History YMMV / TheAvengers2012

** In ''Film/Thor2011'', Eric Selvig mentions that he actually knew Bruce Banner and was even implied to have been good friends with him, to the point that one of the reasons he distrusts S.H.I.E.L.D. is because he believes they are responsible for his disappearance. While Eric Selvig and Bruce Banner both appear in this film, they never interact and the fact that they know each other is never even acknowledged. Natasha didn't even bring it up when she tries to recruit Bruce, even though saving his old friend from Loki could have been a good extra motivation for him.

** Cap's "You're (Iron Man) not the guy to make [[HeroicSacrifice the sacrifice play]]". It becomes harsher both after his sacrifice this movie [[spoiler: and his sacrifice in ''[[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]]'' which ''does'' [[KilledOffForReal truly kill him]]]].

** In ''Film/Thor2011'', Eric Selvig mentions that he actually knew Bruce Banner and was even implied to have been good friends with him, to the point that one of the reasons he distrusts S.H.I.E.L.D. is because he believes they are responsible for his disappearance. While Eric Selvig and Bruce Banner both appear in this film, they never interact and the fact that they know each other is never even acknowledged. Natasha didn't even bring it up whe she tries to recruit Bruce, even though saving his old friend from Loki could have been a good extra motivation for him.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: It's shown that when Thor hits Iron Man's suit with lightning, it supercharges his suit and allows him to do a super powerful blast. After they discover this, neither Tony nor Thor suggest using this during any other fight in this movie or [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron the sequel]].
** [[spoiler: During ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' Thor does finally supercharge Tony's armor to glorious effect]].

* FanPreferredCutConent: Several deleted scenes from the Battle of New York focus on a waitress Cap befriended in an earlier deleted scene, a BadassNormal cop whom Cap gives an alien weapon, and the arrival of military reinforcements. Many fans wish that some or all of those scenes had been included, as they have a powerful TheRealHeroes feel and showcase the wider effects of the battle.

--->'''Thor:''' Flying monkeys? I do not understand.\\

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Between ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and this movie, Loki's tactics change from "Silvertongue" to "ranting villain with an army". That and some of his dialogue with Erik Selvig about their experiences with the Tesseract ''could'' be read as him also being under coercion from the Tesseract/Staff, if one wanted to do so. He also looks quite intimidated by the threats Thanos sends him through the Other and seems to genuinely believe that Thor was responsible for him falling into the abyss at the end of ''Thor''. Additionally, the trickster was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place with Thanos, not really having the option to reject the deal but having no reason to believe the titan would keep his word. Many of the cases of IdiotBall could very reasonably have been him unconsciously or even consciously trying to lose. And resolves the complete breaking of suspension of disbelief where the random scientist inserted a complex backdoor into the security of a device he didn't really understand, too; he didn't break the mind control at all. The person responsible for assembling the Avengers and defeating Loki might be... Loki. Albeit, not from the goodness of his heart, more to give Thanos something else to worry about and because he lives in this universe too, respectively.

* AntiClimaxBoss: Years of superhero movies have taught viewers to expect that a [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny final battle]] between The Avengers and Loki would happen towards the end of the movie. In reality, Loki [[spoiler:is taken out in less than 10 seconds and in a very humiliating way: The Hulk interrupts his EvilGloating and subjects him to MetronomicManMashing until he loses consciousness]].

** The Other, who serves as the MouthOfSauron for [[spoiler: Thanos]]. His intimidating design and performance, the fact that he's a CanonForeigner, has caused several fans requesting that he appear again in a future Marvel film. He does appear again in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', [[spoiler:[[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome only to be killed]] by the film's BigBad Ronan]].

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Many of the tropes and cliches often looked down upon in the Marvel films (and superhero[=/=]comic-book films in general) [[note]]For example, the [[KeystoneArmy weak]], [[EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion easily-defeated army of villains]], the [[PillarOfLight portal in the sky]][[/note]] were present and played straight in this movie, which is often considered one of the best superhero films of the current times. However, seeing that the other films most likely included these tropes [[FollowTheLeader in an attempt to copy]] ''[[FountainOfExpies The Avengers]]'', they may be judged on simple [[TheyCopiedItSoItSucks lack of originality]] rather than the quality of execution in the tropes themselves.

** This exchange from Steve and Tony is PlayedForLaughs, but come ''Iron Man 3'' this is exactly the type of issue Tony is struggling with.

** Out in the real world, Bruce's "[[Film/TheIncredibleHulk Last time I was in New York]] I kind of broke... Harlem" comment is less clever now that a film production directed by erstwhile Hulk Creator/EdwardNorton has been deemed resposible for a fatal fire in that neighborhood.

** World Security Council's decision to launch nuclear strike becomes this after ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' revealed that [[spoiler:[[MoleInCharge one of them is a HYDRA mole]]]].

** When Loki is talking to the Other via astral projection, it looks as if the Other is snapping the neck of Loki's illusion when he dismisses him after threatening him with Thanos's wrath should he fail to deliver the Tesseract. In ''Infinity War'', [[spoiler:Loki eventually gets his neck broken by Thanos as a punishment for his failure and dies.]]

** The line "Everything special about you came from a bottle" from Tony to Steve becomes this when Steve were able to [[spoiler:wield Mjolnir properly and is considered worthy by the hammer]] in ''[[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]]''.

** Before the climax, Tony retorts to Loki that there is "no version of [the film's events] where you come on top". It seems that Tony's words are to be proven right in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', where an alternate Loki ends up escaping custody before he can be imprisoned on Asgard...[[OutOfTheFryingPan only to end up in the custody of the significantly worse]] [[Series/{{Loki}} Time Variance Authority]] instead.

** ''Series/LukeCage2016'' reveals that alien metal has been taken by Hammer Industries and used as the base for their Judas bullet.
** ''Series/IronFist2017'': Some kids orphaned by the Incident got taken in by Bakuto and turned into soldiers for The Hand.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' invokes the deaths from the Battle of New York (74 in total, {{Retcon}}ned from the hundreds in ''Daredevil'') as a plot point to justify reining the Avengers in.
** ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' reveals that the all of the alien tech and debris resulted in a thriving black market for weapons created from it, giving the city's criminals more firepower than they could ever have dreamed of.

** The ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}''-playing S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, despite only appearing for five short seconds.

'''You'd Expect''': Thor would signal his intentions to arrive peacefully. Nick Fury mentions that the first time Thor arrived, Loki had sent an Asgardian monster that would have killed dozens. So Asgardians haven't exactly made a good first impression.\\

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Captain America's costume in this film is frequently mocked. In contrast to his WWII outfit, which was praised for looking very practical and era-appropriate while being true to the comics, his ''Avengers'' outfit is mocked for looking awkward, cartoonish and cheaply made. And even MrFanservice Creator/ChrisEvans couldn't wear it well, since, without anything to add definition to his chin and jaw, his face just looks pudgy. It's even been compared to the ''intentionally'' bad outfit Cap wore back in his propaganda show days. However it has its share of fans who consider it SoBadItsGood, and point to the fact that it was designed in-universe by PromotedFanboy Phil Coulson as justification. Thankfully his costumes improved considerably in his other film appearances since.

*** Most of Cap's lines to Tony are harsher in hindsight. ''"Stop pretending to be the hero"''.

** Before the climax, Tony retorts to Loki that there is "no version of [the film's events] where you come on top". It seems that Tony's words are to be proven right in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', where an alternate Loki ends up escaping custody before he can be imprisoned on Asgard...[[OutOfTheFryingPan only to end up in the custody of the significantly worse Time Variance Authority instead]].

** Cap's "You're (Iron Man) not the guy to make [[HeroicSacrifice the sacrifice play]]". It becomes harsher both after his sacrifice this movie [[spoiler: and his sacrifice in [[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]] which ''does'' [[KilledOffForReal truly kill him]]]].

** Tony says to Cap that "Everything special about you came out of a bottle", while Cap says Tony is "Never the guy to make the sacrifice play." [[spoiler: [[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]] proved them both wrong.]]

** Before the climax, Tony retorts to Loki that there is "no version of [the film's events] where you come on top". It seems that Tony's words are to be proven right in Film/AvengersEndgame, where an alternate Loki ends up escaping custody before he can be imprisoned on Asgard...[[OutOfTheFryingPan only to end up in the custody of the significantly worse Time Variance Authority instead]].

** The comparisons that are drawn between Loki and Hitler in light of Marvel's later decision to [[spoiler: make Loki an LGBT character.]]

** In this film, Banner remarks that his relationship with Hulk leaving him exposed like a nerve, ultimately meaning that he doesn't get a suit of armor while fighting against enemies. Cut to ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where Banner has use the Hulkbuster to fight Thanos and the Outriders due to Hulk's refusal to cooperate.

** Before the climax, Tony retorts to Loki that there is "no version of [the film's events] where you come on top". It seems that Tony's words are to be proven wrong in Film/AvengersEndgame, where an alternate Loki ends up escaping custody before he can be imprisoned on Asgard...[[OutOfTheFryingPan only to end up in the custody of the TVA instead]].

** When Black Widow is attempting to recruit Banner into the Avengers, and shows him a photo of the Tesseract, he bitterly asks "what does Fury want me to do, swallow it?" In ''Captain Marvel'' that's exactly how Captain Marvel and Fury hide the Tesseract from their enemies; Goose swallows it.

** It's shown that NYPD cops helped evacuating citizens in the middle of Chitauri Invasion. After the battle, many areas in New York are devastated, and one important thing at the end of the movie is that humans learned that they are not alone in this universe. Survivors, including the cops, are pretty much traumatized by the incident. And a consequence of this is that many of them may have ended up working for [[Series/Daredevil2015 Wilson Fisk]] [[DespairEventHorizon out of desperation]] after surviving an alien invasion. Detective Scarfe also describes having seen the Incident up close...and Scarfe himself is on Cottonmouth's payroll[[note]]Although it's clear from scenes in ''Series/LukeCage2016'' season 2 that Scarfe was corrupt well before the Incident or his son's death[[/note]].

* InferredHolocaust: Much of Manhattan is wrecked in the climactic fight. Though only bad guys are shown dying, the death toll is probably in the thousands, and a memorial is briefly shown in a news report afterwards. The Netflix shows had to go to great lengths to address the fallout.
** ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'': One of the ''New York Bulletin'' headline photos in Ben Urich's office (later Karen Page's office from the end of season 2 onwards) reads "[[http://i.imgur.com/858KXoB.jpg BATTLE OF NY: Buildings Leveled, Hundreds Killed in Midtown Battle]]". Likewise, the invasion enables Wilson Fisk to attain a stronghold in Hell's Kitchen's organized crime. Leland Owlsley notes that gang-owned construction work has become incredibly profitable in light of both the damaged caused by the Chitauri invasion and the damage from the superheroics that stopped them. Matt and Foggy are said to be getting their office space for Nelson & Murdock on the cheap because their building was relatively untouched by the invasion.

** ''Series/IronFist2017'' reveals that some kids orphaned by the Incident got taken in by Bakuto and turned into soldiers for The Hand.

** The first of which is the above-mentioned Galaga Guy, portrayed by Warren Kole. Kole would go on to portray the BigBad of ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'', Rafe Adler.

** ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'': One of the ''New York Bulletin'' headline photos in Ben Urich's office reads "[[http://i.imgur.com/858KXoB.jpg BATTLE OF NY: Buildings Leveled, Hundreds Killed in Midtown Battle]]". Likewise, the invasion enables Wilson Fisk to attain a stronghold in Hell's Kitchen's organized crime. Leland Owlsley notes that gang-owned construction work has become incredibly profitable in light of both the damaged caused by the Chitauri invasion and the damage from the superheroics that stopped them. Matt and Foggy are said to be getting their office space for Nelson & Murdock on the cheap because their building was relatively untouched by the invasion.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Many of the tropes and cliches often looked down upon in the Marvel films (and superhero[=/=]comic-book films in general) [[note]]For example, the [[KeystoneArmy weak]], [[EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion easily-defeated army of villains]], the [[PillarOfLight portal in the sky]][[/note]] were present and played straight in this movie, which is often considered one of the best superhero films of the current times. [[JustifiedTrope However]], seeing that the other films most likely included these tropes [[FollowTheLeader in an attempt to copy]] ''[[FountainOfExpies The Avengers]]'', they may be judged on simple [[TheyCopiedItSoItSucks lack of originality]] rather than the quality of execution in the tropes themselves.

* BrokenBase:
** Fans of Captain America in his [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger solo]] [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier films]] are mixed on Whedon's portrayal of him. Some find his lines OutOfCharacter to the point of LawfulStupid when the other films and comics characterize him as a much more rebellious figure, or are irritated that he is so severely OvershadowedByAwesome when he's supposed to be the team's leader. Others feel that the RuleOfFunny is an acceptable override, that his contradictory behavior can be justified from a [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Watsonian]] standpoint as a result of the shock from just having woke up from the ice, or that it's balanced out by Cap also being the OnlySaneMan, the ComicallySerious and the only person capable of serving as the leader that the team needs so badly.
** Despite the film's immense popularity, a fair share of fans were not happy with the film in general. Criticism was given to its overfocus on action and one-liners rather than an in-depth plot and character exploration. The choice of villain for the first Avengers movie has been questioned, considering all of the other options in the Avengers rogue gallery. Black Widow and Hawkeye also have a fair share of critics.

* FanPreferredCouple: A few fans seemed to favour Creator/AshleyJohnson's character (the blonde woman who appears several times during the Chitauri invasion) as a potential love interest for Captain America.

* ThereAreNoCoincidences: The Helicarrier, Hull No. 64, has no name other than that. However, IRL, the aircraft carrier, USS Constellation (CV-64) was decommissioned just prior to the release of this film. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. got a good bargain?

** When Tony and Bruce throw around their {{Technobabble}} about Selvig's plan to create a portal, they're actually making sense. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulomb_barrier The Coulomb barrier]] is the barrier two nuclei need to overcome so they can get close enough to undergo a nuclear reaction. Thus the Tesseract needing to be heated to "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin hundred and twenty million Kelvin]]" to break through it. Unless, as the two note, Selvin can stabilize the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_tunnelling Quantum tunneling effect]], in which case he could achieve ion fusion at any reactor on the planet because such high temperatures would not be needed to kickstart the reaction. We aren't told enough to understand exactly what Selvig's device does, but obviously the writers aren't just throwing around words when it's brought up in dialogue.