History Fridge / TheAvengers2012

* FridgeBrilliance (or FridgeHorror, depending on your viewpoint): Bruce Banner CantHaveSexEver, and that probably extends to... [[ADateWithRosiePalms other things]]. No wonder he's always angry. Doubling as a TearJerker, during the scene in Calcutta when Bruce says that he doesn't always get what he wants, he's staring down at a [[IJustWantToBeNormal baby cradle and]] [[BabiesMakeEverythingBetter gently rocking it]]. One can't help but wonder if he's thinking about Betty at that very moment. Confirmed by Whedon's commentary: Ruffalo improvved that bit of business to give the line a very sad double meaning.

** We don't see much of the military during the final battle. The most we get is a brief few seconds showing the army rolling in with Humvees. Why such a lack-luster response? Well, the closest military instilation to Manhattan would be Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, home to around 500 active troops and 800 National Guard and reservists. You can make out the word "Military Police" on one of the Humvees. One of the units stationed at Fort Hamilton? A military police company.

** In the end, among other things, the Avengers stop the Chitauri invasion, but at the cost of several completely destroyed blocks of Manhattan and, according to a framed ''Bulletin'' headline in Karen Page's office in ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', several hundred casualties. Remember the reactions to 9/11, which brought down the World Trade Center towers and killed 2,700 people. The United States was traumatized and people still have not gotten over it, and these are mere understatements. Now, a little over a decade later, an even ''larger'' attack is undertaken by forces ''not even of this world'' and, in the eyes of the civilians, ''for absolutely no reason''. It cannot be emphasized or estimated how the entire world would react to these horrifying revelations. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/avengers-damage-manhattan-would-cost-160-billion-322486 estimated]] that the amount of damage done to New York in the movie would cost $160 billion to repair. And think even more: in the MCU, Hurricane Sandy's impact on New York City in October 2012 was probably much worse than it was in real life because there's no way that all the damage from the Chitauri attack was fixed by the time Sandy struck.

* The subtle implications that being unconscious undoes Loki's MindControl, meaning that unless Loki was re-possessing them every morning, anyone under his control [[AndIMustScream was awake the entire time]]. [[FridgeBrilliance Which also explains]] why Clint looked more and more worn down every time we saw him: he hadn't slept for days; this, in turn, explains why Romanov was able to beat him in a fistfight in close quarters; although Hawkeye is more of a sniper than a boxer, he still has the better part of 50 or so pounds of muscle on Black Widow. Sleep Deprivation would slow him enough for Black Widow to beat him. It would also explain why Selvig speaks in such an overexcited way while under mind control as if he's had too much caffeine.

** For that matter, with the benefit of hindsight after it's revealed in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' that [[spoiler: [=SHIELD=] has been irreparably infiltrated by [=HYDRA=]]], there was probably an ulterior motive to trying to nuke Manhattan: kill the aliens, kill the Avengers, and probably kill a bunch of other potential superheroes who could stop them in the future, such as Spider-Man.

* It's subtle, but Loki occasionally betrays a strong fear of Thor, such as when the Thunder God first lands on the Quinjet. He also looks rather startled when Thor tries to break out of Hulk's cage, causing a sizeable crack in the glass. And lastly, just before asking for his drink, Loki glances nervously at Thor a few times before shifting his gaze to the other side of the room. The best part? He ends up looking at Iron Man, ''behind whom is standing the Hulk''. Loki would rather stare in the direction of "the monster" that smashed him than make eye contact with Thor.

* Why is Loki muzzled in the end? Because even without his powers, [[ManipulativeBastard he's a master of manipulation]]. So neither Thor, nor the rest of The Avengers are taking any more chances with him upon recapture.

* Fridge and funny, when Pepper is whispering into Tony's ear about the things she will do for him, Phil looks uncomfortable and is shifting his gaze alot, that's because he is an exceptionally good secret agent type, he can hear very well and read lips, he knows exactly what she is saying to Tony!

* It seemed it took Cap, Black Widow and Hawkeye a long time in their Quinjet to help Tony as he lampshades: "What, did you stop off for drive through?!" An unseen story for this could also explain what happened to the other Quinjet commandeered by Loki's flunkies. Cap and the others could have encountered the rogue jet on their way to Stark Tower and battled it in a dogfight. Hawkeye and Widow having the more experience flying and using the Quinjet's weapons respectively, would have taken out the other Quinjet without showing visible damage before continuing on to NYC.

* When Tony and Steve are talking about Coulson's death, Tony calls him an "idiot" and says he had no idea what he was doing and that he "should have waited." Steve then points out that he was just doing his duty, and Tony angrily points out that "We are not soldiers!" This scene is pointed in its own right, but remember the last time - and the circumstances - where Tony lost someone else dear to him: Yinsen, who gave his life to buy Tony time to escape the cave. Tony saying that Coulson should have waited, that he was in over his head, and that they "are not soldiers" applies just as much to Yinsen. It's clear that, despite all this time, [[TearJerker Tony still hasn't forgotten or gotten entirely over Yinsen's sacrifice]], and learning of another friend's death has shaken him deeply.

* The Hulk is played by [[TheOtherDarrin Mark Ruffalo]], who looks more like the Hulk than the previous Bruce Banner because he's always a little bit angry, always a little bit Hulk. There's also a steady progression of sorts between the three otherwise unrelated Hulk portrayals thus far. [[{{Film/Hulk}} Bana!Hulk is at once scared of his own power, yet manic over what he can do with it]]; [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk Norton!Hulk is still scared of his own power, but too tired from being on the run to actually show it]]; Ruffalo!Hulk is even more tired from remaining on the run, but now ''fed up to hell over the whole thing'', [[TheSnarkKnight hence his newfound snark instinct]].

** Stan Lee had said that it was important to him that Bruce Banner became the Hulk in a heroic way, in the classic comics origin protecting Rick Jones from the detonation of an experimental Gamma Bomb. Some of the best interpretations of the Hulk (and certainly [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977 the one mostly drawn from]] [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk for Hulk's MCU solo movie]]) posit that Hulk and Banner are fundamentally the same person: Banner is fundamentally good, willing to sacrifice his own life for a complete stranger, so Hulk is fundamentally good. Despite his rage, he uses only the precise amount of force necessary to incapacitate his foes, instead of smearing them across the landscape, and defends the innocent and helpless with his incalculable strength and near-complete invulnerability. In the series, David Banner was always afraid of the Hulk because he knew what it was ''physically'' capable of, but not what it was ''emotionally'' capable of. As in, did the Hulk feel empathy and compassion, have a sense of right and wrong that would prevent mass slaughter? In the MCU, Bruce Banner has learned that Hulk does share his core values and beliefs, and that Hulk just won't kill someone unless they really, ''really'' push him into it. The serum may have amplified Bruce Banner, but that amplified personality doesn't ''change'' just because he's now big and green.

* The main driving plot of ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' was General "Thunderbolt" Ross' pursuit of Banner, to reclaim what he sees as "government property", specifically the power of the Hulk, to be used for military purposes. Ross had to have been watching the happenings in New York, and with the Hulk smashing an alien invasion like the weapon of mass destruction he and his superiors always envisioned, he quite probably swelled up with pride, or at least basked in the glow of self-satisfaction at being vindicated.

* Cap's insult about Tony knowing nothing about sacrifice isn't quite true. Tony has experienced loss, Yinsen being at the top of the list. In that light, it could give new meaning to Tony's vehemence when he snaps back "We are not soldiers!" Yinsen wasn't a soldier, he was just a person. Yinsen's family weren't soldiers. Many of the people who were killed by Stark-built weapons weren't soldiers. So Tony reacts badly to the attempt to anonymize losses behind the premise of war. Compared to the others' losses and sacrifices--Bruce has lost Betty and a part of his humanity, Hawkeye and Widow their autonomy, Cap his entire world--Tony arguably still had the least understanding of the word. Bearing in mind that each has a limited understanding of the other's backstory, their accusations are perfectly in-character, but an audience member who has seen their respective movies grasps that both heroes have blind spots in regard to the other.

* At the end, we see the entire army falling dead as soon as the mothership is blown up. While this seems like a very cheap way to win it actually makes a lot of sense when you consider one simple factor. Wireless electricity. Logistics is one of the most important part of any war. The need to provide supplies and support your troops is essential and the key to winning any war. Wireless electricity provided by the mothership solves all of these problems. The Chitauri army doesn't need to carry any ammo, doesn't need to carry any fuel, doesn't use expensive power sources like the arc reactor and seeing as how the Chitauri are cybernetic it's like that they don't even need food or rest. While this does create a big weakness as seen the benefits are far far larger as it makes any army massively more effective and thwarts a big chunk of the classical counter strategies.

* In ''Iron Man 2'', Whiplash's electrical attacks clearly damage the Iron Man armor. In ''The Avengers'', however, an electrical attack from Thor merely charges up the suit's energy reserves. It can be assumed that the battle with Whiplash inspired Tony Stark to create a means for the Iron Man armor to better endure electrical attacks, and harness their energy. Alternatively, there's a strong implication that the element Tony synthesized to replace the palladium is based on the tesseract, which is one of the Infinity Stones.

* Captain America's [[http://cdn.d23.disney.go.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/042312_FS_MeetTheAvengers_gallery_1.jpg new uniform]] provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. seems brighter, tighter fitting and a bit more garish than the one he wore fighting in WWII. That uniform, while in the colors of the American flag, still had the [[http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/264838_S/New-Captain-America-Photo-Shows-Clear-Full-Body-Shot-Of-Caps-Costume.jpg look and feel of practical combat fatigues]]. In RealLife, it's because director Creator/JossWhedon wanted Cap in ''The Avengers'' to look more like the comic book. In the movie, this can be explained when FanBoy Agent Coulson tells Steve he took part in the design. He probably knew Cap mostly from his [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9fwsbELr-p4/Ti4c3XLAFEI/AAAAAAAAJ00/eFa4nG3sHUU/s1600/War%2BBonds.jpg original "Star Spangled Man" costume]], as seen on his trading cards (and based on the actual comic book costume). Coulson also said they "need a little old fashioned" now, meaning that Cap is also important for the world not just as leader of the Avengers team but as a symbol the way he was used during WWII in his propaganda costume. (A bit of FridgeHorror, since, had Phil gotten Steve to sign them, they would be worth ''less'' than a pristine set. He probably wouldn't have cared, though.)

** And later revelations that the Tessseract is actually an Infinity Stone suggests that the derivations go even deeper: as Infinity Stones pre-date pretty much everything else in the cosmos, the aforementioned similarities between Aesir technology and the Tesseract suggest that ''the Asgardians'' derived their own technology by reverse-engineering its powers, too!

* The family motto behind the surname Coulson is, translated, I will die for those I love.

* The scene where [[BadassBystander the old German man]] refuses to kneel before Loki is, of course, awesome, AsYouKnow, but let's look at the full weight of his ShutUpHannibal line: Loki insists that [[AGodAmI there are no men like him]], and the man replies that there are ''always'' men like him. This isn't just a comparison between Loki and Hitler, this is a self-proclaimed god being told by one of the nameless mortals that he is ''nothing special''. For Loki, that's about the biggest slap to the face he received until he tried to go toe to toe with [[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown The Hulk.]] It also references what [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Abraham Erskine told Steve Rogers]]: "The first country the Nazis invaded was their own"... the old German may well have been one of the Nazis' victims.

** The Mk. VII, with it's back-mounted repulsors freeing up the palms while mid-air, along with an expanded suite of missiles and re-usable lasers, as well as another iteration on the transport system that sacrifices the compact size of the Suitcase armor in favor of focusing on armor and firepower.

** that is at least partly how Tony sees himself when looking at some of his issues regarding his dad in ''Film/IronMan2''. He is presumably insecure about it especially as Steve was no doubt referring to Howard, so even though Tony is a genius, he might think that he doesn't measure up to his dad. He clearly is a genius considering that he was able to make the first suit in a cave WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS! Tony has the added advantage of being born into privilege yes, but we are shown that he is a genius without his money. Especially as the opening to ''Film/IronMan1'' stated that he graduated MIT summa cum laude and that he accomplished a bunch of other things that only geniuses would be able to do at really young ages.

** Yes, that is at least partly how Tony sees himself when looking at some of his issues regarding his dad in ''Film/IronMan2''. He is presumably insecure about it especially as Steve was no doubt referring to Howard, so even though Tony is a genius, he might think that he doesn't measure up to his dad. He clearly is a genius considering that he was able to make the first suit in a cave WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS! Tony has the added advantage of being born into privilege yes, but we are shown that he is a genius without his money. Especially as the opening to ''Film/IronMan1'' stated that he graduated MIT summa cum laude and that he accomplished a bunch of other things that only geniuses would be able to do at really young ages.

** Yes, that is at least partly how Tony sees himself when looking at some of his issues regarding his dad in ''Film/IronMan2''. He clearly is a genius considering that he was able to make the first suit in a cave WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS! Tony has the added advantage of being born into privilege yes, but we are shown that he is a genius without his money. Especially as the opening to ''Film/IronMan1'' stated that he graduated MIT summa cum laude and that he accomplished a bunch of other things that only geniuses would be able to do at really young ages.

* The way Loki looks when he first appears, all through the first scene, as well as the way he acts throughout the film shows he's not only not in his right mind, but maybe under control of the spear as well, and not willingly. Look at the first scene. He's sweaty, he has sunken in eyes, he sounds worn down, he's clearly weak, and when he looks at the spear, it like he doesn't even know he's holding it at first. Other than his reaction to the spear, all these things are signs of heat exhaustion or even heat stroke. Now, ''what'' is Loki? Jötun, a.k.a. a Frost Giant. Even the scanner on the cage shows he is a physically cold figure. Loki was ''tortured'' with heat, and forced to use the spear. Why forced? Well, in ''Film/Thor'', his eyes are green and pretty natural looking. In this movie, his eyes are blue, though not as blank as Barton's and Selvig's are, but something does seem off about them except at one moment in the film when Thor and he are on the balcony of Stark Tower. Thor makes Loki look at what he's caused, and for a brief moment, when it seems he can see what he's done, his eyes look frightened and upset by what he sees, and they're green again. Then they go back to being cold and blue and he stabs Thor. It's like he wants to fight the urge to do so too. Up until the opening of this movie, Loki has been known to be a good brother to Thor who snapped and lashed out against the way Odin had treated him, but in this movie, he's all-out evil, and it seems like it's not really Loki. And just one extra point about the spear. Yes, Bruce is the Hulk, but when the whole group is fighting and he gets pissed off, it's not the Hulk that scares everyone. Bruce grabbed the spear without even knowing it. It's like the thing called to him, asking to be picked up. It doesn't need to be held to control people. All of these things point to the spear being the true villain of this film. Loki was a Frost Giant tortured into submission and forced to use/be controlled by it, and it even affects people whose hearts it hasn't touched. Talk about Nightmare Fuel.

* Considering that it took going unconsciousness to break Loki's MindControl, take a look at Hawkeye and Selvig throughout the movie. This is especially true for Selvig--he never changes clothing and starts noticeably growing stubble. It's clear that Loki is forcing those he controls to stay awake constantly in order to complete his project. It also explains why Hawkeye looks worse and worse. It may also have affected him in the fight with Natasha.

* Yes Loki killed 80 people in 2 days....but the government was willing to kill off ''a whole city'' to try and stop the Chitauri... ''Thousands'' of peoples lives decided for them in ''ten minutes''.
** And what makes it worse is it might not have stopped them the Chitauri could have just flown back through the wormhole as the nuke hit making the whole thing ''pointless''.

* After watching (Film/CaptainAmericatheWinterSolider) for the hundredth time, suddenly, Coulson's "Watching you while you were sleeping, I mean frozen in the ice" comment suddenly sounds less like creepy fanboying, more like the only thing protecting Steve from being murdered or experimented on by HYRDA while sleeping, or just defrosted and disorientated. Who's to say without Coulson, HYRDA wouldn't have done some terrible things to Cap? All the while the poor thing can't do anything about it? Steve should feel grateful Coulson was there now...

* The cops may have been so initially distrusting of Captain America giving them orders because to them, this was some guy who was pretending to be the country's most renowned war hero who the cops most likely admired and could possibly get more people hurt or killed in their antics to help (since no one aside from S.H.I.E.L.D. knew that Captain America was revived in the present time). But once Steve proved he was capable of fighting the Chitauri and that he knew what he was saying, the cops were quick to relay his orders.