Joss Whedon

“The Avengers” finally comes to Blu-ray and DVD, following a record-breaking summer at the box office and half a decade of hype. The Marvel mega-franchise, with cinematic roots that date back to Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” in 2008, is still expanding, with a S.H.I.E.L.D. television series on ABC and a number of movie sequels in the works, including “Iron Man 3,” “Captain America 2,” “Thor: The Dark World” and an as-yet-untitled “Avengers” sequel.

The superhero blockbusters proved themselves vehicles for established stars (Robert Downey Jr.) and breakout performers (Tom Hiddleston) as the muscled men chosen to portray the comic classics on the big screen. And since the $1.5-billion success of “The Avengers,” writer-director Joss Whedon — previously best known for creating cult classic TV series “Firefly” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — has become a big-budget director and a household name.

Hero Complex asked the stars of the Marvel superhero films what it was like working with Whedon. Flip through the gallery above to read their responses. They all had glowing things to say, but it might be Downey who summarized the experience best: “The guy’s my hero. He should be yours.”