'The Avengers' assemble for teaser trailer

Posted Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 10:12 AM Central
Last updated Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 11:28 AM Central

by John Couture

We've talked time and again about good and bad trailers and the art of the teaser trailer. More often than not it seems that studios are getting lazy these days and not spending as much time as they should in the trailer bay to create enough sizzle for their films.

This is not the case for Paramount and Marvel.

The teaser trailer for The Avengers is as close to perfection as I think any teaser can get. It gives away practically nothing about the storyline that we didn't already know. It's a given that for an Avengers movie the Earth will come under an attack so furious that we will have little choice but to turn to The Avengers.

Since we have all met (or should have if you've seen the previous movies) the principal characters, there is no need for a second introduction. Instead, there's plenty of space for witty banter and no one does it better than Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark.

By the end of the trailer, the hair is standing straight up on my arms and the goosebumps are itching for a reason to emerge. They get their cue from the first look at Mark Ruffalo's Hulk.

I was ready to storm out of here and invade the local theater, but then I remembered that The Avengers doesn't debut in theaters until May 4, 2012. It's going to be a long six months. Check out the teaser below and some new official still released from Marvel.