Earlier this month, a new photo of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) was released, depicting the two heroes fighting side-by-side against an unknown assailant on a half-destroyed New York street. The latest photo is taken from that same scene, but shows Cap alone, which, according to writer-director Joss Whedon, is fitting since the movie relies heavily on Cap's "perspective."
So much of [The Avengers] story takes place from Steve Rogers’ perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird-ass world. Everyone else has been living in it. He’s the guy that feels that sense of loss.
[Captain America] is kind of the ultimate loner in that way. There is an anachronism to him, and Chris and I have always tried to, without making it goofy or too obvious, make him that same grounded ’40s Steve Rogers he was in the other movie [last year's Captain America: The First Avenger].
Cap won't be the only character to feel lonely, the director points out. "[The Avengers] is very much about people who are alone — because I’m writing it," Whedon joked. While the characters may be on their own, once S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) "assembles" Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) all onto one team, Whedon says they are finally in a world "where they fit in".
You get them in a world, the world of S.H.I.E.L.D., where they fit in. And you say upfront, these are monsters. These are freaks. These are not you and me, and what are they doing here? How are they human beings? Let’s just investigate that.