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.

Most comic-book movies set their virtuous heroes and dastardly villains loose in the present day. But there are also quite a few that rewind the clock and transport audiences back to another time and place. Case in point: the latest Marvel movie Captain America: The First Avenger, which takes place almost entirely during the early years of World War II and pits Cap against a squad of Nazi-affiliated soldiers led by a Hitler-esque bad guy, Johann Schmidt a.k.a. The Red Skull. Here are some of the other comics-inspired features that double as period pieces. (One note: We're looking at outings involving colorfully clad heroes only, so more serious comic-to-film translations like From Hell and Road to Perdition have been left on the cutting room floor.)

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.

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

Apparently inspired by last week's 30 Rock, the good folks at Marvel Studios have given us a whopper of a Leap Day present: an all-new, all-expanded trailer for Summer 2012's first superhero blockbuster, The Avengers. Unlike the first teaser, which hit the web back in October, this one features more dialogue, more effects-heavy action (to be fair, most of the effects weren't finished four months ago) and more clips of the costumed heroes trading Joss Whedon-scripted barbs with each other. Even with all the bonus footage though, the studio is still keeping us mostly in the dark about what exactly is going to happen in the film beyond the Avengers assembling to squabble amongst themselves and battle some kind of invading interstellar army led by Thor's newly emboldened adoptive brother, Loki. (This is a Joss Whedon joint, so there's got to be more to it than just that, right? Or maybe this time the big twist will be that there is no twist...) But through a few close viewings, we did manage to tease out a few potential story points from this two-and-a-half minute sneak peak, things like...

Over there, over there, send the word, send the word, over there/That Cap is coming, that Cap is coming/And he won't be back 'til the Red Skull is over, over there.

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

We recap the big, blowout movie trailers glimpsed during last night's big, blowout game.

Oh my god you guys! Disney totally asked me to go to prom!!!