As we devote our spare time to gleaning the identity of the secret villain or worrying about the 3D-conversion process, we may be losing sight of the deeper meaning of The Avengers. Yes, it has one: It turns out that Joss Whedon's ensemble film is an allegory ... for the American experience.

“You have all these disparate egos, superheroes in this and that, and they refuse to give up some of their positions in order to make a more perfect union and to join the team,” star Mark Ruffalo tells The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog. “That’s really what the whole movie is about: subjugating your own best interest momentarily to further that of the whole."

And as both Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk, the actor should know a little something about ego -- and id.

Opening May 4, the film also stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man,  Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill and Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Selvig.