The evil Loki, accompanied by an army of extraterrestrials called the Chitauri, is in pursuit of a powerful object known as the Tesseract. Nick Fury, director of the espionage and law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D. activates a plan he calls the "Avengers Initiative": bring together Earth's greatest superheroes in case of an emergency. Now the only thing standing in the way of Loki's rule are the Avengers: Tony Stark, the self-proclaimed "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" known as Iron Man for his technologically advanced suit of armour; Steve Rogers, the World War II veteran known as Captain America, who was frozen in ice for several decades; Thor, the Asgardian hammer-wielding god of thunder and brother of Loki; Dr. Bruce Banner, a scientist who turns into a powerful green monster called the Hulk when angered; Natasha Romanoff, S.H.I.E.L.D. spy otherwise known as Black Widow; and Clint Barton, a master of archery also referred to as Hawkeye. starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Joss Whedon directs from the story by Zak Penn and Whedon; Screenplay by Whedon; Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; featuring Captain America. Produced by Kevin Feige; Executive Producers: Louis D'Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine, Jon Favreau and Stan Lee. Music by Alan Silvestri; Music Supervisor: Dave Jordan; featuring Soundgarden with "Live to Rise" • Soundtrack on Marvel Music/Hollywood Records. a Marvel Studios production for Marvel Studios, with Paramount Pictures. Marvel, The Avengers, all character names and their distinctive likenesses: (TM) Marvel Entertainment, LLC & its subsidiaries.