The Avengers, the movie based on Marvel Comics' most famous superhero team, hits cinemas in the UK on 27 April, and the 'net is awash with more speculation than you'd get immediately prior to an average Apple device launch. Why? Because things have been hush-hush on who the "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" might be battling.

So, when we heard that Hasbro was to include one of the villains in promotional shots for its movie tie-in toy range, we got excited. Well, until we found out it was Loki, that is.

Sadly, you see, Loki had already appeared in the teaser trailer screened during the Super Bowl. And was hardly one of the world's best-kept secrets. Where's evidence of the Skrulls (who were also teased in our Lego Marvel preview)? Where's the Thanos action figure? If we're going to be excited by comic books and their related movies and merchandise long into our later years, we should at least get a few spoilers every now and again.

Ahem.

Anyway, we were pretty excited to find out that, thanks to Hasbro's pictures, Loki will be sporting his trademark extended horns helmet in the film. Either that or Tony Stark has installed a peculiar looking hat stand in his office. And, it must be said, that photographer Ed McGowan's images of Hawkeye, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk and Black Widow are pretty tasty.

If only we knew what camera he was using, then we could've found a tech angle to justify publishing them on a tech site. Er...

Looking forward to The Avengers? Let us know in the comments below...