Comic book nerds all over the world had been waiting for near on 6 years to see Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye ("The Avengers," for short) standing alongside one another - and given that a large reason for the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually existing in the first place was so such a thing could happen, this particular moment in Marvel's first billion dollar movie stands out as something akin to iconic. Hell, who are we kidding? It's mega-iconic! After demi-God Loki threatens the fate of the universe by letting a bunch of aliens through an inter-dimensional portal and into New York, then, it's up to our assembled heroes to fight back - and writer/director Joss Whedon, at the helm of such a monstrous task, didn't let us down. The resulting battle scene is as spectacular as modern blockbuster movies will allow, but the moment where The Avengers officially assemble as the camera spins around, showcasing them all, one by one, is one for the ages. Goosebumps, anyone? Thought so.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
