The Avengers and liking your characters

So it's no secret that I'm a hugh Joss Whedon fan, and last night I finally got around to seeing the Avengers, and yes, it's as good as the hype. So go see it, you will have fun.

But my major take away from the movie is how much affection Whedon has for each of his characters and it shows. Everyone in the movie has one great moment, at least one great line and is as strong as everyone else.

And no where is this evident than in the female characters, even the minor ones, who are strong and interesting and equally as capable as their male counterpoints. And yes, Scarlett Johansen does wear a skin tight suit, but so does Captain America and the camera spent as much time focused on his butt as it did on hers.

Whedon does this, his women are always as capable as his men, it's why I've loved his work, and a fantastic contrast to the usual women as sidekick role, see anything directed by Michael Bay, where the women are lingered on by the camera, but pretty useless elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure Michael Bay hates his human characters, why else would he make them act like that?

The Avengers made me think about my current WIP, which is definitely centred on one protagonist, and whether I've given all my characters a heroic moment, a sweet moment and one where they are the star of the scene. I'm pretty sure I haven't, but I'm going to go back and fix that and I'm going to try and like all my characters equally, because I'm pretty sure I've played favourites before.

Has anyone else gone to The Avengers? What was your favourite part of the movie?