The Avengers

"Marvel’s The Avengers" is not yet out in the United States until Friday, but some are already calling it the best comic book-based movie ever — in fact, that’s what we called it, in our updated comic book movie countdown.

It’s also looking like it’ll end up as one of the most profitable comic book movies of all time, as it’s setting records internationally and targeted to make somewhere betwen $500 and $600 million in combined global box office by the end of this weekend.

But what you might not know about "The Avengers" is that it’s also pretty educational — in fact, after seeing it the Newsarama staff has compiled our list of 10 lessons from the film, and both fans and movie/comic industry types alike should pay attention.

Be warned that there are "Avengers" spoilers in the following countdown — we tried to keep them as minimal and vague as possible, but those looking to stay pure should proceed with caution. If that’s cool with you, click "start here" in the upper-left corner to begin the countdown.

S.H.I.E.L.D. MAY HAVE OVERSTAYED THEIR WELCOME

This is one that we’re going to have to tread pretty carefully on so as not to spoil too much. But we gave you a spoiler warning a page ago and you clicked through anyway, so you can only blame us so much.

Let’s just say Marvel’s long-time spy organization almost comes off as part of the problem the Avengers have to overcome, rather than the solution, a dynamic not unnoticed by the all of the movie’s main stars.

Again, while avoiding too much detail, the relevancy of S.H.I.E.L.D. in future Avengers-verse movies gets called into serious question during the course of the film, particularly now that the previous solo movies no longer require a narrative bridging device in their sequels that Nick Fury and Agent Coulson provided.

Some have speculated about their being a S.H.I.E.L.D.-centric film, maybe as early as 2014, in which Sam Jackson can star, perhaps with Scarlet Johansson and Jeremy Renner along for the ride. And while that’s possible, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see less of their imprint on future solo Avengers films, particularly "Iron Man 3," "Thor 2" and any third go-around they may or may not give a give to the Hulk.

And speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents...

THE COMIC BOOK HAWKEYE CAN BE COOLER

While he’s matured in recent years, and has finally graduated to long-sought leader-status in the Avengers hierarchy, the comic book Hawkeye at the end of the day is still a guy who justifies his presence among the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes by shooting a bow and arrow real good, along with a hodge-podge of other abilities, like the times he’s ditched the quiver and taken over as Goliath.

Director/screenwriter writer Joss Whedon and co-writer Zak Penn do in "The Avengers" opening minutes what Marvel Comics hasn’t done in 48 years - given him a unique role with the team that actually befits his code name better than it ever did. We won’t outright spoil it now, but it’s sort of a ’how-could-they-not-have-thought-of-this-before" kind of thing.

CHRIS EVANS HAS CHOPS

One concern going into "The Avengers" was whether Chris Evans had the age and gravitas to not get overwhelmed by the imposing physicality of Chris Hemsworth as Thor and/or the rockstar charisma of a clearly older Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

In the comic books we buy into the earnest, commanding presence of Captain America and how two infinitely more powerful, and no-less intelligent heroes, would defer to Cap. But would that work in cinematic ’real’ life? Would Evans as an anachronistic Boy Scout work alongside a hyper-smooth and sarcastic Downing Jr.? Would he be swallowed whole trying to compete on-screen with more dynamic characters and actors?

Answer: He - and it - works. Evans may not be the mind’s eye Cap, and Mark Ruffalo seems to be getting all the advance buzz for his turn at Bruce Banner, but Whedon and co. do not shy away from the core Avengers-dynamic. He in fact embraces it and Evans conjures up the needed weight to pull it off.

It may be a quiet, unsuspecting one - but "The Avengers" real star turn may have come from Evans, announcing his presence as an actor not just limited to young, brash wise-ass.

SOLO MOVIES NEEDS TO GET MORE PERSONAL...

It’s a natural question: After delivering Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Hulk (and more!) all in one film, how is Marvel Studios going to get people excited about future solo films like "Iron Man 3" and "Thor 2"?

This is where Marvel Studios needs to take a cue from their publishing side, and make these movies more personal to each hero, focusing on what makes these characters unique — the same logic that’s applied to their solo comic book series. "Avengers" does a great job of giving a character a moment (or two or three) to shine, but there’s still plenty of room to show what makes these characters work on an individual level.

So in future films, let’s expand their worlds even more — for Thor, that means both on Asgard and on Earth with Jane Foster. "Avengers" shows a bit of Captain America adjusting to the modern world, but there’s still plenty of territory to explore there. And while Iron Man gets plenty of screentime in "Avengers" and has two solo films already under his belt, more of an introspective examination of what makes Tony Stark tick — think stories from "Demon In A Bottle" to Matt Fraction’s current run on the series.

But that doesn’t mean these movies need to be quiet, reserved affairs...

... AND MORE FANTASTIC

Along with stories grounded with emphasis on the personal plights of each hero, "The Avengers" has also now changed the expectations for how big a Marvel Universe movie should be. Gods, Aliens, far flung science fiction, and oh boy that credits teaser - Marvel Studios has painted themselves into a corner of very high concept.

Simply expanding the scale (and budget) of the earlier films will go a long way to avoid making them seem small and irrelevant compared to "The Avengers".

"Captain America 2"’s likely spy-espionage-war slant would benefit from on-location global back-drops, ala the "Bourne", "MI" and "Bond" franchises.

Thor’s sequel needs time on Earth and a much grander Asgard than the first film’s mostly CGI-realm offered (a few weeks filming in New Zealand ala the "Rings" films couldn’t hurt).

"Iron Man 3" is currently rumored to be based off the "Extremis" arc by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, and that’s the right idea: Take Tony Stark into the latter half of the 21st Century today. Stark should be the man who invents the airplane in 1850, or the personal computer in 1930. Time spent in some of the world’s more modern urban landscapes would be very cool.

As for "The Avengers" itself, well the teaser scene does hint at an even bigger threat looming out there, and the team certainly has its share of global, galactic, and even universal class enemies. Bigger, badder, more out-of-this-world is now not just a bonus, it’s the expectation, and Marvel Studios needs to keep that in mind for their next films.

JOSS WHEDON IS NO LONGER JUST A GEEK GOD

Prior to "Avengers," Joss Whedon’s only big-screen directorial effort was "Serenity," based on his beloved TV series "Firefly."

So, despite the obvious cool factor of having a guy who was not only a known Marvel fan ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is basically a female Spider-Man tale, right?) but an actual Marvel writer — with Astonishing X-Men and a Runaways stint to his credit — writing and directing the biggest Marvel Studios movie yet, there were still a lot of questions. Though Whedon’s TV reputation spoke for itself, did he have another movie in him, let alone one this big?

Well, yes — in fact, he succeeds so thoroughly in both the writing and directing departments, that he certainly seems destined for future big things in the world of film, being behind what’s seemingly destined to be one of the biggest movies of all time (though if he also wants to keep making smaller movies, like his version of "Much Ado About Nothing," that’s cool, too).

MARVEL HAD THE HULK ALL WRONG... UNTIL NOW

We’re not going to spoil it - you’ll know it when you see it. It’s just a split second, but it’s one of the movie’s biggest laughs and the moment in "The Avengers" when you realize how very wrong Marvel and the writers and directors of his two solo ’adventures’ had the big-screen Hulk all along.

Steeped in somber pathos (an homage to the moody 70’s TV series) and portrayed more like a completely thoughtless wounded animal than a pure manifestation of all-too human rage, the previous Hulks were simply no fun. Not fun at all.

The Hulk’s rampages were what movie audiences went to see - they wanted "Hulk SMASH" - but the Hulk-outs were treated like Greek tragedies, which is a losing formula for popcorn movie events.

"Iron Man" worked because Tony Stark wanted to be Iron Man. Ditto for "Thor" and "Captain America". Power fantasy is reliant on the protagonist actually enjoying the power. And that’s all it took to make this Hulk work and what "The Avengers" gets right ... just a hint that exercising your inner rage with your fists can be a just a little bit fun.

A JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE CAN WORK

Not too long ago there was a time when even the notion of seeing various costumed superheroes sharing a big-screen together seemed ludicrous, with images of the notorious failed "Justice League" TV pilot seared into the brains of fans who wanted it to work but still had their doubts. Heck, even Fox hedged their bets in the X-Men films by putting them in matching black leather.

Sure, you could suspend disbelief for one superhero imprinted onto the real world - you could believe a man could really fly ... or one nutty guy would dress up like a bat and stalk a city at night. And you could even make a bunch of people with various genetic mutations fly. But try to put heroes of various looks and origins together in the same headspace and the brain would simply reject the juxtaposition.

Now whether it’s movies like "Watchmen" slowly eroding at the mental resistance or whether it was an imagined problem to begin with, "The Avengers" proves it’s a problem no longer and DC/Warner Bros. should be doing every in their power to finally realize a "Justice League" movie.

It won’t be easy to pull-off, nothing worthwhile usually is, but not only does a guy in a high-tech suit of armor, a green monster, a soldier (in a still - sorry - cheesy costume) and a god in elaborate duds work in crisp, cinematic 3-D (no less) - it works gangbusters.

Warner Bros. needs to stop over-thinking this one and stop prioritizing the obstacles over the opportunity. If "The Avengers" is a potential global billion-dollar property, "Justice League" probably has an even greater ceiling. It’s finally time to get the world’s finest minds on this. It can be super ... friends.

THE ENTIRE MARVEL UNIVERSE CAN WORK

And while we on the subject, not only does "The Avengers" prove a "Justice League" movie can work, it also proves pretty much any Marvel property can not only work in a feature film, it can work in pretty much any combination with any other.

Suspension of disbelief is now forever expulsion of disbelief. "The Avengers" proves you no longer have to be just one step removed from the real world. What we thought were the old rules don’t matter any more. Audiences will buy any Marvel character as an Avenger or as a resident of the Marvel movie universe after this.

Master of the Mystic arts? Abracadabra — problem disappeared.

Martial arts expert who commands mystical energy in his fist? Everyone’s going to be kung fu fighting.

Undersea king? Reel him in.

Half-man, Half-vampire ... motorcyclist cursed by a demon ... utterly human street vigilante — throw ’em all together.

The Marvel Universe has officially been freed from constraints to the printed page or animated frame. What once made the MU so exciting to comic book readers — that any character could meet any other character at any time — is now a tool Hollywood can fully exploit.

Actually one that Disney could probably best exploit, which brings us to...

MARVEL NEEDS ALL OF THEIR PROPERTIES BACK

The Marvel Universe’s newly boosted credibility as a movie factory presents both an opportunity and a problem for Disney and Marvel Studios.

Opportunity: Make a true Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring all their popular characters.

Problem: Half those characters are farmed out to other studios.

Marvel’s already showing a desire to present a sprawling, unified Universe of heroes in their "Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes" and "Ultimate Spider-Man" animated series - Universe’s where Spider-Man, Cap, Wolverine, Invisible Woman and Daredevil can all hang together.

Just imagine Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine clashing with Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. Or a high-school aged Peter Parker being star-struck by Captain America and recruited by Nick Fury. And who doesn’t want to see The Thing and The Hulk slug it out in all their glory on a ten-story IMAX screen?

Blade and the Punisher reverted back to Marvel last year, so they’re not out of the question. But with a second "Wolverine" film and a second "X-Men First Class" on the way, it doesn’t look like Fox will be abandoning the Mutants any time soon, probably with an eye towards eventually rebooting the contemporary X-Men universe. And they likewise still hold the rights to films with Daredevil and the Fantastic Four, which Fox exec Tom Rothman said in January 2012 they have plans to reboot.

Sony has "The Amazing Spider-Man" hitting theaters this summer, with hopes of not only a rebooted hit, but multiple sequels in the future.

So how can it happen? Well, one way would be for the non-Disney films to bomb and for the studio to pay a very pretty penny to recover the rights (see: both "Punisher" films). But that’s not really ideal, especially for us fans, now is it?

The other way is for these behemoth Hollywood studios to realize a good thing when they see it and to try to pursue some rare mutual productions and distribution deals to allow the franchises to co-exist narratively. It would probably take a super-team of the Earth’s Mightiest Lawyers to get any deals done, but with billions of dollars at stake, shouldn’t they at least try?