History TheAvengers / TropesMToP

* MadeOfIndestructium: Being made of Vibranium, Cap's shield is used to block or reflect nearly every attack in the movie made against him (including Mjölnir, as DropTheHammer shows), and only the paint is damaged.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: Iron Man launches one from his shoulders.

* PowerWalk: Right before the final battle, Cap, Black Widow and Hawkeye walk out all together in full badassery.

** In the trailer Tony says "Guys, I'm bringing the party to you", but in the movie it's "Then tell [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk him]] to suit up, I'm bringing the party to you."

* MsFanservice: Creator/ScarlettJohansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cobie Smulders all receive some MaleGaze. Pepper Potts, in particular, shows up to a meeting with Tony Stark wearing daisy dukes and no shoes.

** The Tesseract facility at the beginning of the film is revealed to be Project Pegasus, a S.H.I.E.L.D. research sites from the comics.

** During Thor and Loki's conversation on the cliff side, two ravens fly past, evoking Odin's two ravens in Myth/NorseMythology.

* NotSoDifferent:
** Tony and Loki, much to Tony's chagrin.
--->'''Tony:''' ...And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva! He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered on--\\

** Tony's [[spoiler:supposed]] HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler:by guiding nuke to the outer space]] shows that, even though his and Captain America's [[MilitarySuperhero standing]] [[CrimefightingWithCash policies]] [[{{Foil}} might be different as night and day]], but in the end, they are similar: heroes that wouldn't let innocents dies even if it means sacrificing themselves. [[spoiler:Made more poignant by Pepper's photo when JARVIS tries to call her, a CallBack to Cap's similar scene in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''.]]

** While Hulk never says "Hulk smash!", or "Puny humans!", his two most famous catch phrases in the comics, both of them are alluded to. Captain America commands Hulk to smash (his exact words being, "and Hulk? Smash."), and Hulk calls Loki a "puny god".

-->'''Cap:''' And Hulk? [Hulk turns to Cap] [[TheBigGuy ''Smash!'']]
* PillarOfLight: The Tesseract beam has this look [[spoiler:while creating the portal]].

* PlayingGamesAtWork: After [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] comes aboard the Helicarrier, he gleefully points out that one of the bridge deckhands is playing ''{{VideoGame/Galaga}}'' at their desk. Shortly after the scene ends and the heroes leave, the deckhand turns their screen back to ''Galaga'' again.[[note]]The line was [[ThrowItIn an ad-lib]] by Creator/RobertDowneyJr, and later while editing, director Creator/JossWhedon found a shot of a deckhand extra looking shifty, so he edited ''Galaga'' onto their screen.[[/note]]

* PocketProtector: [[spoiler:Tony's Arc Reactor performs like this against Loki's brainwashing scepter]].

* ProductionThrowback:
** "Does anybody feel like ''shawarma''? I feel some ''shawarma'' coming on." was evidently the line that got Nicholas Brendon cast as Xander on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
** [[spoiler:Coulson]]'s dying speech to Loki is inverted in an older Whedon production, ''Series/{{Angel}}'', at the end of the aptly-titled "Conviction": The ''villain'' lectures the hero about a lack of "conviction" to his cause, ensuring that evil will always triumph. Both scenes end in the same way, with the good character silencing the villain with a well-placed shot.
** TheEngineer and TheBigGuy have to do some hasty work on their vehicle's engine. The big guy opens a panel and tries to make sense of a mind-boggling mess of circuitry. In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', it was [[WrenchWench Kaylee]] and [[BookDumb Jayne]], in this film, it's [[GadgeteerGenius Tony Stark]] and [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Steve Rogers.]]
** Loki's mind-controlling scepter works by poking people in the heart. [[spoiler:It doesn't work on Tony Stark because his arc reactor blocks it]]. Joss Whedon's earlier work ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' features a bad guy whose signature move is jamming people's nerves to paralyze them, [[spoiler:and a hero with a missing nerve cluster that makes him immune to this]].

** The Hulk sports one after Cap's order to defeat the Chitauri is merely: "And Hulk? Smash."

** And again when Loki shanks him in the gut in the battle atop Stark Tower. He seemingly grabs his abdomen in pain, but promptly proceeds to body-slam Loki. He then removes the blade tosses it away with a look that says "Now, I'm ''pissed''!" and less "That hurt."

** And again when Loki shanks him in the gut in the the battle atop Stark Tower. He seemingly grabs his abdomen in pain, but promptly removes the blade, and proceeds to body-slam Loki. He then tosses the bloodied blade away with a look that says "Now, I'm ''pissed''!" and less "That hurt."

* MageInManhattan: Loki provides the trope picture for the scene in Germany.

** The air-dropped prison intended to kill the Hulk if necessary references the way that Hulk died in [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk the TV show]]: He fell out of an aircraft as Hulk and landed as Banner. The glass cell itself is also inspired by a containment cell designed for the Hulk that was built in the Triskelion in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''.

* MrFanservice: Ladies, take your pick. The blond, clean-cut, blue-eyed, all-American NiceGuy? The [[TallDarkAndSnarky tall, dark]], and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] genius billionaire playboy philanthropist? The pretty boy god with an accent? The DracoInLeatherPants BigBad? The stoic, "cool loner" archer? The bespectacled scientist? Almost all of whom are incredibly buff and march around in skin-tight clothing, shiny badass armor, and/or sleeveless wardrobe with arms the size of tree trunks?

** Tony Stark takes what would be fatal impacts both in and out of his suit. A crash from exploding a Leviathan from the inside only causes minor cuts on his face.

* MrFanservice: Ladies, take your pick. The blond, clean-cut, blue-eyed, all-American NiceGuy? The [[TallDarkAndSnarky tall, dark]], and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] genius billionaire playboy philanthropist? The pretty boy god with an accent? The DracoInLeatherPants BigBad? The stoic, "cool loner" archer? The {{adorkable}} bespectacled scientist? Almost all of whom are incredibly buff and march around in skin-tight clothing, shiny badass armor, and/or sleeveless wardrobe with arms the size of tree trunks?

* MarketBasedTitle: In the U.K. and Ireland, the film is known as ''Avengers Assemble'' to avoid confusion with the [[Series/TheAvengers classic British TV series]] of the same name. Strangely, the merchandising such as children's toys all still bears the ''original'' title, next to posters with the revised title. For some reason, both titles were used to advertise it, saying that ''The Avengers'' would be released on the 26th, and ''Avengers Assemble'' being released on the 27th.

** At the end of the movie, Nick Fury says that all this was a message to the universe: HumansAreSpecial, defy the odds, and nobody should try to go to war with them. There was a similar premise at the end of ''ComicBook/TheUltimateGalactusTrilogy''. [[spoiler:However, the unwanted consequence of this message, attracting the interest of Thanos, is a twist exclusive of the movie.]]

** At the end of the movie, Nick Fury says that all this was a message to the universe: HumansAreSpecial, defy the odds, and nobody should try to go to war with them. There was a similar premise at the end of ''Ultimate Extinction''. [[spoiler:However, the unwanted consequence of this message, attracting the interest of Thanos, is a twist exclusive of the movie.]]

** Loki being the primary villain facing the Avengers in their first team-up calls back to the first comic appearance of the team, where Loki's mischief (you guessed it) also caused the team's formation. He even uses the Hulk as part of his overall plan in both, too.

** Romy Rosemont appears as Shawna Lynde, a Thor supporting character during the 1980s.
** James Eckhouse appears as Senator Boynton, a minor character during the ''Armor Wars'' storyline. He is seen [[spoiler:near the end, asking on a cable news show about where the Avengers are and who they should be accountable to.]]
** The Tesseract facility at the beginning of the film is revealed to be Project Pegasus, a S.H.I.E.L.D. research sites from the comics.
** "You have reached the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark." Life Model Decoy is the term used for an entire sub-set of robotic "clones" featured in the comics.
** The Captain America trading cards display artwork by Creator/JackKirby, save for the one that has a picture of Cap in his stage show outfit.
** [[spoiler:Loki has his mouth sealed shut at the end of the film, echoing [[MouthStitchedShut his mouth being sewn shut]] by dwarves in Myth/NorseMythology.]]
** During Thor and Loki's conversation on the cliff side, two ravens fly past, evoking Odin's two ravens in Myth/NorseMythology.

** During TheOner across NYC, Captain America and Iron Man pull off a fusion move lifted directly from ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance''.

** Where the last couple ''Hulk'' movies referenced the character's iconic purple pants; ''Avengers'' reference is subtler by having Banner wear a purple shirt for most of the film.
** Within the movie continuity, Hulk chasing Black Widow through a narrow corridor can bring to mind a similar scene from ''Iron Man'' where Iron Monger chases Pepper.

** [[spoiler:"To challenge them is to court death." The primary aspect of Thanos' motivations in the comic books is that he saw the personification of death when he was young... and fell in love with her. Now you know why he's smiling.]]

** From a deleted scene: The security guard asks Bruce "[[ComicBook/AntMan Are you a big guy that gets all little? Or a little guy who sometimes blows up to be all big]]?"
** The air-dropped prison intended to kill the Hulk if necessary references the way that Hulk died in [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk the TV show]]: He fell out of an aircraft as Hulk and landed as Banner.
** While discussing the Tesseract, Dr. Selvig claims it will unveil a path to a "[[ComicBook/TheNewUniverse new universe]]".
** The fact that the first Antagonist that the Avengers face together as a team is Loki, as well as Loki's attempt to use the Hulk against the other members, can be seen as a Homage to the first Avengers Issue!

-->'''Cap:''' And Hulk? [Hulk turns to Cap] ''Smash!''