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‘The Avengers’ trailer: Is that Fin Fang Foom?

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Okay, we’re plunging deep into geeky waters here.

A couple of days ago, Marvel released the latest trailer for “The Avengers.” The preview was a huge hit with fans — a record-setting 13.7 million views in its first 24 hours on iTunes — some of whom lay down their skepticism about the Joss Whedon movie thanks to the character moments and big action scenes included.

And what an action scene at the end of the trailer, as Iron Man is pursued through the concrete canyons of New York by a huge flying serpent thing.

There’s been a lot of speculation in the days since the trailer debuted online about just who or what the flying serpent is. Is it organic or mechanical? Is it a robot or a ship? (Some observers noted an earlier trailer showed alien warriors jumping from a ship that looked suspiciously like the serpent.)

Some of the guesses in the wake of the trailer were particularly geeky, harking back to the early days of Marvel Comics. Could the serpent be Fin Fang Foom?

Let’s all say that together. Fin Fang Foom. Fun, isn’t it? Fin Fang Fun, as a matter of fact.

For all those people who have spent their lives somewhat closer to the heart of reality, an explanation of who (what?) Fin Fang Foom is:

Fin Fang Foom first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1961 as a sort of talkative Godzilla character, a dragon/snake/whatever that reappeared later, when Marvel specialized in superhero comics. Fin — if you’ll allow me to adopt a familiar, first-name basis — fought the Fantastic Four as well as Avengers Thor, Hulk and Iron Man.

Do I really think Fin Fang Foom is in “The Avengers?”

Well, no. Not really.

As over-the-top as a bunch of costumed superheroes might seem, a talking dragon monster might be perceived as a little too … preposterous, shall we say?

I’m guessing the flying snake thing in “The Avengers” is just a particularly eye-catching transport ship for the legions of creatures (Skrulls?) that the good guys will be fighting.

If I’m wrong and Thor blurts out, “By Odin’s beard! That is none other than Fin Fang Foom!” you’ll know geek culture has ascended to the highest halls of Hollywood.

And the “Fin Fang Foom” prequel movie will be, by that point, inevitable.

‘The Avengers’ trailer … and that giant snake thing

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Wow.

The new trailer for Marvel’s “The Avengers” was released today and looks amazing.

The trailer offered us the first real glimpse of the scope of the movie, which opens May 4.

Sure, it’s a big superhero movie, based on the classic Marvel comic book, and features the leads from “Iron Man,” “Thor,” “Captain America,” “The Hulk” and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury to boot, all directed by “Buffy” maestro Joss Whedon.

But some fans have complained that previous previews didn’t give a real sense of the scale of the action, of the menace facing the heroes. After all, Nick Fury was putting this team together to take on a challenge that was too big for any single hero to handle alone, right?

So, without revealing too much about the plot or even confirming the space-faring villains (Skrull? Kree? Asgardian monsters?), the trailer puts the menace, the scope, the scale of the threat out there.

And it did it with that giant flying snake thing at the end of the trailer. Is it a robot? Is it alive? Something in between? And whose WMD is it?

Other thoughts upon watching the trailer for, like, the tenth time:

“We’re not a team. We’re a time bomb,” scientist Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) says. Banner is the guy who Hulks out, of course.

Oh, and the Hulk. Not only do we see more Ruffalo but we see more of his big green alter ego. We see the Hulk smashing through a series of too-small doorways, as seen in an earlier spot. This time we see he’s following Black Widow. Has he wigged out and started chasing her? Or are the two making a hasty exit together?

Oh, and more about the Hulk. How cool is the moment when the Hulk comes out of nowhere to rescue Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) as he falls from the sky? And of course he does it in Hulk style, slowing his and Iron Man’s freefall by dragging the facade off several stories of a skyscraper.

Cap fights Thor. Iron Man fights Thor. Everybody knows that it’s a Marvel Comics standby to have heroes tussle before they get together and fight on the same side. So maybe that’s what’s going on here. Or maybe some of those heroes are controlled by … Skrulls?

Why are Hawkeye and Black Widow there? Some people can’t seem to get that a key to the Avengers team in the comics was that while some members were super-powered, others were not. The online bitching about the normal-powered Hawkeye and Black Widow being part of the team has been ridiculous. Ironically, the trailer addresses this, with Black Widow telling Hawkeye in effect, “We weren’t trained for this.”

Whedon and his team have, after months, really whetted our appetites for “The Avengers.” The trailer released today had me wishing May 4 was tomorrow.