The first trailer for The Avengers is here and you know it’s a big deal because iTunes finally offered an embeddable video player (seriously, we’ve been waiting for this for like four years). Marvel’s great experiment in turning over their biggest project to Joss Whedon, a guy known mainly for cult shows that get cancelled before the mainstream ever sees them, stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Mark “Ruffalo Bill” Ruffalo. I’ve never actually seen a Joss Whedon show, so this is particularly exciting for me.

First impressions: It looks like Loki from Thor is the villain, which is… odd. And the lighting looks really bright and even in every scene, like they’re shooting a superhero sitcom.

I’m also still having trouble buying the premise. “We shall assemble a team of the world’s greatest superheroes! A man in an invincible iron suit who can fly, a juiced-out super soldier, a giant viking with supernatural powers, and a radioactive hulk man!”

“But wait! What if they get into trouble? They’ll need a guy with a fancy bow and arrow and girl who always jumps off of stuff and lands like this:”

It’s just a little hard to swallow. Being the world’s premiere archer seems a little like being the number one ace dirigible pilot. The idea that he might someday be able to help the rest of the crew seems… oddly specific. “The aliens are attacking! Quick, find someone who can juggle!”

[iTunes]