New AVENGERS Photos Featuring The Hunk Hulk's Mark Ruffalo!!

I must say I can't stand whoever creates some of these characters shots - Mark Ruffalo's in particular. Sure he is in character but break this divergence gently to audiences, don't shove it down our throats like this image does. Then of course why not give all this to Entertainment Weekly who will further deface them with their watermarks! Anyway, you can view EW's photoshop mess by clicking the link.

I've done a bit of retouch to show the characters shots with a bit more flair in the first shot, but it is still desiring so much more.

Click images to enlarge.

On the plus side, EW has provided some behind the scenes shots too - still scourged by their watermark (which I promptly tried to get around).

On with the content. Yes Ruffalo is in character here (lower left in first photo) as Dr. Bruce Banner which is a bit of a surprise as traditionally Banner is presented as a mild and reserved physicist as the alter ego to the rampaging Hulk. Perhaps Marvel felt that personality wasn't appealing enough in the first couple of theatrical tries at THE HULK and wanted to reinvent the wheel a bit here. Whatever the reason, we are being introduced to it through this one photo and it WILL cause controversy. Clearly Dr. Banner is pushing his presence.

ET talks about how the Marvel characters are not getting along in the movie - "Egos, tempers, uneasy alliances and bad attitudes are threatening the group, and failure would be catastrophic." The trailer for THE AVENGERS hinted at this and it will certainly make an interesting backdrop to the action to say the least. "Just because they’re super heroes doesn’t mean they’re super friends," says Renner.

Joss Whedon is also taking a page from IRON MAN productions as he rewrites dialogue on the fly while shooting. "There is a weird element of: they handed me one of the biggest movies of all time, and I'm making it up as I go."

Here's the synopsis:
Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, “Marvel’s The Avengers” brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time.

Here's the main cast:
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
Chris Evans as Captain America
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Don Cheadle as Col. James Rhodes
Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Stellan Skarsgård as Professor Erik Selvig

For all our coverage for THE AVENGERS click here. Look for this mammoth movie in theaters May 4, 2012 - they don't come any bigger than this one folks!