Black and white silent film parodies of modern movies have been all the rage as of late, thanks to the popularity of newly-crowned Best Picture Oscar winner The Artist. Today we have one such video that also pokes fun at a certain upcoming title the comic book movie crowd has been eagerly looking forward to: Joss Whedon's The Avengers.

This clever little fan-made trailer for The Avengers first hit the Interwebz a few months back, but is only now getting some deserved attention thanks to The Artist making headlines left and right. So what better way to honor both that film and the original Hollywood movies that told rich and engaging stories (without the benefit of color and synchronized sound) than by watching a tongue-in-cheek trailer that envisions what Whedon's superhero ensemble adventure might've been like, had it been released in the early 20th century?

Check out that Avengers silent film parody trailer below and see what you think:

While that trailer starts to fall off the rails a bit towards the end - when it stops playing things straight and makes the in-joke about the ever-changing casting of Bruce Banner - it's still good fun overall. Some of the intertitles are quite hilarious too, especially when you compare what characters such as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Stever Rogers (Chris Evans) are actually saying, to the way their dialogue is "translated."

Be sure to check back on Screen Rant later this week, as Marvel has confirmed earlier reports that it will indeed be releasing a second Avengers theatrical trailer online by the end of this month.

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The Avengers assemble in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters around the U.S. on May 4th, 2012.

Source: Rated Comedy TV (via Comic Book Movie)