Cool Stuff: The Headlines Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Sure, the whole superpower thing is a little far-fetched, not to mention the alien attackers, the vengeful god, the interplanetary wormhole, and the idea that a superhero team would employ a regular guy whose job it is to shoot arrows. (I love Hawkeye as much as the next gal, but come on.) But through all that nonsense, it's always been clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes place in our world, in our time. Just like Stan Lee and his co-conspirators envisioned it decades ago. Loki doesn't attack "Gotham" or "Metropolis," but New York City.

As anyone who's been to New York City knows, the media is a big part of this town. Several major publishers are headquartered here, including Conde Nast, Time Inc., and the New York Times. Obviously, there's no way in hell they'd ignore such major events, involving such glamorous celebrities, happening right in their front yards. In her MediAvengers series, artist Kimba McG imagines what their headlines might look like if the Avengers were real, with pitch-perfect mock-ups of covers for Time, Vanity Fair, Us Weekly, and more. Hit the jump to check 'em out.

Time seems especially taken with Earth's mightiest heroes, but the tabloid gossip pages about Black Widow are my personal fave. Of course In Touch and Life & Style would be obsessing over which of her extremely handsome teammates she may or may not be boning.

Technically, none of this stuff is canon, but I love the way it helps shade in an overlooked corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The team's relationship to the public gets touched upon from time to time in the movies (Iron Man 3 features some very memorable Tony Stark fans), but typically they're too busy fighting bad guys to spend much time posing for New York Magazine covers. Now, I'd love to learn more about the overworked publicist who gets to arrange all these interviews and photoshoots...