During the swim portion of the inaugural New York City Ironman Triathlon, which began 7 a.m. Saturday morning, a 43-year-old man experienced what most are calling "medical distress" or "a medical problem." He was pulled from the water and taken to a hospital, but did not survive. Autopsy results are pending and the man's…

1. The Avengers is a superhero movie so fun, full of so much pure fanboy-wank joy wrapped up in an accessible, relentlessly entertaining package, that I'm not sure anybody needs to make any more comic-book movies; this one might wrap it up. (One suspects they'll still find a way.) Made by and for—but, crucially, not…

Five years ago, Joss Whedon's career wasn't going so well. The man behind the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel had recently written and directed Serenity, a big-screen version of his short-lived series Firefly. It was his feature directing debut, and it was a commercial disappointment. Not long after, Warner …

Tomorrow, Marvel's The Avengers will open in certain parts of the globe—not the U.S., which won't see the film until May 4—and Marvel's four-year odyssey of laying the groundwork for this action blockbuster will finally be over. It's been an impressive run commercially, if not always critically. (Captain America: The…