There are two up and coming films that are poised to put the “super” back in super hero.

First up, Joss Whedon brings the iconic super hero team “The Avengers” to the big screen for the first time.

Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly”) is no stranger to action and filmmaking. He recently took a stab at the horror genre with his film “The Cabin in the Woods” and has two more films in postproduction slated for 2012, according to IMDB.

“The Avengers” boasts an impressive cast of characters from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, to Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, not to mention Robert Downey Jr. as the billionaire playboy Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. This movie hits theaters May 4.

Those who prefer an alternative to the Marvel variety superhero can get ready for a DC roller coaster ride.

Christopher Nolan once again brings to the big screen his version of the caped crusader. Christian Bale will also return for the final film in Nolan’s “Dark Knight” series entitled, “The Dark Knight Rises.”

This hugely anticipated sequel to “The Dark Knight” flaunts the addition of the legendary DC villain Bane played by Tom Hardy (“Inception” and “Band of Brothers”).

In stark contrast to the Bane character played by Jeep Swenson in the 1997 film “Batman and Robin,” which was a huge disappointment to Batman fans everywhere, Nolan’s version looks more like the depictions of the beastly villain in the comics.

It remains to be seen if this film will live up to the two previous Batman incarnations.