The Avengers

Avengers Assemble (2012)

Directed by: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robert Downey, Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Tom Hiddleston (Loki)

Three massive superhero franchises did box office battle this year and in a true display of super strength one of them easily disposed of its rivals both at the box office and in this poll. The victor, of course, was Marvel Avengers Assemble (delete as applicable). The culmination of five previous films, and seven years hard work it’s no surprise that it has come out on top of your list of top superhero movies.

The film’s outstanding achievement may be the way it defies expectation. With so many stories to tell alongside the main plot, it would’ve been easy for it to end up with a Frankenstien’s monster-esque figure of a movie, all mismatched and bizarre. Instead Joss Whedon, writer-director extraordinaire, brought balance to the movie, letting back-story, characterisation and action each have their own time to shine.

There’s no I in this team either. Unless you count Iron Man, who definitely thinks there is. But even Robert Downey Jr’s charismatic genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist couldn’t steal the show from how well the cast worked together. It would have been too easy for one of the six superheroes to get left in the shadows, but instead they play off each other fantastically. It’s easy to imagine that this is what a superhero team would really be like; an overpowered, dysfunctional but loving family. In fact it was heart warming to see the team come together, to stop fighting and really kick some ass. Not that the fighting and banter wasn’t hilarious too: it was.

The laughs weren’t confined to the infighting between the Avengers though. The whole film resonated with an upbeat tone, which may be one of the main reasons it is so successful. Yes we love the dark and gritty Batman-verse Christopher Nolan has created, but superheroes are meant to be fun. Whilst there are some tears (a moment of silence, please, for Agent Coulson) there’s none of the doom and gloom so prevalent in the media right now. In the ’30s comic book superheroes were a distraction from the grim realities of a restless world and that is exactly what Marvel Avengers Assemble is: a lovingly crafted homage to the colourful and slightly ridiculous printed origins of the superhero.