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Movie · Superhero, Action · 2012 · PG-13

The Avengers: parents' guide

12+our pick

Best for ages 12 and up. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.

A crowd-pleasing team-up that suits most tweens who already like superhero movies, built around a long, explosive alien invasion of New York. The violence is near constant but mostly bloodless, though a well-liked supporting character is stabbed and dies on screen, and the villain kills guards and scientists and tortures a man with a device pressed to his eye. Language stays mild, with no s-words or f-words. Bruce Banner mentions in passing that he once tried to kill himself, and Tony makes a quick joke about weed. We'd start at 12 because the battles are long and intense and that one death is genuinely sad.

What's in it

Violence

Moderate

Nearly constant combat with fists, guns, arrows and energy blasts, ending in a battle of about 45 minutes. The villain kills guards and scientists, jams a device into a screaming man's eye, and stabs one man through the chest. Little blood.

Language

Mild

No s-words or f-words. Damn and hell come up about five or six times each, plus a few uses of ass, bitch, bastard, son of a bitch and pissed off, the British insult "quim," and "oh my God."

Sex and nudity

Mild

Tony and Pepper kiss and trade suggestive remarks, and there's a joke about a "performance issue." Banner wakes up naked in rubble after being the Hulk; his legs and torso are seen, nothing explicit, before he gets pants.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

Adults sip champagne and Tony pours himself a whiskey. Tony also teases Banner that he stays calm thanks to "a huge bag of weed," the one drug reference the MPA cites. Nobody is shown drunk or using drugs.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

An alien army and giant flying creatures tear through the city, and the Hulk hunts Black Widow through a ship in a scary chase. A beloved character's death is played with real grief, and Banner briefly mentions a past suicide attempt.

Sensitive topics

  • Suicide

Worth talking about

The heroes spend half the movie bickering and distrusting each other before they learn to work as a team. What helps a group of strong personalities cooperate?

Where to stream →

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, childrenandmedia.org.au, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.