I think both comic and TV premiered around the same time, mid-60’s. No different than Rolling Stone and the Rolling Stones and Like a Rolling Stone…
The Avengers (British, Steed + revolving partners) debuted in 1961. The Avengers (comics, USA, Marvel) debuted in 1963. I seriously doubt more than a handful of Americans were even the slightest bit aware of a third-rate show on the BBC.
Besides, the other Avengers movie sucked donkey balls.
They’re doing that here too and I contemplated it just long enough to realize that I’d be asleep long before the Avengers started.
Heck, even my mom is thinking of seeing it (though that’s mostly because she’s a Clevelander). The reviews would have to have been positively terrible to keep me from seeing it, since I thought the Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man movies were all great, and I have a lot of respect for Whedon’s work.
I am busting at the seams to see this movie! Even more since I met Joss Whedon last week.
Oops, it appears I dropped something. 
Loki was there. I signed a nondisclosure agreement, so I was thinking I’ll post something here after the movie’s actually released.
Cool, what did you say? How did this happen?
My girlfriend is old high school buds with an editor on “Cabin in the Woods.” She invited us out to opening night screening in Hollywood. We were simply thinking how cool it would be to clap for our friend’s name buried in the credit crawl. We all went upstairs to the bar afterwards for drinks and who walks up but Whedon, whom she knows pretty well. We were all introduced to one another, shook hands and basically just had a little small talk. Mentioned how much we liked “Cabin” and were looking forward to “Avengers.” My memory is a little fuzzy because of the drink, bar noise and being completely starstruck to my core. Happy to report he was a very down-to-earth, easygoing guy who wasn’t “holding court” at all. Very casual. Easily one of the coolest things that happened to me. Thanks for letting me brag all over the place. 
Really looking forward to this. If it’s as good as it looks, I might see it twice, in 2d and 3d. I’ve never done that before. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this since I was a little kid.
Awesome story, B.Serum. I am consumed with envy.
Just five. The Ang Lee Hulk movie isn’t part of the current Marvel movie universe.
I’ll be seeing this on the standard US opening night. AMC Theaters is running a Marvel movie marathon (starting at 11:30 AM on May 3), the Indianapolis presentation of which I’ll be attending. I believe the order of showings will be Iron Man > Incredible Hulk > Iron Man 2 > Thor > Captain America > Avengers (at midnight). 12+ hours of superheroes in one go. (Edited to add: this is the $40 thing mentioned earlier by a couple of posters.)
I actually haven’t seen any of the earlier films despite being a comics fan. My school/work/teaching schedule was in the way of all five, and though I’ve bought Thor and Cap on 3D Blu Ray, I’d avoided watching them until I could get caught up on the earlier films in the canon. My comics-reading friends have dutifully not spoiled any of them for me, so I’m going to be experiencing everything for the first time in a couple of weeks.
Nor was anyone else. The show never appeared on the BBC. It was only ever an ITV production.
I’m all kinds of excited about this movie. I’m not much of a comic book fan, but I love movies based on comics. I’ve seen all but the Hulk and really enjoyed all of them
I can’t wait for this to come out.
Whedon is one of five writers credited for “Toy Story,” and his contribution was limited to being brought in late in development to help fine tune it.
Ironically, his most significant and best idea was to include a Barbie doll in a key role late in the picture - and they had to toss that idea out because Mattel wouldn’t let them. Fortunately (and hilariously) they got Barbie into Toy Story 2, albeit in a different way. Whedon, ironically, has no writing credit on that film.
Well, I’ve just seen it. It was bloody amazing actually. Hugely entertaining, great script and perfectly cast. It works on just about every level.
I’m not going to post any spoilers, apart from one about the after credits scene…
Thanos!!!
Is this out in the US now, or just overseas?
Overseas. It opens here on Star Wars Day.
Is the film comprehensible to someone who hasn’t seen the earlier films? I’ve been invited to a midnight showing by some friends and I’m considering it, but worried.
It’s opened in Australia, and we saw it last night.
Wow. It’s not just a good superhero movie, but a good movie in its own right. Witty dialogue, a story that makes sense, and a great villain.
What’s under Bakesh’s spoiler tag got a “Holy Sh*t” from me - though I’ll quibble and call it a mid-credits scene, not post credits (and thank goodness for that! I’m glad to see the fad for post-credit scenes is mostly gone).
We saw it in 3D. Interestingly, the theatre was maybe half sold for that showing, while the 2D showing at the same time was sold out. The 3D (as usual) didn’t hurt anything, and didn’t help either. Not worth the extra money or wearing the glasses.
Looks like Joss has a certifiable hit on his hands. Good for Him!
I can understand why long time comic book readers would be excited for this, however I myself am having a really hard time getting hyped for this movie. I mean, The Incredible Hulk was ok, Captain America was ok, Iron Man I and II were ok, Thor was ok. Why should I think this movie will be anything other than just ok? I think this movie (from what I’ve read) will probably good, but I can’t help but think it’s being over-hyped.