The Avengers | Trivia

A list of trivia related to The Avengers.

Reference to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Robert Downey, Jr.'s character of Tony Stark can be seen wearing a Black Sabbath T-Shirt. Black Sabbath performed the unrelated single "Iron Man" which is on the soundtrack from the first Iron Man film.
• This is the only Avengers movie to have two post-credits scenes.
• This is the first film to feature Iron Man and Pepper Potts without featuring War Machine and Happy Hogan.

References to Marvel Comics

• According to Joss Whedon, the film is strongly influenced by the early 1960s Avengers comics, which he was a fan of while growing up: "In those comics these people shouldn't be in the same room let alone on the same team - and that is the definition of family." The film also has many connections to the more adult-themed contemporary-Avengers-adaptation The Ultimates by Mark Millar.
  • The team's formation by S.H.I.E.L.D. is a direct reference to the titular team's formation in The Ultimates.
  • Additionally, Loki and the Chitauri are the film's main antagonists; in the mainstream comics, Loki was the first villain the Avengers faught, while the Chitauri were the first enemies of the Ultimates.
• Two founding members of the Avengers in the comics, Hank Pym (Ant-Man/Giant-Man) and his wife, Janet van Dyne (Wasp), are not included in the movie.
• Tony Stark describes his group as "Earth's mightiest heroes, that kind of thing." This refers to the bold label that has appeared on "The Avengers" comic books since its 1963 publication. The phrase has also been used as the subtitle for The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the most recently popular animated series before the live-action Avengers film.

Casting

• Edward Norton was originally set to reprise his role as Bruce Banner from The Incredible Hulk but negotiations between him and Marvel Studios broke down so he was replaced with Mark Ruffalo.
• Mark Ruffalo himself portrayed Hulk through virtual-camera motion-capture, which allows him to actually portray the Hulk. Previous live-action versions have had Bruce Banner and the Hulk be played by separate people (Bill Bixby and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno), or had Hulk rendered into the film in computer-generated imagery.
• Before Mark Ruffalo was cast as Bruce Banner, Joaquin Phoenix and Matthew McConaughey were approached for the part but they turned it down. Phoenix later played Joker in the Warner Bros. Pictures production Joker and will return in the upcoming Joker: Folie A Deux.
• Lou Ferrigno returns as the voice of the CGI-made Hulk. His voice was blended with Mark Ruffalo's in the Hulk's screams, while Mark Ruffalo spoke alone in the Hulk's only line "Puny God". Lou Ferrigno, in turn, played Hulk in the classic television series and voiced the role in various incarnations, including a number of animated versions, 2003's Hulk (a non-Marvel Cinematic Universe film) and The Incredible Hulk
• Morena Baccarin, Jessica Lucas, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Cobie Smulders screen tested for the role of Agent Maria Hill. Smulders was eventually cast. Baccarin later went on to play the character of Copycat in the 2016 film Deadpool, also an another Marvel live-action film adaptation, though separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Leslie Thompkins in the DC Entertainment production Gotham. Lucas also played Tabitha Galavan/Tigress in the same show. Winstead later played Helena Bartinelli/Huntress in the DC Extended Universe production Birds Of Prey.
• Joss Whedon originally wanted Janet Van Dyne/Wasp to appear in the film portrayed by Zooey Deschanel in case if Scarlett Johansson didn't sign on for Iron Man 2.

Production

• The film is the final Phase 1 film
• The film is the first Marvel film to be shot with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, unlike the first five films, which were shot with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio
• Joe Carnahan was in talks to direct the film prior to Joss Whedon got the job.
• The film is the first Marvel film to be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. However, as part of the agreement to transfer the distribution rights over to Disney, Paramount's logo appears after the Marvel logo as an associate logo.
• The Science and Entertainment Exchange provided science consultation for the film.
• The film was converted to 3D during post-production for the theatrical release.
• There was an alternate version of the script which featured the Wasp instead of Black Widow.
• Legal rights issues prevented a number of "Avengers" characters from their inclusion in this film. Most notably, these include Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (the twin children of X-Men villain Magneto) and frequent adversaries such as Doctor Doom (nemesis of the Fantastic Four) and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (the primary antagonist of Spider-Man). Though all characters are owned by Marvel/Disney, the "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" characters had all been licensed to 20th Century Fox and those of "Spider-Man" to Sony Pictures Studios before work began on an "Avengers" film. Disney (who owns the MCU) has now bought the copy right to all the Marvel material that 20th Century Fox has previously owned. This means that they have the right to X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc...
• This film includes a logo animation for Marvel in general rather than Marvel Studios specifically.

Personal

• Jeremy Renner was said to be taking archery lessons for his role as Hawkeye.
• Chris Hemsworth had to increase and expand his dietary/food intake in order to maintain the physique he built up for Thor.
• Mark Ruffalo states it was an honor to take over as Bruce Banner from his friend Edward Norton: "Ed has bequeathed this part to me, I look at it as my generation's Hamlet."

• Actors Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson share the birthday November 22. They are also very good friends.
• The cast became good friends while filming, so much so that if all the actors happened to be filming scenes together, they would often go out together after. Chris Evans once sent a text message to Clark Gregg simply saying "Assemble", which is the tagline for the movie. Gregg stated that this was his favorite text message ever sent to him.

Cast and Crew's notes

• Mark Ruffalo describes Bruce Banner's role in The Avengers as "a guy struggling with two sides of himself, the dark and the light; everything he does in his life is filtered through issues of control." He furthermore describes Banner's alter ego, the Hulk, as "a loose cannon - he's the teammate none of them are sure they want, it's like throwing a grenade into the middle of the group and hoping it turns out well!"
• Producer Kevin Feige compares the film to Transformers: Dark of the Moon: "It set a standard for that level of ZOMG-awesomeness and scale. We're working to try to outdo that."
• Tom Hiddleston spoke of his role as Loki in an interview by saying, "I can tell you that it's all of them against me. I am the super villain. So it's Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury forming a team because I've got so bad ass."
• Tom Hiddleston describes Loki in this film as having evolved since Thor: "How pleasant an experience is it to disappear into a wormhole that was created by some super-nuclear explosion of his own making? I think by the time Loki shows up he's seen a few things and has bigger things in mind than just his brother and Asgard ..."
• According to Director Joss Whedon, the original cut of the movie was over 3 hours long. There will be about 30 minutes of the excised footage included in the DVD Release, most of which revolves around Steve Rogers (Captain America). Whedon revealed that one of these scenes involved Rogers struggling to adjust to the modern world in his Brooklyn apartment and another revealed Steve Rogers' reunion with Peggy Carter, his love interest from Captain America: The First Avenger.
• Tom Hiddleston revealed in an interview with the Guardian that the code name for the film early in its production was 'Group Hug'.

Unorganized Trivia

This section needs a rewrite

• The film has an unusually high number of Academy Award nominees in the cast for any movie which includes the following: Robert Downey, Jr.; Samuel L. Jackson; Jeremy Renner; and Mark Ruffalo. However, it still falls short of the five in Iron Man 2: Downey Jr.; Jackson; Gwyneth Paltrow; Mickey Rourke; and Don Cheadle.
• This is the second time that Bruce Banner/Hulk and Thor have appeared together in a movie. They previously appeared together in The Incredible Hulk Returns.
• This movie marks the third time Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson have appeared in the same film. The previous two were Avengers prequel Iron Man 2 and The Spirit.
• Both Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson have work together in The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries.
• With Samuel L. Jackson's role as Nick Fury in this film, he is now the third actor after Christopher Reeve (in the DC Comics-based Superman films) and Hugh Jackman (who has appeared in all X-Men movies) to play the same comic book superhero in five different movies.
• Every time Tony Stark ate something in the movie (With the exception of the post-credits scene) was not scripted, Robert Downey, Jr. was just hungry.

• During the post-credits scene, Chris Evans, who portrayed Captain America, constantly covers his face because he was growing a beard for another role when that scene was filmed.
• It has been reported that after the showing of the post-credits scene, shawarma sales increased incredibly.
• When Thor fires lightning at Iron Man, J.A.R.V.I.S. says that the armor's power-level is at 400%, while the HUD shows that it is actually at 475%.
• Betty Ross, Bruce Banner's love interest, is the only pre-Avengers love interest not to appear in The Avengers in any capacity. Gwyneth Paltrow reprised her role as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's love interest. Jane Foster, Thor's love interest, was mentioned by Phil Coulson to have been relocated by S.H.I.E.L.D. after Loki captured Erik Selvig. And during his workout, Steve Rogers remembered his love interest during World War II, Peggy Carter.
• This was the third highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release (behind Avatar and Titanic) and the highest-grossing film distributed by Disney, surpassing Toy Story 3, until it was surpassed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. It is currently the seventh highest-grossing film of all time (behind Avengers: Endgame, Avatar, Titanic, The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War and Jurassic World) and the fourth highest-grossing film distributed by Disney (behind Endgame, The Force Awakens and Infinity War).