Mark Ruffalo. 8. This is only the second time that Bruce Banner/Hulk and Thor have appeared together in a movie. They previously appeared together in The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988).