Dissecting The New THE AVENGERS Poster

The new poster for The Avengers has hit the Internet today, and, for the first time, we get to see the whole team on one page. More discussions after the poster.

It is always fun to over-analyze these things. And that’s just what I’ll do now.

Judging by my piss-poor knowledge of Manhattan, it appears we are looking west from First or Second Avenue, judging by the Chrysler Building being on the right. What throws me off is that other than the Chrysler Building, none of the architecture quite matches. There should be an overpass directly past the Chrysler, crossing over 42nd Street at Park that just ain’t in the poster, folks. It should be right behind Sam Jackson’s head. That overpass leads Park around Grand Central Terminal. If you recall, we do see some signage in the trailer that indicates that some of the action takes place near GCT, or, well, a Cleveland-ized version of GCT. So, it’s safe to say that the alien invasion will be hitting the East Side of Manhattan near 42nd Street. Perhaps the battle will start at the United Nations building which is right at the end of 42nd street facing the river.
Another piece of architecture that is out of place, this time deliberately, is the addition of the Stark Tower in the background. This would be the Manhattan headquarters of Stark Industries and in the present-day comics serves as the Avengers home base. Not sure this will carry over into the film, but if it does, they will be pretty close to the action.
From the looks of it, it seems the Stark Tower is located directly in the heart of Midtown, perhaps even on Times Square. Again, as you recall at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, Cap wakes up in present day Manhattan and is a few steps from Times Square (at least being able to run there from where he was held). It was implied that Cap was at a S.H.I.E.L.D. installation, but could he have woken up at Stark Tower? It is possible that both Stark Tower and that S.H.I.E.L.D. installation could be on the same block in the busiest section of Manhattan, but it could be something else. And here, you thought that all Times Square had nowadays were overpriced theme restaurants, gaudy neon signage, and dicey bodegas selling cheaply made tourist souvenirs.
In something not tied into me being anal about Manhattan geography and trying to play into the world-building for the franchise, for some reason I find it funny that those who normally wears a mask isn’t wearing one. It has the air of a contractually-mandated dictum that we must see Mr. Evans and Mr. Downey Jr’s faces in any and all publicity for the film, but it kind of spoils the tense mood the poster is trying to create. I want to scream, “Tony! Put your helmet on! The aliens who may or may not be the Skrulls are coming!”
And I don’t know if this is deliberate or not (but it probably is) the character who have already had movies are pretty much arranged, front to back, in the order of their films’ grosses.
Also, does the fact that Scarlett Johansson is the only member of the cast who does not have a solo film whose face isn’t obscured with shadow mean that the Black Widow will be the first of the non-film group to get their own movie? Or is it just because Scar Jo is gorgeous?
Love the “A” in May. Love it.

The Avengers opens May 4.