The Avengers (Joss Whedon) - 2012

Seven Marvel superheroes take just enough time away from fighting each other to save the world from certain destruction.  Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the adopted brother of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), steals the Tesseract (unlimited supply of energy) and threatens to dominate all earthlings after he and his robot army destroy New York City.  Apparently, the inventors of the cubic power source were still trying to determine how to turn the Tesseract into a cash cow.  Colonel Nick Fury, former agent and now director of Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistic Directive (SHIELD), makes calls to his friends to battle Loki and his army.  Unfortunately, Wolverine was on vacation at the time of this imminent global destruction.  Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) carries the heavy load here since none of the others can fly and shoot laser beams.  Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) seems especially vulnerable since she spends most of the movie firing a small pistol against giant robots.  John Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is very helpful as The Hulk when his anger is properly directed.  Captain America (Chris Evans) takes control of the NYCPD and would probably have given directions to the U.S Army if they had appeared.  The United Nations and the U.S. government were not contacted but a local city council group had control of nuclear weapons that they were quick to deploy to the chagrin of Colonel Fury.  The movie ended before the U.S. President could declare NYC a disaster area and send in the Red Cross.  After Loki and the Avengers were finished, Wall Street really needed a Congressional bailout.  With this crew of superheroes at our disposal, it is a wonder that tyrants like Kim Jong Un and Mahmoud Ahmajinedad continue to mess with us. [JAM 5/7/2012]