History Heartwarming / TheAvengers2012

** Meta example: Chris Evans was unsure about the "I understood that reference" line, because he was worried that would make audiences think Captain America was unintelligent. However, he was quickly comforted after he watched the movie with an audience and he saw that they found the line humorous as opposed to stupid.
*** The line works because it's been set up so well. From his first appearance in the film, Cap has been set up as the classic "Man out of Time", who has difficulty fitting in and understanding his new "home", and the story doesn't play it for laughs, though it doesn't become overly maudlin either - it's just a quietly sad situation for him. When the "OZ" reference comes along, it's one of the first times he's able to really feel like he's part of the conversation, an insider rather than an outsider.

** ''Meta-heartwarming'': Both Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Mark Ruffalo have gone through some hellacious personal experiences and come out on top, bringing a poignant RealitySubtext to the scene's emphasis on survival.

** Well, he served with an integrated unit with a black man, a Japanese American, two non-US members (the British Falsworth and and French Dernier), and his immediate superior was Major Peggy Carter. Throughout First Avenger Cap didn't seem to have an issue with any of them being in the military, so this applies for that movie as well as this one.

* It seems Natasha is more emotional about the other Avengers than she is about most things. Despite her fear of the Hulk, she tries to calm Bruce in order to stop his transformation. She shows genuine concern for Captain America when she warns him about Loki and Thor, and she even shows concern for Stark when he almost dies destroying the Chitauri. However her most well known one is her undying determination to save Hawkeye from Loki's control. It seems this Widow has a heart after all.

** A double shout-out to that guy considering that he does all that while being so scared that it's visible despite his face being completely covered by his respirator and black visor.

* ComicBook/NickFury referring to Phil Coulson as his one good eye.
* After Agent Coulson's death, Tony is berating him for his foolishness in standing up to Loki where he knew he was outmatched and dying because of it. What makes this heartwarming is that Tony is clearly upset and visibly fighting back tears (props go to Robert Downey, Jr. for this performance as well) showing that he's just trying to rationalize the death of someone he truly liked.

** And tries to help Bruce. In the ''Iron Man'' films she wasn't [[FanService really emotionally involved]] and is kind of a femme fatale so its nice to see her human side.
* After Hawkeye recovers from being brainwashed by Loki, Cap stops by his and Natasha's room to look for a pilot. Bare in mind that Cap has never met Hawkeye outside of him being controlled, and he visibly pauses on seeing him. However it just takes a small nod from Natasha for Cap to warmly welcome his new comrade.

* When Tony gives his headcount speech to Loki he mentions Cap, "a living legend, who kind of lives up to the legend." After disrespecting and butting heads with Cap for most of the movie, Tony is able to give Cap his props.

** Even the (rather heavy) implication that Fury really was expecting Hulk to be necessary to win the day is this. Fury believed that even the Hulk, which everyone else, even Banner, sees as ''at best'' a barely-aimed walking disaster and at worst as a completely uncontrollable and indiscriminate monster, could be a hero. And he was absolutely right.

** Bruce also calls Cap 'Steve' by this point, meaning he must have told him offscreen that it was okay to address him informally.

* The S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot who [[HeroicSacrifice risked his life to get The Hulk off the ship and save everyone on it.]]

** Watch Bruce's face at this. He is ''amazed'' that Tony deliberately risked unleashing the Hulk, and more than that, he's delighted that someone is so willing to trust his self-control. Seeing his complete lack of surprise at the face S.H.I.E.L.D. had a back-up plan to kill him if he Hulked out and everyone's sheer jumpiness at the very idea that Loki intends to unleash the Hulk later in the film, it's clear nobody has been so casual with him in a very long time. The disbelieving grin on his face gets this Troper every time.

** A bit more awesome is that a) this man is a holocaust survivor and b) it was added in to avert the unfortunate implications of a German crowd kneeling before a supervillain.