Originally hinted at, and built up since “Iron Man,” “The Avengers” has finally hit theaters.

Despite a few flaws, it lives up to its expectations. Directed by Joss Whedon, “The Avengers” ties together various Marvel super heroes with their own movies already released, as well as new faces, to tell the story of Earth’s mightiest heroes.

For those who have been following the recent Marvel super hero movies, not counting “X-Men” films, “Avengers” acts as a sequel to any one of those titles, directly continuing the stories of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America.

New additions to the super squad are Hawk-Eye and Black Widow.

“Avengers” takes place immediately after the events of “Captain America.” After making multiple cameos throughout the past films, Agent Nick Fury finally calls together a team of super heroes to save the world from an impending alien invasion. After being brought together from various places around the world, the team begins a global hunt for an alien that has made off with a power source.

If you haven’t been following the recent films, there may be a lot to figure out about the plot.

There wasn’t much back story explanation built up by the previous films, and it seems if someone who hasn’t seen the previous films might have trouble catching up.

The two films to most notably tie directly into “Avengers” were “Thor” and “Captain America.” However, this is a minor setback and is only an issue in the first minutes of the film. Once it gets going, the intense action and well-placed humor is the charm driving this film.

The actors seemed very in touch with their roles. Robert Downey Jr. was by far the star of the movie as Tony Stark, only rivaled by Chris Evans’ Captain America and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Chris Hemsworth as Thor sounded just as annoying as in “Thor.”

The biggest mistake in the film was replacing Edward Norton as the Hulk, who did a great job in “The Incredible Hulk.”

According to an official statement by Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige, he wasn’t brought back because executives felt he wouldn’t fit in with the cast and creative direction of the film.

Norton’s replacement, Mark Ruffalo, didn’t fit the role. His acting was dry and obvious, coming off more as an actor trying to be Bruce Banner rather than being Bruce Banner.

Fans of “The Incredible Hulk” will be disappointed every time Banner appears, as the character’s drastic change in personality feels like a stab in the heart of the saga’s continuity.

Regardless, it had breathtaking action and a satisfying plot.

This may be the crowning super hero movie of the summer, and is well worth seeing again.