Why bother with other new release when you can just revisit the Marvel Cinematic Universe one more time?

When Abrams met Spielberg...

Ever since striking out on their own to bring their back superhero catalog to the big screen, one of the things the folks at Marvel Studios have done particularly well is matching the right actor with the right colorfully-clad avenger. Learning from such casting bloopers (most of which were committed by other producers/studios) as Ben Affleck's Daredevil, Halle Berry's Storm and Ed Norton's Hulk, the company boldly tapped Robert Downey Jr. (who, at that point, was still primarily known for his off-screen antics) to headline their first independent production, 2008's Iron Man, and then handed the title role in Thor to the untested Australian actor, Chris Hemsworth. Both of those bold picks paid off big time, as Downey and Hemsworth proved to be the best things about their respective movies. The latter's imposing size and fierce sincerity were a great match for the Norse God of Thunder, while the former's irreverence and nimble wit made him the ideal man to portray a daredevil weapons manufacturer-turned-self-employed superhero.

This week Marvel Studios is releasing Captain America: The First Avenger, a period superhero adventure starring one of their most recognizable characters. But it's also a prelude to the company's next feature, which will be a kind of comic-book movie that hasn't been attempted on the big-screen before: a team-up adventure that unites some of Marvel's biggest heroes -- including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, taking over from Ed Norton and Eric Bana) -- to combat a global threat. The title, of course, is The Avengers, the same name of the Marvel supergroup that's been battling bad guys in the four-color pages of the company's comics since 1963. Geek icon (and part-time comics scribe) Joss Whedon is writing and directing the film, which also stars Samuel L. Jackson as the group's leader, Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as the leather-jumpsuit clad spy, the Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as the ace archer, Hawkeye. Naturally, a project as ambitious as The Avengers didn't come together overnight. Marvel has been laying the groundwork for this film since the first Iron Man hit theaters in 2008, slipping in visual and verbal references to Avengers-lore in all their standalone superhero features. Here's a film-by-film guide to some of the Easter Eggs that have pointed the way to The Avengers

On my commute to work this morning, I was behind a guy with one of those bumper stickers that says "If you can read this, I could slam on my brakes and sue you." It's funny, sure, but the sentiment behind it, that these days you can sue anyone you want for the slightest wrong, was only reinforced by the bus that I was stuck behind 10 minutes later with one of those awesome "ACCIDENTES!" ads on the back where they pretty much go right out and say they'll sue anyone you want for anything you want, and not only won't they charge you for it, but they'll do the whole thing in Spanish. The pervasive litigiousness of our society persists everywhere, from the back of a Metro bus, right into the DVDs you have on your Christmas list. Number one on my list is Iron Man, and if you think it has avoided being touched by the busy wand of the lawsuit fairy, you're wrong.

So has everyone recovered from Captain America getting cut from The Incredible Hulk? Well, there's some good news, unless you hate Leonardo DiCaprio. Apparently, Marvel wants Leo to play the title character in the upcoming Cap movie. At least, that's what the in-the-know Latinos at Latino Review are saying, and they seem to get the inside scoop on everything. I started to throw up in my mouth a little bit when I heard the news, but then I took another look at Leo. He's not boyish anymore, but he still looks wholesome, even optimistic most of the time. He might actually make a great Captain America. The only problem? He'll never do it.