RANKING THE AVENGERS' MOVIES!

AAAHHHH! My inner nerd (who am I kidding, I'm nerd inside and out) has exploded.  "The Hunger Games" was incredible, "Dark Knight Rises" looks incredible, and now "Avengers" TV spots are popping out everywhere.  I won't lie, between the 3 superhero movies coming out this year (the other being the Spider-Man reboot) "Avengers" lands at a solid #2.  Why not 1? Well...it took a couple of reasons to truly realize how great "The Dark Knight" was.  I had a similar experience with "Inception," you have to see Nolan's movies a few times to soak in.  There's no denying "TDKR" will break insane sales and might get a Best Picture nomination to make up for the predecessor's loss.

 Any other year "Avengers" would be at the top, though.  Since 2008 when superhero movies were saved (Iron Man, Hulk reboot, TDK) the suspense has been building up to this film, and I've tried to avoid the online trailers to gather up some suspense.  From the 5 movies that have been released prior to "The Avengers," here's my list from the ones that were good, to the ones that took it to the next level:

5. THOR (2011)
Thor was a good movie, certainly a blockbuster...but it certainly isn't in classic status.  Natalie Portman was in it....but who remembers that?  She was so largely overshadowed by Thor, played well with a cocky air by Chris Hemsworth.  Loki was also a good villain, but the film to me felt a little too much like summer fair, instead of well-made cinema.

4. THE INCREDIBLE HULK (2008)
Let's go ahead and clear the air right now by addressing Ang Lee's boooooooooooooooooorrring adaptation in 2003. There.  It's been addressed.  Edward Norton AKA one of the best actors of the 90's does a really nice job of channeling the monster within.  I'll tell you the truth it's been a good 3 years or so since I saw "TIH" in theaters, but the impressionable villain it featured was cool enough to have it right above "Thor."  I was surprised to hear of Mark Ruffalo P.S. It has one of the best Stan Lee cameos in any Marvel movie.

3. IRON MAN 2 (2010)

Kicking off the blockbuster summer season of 2010 "Iron Man 2" was great, but didn't have the same classic status as the original.  Mickey Rourke's cheesy Russian villain was memorable, but Robert Downey Jr.'s ironically parallel portrayal of a hero delving into booze was alarmingly accurate.  It left you wanting so much more in "Iron Man 3."

2. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)
I was leery about going to see this.  Captain America is OLD, and I wasn't sure how they'd usher a character from the 40's into 2011.  Luckily I was wrong, and the 3D used in this movie was also spectacular.  Chris Evans is fine as an initially weak than almighty superhero who still has that sense of fear about him. The film's portrayal of propaganda also landed it a spot in....my history class!  Talk about historically accurate.

1. IRON MAN (2008)

The movie that started it all, coming out just a month before "Hulk" did, "Iron Man" was an exciting start to the Avengers series, and a marvelous comeback for Downey Jr., who became a cinematic giant after this.  Jeff Bridges is perfect, Terrence Howard was great.  "Iron Man" wasn't just a great superhero movie, it's a great movie, period.