AKA What will be the best comic book movie ever. Yes, ever.

Here it is comic book fans, what we’ve been waiting four long years for! The culmination of too many hours crammed into a cinema seat getting through The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011); the first trailer for Joss Whedon-directed, The Avengers, set to drop in 2012, is here.  Prepare to fangasm in 3… 2… 1…

For the uninitiated, The Avengers are Marvel’s premier superhero squad, consisting of the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow – all under the watchful eye (no pun intended) of Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel started the ball rolling on this project back in 2005, planning to release feature films (and sequels, depending on audience reaction) for the four most popular Avengers (see the list above), building up to a grand combination film which rolls all the characters into one storyline.

Details of the plot are thin on the ground. We do know that Tom Hiddleston is returning as Loki (last seen in Thor), as well as Stellan Skarsgård as the scientist he played in Thor. Rumour has it that that shiny blue whatchamacallit from Captain America (no, not Chris Evans) will also play a significant role.

The only change to the main line up is Mark Ruffalo, who is replacing Ed Norton as Bruce Banner (AKA The Incredible Hulk). You can also expect Marvel legend Stan Lee to make an appearance, as he does in every Marvel film. There’s plenty of info on The Avengers on Wikipedia and IMDB, so for now, let us know what deets you pick up in the trailer, as we all settle in to wait for May 2012!

*Pout* Nobody makes the son of Odin wait for seven months!