New Avengers posters show Marvel comic gang together for the first time

The World's greatest team of Superheros: New Avengers posters show Marvel comic gang together for the first time

By Mike Larkin

Last updated at 6:36 AM on 16th December 2011


It is the question that has been been tantalising comics fans for months - what will the world's greatest team of superheroes look like.

Now fans have been treated to the release of two new promotional banners showing the highly anticipated Avengers line-up.

But while Marvel fanatics can see the team together for the first time, some will no doubt be left disappointed by the notable absence of The Hulk, as the character is shown in his human Bruce Banner form instead.

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Bruce's banner: Mark Ruffalo features as the scientist with just a hint of green hinting at the monster within in the newly released promotional material

B-listers: While Nick Fury and Loki have their fans there is no doubt the top stars are in the other poster

No doubt movie fans will love seeing Mark Ruffalo dressed as the geeky nuclear scientist, with just a hint of green showing the creature within, but it seems fans of his incredibly angry alter ego will have to wait.

However this surely means anticipation will just build all the more as the countdown to the blockbuster hopeful's release in May, when they will finally see what his latest incarnation will definitively look like.

Ruffalo's character is seen standing next to Robert Downey Jr in his Iron Man suit, with Chris Evans' Captain America and Chris Hemsworth's Thor standing on either side.

Known quantities: Comic book movie fans already know what the other characters look like as they have been prancing around in costume

Fiery: Scarlett does not have a Superpower as the Black Widow

On the second poster you see Samuel L Jackson dressed as the superhero team's boss Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as supersniper Hawkeye, Scarlett Johannson as secret agent extraordinaire Black Widow and Tom Hiddleston in the guise of the movie's villain Loki.

No doubt fans will be excited to see the new pictures from the blockbuster film.

But the absence of quite literally film's biggest character, will surely be a bit of a disappointment.

Aside cartoons, the character has rendered three times for the screen.

Eric Bana starred as Banner in the 2003 film Hulk, which received mixed reviews and was a box office disappointment , with many complaining about the green antihero's fake looking CGI.

A tale of two Hulks: Most fans preferred the more muscular 2008 Incredible Hulk to the CGi in 2003's Hulk

American History X star Ed Norton took over the role for the 2008's The Incredible Hulk, which was generally better received but did not score much bigger with cinemagoers.

For many though, the definitive rendition is bodybuilder Lou Ferringo's performance as the antihero in the hit 70s and 80s television show, also called The Incredible Hulk.

According to comic lore the not-so-jolly green giant is virtually indestructible, with his power only limited to how angry he gets.

The Avengers is set for release Summer 2012.

The original and best: But for many fans bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno is still the definitive screen Hulk

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2074890/New-Avengers-posters-Marvel-Superheroes-time.html#ixzz1ggv6TnCA

Which presenter is the worst value for money?

Michael McIntyre or Holly Willoughby? Which presenter is the worst value for money?

By Chris Hall






Last updated at 10:00 PM on 13th August 2011

Multiply a presenter’s airtime by their audience. Divide that figure into their salary. In our version of Celebrity Squares, sadly, biggest does not mean best...

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Above, the league table of value for money. This shows A) each presenter's audience-hours for 2010 (how many hours they spent on air multiplied by their average audience); B) their reported salary, and their final score (B divided by A), which equates to the size of their picture

What really makes a popular presenter?

You might find them witty, erudite and charming – or they might set your teeth on edge. Some of you might swear blind that Alan Carr is the best thing on TV – there’s no accounting for taste.

But what happens when you take a slightly more objective look at the world of broadcasting?

We analysed the reported salaries of several household names from the world of TV and radio compared with the number of audience hours (see right for details) they racked up in the course of a year, to result in a rough coefficient of ‘value for money’ – excluding those whose shows clearly require a disproportionate amount of preparation time off-camera.

The unfortunate top spot is occupied by Chris Tarrant, who remains on a highly lucrative retainer at ITV, despite Millionaire no longer attracting the audiences it once did.

At the other end of the scale are the breakfast radio presenters – like them or loathe them, Chris Evans, Chris Moyles and John Humphrys put the hours in and rack up the listeners like no one else.

* For ease of use, the final score (right) has been scaled up by a factor of 1,000

CHRIS TARRANT: 39.2

MICHAEL MCINTYRE: 24.7

JAMES CORDEN: 20.3

ANT AND DEC: 16.5

ALAN CARR: 13.5

ALAN TITCHMARSH: 8.54

SIMON COWELL: 8.14

JEREMY PAXMAN: 7.4

GRAHAM NORTON: 7.3

ADRIAN CHILES: 5.9

GARY LINEKER: 5.73

ANDREW MARR: 5.16

DAVID DIMBLEBY: 5

STEPHEN FRY: 4.42

ANNE ROBINSON: 4.1

VERNON KAY: 3.17

EAMONN HOLMES: 3.16

ALAN HANSEN: 3.06

LOUIS WALSH: 3.05

FIONA BRUCE: 2.79

CHERYL COLE: 2.67

DARA O'BRIAIN: 2.62

DERMOT O'LEARY: 1.94

PHILIP SCHOFIELD: 1.7

BRUCE FORSYTH: 1.54

HOLLY WILLOUGHBY: 1.37

SUE BARKER: 0.82

JOHN TORODE: 0.7

MATT BAKER: 0.58

GREG WALLACE: 0.53

JEREMY VINE: 0.48

JOHN HUMPHRYS: 0.27

CHRIS EVANS: 0.18

HUW EDWARDS: 0.13

CHRIS MOYLES: 0.11

FEARNE COTTON: 0.1

SARAH MONTAGUE: 0.07

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2024856/Michael-McIntyre-Holly-Willoughby-Which-presenter-worst-value-money.html#ixzz1UzsKhNzo

Chris Evans' leading lady Hayley Atwell takes the plunge in red dress at Captain America premiere

Dressed to kill: Chris Evans' leading lady Hayley Atwell takes the plunge in red dress at Captain America premiere

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 3:47 PM on 20th July 2011


She trained solidly for six days a week so she could convince everyone she could 'kick butt' for her role in Captain America.

And Hayley Atwell, who plays Chris Evans' leading lady in the comic book movie, did just that at the film's premiere in Los Angeles Last Night.

The 29-year-old actress poured her curves into a plunging three-quarter-length red dress for the event as she posed with her co-star.

Leading couple: Chris Evans and co-star Hayley Atwell pose on the red carpet at the premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger in Los Angeles last night

Taking the plunge: Hayley looked stunning in a low cut red dress while Evans donned glasses and a Navy blue suit

Duchess actress Hayley plays the part of freedom fighter Peggy Carter in World War II set movie, Captain America: The First Avenger.

Speaking about her role during filming, she said: 'I'm training at the moment six days a week to make her a bit more military and make it convincing that I could kick butt.'

She said of the character: 'She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels.

'She's an English soldier through and through, although she always looks fabulous.'

Glamorous ladies: Hayley teamed her look with beige heels while Vanessa Hudgens, who does not appear in the film, leant her support in a short gold dress

Captain America tells the story of a scrawny, bullied orphan named Steve Rogers who is chosen for a top secret government project during World War II in which he becomes a test subject for a super serum.

The serum transforms him into a strong and able soldier named Captain America, and he leads the U.S. Army in its fight against the Nazis.

Evans, who plays the title character in Friday's release of the movie, put on 15 lbs of muscle to play the role.

The film also stars Dominic Cooper (as Howard Stark) and Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury).

Parading their pins: Today presenter Maria Menunos looked fabulous in a form-fitting patterned dress while Avatar star Zoe Saldana slipped into shorts

Here come the boys: Co-star Dominic Cooper Samuel L. Jackson

Other celebs who came out in support of the movie included High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens, who looked stunning in a plunging gold dress.

Today Presenter Maria Menunos was also on hand in a form-fitting patterned dress while Avatar actress Zoe Saldana put her legs on show in short shorts and a matching jacket.

Having literally built Evans into what the film's director Joe Johnston called 'the perfect human specimen,' the movie makers had to figure out how the 6ft tall actor with the muscled-up physique could convincingly portray the pre-serum Steve Rogers, a scrawny kid of a mere 90-something lbs.

One option for was to superimpose Evans' head on a skinny body double, much like the technology employed by filmmaker David Fincher in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button when Brad Pitt had to age backward.

Joining in the fun: Robert Downey Jr and 90210 star Matt Lanter supported the event even though they are not in the movie

There was no way to take a year off because its backers at Marvel Studios have been on a tight schedule rolling out their superheroes one by one - including the recent Thor - so audiences will be familiar with most of them when they join forces in next summer's The Avengers.

'Chris moves in such a unique way; he doesn't move like anybody else,' Johnston told Reuters.

'The body double could not move like him. As hard as he tried to watch Chris and duplicate the movements, it just wasn't the same.'

That was perfectly fine with Evans, who was not keen on having another actor involved in creating the iconic role.

Happy couple: Chris Hemsworth, star of Thor which is also in the Marvel Comic books franchise, and his wife, actress Elsa Pataky

'The beginning part of the movie is so crucial to get the audience invested in who Steve is, I didn't want to share that part of the performance with another actor,' Evans, 30, told Reuters. 'I talked to Joe about it and thankfully, he agreed.'

Instead of the body double/superimposed head, the filmmakers used a 'shrinking' technique and computers to basically erase portions of Evans' strong physique on screen.

'We filmed over 250 shots of Chris and used digital technology to 'shrink' him down to what we called 'Skinny Steve,' Johnston explained.

'It's pretty amazing,' added Evans. 'They took shape out of my jaw line, they shrunk my skeleton and they made my shoulders less broad.'

Looking dapper: Evans play the titular role in the movie which is released on Friday in the U.S.

Brawn: The American actor put on 15lbs of muscle to play the part, seen here with co-star Atwell who plays a World War II freedom fighter

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2016720/Chris-Evans-leading-lady-Hayley-Atwell-takes-plunge-red-dress-Captain-America-premiere.html#ixzz1Sij3rqHJ