Amazing Photo: Marvel's 'The Avengers' assemble for the first time ever at Comic-Con 2010

This is just a fraction of the cast, but of course we're gonna focus on Scarlett Johansson

Well, it's all official now. Joss Whedon is definitely directing The Avengers for Marvel Studios. Everyone that you hoped to be onboard, is onboard. And-- in a move that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that's been following the situation as it's developed-- Mark Ruffalo has been confirmed as the new Incredible Hulk. Marvel Studios made history today at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con by getting the entire cast of 2012's The Avengers on-stage together, all at once, for the very first time. We've got some photos of this historic (and incredibly geeky) event for you below, my gentle Examiner readers...

You know, I'm just not all that into superhero stuff, but I'll admit that it must've been incredible to be sitting inside Hall H at the San Diego Comic-Con this evening. For the first time ever, Marvel Studios assembled the entire cast of their upcoming franchise-orgy that is The Avengers: Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, and-- in what was a surprise only to those that haven't been keeping tabs on the situation-- Mark Ruffalo were all amongst the group that gathered in Hall H stage this evening. Woulda made a "True Believer" outta me. Here's what this historic event looked like:

Pretty awesome, right? From left to right, that's: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson from the Iron Man movies), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Samuel L. Jackson (wants "these motherf-cking snakes off his motherf-cking plane"), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (the new Incredible Hulk), director Joss Whedon, and some guy that kinda looks like Harvey Weinstein if he were in his 40's. This is the first time the whole cast's been put shoulder-to-shoulder, and it's a formidable sight, is it not? Samuel L. Jackson got the honor of introducing everyone, but Downey Jr. sounds like he stole the scene with an impromptu bit on the mic:

Then Downey took the mic, and before he got down to business he took a moment to comment on the wild ambition of Inception before proclaiming the idea of bringing together the leads of all of Marvel’s superhero films for The Avengers to be the most wildly ambitious movie idea yet hatched.

RDJ: "Don’t anybody stab anybody anywhere until I’m done talkin’!”

Yeah, I'm definitely going to try and make Comic-Con next year. Maybe DC will try and top this with the first-ever assembling of the Justic League. Oh, who am I kidding? DC can't even get a good Superman movie off the ground. Anyway, there are reports about Marvel's big announcement all over the internet right now, and they're all saying the same thing: this was an incredible, unforgettable moment. Meanwhile, I was at home trying to force myself through Cop Out.

For those not in the know, The Avengers combines some of Marvel's biggest superheroes into one ass-kicking team. The film based on the series of the same name will act as a sequel of sorts to Iron Man 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Incredible Hulk, and next summer's Thor. If you've been following Marvel's movies over the past couple years, you've probably noticed the studio building references to their other properties into each film (such as the post-credits sequence on Iron Man 2), and this is the end result of all that Easter Egging. Whedon sounds just as excited as fans will be about all this:

I’ve had a dream all my life,” he exclaimed, “and it was not this good!

This movie represents quite a lot of effort on Marvel's part. Besides all the script-wrangling that had to take place in order to put this one together, the studio's also had to negotiate contracts for everyone you see standing on that stage. Some of those guys have signed eight-pictures deals with the studio, coming on for far less money than they normally would (but also getting the guarantee of eight films' worth of work, which I'd buy for a dollar), and-- as we saw with the Edward Norton negotiations-- it's a tricky process. Yep, Joss Whedon's got a helluva lotta work ahead of him if he wants to meet the May 4th, 2012 date for The Avengers' arrival in theaters.

One thing that's remained curiously absent from all this: fan-favorite and well-known wife-beater Ant-Man, who was rumored to be played by Nathan Fillion in the days leading up to tonight's announcement (that rumor's since been debunked). Director Edgar Wright's got an Ant-Man script that he's been talking about filming for the past few years, and he's always attached Simon Pegg to the role. Might we get a Simon Pegg-as-Ant-Man cameo in Whedon's The Avengers? I'm willing to bet that we'll know sooner rather than later. Just look at 'im: he's adorable!

BONUS: Speaking of Simon Pegg, Comic-Con, and Simon Pegg (I didn't have a third thing), here's a shot of Pegg in the upcoming Paul, directed by Adventureland's Greg Mottola. In the film-- which features yet another glorious pairing of Pegg with Nick Frost-- Pegg and Frost travel to Comic-Con and befriend an escaped alien (he's busted out of Area 51) along the way. Here's a shot of those two in-character at the Con:

Not pictured: Seth Rogen, who plays the alien (in voice-over only). As per usual, you can stay tuned for more updates from Comic-Con, about The Avengers, and whatever else we come across that might entertain you here at the Comedy Examiner's Office. If you aren't already signed up, be sure to hit the "Subscribe" button on your way out to get all future Comedy Examiner articles delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge, the moment they're published. We've got all manner of time-killing nonsense for you to fight productivity with during your work-week, so stay tuned for more in the near future. Here's some other recent articles you might enjoy:

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