History Trivia / TheAvengers

* TroubledProduction: The sixth season. After Creator/DianaRigg announced she was leaving, searches were held to find a replacement actress - including toying with the idea of a number of guest actresses. Patrick Macnee was apparently not aware this was going on at first. Linda Thorson was chosen as she was dating producer John Bryce - who was brought in to replace Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell. This change was because the studio wished to bring the show "back to realism" and Bryce had produced the Cathy Gale episodes. He also had to hurriedly shoot seven episodes to ship off to America with the last of the Emma Peel episodes. He only completed three before he was replaced by Clemens and Fennell again. Rigg also had to be brought back to hurriedly shoot a new introduction episode for Tara King. What's more is that the network in America aired the show up against ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in'', one of ''the'' most popular shows in the country at the time. Due to declining ratings it was almost immediately cancelled.

* TroubledProduction: The sixth season. After Diana Rigg announced she was leaving, searches were held to find a replacement actress - including toying with the idea of a number of guest actresses. Patrick Macnee was apparently not aware this was going on at first. Linda Thorson was chosen as she was dating producer John Bryce - who was brought in to replace Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell. This change was because the studio wished to bring the show "back to realism" and Bryce had produced the Cathy Gale episodes. He also had to hurriedly shoot seven episodes to ship off to America with the last of the Emma Peel episodes. He only completed three before he was replaced by Clemens and Fennell again. Rigg also had to be brought back to hurriedly shoot a new introduction episode for Tara King. What's more is that the network in America aired the show up against ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in'', one of ''the'' most popular shows in the country at the time. Due to declining ratings it was almost immediately cancelled.

* HeyItsThatGuy: The show is a goldmine for this kind of thing.

* ActingForTwo: Various {{Doppelganger}} stories. Likewise Patrick Macanee played [[spoiler: Emma Peel's husband]] from afar in her final episode.
* DisownedAdaptation: Patrick Macanee did not have good things to say about the film.

* TroubledProduction: The sixth season. After Diana Rigg announced she was leaving, searches were held to find a replacement actress - including toying with the idea of a number of guest actresses. Patrick Macanee was apparently not aware this was going on at first. Linda Thorson was chosen as she was dating producer John Bryce - who was brought in to replace Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell. This change was because the studio wished to bring the show "back to realism" and Bryce had produced the Cathy Gale episodes. He also had to hurriedly shoot seven episodes to ship off to America with the last of the Emma Peel episodes. He only completed three before he was replaced by Clemens and Fennell again. Rigg also had to be brought back to hurriedly shoot a new introduction episode for Tara King. What's more is that the network in America aired the show up against ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in'', one of ''the'' most popular shows in the country at the time. Due to declining ratings it was almost immediately cancelled.

* FanNickname: Rulk for the RedHulk

* As mentioned above, the Human Torch was the only standard Fantastic Four member to not join the Avengers, and is in fact the only Stan Lee created character to have never done so. There have been many stand-in members of the Fantastic Four over the years that have also been Avengers: Comicbook/SheHulk, Comicbook/IncredibleHulk, Franchise/SpiderMan, {{Wolverine}}, {{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}, Crystal of ComicBook/TheInhumans, [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], and [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man II]].

!!''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' Comic Series]]:

!![[ComicBook/TheAvengers The Avengers Comic Series]]:

* ''Trivia/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''

!!''Film/TheAvengers'' Film:

* As mentioned above, the Human Torch was the only standard Fantastic Four member to not join the Avengers, and is in fact the only Stan Lee created character to have never done so. There have been many stand-in members of the Fantastic Four over the years that have also been Avengers: Comicbook/SheHulk, Comicbook/IncredibleHulk, Franchise/SpiderMan, {{Wolverine}}, {{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}, Crystal of TheInhumans, [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], and [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man II]].

** The original, [[TheGoldenAgeofComicBooks World War II-era]] Human Torch was also a member of the Avengers even though he isn't as famous.

See [[Trivia/TheAvengers1 here]].

* ActingForTwo: Thanks to [[SerkisFolk advances in motion capture technology]], Mark Ruffalo got to not only play Bruce Banner, but also the majority of Hulk's part. This marks the first time Banner and the Hulk were portrayed by the same person.
* ActorAllusion:
** Harry Dean Stanton asking Banner if he's an alien -- "You know, [[Film/{{Alien}} from outer space]]."
** Loki reminds [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Nick Fury]] about [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith power...unlimited power]].
* AllStarCast: Not just with the actors themselves, but with all the heroes involved, as a movie of this magnitude was thought to be impossible a decade ago.
* ApprovalOfGod
** Both Ruffalo and Hemsworth [[http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/story/2012-05-04/marvel-the-avengers-robert-downey-jr-mark-ruffalo-chris-evans-chris-hemsworth/54738726/1 have expressed their desire to see Spider-Man and Wolverine in sequels despite their being owned by different studios]] -- a common item on fan wishlists.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KatTVGAEu80 Andrew Garfield also wishes to join the Avengers.]]
** Hugh Jackman has expressed his desire [[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a498168/wolverine-hugh-jackman-wants-x-men-avengers-spider-man-movie.html to see the the X-Men, Spider-Man & Avengers in the same film.]]
* AscendedFanon
** Joss Whedon just suggested to Marvel that there should be a BiggerBad plotting behind the scenes which enabled Loki to conquer the Earth. And that someone should be [[spoiler:Thanos the Mad Titan.]] And all the executives [[http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=59286 just rolled with it.]]
** Robert Downey Jr. requested for Gwyneth Paltrow to be included as a way of exploring the Potts/Stark relationship that was established at the end of ''Film/IronMan2''. Whedon agreed, because "you should always, given the opportunity, put a Gwyneth on-screen."
* BackedByThePentagon: Averted. The [[http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/pentagon-poo-pooed-avengers-teamup-163438080.html Pentagon]] said they "couldn't reconcile the unreality of [S.H.I.E.L.D.] and our place in it" (to elaborate, it's left ambiguous as to whether S.H.I.E.L.D. is a national or international agency, and the Pentagon didn't like the implication that the US military would answer to anyone other than the US government) and thus declined involvement in this movie. However, the US Army did give their involvement.
* ChannelHop / ExecutiveMeddling: [[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118044282 Why the film is credited to Paramount instead of the actual distributor, Disney.]]
* ColbertBump
** Arguably it gave one to ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}''; a webcomic about the game started up after the film's release.
** In the comics, {{ComicBook/Hawkeye}} gained his own (very successful) title as a result of the film's popularity.
** And the favorable reception of Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of The Hulk led to Marvel planning a sequel to the 2008 film, where none had been planned before.
** And of course, Shawarma enjoyed a massive boost in popularity as well after the movie came out.
** When Hawkeye was given his own book as a result of his popularity from The Avengers, fans immediately began clamoring for Black Widow to get her own book, too. First issue dropped in January 2014, just a few months before ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''.
* CreativeDifferences: Why Creator/EdwardNorton was let go early on from the film. When asked why Marvel stated that "[[http://www.avclub.com/article/marvel-kicks-edward-norton-out-of-emthe-avengersem-42993 Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members]]", which implied Norton was fired for not getting along with the other actors and crew. Norton's agent disputed this claim, but regardless the part was recast with the widely acclaimed Mark Ruffalo.
** According to Mark Ruffalo (who is friends with Norton), he mainly didn't like that Bruce Banner was struggling with his issues of the Hulk all over again, when at the end of the 2008 movie, it seemed as though Banner had actually accepted it, and thus, the ''Avengers'' movie wouldn't really be developing Banner's character much.
* {{Defictionalization}}: Courtesy of prop collectibles company [=eFX=], you can now purchase the very same [[http://www.efxcollectibles.com/p-184-agent-coulsons-vintage-captain-america-trading-cards.aspx Captain America trading cards]] that Coulson constantly asks Cap to sign. [[spoiler: There's even variants that have Coulson's "blood" on the cards.]]
* DeletedScene
** The film originally opened and closed with a set of {{Book End|s}} scenes of Agent Hill reporting to the World Security Council on the Avengers and on Fury's decisions, but this was scrapped because it didn't mesh with the tone of the film.
** One of the deleted scenes centered on Cap would've shown newsreel footage of him fighting in WWII, complete with Steve inserted into old stock footage of the war via greenscreen.
* DyeingForYourArt
** Creator/ChrisEvans: played straight for the movie (he shaved off his mustache and beard to play the role), but averted in [[http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/07/showbiz/movies/secret-avengers-after-credit-scene-ew/index.html the post-test-screen pickups]] after Evans had regrown his facial hair for ''{{Film/Snowpiercer}}''. Rather than have to shave all over again for just a couple of scenes, Cap's face was concealed by a prosthetic or by his hand (most notably in the end-of-credits stinger [[spoiler:in the shawarma restaurant]]).
** Creator/TomHiddleston has naturally blond curly hair. As in ''Thor'', it's straight and black here.
* ExecutiveMeddling
** Despite his reputation for killing off loved characters, Joss Whedon has stated that [[spoiler:Agent Coulson's]] death [[NotMeThisTime was not his idea]], and was something that was decided on from the very beginning.
** Marvel [[http://movieline.com/2010/07/11/marvel-to-norton-sorry-but-youre-kind-of-a-jerk/ all but explicitly stated]] Edward Norton's attempt to do this was the reason he got [[TheOtherDarrin Darrined]] out of the movie. Due to this bad blood, Mark Ruffalo called Norton personally before accepting the role in order to be sure he wasn't stepping on his toes.
* FakeNationality: The [[EnsembleDarkhorse German Old Man]]? He is played by Kenneth Tigar, who is actually American. But he has BA and Ph.D. in German literature, which is why his German accent is so convincing.
* FakeRussian: Not only Scarlett Johansson (who does speak surprisingly good Russian), but also Jerzy Skolimowski (Polish) as a corrupt Russian general interrogating her in her first scene.
* FanNickname:
** "Thorbuster" for Coulson's unnamed {{BFG}}[[labelnote:Explanation]]The name came from an Iron Man suit Tony designed based on Norse weaponry in case he had to take on the pantheon.[[/labelnote]]
** Shawarmavengers, for the second [[TheStinger stinger]].
** [[http://sephirona.tumblr.com/post/24312145916/sephirona-yeah-okay-idk-dont-hurt-me Steelix]] for the Chitauri Leviathans.
** Loki-Chucks: The ten-second thrashing that Loki receives at the hands of the Hulk, during which he is whipped around by one ankle like nunchucks.
* HeyItsThatGuy
** [[Series/HowIMetYourMother Robin Scherbatsky]] is Agent Maria Hill.
** [[Series/{{Angel}} Wesley Wyndham-Pryce]] is the Other.
** There are a lot of little cameos strewn throughout the film:
** [[{{Series/Deadwood}} Powers]] [[Film/RedDawn1984 Boothe]] and [[Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon Jenny]] [[Film/LogansRun Agutter]] sit on the W.S.C.
** [[Series/{{Dollhouse}} Enver Gjokaj]] as a NYPD officer.
** Creator/HarryDeanStanton is a security guard.
** Besides science, Tony and Bruce were both [[Film/{{Zodiac}} obsessed with catching the same serial killer]].
** [[Creator/ChrisEvans Captain America]] and [[Creator/ScarlettJohansson Black Widow]] teamed up previously to [[ThePerfectScore cheat on their SATs.]] They even [[TheNannyDiaries dated once]].
** [[Creator/ScarlettJohansson Black Widow]] found out she was a [[Film/TheIsland clone]].
* ImageSource: This film provides the page image for:
** ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames
** MageInManhattan
* NotScreenedForCritics: Despite the movie's immense popularity and success, not every Blu-Ray reviewer that requested an early copy received one.
* TheOtherDarrin: Ed Norton was originally going to reprise his role as Bruce Banner from ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', but negotiations broke down. Mark Ruffalo replaced him, making him the only Avenger actor to not appear in a previous film as his character.
* PlayingAgainstType
** Creator/CobieSmulders of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' fame as Agent Hill.
** Mark Ruffalo, veteran of indie cinema and the occasional RomanticComedy, as Bruce Banner/The Hulk.
* PromotedFanboy: Joss Whedon.
* RealTime: When the missile is released over Manhattan, the pilot calls detonation in two minutes and thirty seconds. The sequence between then and the detonation is actually 2:30 of film time.
* TheRedStapler: After the film's release, [[http://www.cinemablend.com/new/has-avengers-sparked-surge-shawarma-sales-30814.html sales in shawarma]] spiked with some restaurants reporting increases of up to 80 percent!
** Bootleg copies of Tony's BlackSabbath "Never Say Die" tour shirt became very popular on eBay and it was subsequently adopted by the band as a "13" tour shirt.
* ScullyBox: Gwyneth Paltrow is notably barefoot in all her scenes in Stark Tower, while Robert Downey Jr. is in 3 or 4 inch platform shoes, so he looks taller than her.
* SoMyKidsCanWatch: One of the main reasons Mark Ruffalo signed on not only to play Bruce Banner but, thanks to motion capture, The Hulk as well. Subverted when his daughters were too terrified to watch their father transform into a giant, green rage-monster.
-->'''Mark Ruffalo:''' My daughter was saying, "Why do you want to kill that girl, Papa?" She really thought I turned into the Hulk. I had to leave the theater to convince her that it wasn't me.
* ThrowItIn
** Reportedly, Iron Man's "Let's just not come in tomorrow" speech was improvised by Creator/RobertDowneyJr, as was "[[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Doth mother know thou weareth her drapes]]?"
** [[spoiler:The shawarma bit was also his, so by proxy he threw in the entire second stinger.]]
** Also, the Hulk [[spoiler:bringing Iron Man back to consciousness by roaring at him]] was improvised by Mark Ruffalo during his motion capture performance.
** Ruffalo also ad-libbed touching a baby's cradle in the abandoned house he meets Black Widow in, which was otherwise just another prop placed there.
** The German police car skidding on its front end after Loki blasts it was a complete accident, as it failed to flip over initially.
** As JossWhedon noted, the "That man is playing Galaga!" line was ad-libbed by RobertDowneyJr, and worked so well that Whedon decided to dub in an image of Galaga on "that man's" console as the scene's punch line.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk Edward Norton]] was originally going to be in the film.
** Early production ideas included ComicBook/AntMan and ComicBook/TheWasp joining the team.
** In addition, a lot of stuff about ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's adjusting to the 21st century was left on the cutting room for time and for the future [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Captain America sequel]], most notably a scene where he would have met a now very old Peggy Carter.
** Similar to the above, Whedon supposedly had a detailed backstory for Hawkeye written up, but was unable to even reference any of it due to time constraints. And, during the early planning stages (back when they were still writing ''Film/IronMan2''), Hawkeye was envisioned be depicted as a circus performer trained by supervilains who manipulate him into fighting the team, essentially a modernized version of his 616 origin story. At another point, he was planned to debut in ''Iron Man 2'' as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works closely with Widow and Fury.
** One draft of the movie had it taking place from Tony's point of view.
** Another draft, one of Joss's first when he came onto the project, would have done something similar, but with Wasp instead. He decided that too much time would end up being dedicated to this seemingly new character that he realized it would hamper the film. As there was no way to explain her, he had to cut her out, sadly, despite her being one of his favourites.
** An alternate opening and ending frame the movie as a flashback from Maria Hill, allowing them to simultaneously flesh out her dislike towards Fury's methods yet her undying loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D.
** There were plans to insert the Oscorp Building from ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', but by the time the CGI model for the building had been finished, the ''Avengers'' skyline was already complete.
** The fight between Hulk and Loki originally lasted a little longer, with Loki trying to use SelfDuplication to confuse the Hulk. This scene proved too expensive to make it past the animatic stage. Banner's line that "You could smell the crazy on [Loki]" was [[OrphanedReference intended as a setup for how Hulk wins in this scene]], figuring out which Loki was real by his scent.
** At one point, there would have been a more physically active villain fighting the Avengers, presumably as TheDragon to Loki. Joss had refused to say who this will be, however, in the hopes that at some point the mystery villain will be able to make an actual debut.
** There are several deleted scenes that would've flashed out the story more, like a subplot leading up to Cap's rescue of civilians from three Chitauri, and Loki having additional conversations with The Other that flash out the Chitauri's behavior.

!!!Other Trivia:

* Creator/ChrisEvans plays Captain America, but also played the Human Torch in the ''Film/FantasticFour'' films. The Human Torch is the only member of the Comicbook/FantasticFour to have never been an Avenger (not counting Cap's brief "Secret Avengers" during ''Comicbook/CivilWar'', which isn't an official Avengers team). The Thing is currently a member and was a member in the past, while Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman joined during ''ComicBook/{{Inferno}}''.
* Creator/RobertDowneyJr has played the same superhero in five films: Three ''Film/IronMan'' movies, ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', and ''Film/TheAvengers'' with at least two ''Avengers'' sequels on the way. As of ''Iron Man 3'', he is behind with Creator/HughJackman who, as of 5-14-2014, has played the character Wolverine in all four ''Film/{{X-Men}}'' films as well as [[Film/XMenOriginsWolverine two of his]] [[Film/TheWolverine own solo movies]]. With the release of ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' Jackman currently (and temporarily) has a lead of seven films to Downey's five... at least until ''The Avengers 2'' and ''3''.

* ActingForTwo: Various {{Doppelganger}} stories.

* ActorAllusion: "Too Many Christmas Trees":

* Creator/RobertDowneyJr has played the same superhero in five films: Three ''Film/IronMan'' movies, ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', and ''Film/TheAvengers'' with at least two ''Avengers'' sequels on the way. As of ''Iron Man 3'', he is behind with HughJackman who, as of 5-14-2014, has played the character Wolverine in all four ''Film/{{X-Men}}'' films as well as [[Film/XMenOriginsWolverine two of his]] [[Film/TheWolverine own solo movies]]. With the release of ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' Jackman currently (and temporarily) has a lead of seven films to Downey's five... at least until ''The Avengers 2'' and ''3''.

** In addition, a lot of stuff about ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's adjusting to the 21st century was left on the cutting room for time and for the future [[CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Captain America sequel]], most notably a scene where he would have met a now very old Peggy Carter.

* TheRedStapler: After the film's release, [[http://www.cinemablend.com/new/has-avengers-sparked-surge-shawarma-sales-30814.html sales in shawarma]] spiked with some restaurants reporting increases of up to 80 percent!