Entertainment Weekly has unveiled the cover for this week's issue, teasing the magazine's exclusive first look at The Avengers, which brings together Marvel's big-screen heroes for the first time -- although not necessarily as buddies.

“Just because they’re super heroes doesn’t mean they’re super friends,” star Jeremy Renner tells the magazine. Director Joss Whedon confesses he was hoping for friction among the cast, since there's so much in the movie: “I was like, well, if they hate each other, I guess we can use that. But they don’t.”

The EW cover is an oddly composed cast montage, but we can hope the article includes some solid stills from the film. The new issue arrives in stores Friday.

Opening May 4, 2012, The Avengers also stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders and Stellan Skarsgård.