Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

Marvel's The Avengers is the fifth film in the Marvel Film Universe. It concluded Chapter 1 and was directed by Joss Whedon. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Samuel L. Jackson. It gained mass fame and helped make the MFU famous.

Plot
At a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, Loki uses the power of the Tesseract to travel back to Earth. There, he mind controls both Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Dr. Erik Selvig. Loki then gets ahold of the Tesseract and travels away before destroying the base.

Natasha Romanoff is on a mission in Europe when she is called by Nick Fury to come in and recruit Bruce Banner. She then travels to India and meets Banner, convincing him to come to S.H.I.E.L.D. to help find the Tesseract.

Fury then convinces Steve Rogers and Tony Stark to join the Avengers Initiative in hopes to defeat Loki. Loki meanwhile begins his endgame plan to use the power of the Tesseract and open a portal to start the Chitauri Invasion.

Fury assembles the team as they head to Germany and capture Loki. While flying to the S.H.I.E.L.D. hellicarrier, Thor takes Loki and flies to a mountain in hopes of taking Loki prisoner. Steve and Tony confront and battle him, before learning that he is on their side and helps to take Loki away.

While kept prisoner, the team argues over Fury's precautions as Loki's scepter emits high energy levels. These lead to Hawkeye and a group of soldiers attacking the hellicarrier and blowing a part of it up, giving rise to Banner's transformation as the Hulk. The team works together to take down the soldiers while Loki gains possession of the Tesseract. Romanoff also gets Hawkeye out of his mind control.

With the help from a device built by Erik Selvig and the Tesseract, Loki brings his Chitauri army into Earth and begins his invasion. The six heroes unite to stop him and succeed, while also getting Selvig out of his mind control. Tony flies a missile into the Chitauri base via the portal right as it closes. Afterwards, Loki is taken with Thor and the Tesseract back to Asgard, while the rest of the team slit up knowing they'll all have to unite again sometime.

In a post-credits scene, Thanos is alerted by The Other that Loki as failed, and to challenge the Avengers would be to challenge death. He then stands up and smiles.

Cast
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Scarlet Johansen as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye

Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill

Alexis Denisof as The Other

Stelan Skarsgard as Dr. Erik Selvig

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury