14 years later, it's still clear The Avengers should be a blueprint for any superhero crossover movie

After five movies, The Avengers marked the MCU's first crossover movie, merging together the wildly different tones of the Iron Man movies, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, as well as serving as the first proper introduction to Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner after Edward Norton's recasting.

It's a lot to balance in a two-and-a-half-hour movie, but Joss Whedon’s ensemble film manages to do justice to all of its heroes, becoming a blueprint for superhero crossovers. Whether it's our reintroduction to Steve Rogers training in a retro-style gym as he relives his traumatic past or Tony returning from a mission as he cracks jokes at Phil "his first name is Agent" Coulson's expense, each character remains true to themselves without feeling incongruous.

And it's because of this focus on creating such strong characters that it is such a joy to watch them interact. Steve and Tony clash from the start thanks to their fundamentally different approaches, while Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner share a kinship and connection.

Even Thor and the Hulk battle it out, bringing to life comic book pages fans have always hoped to see. Combined with Loki and Thor's heated family drama, The Avengers establishes touchpoints that the MCU comes back to again and again in later films – and it all started here.

Villain energy

One of the best examples of the focus on character dynamics in The Avengers comes from its villain. Tom Hiddleston's Loki is fantastic as the team's first big foe, all flowing hair and demonic energy coupled with the eloquent dialogue of a thesp treading the boards at the National Theater.

His stand-out scene has got to be when he brutally saws out someone's eye at the opera in Stuttgart to a classical music soundtrack, grinning manically at those watching on, before instructing everyone to kneel on the street outside. He's great fun to watch, committing totally to the bit, even when he's Hulk-smashed into the floor of Stark Towers.

However, what really makes Loki sing as a villain in The Avengers is his history with his brother Thor. From the moment they reunite after Thor "thought him dead", it's really just a mission for the God of Thunder to bring his brother home. Loki's whole motivation comes from the betrayal of his father, taking away what he believed was his birthright to rule. The pain of that carries him through his every action, making him so easy to manipulate.

There's a reason that this is the Loki who becomes the focus of his own spin-off show. He's broken and vulnerable at this point in the timeline, as well as being immensely powerful. It brings real stakes to The Avengers battle in this movie for Thor, and it's an example of the importance of leaning into the human (well, godly at least) drama that drives the big set pieces.

Doom ahead

Working out why The Avengers is on Disney's watchlist for Avengers: Doomsday then isn't too hard to do. For one, it will hopefully offer us a conclusion to Thor and Loki's story, as has been anticipated for so long. Just like in The Avengers, Thor thinks Loki is dead at this point. So if Doomsday does what I think it will and finally reunites the God of Thunder and the new version of Loki who's given up everything to save the multiverse, this will feel like a full-circle moment for these brothers.

That's not the only emotional pay-off I'm anticipating either. For me, the most enticing part of Avengers: Doomsday is what will happen when Steve Rogers, Thor, and the other OG Avengers realize that Doom shares the same face as Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr.'s return is important because so many of these characters felt Tony Stark's heroic sacrifice in Endgame as deeply as we did in the theater. We don't know how the film is going to address this new villain having the same face as the Avengers lynchpin, but to feel that reveal in all its horror, you need to know where it all started. This is especially important for Steve, and feels like the entire reason that the Russos brought him back in.

Tony and Steve have a storied history that started in The Avengers and has been crucial to the MCU to date. The pair clash from the very start, with Tony's jealousy towards the man his father idolized masked behind endless quips that Steve can't understand. This only grows as the pair realize how different their perspectives are.

It comes to a head when Steve tells Tony in The Avengers, "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Stark's response? "I think I would just cut the wire". It's a moment that has a huge pay-off come Avengers: Endgame when Tony does make the sacrifice play – and it's pretty devastating to think that this is something that could be ripped apart by the events of Doomsday.

As well as being Marvel's most tongue-in-cheek and quotable outing, The Avengers is where it all starts for this flawed team. The character dynamics, the tension, and the ultimate heroism displayed in this first movie are themes explored again and again in the MCU.

Of course, it's something that a relatively small cast of characters allowed. As the MCU has grown, it's been much harder to keep these dynamics as tight as they are, and it's something that is a bit of a worry heading towards Doomsday, which by last count has at least 30 confirmed superheroes.

But if the Russos can lean into these characters' history as they face their greatest threat yet, it could make for an all-time great Marvel movie. I just hope they've kept in mind the lessons learnt from the movie that kicked this whole universe off.

The Avengers is available to stream now on Disney Plus, ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday on December 18.

Look ahead with our list of upcoming Marvel movies and check out how to watch the Marvel movies in order ahead of your next re-watch. See you next week as we revisit Avengers: Infinity War.