People have always needed heroes and gods to look up to. Every peoples’ mythology is crawling with these – no matter if they are spiritual beings, or figures of amazing power born out of mortals thanks to divine intervention. Some of them are great warriors, others are simply gods, walking among humans, helping or punishing as any of them deserve. And one of them has made a surprising comeback in the early 1960s, and has stayed in our attention to this day: the ancient Norse god of thunder, Thor.

From god to comic book superhero

Thor – the comic book hero – is a surprisingly accurate rendition of the ancient Norse mythological figure. In the Edda, a collection of old Norse myths, Thor is Odin’s son, the god of thunder, storms, strengths and oak trees, the protector of oak trees and mankind. In the comic book, he is the same, only Asgard is not a mythical land, but an alien planet, and he can fly thanks to his hammer instead of a chariot pulled by goats.

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Godlike on the big screen

Fortunately, the Thor character managed to avoid one of the worst fates a mythological figure could suffer: to become trivial on the big screen. Of course, he falls for an Earth girl – but bigger names (including Zeus, the Greek god of thunder) have done so in the heroic past. He’s not a god in the comics and the movies, but he is godlike to the mere mortals of Earth: he lives for thousands of years, he wields a miraculous hammer that only the worthy can lift, and he can fly (and there are no goats involved – that would look a bit too funny for many viewers’ tastes). He is an alien, a godlike one, much like Superman. But he has flaws, and he drinks, which makes him much more relatable than any other superhero coming from another planet.

He returns at the end of the world

The next big screen appearance of the hammer-wielding alien god is scheduled for 2017, in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarök. He didn’t appear in Captain America: Civil War – which I personally think is sad. He would be a great addition to the lineup of the superheroes featured: Black Panther, The Vision, The Scarlet Witch, and – finally – Spider-Man.

Everybody knew “The Avengers” would make money. Everybody. They’ve been building up to it for what seems like a decade, Joss Whedon was at the helm, it sat at 94 percent on the Tomatometer, it made $185 million in its overseas debut. In so many words, all the pieces were in place. That said, I don’t know if anybody expected this.

“The Avengers” made a record-breaking $200.3 million, the largest opening weekend in history. The total trounces the previous high of $169.2 million, set by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” last summer.

Along the way, “The Avengers” toppled a number of other major records. It reached $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million faster than any other movie, set new highs for Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million), and had the highest ever per-theater average for a nationwide release with $46,057. The only high score “The Avengers” didn’t take is largest opening day, making only $80.5 million to the “The Deathly Hallows Part 2’s” $91 million.

“The Avengers'” worldwide total of $641.8 million has already overtaken all of the team’s individual members’ totals. Coming closest are the “Iron Man” films, the first made $585 million and the second $624 million, while “Thor” made $449 million and “Captain America” took in $364 million. Oh, and for those of you counting “The Incredible Hulk” made $263 million.

The film didn’t make all that money without good reason. “The Dark Knight” may be the best ever movie about a superhero, but “The Avengers” is the best superhero movie. It played like a comic book, lighthearted and witty, but the action scenes did not disappoint. It seems there’d be a thick line between pleasing fanboys and those who have never picked up a comic in their lives, but “The Avengers” made it fine and walked that tightrope with grace. Everybody expected Robert Downey Jr. to continue to be great as Tony Stark, especially with Joss Whedon writing his lines, and he did not disappoint. But the film’s biggest question mark, Mark Ruffalo in his new role as the Hulk, stole the show.

Now, I could talk about how much all those other films made, but with these numbers it’s got to be pretty clear not many people who went to the movies this weekend saw something other than “The Avengers.” In fact, the film accounted for 82.7 percent of the roughly $242 million earned by the top 12 movies this weekend. That’s the second highest weekend market share of all time, behind only “Spider-Man 3’s” 83.3 percent.

Here are the results for this week’s top 10 at the box office:

Title/Weeks in release/Theater count, Studio/Three-day weekend total/Cume
1. The Avengers, 1/4,349, Disney/Marvel Studios, $200.3 million.
2. Think Like a Man, 3/2,011, Sony, $8 million, $73 million.
3. The Hunger Games, 7/2,794, Lionsgate, $5.7 million, $380.7 million.
4. The Lucky One, 3/3,005, Warner Bros., $5.5 million, $40 million.
5. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, 2/3,358, Sony/Aardman, $5.4 million, $18.6 million.
6. The Five-Year Engagement, Universal, 2/2,941, $5.1 million, $19.3 million.
7. The Raven, 2/2,209, Relativity/Intrepid, $2.5 million, $12 million.
8. Safe, 2/2,271, Lionsgate/IM Global, $2.5 million, $12.9 million
9. Chimpanzee, 3/1,531, Disney, $2.4 million, $23 million.
10. The Three Stooges, 4/2,174, $1.8 million, $39.6 million.

As I discussed over at Real Men Read Comics, Marvel has been building towards this one for a long time. After a long wait and perhaps too many attempts to connect the dots, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the gang are coming together on the big screen.

I’ve actually got something nice to say about a new release, maybe even a few nice things. This is groundbreaking territory.

“The Avengers” was written and directed by Joss Whedon. This is the dude who brought us “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” and “Firefly.” If you don’t know what “Firefly” is, you need to find out. It’s on Netflix instant, so go on, get. I’ll even give you the link. Like his projects, Whedon has built up quite the cult following over the years. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, he co-wrote “Toy Story,” for which he was nominated for an Oscar. That’s right folks, motherfucking “Toy Story.”

“The Avengers” has all most of the stars of the individual films back in their roles. We’ve got Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, and most importantly, Robert Downey Jr. in his perfectly sardonic portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Now, Mark Ruffalo may have replaced Eric Bana, er, Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk, but that’s probably a good thing. If you’re sick of all these different Bruce Banners flying your way, don’t worry, Ruffalo recently signed a six-picture deal to play The Hulk.

Let’s not forget about the supporting cast, rounding out the team are Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. But wait, there’s more, Tom Hiddleston will reprise his role from “Thor” as Loki, the film’s main villain. Hiddleston also played a brilliant F. Scott Fitzgerald in “Midnight in Paris.”

One of the ways you know a superhero movie, is great is when the dialogue is better than the action sequences. This is what we got in “Iron Man,” when oftentimes Tony Stark was more gripping with his super suit off than on. You should expect no less from Whedon, and according to Bullz-eye’s David Medsker, the Joss has delievered:

Once Whedon gets the cast in the same room and gives them the chance to interact as people rather than superheroes, the movie blossoms in a strangely wonderful way, one where it’s easy to wish that they would keep talking, rather than ramping up for the butt-kicking that is just around the corner. Indeed, until the climactic battle sequence, the action plays second fiddle to the talking, and as odd as that sounds for a superhero movie, it’s the right call.

If all this wasn’t enough, “The Avengers” has been certified fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, sitting at a 93 on the Tomatometer. For once, I’m actually excited.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The only other film getting a wide release this weekend is “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” Believe it or not, John Madden was actually able to direct a film that doesn’t star Brett Favre. Hold on. I’m getting word that it’s a different John Madden, the “Shakespeare in Love” John Madden. Oh, well things make more sense now.

Kidding aside, this is a film about a group of British seniors, including Academy Award-winners Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who decide to “outsource” their retirement to cheaper and seemingly exotic India. When they get there, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel doesn’t look quite as it did in the brochures so both hilarity and drama ensue. The film also stars Penelope Winton, whose interactions with Maggie Smith in “Downton Abbey” are fantastic, so hopefully we get some of that here.

There’s a reason no other movies are being released this weekend, studios were scared of “The Avengers,” and rightly so. But it’s pretty clear that “Hotel” is “The Avengers'” antithesis, and so too is its target audience. That said, with its award-winning cast and 78 rating on the Tomatometer, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” seems to be well worth seeing in its own right.

We’ll start with the one that maybe has aroused the most curiosity, if only because the least has been known up to now. J.J. Abrams’ “Super 8.” True to its press, what little there’s been, it appears to be kind of “Close Encounters of the Extra-Terrestrial Kind.”

Now here’s more of “Captain America” than we’ve seen before. We even get a split second of the Red Skull (for some reason my favorite super villain as a kid).

A moment with everyone’s favorite Asgard resident.

“Cowboys and Aliens” looks more western than ever.

Jack Sparrow meets Al Swearingen on the high seas

And now for something almost completely different.

I’m not running it, but I was fascinated to see that among the films being advertised during the game was “Take Me Home Tonight.” I’ve covered earlier trailers and have now seen it. I’ll save my full opinion for the review, but I’m hoping it’s a movie you’ll be hearing a lot about over the next several weeks.

According to earlier slightly spoilery reports, Thor’s funny book alter ego, Donald Blake, shows up at the end of the movie somehow. Neither hide nor hair of him here, however. Also, it looks like maybe a bit more of it is set on earth than those earlier reports indicate.