The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been one of the most popular and most financially successful movie series in the recent decade. Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. started it all back in 2008 with Iron Man, but since then the franchise has expanded to something bigger than anyone could have imagined.

So far the films have been separated into phases which have allowed Marvel to easily coordinate release dates and reveal new movie to the public.

Phase One consisted of stand-alone solo movies for each of the superheroes that ultimately led to a team-up film called The Avengers in 2012. In this respect, the subtitle of Phase One Avengers Assembled makes a lot of sense.

Phase One earned Marvel upwards of four billion dollars worldwide with The Avengers making up $1,518,812,988 worth of the cash on its own. Phase One was no doubt a success, but there was no stopping Marvel especially after Disney bought out the distribution rights over Paramount.

Disney took an already popular franchise and pumped more money into series growing it even more exponentially.

So far, there have been nineteen films in the MCU with Avengers: Infinity War marking the ten year anniversary of the series in one of the best ways possible; making a boatload of money.

While almost all of the Marvel films have been highly anticipated, the Avengers movies are usually the most anticipated because they have the giant team-up of all the heroes.

Here are the 20 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change The Avengers Movies.

Hulk? Is That You? (The Avengers)

While the second Marvel Cinematic Universe movie titled The Incredible Hulk starred Edward Norton as the giant, green, rage monster, the first Avengers replaced Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. Mark Ruffalo was the lucky fellow chosen to replace Norton and most fans seemed to like him more than the previous hulk.

Edward Norton only played Bruce Banner for one movie but Marvel never looked back once they re-casted the character. Not only did they recast Bruce Banner but the design for the Hulk was completely revamped.

While staying true to the Hulk we all know and love, the digital effects artists improved on the CGI for the Hulk as well as made his face look more similar to Mark Ruffalo.

Now obviously, Ruffalo cannot turn into a big green monster in real life so special effects were used to pull off his look. One scene specifically contained a fight between Hulk and Thor.

His appearance was done for this scene by having a stunt actor wear a skin-tight motion capture suit while wearing green foam on his top half to represent Hulk’s muscles and skin.

Having a fight break out between two heroes was one of the most intense moments in the film but you wouldn’t get that emotion by looking at this set picture. This is quite the embarrassing look for Hulk and Joss Whedon can lift the Mjölnir?! I suppose tackling two Avengers films makes him worthy.

Looking Good, J.A.R.V.I.S. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Before Paul Bettany was playing a high profile crime lord in Solo: A Star Wars Story, he was voicing Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence system called J.A.R.V.I.S. Bettany voiced J.A.V.I.S. for four Marvel movies until his character was turned into Vision in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Most sequels are not as well received as the original and the same goes for Avengers 2. While Age of Ultron was not as successful as The Avengers, many people liked Vision.

It was fun to see Paul Bettany finally become more than a voice inside Tony Stark’s helmet and having him become a powerful superhero was one of the biggest transformations the films had seen.

With every superhero comes an awesome costume. In this set photo from Avengers: Age of Ultron Paul Bettany can be seen wearing his Vision prosthetics with motion capture dots on his face. Bettany is also wearing a plain grey t-shirt with a black robe or jacket which most definitely is not part of his costume.

To Bettany’s right the prop department can be seen holding up a board that has bits of Vision’s armor which they are probably using to decide which color scheme to go with.

While Vision’s look was probably under development for quite some time, most would agree that the finished product turned out well.

Battle Of The Chris’ (Avengers: Infinity War)

Avengers: Infinity War was successful for a number of reasons. The movie had been hyped up since the moment it was announced and the marketing for the movie could not have been better.

While there were many memorable, and incredibly sad, scenes in Infinity War, one of the funniest parts was when the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy meet Thor.

The Guardians are flying the Milano through a field of space wreckage when a man smashes into their windshield like a big bug. Instead of just wiping him off like Rocket suggests, the team brings the Avenger aboard their ship and try to save him.

The God of Thunder does not usually need saving, but after his bout with Thanos, he needed all the help he could get. While the Guardians tried to figure out who he was, the team becomes incredibly impressed with his achievements, looks, and deep voice-that is, everyone except Star-Lord.

Even though he would deny it, Peter Quill did not like all of the attention Thor was getting. In a featurette for Infinity War, Chris Hemsworth gloats that he was one of the original Avengers but comforts Chris Pratt by grabbing him by the arms.

Pratt then responds, “He’s huge” and if we do say so, with a little bit of intimidation in his voice.

Joss Whedon Directing Thanos (The Avengers)

While this looks like a scene out of Avengers: Infinity War, it is actually the scene that came on for the mid-credits scene for The Avengers.

The Infinity Gauntlet was first teased in a scene from Thor in Phase One, but Thanos himself did not appear until this scene in The Avengers.

With Infinity War getting as much attention as it did, everybody who loves comic book movies knows about Thanos. Despite looking slightly different in later movies, people still recognized Thanos’ purple face and menacing look when he turned around in his space chair.

In Infinity War actor Josh Brolin simply wore motion capture dots when he acted as Thanos and the special effects team did the rest.

As it appears in this Avenger set photo, Thanos’ look was pulled off with prosthetics and makeup in the first film.

Having this much makeup certainly makes it hard for actors to get expressions across to viewers which is probably why later filmmakers went the route of CGI. Damion Poitier is given credit in The Avengers as “Man #1” but he was really the first actor to play the mad titan.

No matter who is underneath the makeup, this is not a being you would want to see hiding underneath your bed at night!

Comfortable Man (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

When Robert Downey Jr. started playing the role of Iron Man in 2008 he was 43 years old. By the time his second round of saving the world came around in Avengers: Age of Ultron he was 50 years old.

On set of Avengers 2, Robert Downey Jr. could be seen wearing half of an Iron Man suit with sweatpants for the bottom. Sometimes middle age guys just can’t handle the stress of wearing regular pants while saving the world and convert to sweatpants.

While this is not really the case, it is still funny to see Iron Man walking down the street in sweatpants.

It is hard to tell if this is actually Robert Downey Jr. or a stunt double since he is wearing half of the armor, but regardless this behind-the-scenes still is amusing.

Iron Man is one of the cockiest Avengers of the bunch and he probably would not be too proud to have people see him sporting a pair of sweatpants.

While the exact reasoning is unknown, it’s safe to assume that the cameras were not filming Iron Man’s lower half for a scene or he was possibly still working on suiting up. Fans need to start a petition to change Iron Man’s name to Comfortable Man after these set photos.

The Coolest Posse In The Galaxy (Avengers: Infinity War)

The Guardians of the Galaxy were once thought to be the coolest group of outlaws in the galaxy but that may no longer be the case. This set photo of Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and Nebula may take the cake of portraying the chilliest group out there.

The set photo has Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, and Tom Holland fully suited up in their costumes even though only two of them appear to be so.

Star-Lord and Nebula look like the characters that appear on screen, however, Spider-Man looks a little different. Spider-Man may look like he is in pajamas, but this is again another example of an actor wearing a high tech motion capture suit.

The Iron Spider suit was a bit more advanced than his usual spandex suit so CGI had to be used in order for Spider-Man to come to life this time around.

In short, motion capture suits work by recording actors’ motions with cameras so that digital effect artists can create a digital character on a computer.

This way the digital character can look as realistic as possible and do the many incredible stunts that Tom Holland can do. While Tom Holland may not look as cool as the other actors on set, at least he is comfortable!

The Newest Member Of The Avengers? (The Avengers)

The first Avengers film was incredibly popular since it was the first time fans got to see all of these popular superheroes share the screen at the same time.

Some of the coolest scenes were the moments when all of the heroes were in one frame and fighting side by side.

One of the most iconic moments of The Avengers, and honestly all of Phase One, came when all of the Avengers went back to back readying themselves to fight the Chitauri. The camera spun around the characters with the Avengers theme blaring and it sent chills up fanboys’ arms.

Imagine, though, if the camera spun around in a circle and you just saw director Joss Whedon striking this goofy pose.

Actors seem to enjoy working with Joss Whedon and he honestly looks like he would be a fun person to hang out with. He is not afraid to goof around on set but still delivers excellent products most of the time.

In this set photo, Joss Whedon can be seen pretending to fight alongside Black Widow, Captain America, and Hawkeye during one of the fight sequences in New York.

The Avengers had their hands full fighting Loki and the Chitauri but who knows -- maybe Joss Whedon could have helped take down a couple aliens with his karate skills.

James Spader As Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

It may not look like it, but this is Ultron. Ultron was the big baddie in Avengers: Age of Ultron and while they got the talented James Spader to play the character, Avengers 2 is often regarded as the worst of the three Avengers films.

Ultron was created when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner attempted to make an addition to the Iron Legion called the Ultron program.

It was designed as a peacekeeping force but went terribly wrong. After construction of an A.I. structure was complete, Ultron woke up and attacked J.A.R.V.I.S.

Ultron transferred himself into a nearly-destroyed robot and used the Iron Legion to attack the Avengers during their party. After getting the help from some new superhero friends including the sentient form of J.A.R.V.I.S. called Vision, the Avengers were able to put an end to Ultron.

It would have looked pretty silly to put James Spader in a tiny Ultron suit since he is completely a robot, so like many superheroes, the filmmakers used motion capture to record James Spader’s facial expressions and mannerisms.

This still from the production of Age of Ultron shows James Spader in his motion capture gear playing out a scene with Robert Downey Jr., who you can see in the bottom left screen.

Making Friends With The Enemy (Avengers: Infinity War)

Marvel tends to use CGI in one way or another for their villains. Many people prefer practical effects over CGI, but sometimes with intense fast-paced movies, practical effects just aren’t, well, practical to use.

CGI can certainly be overused like in the Star Wars prequels, but sometimes a little CGI here and there is a necessity.

While Thanos was designed with prosthetics and make up for The Avengers mid-credits scene, that route just wouldn’t work for a film where the actor needs to be moving around as much as Thanos does in Infinity War.

Josh Brolin was chosen to play the big purple titan, replacing the Thanos stand-in actor Damion Poitier from the first Avengers. While the Avengers no doubt hate Thanos during and especially after Infinity War the cast seemed to get along nicely with Josh Brolin.

In these production stills from Infinity War Robert Downey Jr. can be seen in his Infinity War costume with the motion capture trackers sitting next to Josh Brolin who is in a full-fledged motion capture suit.

It is odd to not only see Tony Stark and Thanos getting along, but even weirder to see them out of costume. It just goes to show how much CGI is used to bring certain characters to life.

Hulk Looks A Little Spotty (The Avengers)

Even though motion capture actors’ real appearance may not show up on screen, their facial expressions and body language are crucial to bringing CGI characters to life.

Andy Serkis is known for his performance capture roles such as Gollum/Smeagol in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Caesar in the newer Planet of the Apes trilogy.

Serkis may have played Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he also worked with his mo-cap studio The Imaginarium to bring Ultron and Hulk to life for Marvel in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Even though Serkis worked with Marvel to help Hulk look even more realistic in Avengers 2, Mark Ruffalo seemed to have it under control for The Avengers.

This behind-the-scenes look at Mark Ruffalo shows him wearing the motion capture trackers all over his face as well as a full mo-cap outfit.

He may not look like the Hulk in the picture but after the computer effects team does their work he will look like the ferocious green monster that we are all used to.

The Avengers movies are full of special features which show actors in their motion capture suits but it is still crazy to see the actors before the special effects are finished.

An Avengers Congo Line (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

The party scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron may have seemed like a minor scene but a lot of important plot points took place during the scene.

Most importantly, Ultron made his first appearance as a decrepit robot and attacked Earth’s mightiest heroes using Tony Stark’s Iron Legion.

Before this however, Tony Stark talked about how Pepper could not make it to the party because she was too busy running the company. There was also a comedic scene where everyone tries to lift Thor’s hammer.

Only those who are worthy are given the power to lift Mjölnir and unsurprisingly none of them are able to lift it besides Thor. Captain America by far comes the closest however and even gets the hammer to slightly move.

The scene was fun to watch giving us a brief insight into what the Avengers possibly do in their free time and on their day off. That being said, one of the funniest moments seems to have not made it into the movie.

In the image above, Chris Hemsworth can be seen pulling Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans in almost a Congo line type fashion.

The image was probably taken while the cast was messing around when the cameras were not rolling but they honestly look like they are having a lot of fun.

Yet Another CGI Character (Avengers: Infinity War)

There were many CGI characters in the second Avengers sequel including the big baddie named Thanos. Thanos was brought to life using motion-capture techniques and CGI as were his children. The Children of Thanos, also known as the Black Order, are not blood-related to Thanos as their title would have you think.

The Black Order in Infinity War consists of four members; Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsidian.

The children of Thanos seemed to be just as ruthless as Thanos himself. Corvus Glaive was one member of the Black Order played by Michael James Shaw.

While the acting credit goes to Michael James Shaw, the stuntman for the character was Nino Oz who can be seen above. Oz was used as the CGI reference for Corvus Glaive. Glaive was quite menacing in the film and even carried a big spear but the before images of the character are much less frightening.

Nino Oz can be seen here wearing a full mo-cap suit including several trackers and markers on the suit.

He is even wearing a helmet with a stick and orange ball attached probably to give the character some extra height when the special effects artists start their work.

The Famous Battle Of New York, Green Screen Edition (The Avengers)

Marvel has been faking characters' eliminations for years. One of the earlier instances of this is in the first Avengers during the battle of New York. When the team struggles to close the portal leading to another world, more and more Chitauri soldiers and Leviathans pour into Manhattan.

Believing that the Avengers were not going to be able to stop the attack, the World Security Council ordered S.H.I.E.L.D to send an atomic missile to stop the Chitauri from spreading even further.

Obviously wanting to save as many lives as possible, Iron Man has the idea to fly the missile through the portal and into space. The plan was a success but Tony’s suit gives out as it is not equipped to handle the effects of space.

As Tony lets go of the missile, Black Widow uses Loki’s scepter to close the portal and Stark makes it through just before it closes. Hulk catches him in the air but is unresponsive.

The still shows Thor, Cap, and Hulk gathered around an unconscious Iron Man, only Hulk is just Mark Ruffalo in his mo-cap suit and Robert Downey Jr. only has half of his armor on.

We all know what the scene looks like on screen but the behind-the-scenes look is way funnier.

Did Chris Evans Have Some Work Done? (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

There are plenty of actors in Hollywood who perform their own stunts for films. Tom Cruise is one actor who is known for doing his own crazy stunts but unfortunately, Marvel has yet to pick him up for a movie.

While some actors perform their own stunts, the majority of action stars have stunt doubles to perform the really dangerous scenes. Stuntmen are usually trained for extensive stunts but they are also used for a darker reason. 

Filmmakers obviously do not want anybody to get hurt during filming but if someone were to get hurt they would rather it be a stuntman than one of the lead roles in the movie. 

It is a sad truth but for filmmakers, it is easier to replace a stuntman after an injury than it is to replace an actor who has already shot several scenes or in the case of Marvel, made several films already.

The man pictured above is obviously not Chris Evans. This is Andy Lister who worked as a stuntman for Chris Evans on Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Stunt doubles usually look similar to the actors they are portraying so it is always eerie when you see images of stunt doubles. 

Even Superheroes Have to Eat (Avengers: Infinity War)

Making a film is hard work for everyone involved. The filmmakers obviously have to put in a lot of time and effort to make a movie but the actors also put in a lot of work. It isn’t always easy getting into character but that’s why they call them actors. 

Basically, no matter what part of the film one works on whether it’s in front of or behind the cameras, everyone has to do their part in order for the finished product to come together.

That being said, everyone needs to eat, even superheroes. Movie studios have huge budgets to make their films, so they have enough money to feed the cast and crew as well. 

This still shows Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Benedict Wong enjoying some downtime on the set of Avengers: Infinity War. 

The cast shares a decent amount of screen time so it makes sense that they would hang out behind-the-scenes as well. Benedict Cumberbatch seems to be enjoying his hot sauce and Robert Downey Jr. seems very pleased with his La Croix.

One burning question we still have is whether Wong ever got his Tuna sandwich!

Black Widow And The Chitauri (The Avengers)

The Battle of New York was quite a feat for the special effects department in the first Avengers film. Not only did they have to do special effects for the heroes, they had to digitally create a race of aliens, explosions, and buildings being destroyed.

There was a lot of effects that were created with CGI and the scene where Black Widow jumps on a gliding Chitauri vehicle is one of those scenes.

In an effort to close the portal, Captain America launches Black Widow off of his shield onto the vehicle. Black Widow stabs the Chitauri soldier and takes over his vehicle.

The scene looked flawless in the finished product but this behind-the-scenes image shows what the filmmakers ended up recording.

This looks quite a bit different than the finished product and it once again shows how far technology has come for Hollywood blockbusters. 

Filmmakers can seemingly make anything with CGI and compared to the other complex visuals in the movie, this crazy stunt seems like a piece of cake. It might be tough for the actors to act when all of the effects are added in later but so far it has not affected the movies. 

Sad Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Ultron may not have been fans favorite villain of the Avengers movies, but he has been around for a while.

The evil robot named Ultron made his first appearance in 1968 when he made a small appearance in The Avengers #54. His role was small in this issue but would later make his full appearance in The Avengers #55. 

As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character, Ultron would not show up until the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. At this point, most movie buffs know that films have on set CGI references and Ultron was no exception.

James Spader was in charge of doing the motion capture work for the character, but this lucky fellow got to wear Ultron’s chest plate and helmet.

It’s hard to tell whether the actor had to wear the big puffy coat to bulk up the look of the character or if it was cold outside but either way he looks uncomfortable. 

The second image shows the stuntman wearing Ultron’s helmet and although it is probably just the way he is standing, Ultron looks very sad. 

Too bad this was never made into a meme because there is potential for some real comedic gold here.

Doctor Iron Man (Avengers: Infinity War)

There are many superheroes who have the ability of flight. Tony Stark himself cannot fly but when he puts on the Iron Man armor he can fly to his heart’s content. Stephen Strange also can not fly on his own but the Cloak of Levitation allows him to do so. 

In one behind-the-scenes featurette for the film, Tony Stark can be seen wearing the Cloak of Levitation. Fans went crazy with speculation as to why Stark would be wearing the cloak but they never got an exact reason. 

Even when the film was released viewers never saw Tony Stark wearing the cloak in Avengers: Infinity War. Many major plot points were left up in the air at the end of Infinity War so this mystery may not be of the upmost importance, but fans are still curious. 

With Robert Downey Jr.’s personality, there is a chance that he just wanted to wear the cloak for fun.

Other people have speculated that this could be one of the alternate realities that Doctor Strange sees when he witnesses the battle play out 14,000,605 different times. 

While fans still don’t have an answer, maybe the mystery will be solved when Avengers: Infinity War is released on BluRay and DVD.

Black Widow’s Mini Me (Avengers: Infinity War)

Black Widow has become a crucial part of the Avengers movies. Natasha Romanoff first appeared in Iron Man 2 where it was eventually revealed that she was a bad-ass agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. named Black Widow. 

Since then the character has appeared in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and this year’s Avengers: Infinity War. 

Natasha was one of the original Avengers so it was a relief to see that she was one of the select few to survive Thanos’ wrath. Black Widow is usually recognized by her long red hair but her appearance changed quite a bit in Infinity War. 

Black Widow not only got a short hair cut but she is also sporting a blonde hair color now. Her appearance was very different than previous films but thankfully Scarlett Johansson can pull of many different looks. 

This behind-the-scenes image of Johansson in her trailer shows her sporting her new short blonde look while holding a Black Widow doll.

You know you’ve made it to the big leagues when you have your own action figure, and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow has more action figures and dolls than you can count. 

Bro Hug (Avengers: Infinity War)

Mark Ruffalo’s version of the Incredible Hulk was first introduced in The Avengers. Since then his character has developed a lot over the seven films that Hulk has been mentioned and seen in.

The Avengers also marked the beginning of Bruce Banner’s and Tony Stark’s bro-like relationship. Given that Tony Stark and Bruce Banner are both incredibly intelligent, there personalities meshed nicely together. They can even be seen riding off into the sunset together at the end of the first Avengers. 

Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo seem like they would be easy to get along with in real life so it is not much of a surprise that the pair would joke around on set. 

This behind-the-scenes photo shows Mark Ruffalo giving Robert Downey Jr. a giant hug on the set of Avengers: Infinity War.

They both seem to be enjoying themselves which indicates yet again that making a superhero film can be a lot of fun. Making superhero films is a ton of work but apparently, there are always time for bro hugs. 

Even if this made it into the final cut of Infinity War it would make sense. It’s safe to assume everyone needed a hug after that heartbreaking climax. 

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Are there any other behind-the-scenes moments of The Avengers movies you enjoy? Sound off in the comments!