British Museum, London

Disney's new superhero film Marvel Avengers Assemble is on course to smash global cinema box-office records by grossing $1bn (£625 m) in just 19 days. The film has brought in over £40m in the UK, meaning that it could soon match last year's top-seller, The King's Speech, which generated £45m.

Avengers Assemble has become one of the biggest-grossing films of all time. Or has it? Guy Adams examines the numbers

The superhero movie Avengers Assemble has set a new record for the biggest-grossing opening weekend at the US box office, becoming the first film to break the $200m (£123m) mark.

At last! A boffin who can put us in the picture

Is Superman the most prolific character in fiction? The Man of Steel has appeared in at least 1,500 different comic books, several TV series – from Adventures of Superman to Smallville – and five (soon to be six) films. He's not an easy man to keep tabs on.

When Mark Ruffalo won his role as the Incredible Hulk for this month's mega-blockbuster Avengers Assemble, he made one fatal mistake: trawling the internet for reactions. Comic-book fans – particularly those obsessed with the Marvel superhero universe – can be an unforgiving bunch. "It was pretty brutal," he laughs. "It definitely hurt my feelings and scared me." How could it not? Insults ranged from "Ruffalo is a tool" to "That guy is barely awake. How is he going to be pissed off as the Hulk?"

Hollywood's new assault has begun. It's the march of all your childhood playthings, from Battleships to Lego, Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Space Invaders, says Daniel Bettridge

From Springfield, Ohio, to the city's namesakes in West Virginia, Vermont and Illinois, resounds the exclamation: "Doh!" The creator of The Simpsons has broken his silence and revealed that the real-life inspiration for the animated series is the Springfield in Oregon.

Oregonians delight as Groening finally reveals that of 38 US Springfields, he was thinking of theirs

One of the best-kept secrets in television history has been revealed, with The Simpsons creator Matt Groening pointing to Springfield, Oregon, as the inspiration for the animated home town of Homer and family.

'Freedom' and 'Join or Die' special editions detailed.

A third model egg has been stolen from a pre-Olympic exhibition.

'Normal' off the pitch, a genius on it, club's new record scorer has changed little from the shy 12-year-old who first arrived. But will it always be this rosy?