omnipresent fatten: 'Avengers,' 'Spider-Man' Fans: Where Are You?

Marvel movies struggling to stay competitive in MTV Movie Brawl 2012.
By Josh Wigler

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in "Avengers"
Photo: Marvel

Welcome to 2012, the year that's destined to change the comic book movie landscape forever. Not only is Christopher Nolan months away from closing out his smash-hit Batman trilogy with "The Dark Knight Rises," but two of the most important Marvel Comics movies of all time — "Marvel's The Avengers" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" — are about to be released as well.

With "Avengers," Marvel Studios is paying off years of buildup by putting Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and more together in one monstrously sized flick, an unprecedented move in the comic book movie scene. The idea of seeing Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans in their signature superhero roles alongside one another — under geek god Joss Whedon's directorial vision, no less — seems positively irresistible.

In the case of "Spider-Man," here's a franchise that has already proven itself capable of raking in millions and millions of dollars, starring a wise-cracking web-head widely adored throughout the world. Except this time, Peter Parker's sporting darker shades of red and blue. Gone is series lead Tobey Maguire, replaced by British up-and-comer Andrew Garfield. Away too is Sam Raimi, with relatively unknown director Marc Webb of "(500) Days of Summer" stepping behind the lens. Rebooting the "Spider-Man" creative team and universe wholesale only five years after the last Maguire/Raimi joint is a risky gamble on Sony's part, but like "Avengers," we can't wait to see how it all shakes out.

Or can we?

Voting Is Open In MTV Movie Brawl 2012!

If you haven't heard, MTV Movies is in the midst of the MTV Movie Brawl 2012, a tournament that pits some of the year's biggest releases against one another to determine which movie you, the fans, are most excited for in the coming months. Currently, 32 flicks are slugging it out for an opportunity to snag one of next week's Sweet 16 seats, where the Brawl will transition into a single-elimination bracket tournament.

On the surface, there's no reason that "The Avengers" and "Spider-Man" shouldn't make it into the Sweet 16, if not further. But as it stands, two days into the competition, both of these movies are struggling in the vote, so much so that they're at serious risk of not making it past the first round.

As a die-hard Marvel fan, I'm shocked to see such a lack of support behind Earth's Mightiest Heroes and their friendly neighborhood wall-crawling pal. Has the word on the competition simply not spread to those of you who would vote for "Spider-Man" and "Avengers," or is the interest really not there? Despite every reason to be excited for these movies, can it be that at the end of the day, Marvel's biggest movies of 2012 simply aren't resonating with the moviegoing crowd?

I hope it's the former, not the latter. (I can only click "vote" for both movies so many times!) But if for some reason you're just not that interested in "Avengers" assembling and "Spider-Man" swinging into theaters this summer, I'm really curious to hear why. Why is it that you're not foaming at the mouth for two of the most important movies ever to come from the House of Ideas? Why aren't you sold yet?

Marvel fans... where are you?

Check out everything we've got on "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Marvel's The Avengers."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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