Ever since a small but perfectly-formed teaser at the end of Iron Man heralded the coming of the Avengers, it’s been tough to keep expectations reasonable. For every good Marvel film, there was a bad one. For every reason to get excited, there was a reason to be cautious. A complete disaster seemed unlikely, but anything less than genre-defining brilliance was going to be a let-down. Of course, with seven lead characters, a villain backed by an army and a supporting cast pulled from multiple sources, it could never be anything but. Perhaps the hardest challenge Avengers faced was in maintaining its sense of scale: giving the street-level skills of characters like Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye’s a place where they could shine even against the larger-than-life exploits of Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk. And yet, somehow, everyone gets their moment. Most get four or five. To quote Den of Geek’s own Mike Leader, Avengers was far better than it needed to be. The action beats are there. The character beats are there. But there’s so much more than that too. Whedon knows what the audience expects of an action film in this genre, and he uses that knowledge to pull the rug from under us again and again – sometimes for a joke, sometimes as a plot twist, but also without it ever getting old. It even looks fantastic, proving Whedon as not just a distinguished writer, but a distinguished action director. There’s no question that from now on, he’s going to be Hollywood A-list. And what of Jeremy Renner, the man who has to try and make having a bow and arrow look cool next to an indestructible shield, a hammer that can control storms, and a suit of armour that can break the sound barrier? It’s fair to say that he’s the hardest sell, and Whedon, clearly aware of this, finds him a position in the story that lets him show off his skills early and often. He may never be the most iconic hero, but Hawkeye does carry his weight without becoming the butt of any jokes. Of all the film’s likely difficulties, it’s this one which it’s most surprising to see overcome. There are places where you can pick at the film’s seemingly-perfect veneer. Despite several thrilling set pieces, the middle act’s action sequence can’t help sagging a little as it tries to give the whole cast something to do. Some of the character arcs are weaker than others (but at least everyone has one.) And maybe, if you’re one of the three people on the planet who hasn’t seen at least some of the lead-ins, you’ll struggle to accept the more outlandish concepts. But in truth, it’s all as close to flawless as makes no difference. No one is going to leave thinking about what spoiled Avengers – you’ll all be leaving with grins. There’s a shot near the film’s climax which manages, in one awe-inspiring moment, to perfectly translate what it feel like to be a superhero fan, reading a superhero comic. To say any more would spoil the surprise, but when you get to it, you’ll know. Of all Avengers’ many triumphs, that’s the one that’ll stick for the fans: it’s a movie that finally matches the one you have in your head. And yes, there is a post-credits scene. But that’s all we’re saying. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.