After an hour-and-a-half of costumed group therapy, the kind of character-drama bedrock that risks losing the coveted popcorn-munching, action-junkie demographic, The Avengers crescendos without apprehension.
Today, even with two Avengers sequels in the can, and a summer tentpole season that stretches from February to December, there's still nothing like The Battle of New York. When The Avengers premiered in 2012, there was nothing like "The Battle of New York," a nonstop, 30-minute finale fight between the super squad and an intergalactic battalion of Chitauri warriors, led by Thor's nefarious half-brother, Loki. The showdown needed to be a sight to behold. They needed to best an adversary worth their collective might, then leave a crater in the MCU. They needed to put their lives on the line, risk everything, and work together to get the job done. The disparate characters needed to mesh into a team. But turning the opportunity into a phenomenon took a more elegant touch. One assumption could be made: The Avengers would be a hit whether Marvel coherently choreographed Black Widow catapulting off Captain America's shield to hijack an alien invader's hovercraft at the same moment that Iron Man blasted through midtown Manhattan or it settled for Hulk and Thor arm-wrestling in an underground lair like a certain 1988 made-for-TV flop. The sequel snowball would have to snatch up as many strong characters as possible in time for the ultimate crossover event. To build a $14-billion-worldwide mega-franchise, become a fiefdom of Hollywood, and turn the rudder of an entire IP-driven industry, the comic-book company had to make good on Fury's line. Iron Man's post-credit scene was the start of the Marvel Studios' "cinematic universe," but not the moment everything changed. His line dangled a prospect for Tony, and a promise to everyone still watching: "I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative." Jackson's Nick Fury lurking in his swank oceanside mansion. The giddy geeks who stuck around until the final credit had rolled on 2008's Iron Man witnessed the future of moviegoing peering back at them: Tony Stark, who'd declared "I am Iron Man" just minutes before, discovers Samuel L.