Fans ready for ‘Avengers’ marathon

What do a billionaire industrialist clad in high-tech armor, the Norse god of thunder and a scientist-turned-green-monster have in common?

Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk are founding members of a Marvel comic-book superhero team called the Avengers.

Check out the movie review for Marvel’s The Avengers

The trio, joined by later Avengers recruits Captain America, Hawkeye and the Black Widow, will hit the big screen as a team for the first time next week, with the opening of the “Avengers” movie.

“Fans are excited about it,” said Jon Athens, events coordinator for Outer Planes Comics and Games in downtown Santa Rosa.

Writer and director Joss Whedon has assembled an impressive cast for the film, most of them reprising their roles from previous films devoted to each hero: Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as the Hulk.

The first issue of the original Marvel comic, published in 1963, is now valued at $48,000 in pristine condition, Athens said.

But for $40, fans can see the new “Avengers” movie, and the five previously released Marvel superhero films that led up to it — “Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Thor” and “Captain America.

The Roxy Stadium 14 and the Airport Cinemas 12 will present an all-day marathon of all six films Thursday May 3rd, culminating with a midnight screening of “The Avengers.”

Reading Cinemas Rohnert Park 16, Sebastopol Cinema 9, Clover Cinemas in Cloverdale, Sonoma Cinemas in Boyes Hot Springs and Boulevard Cinemas in Petaluma also will show “The Avengers” at midnight Thursday, May 3rd.