In a lengthy and typically humorous posting to his supporters on his Whedonesque blog, The Avengers director Joss Whedon thank his supporters (to whom he refers as "peeps" rather than "fans") for their embrace of The Avengers.  He talks about the changes in his life that the success of The Avengers has wrought--now he will at last be able to finance his dream project, the reboot of Air Bud with a jai alai-playing canine, but then he gets serious:

"What doesn't change is anything that matters.  What doesn't change is that I've had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of--I'm not even gonna say fans.  I'm going with "peeps" -- that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of.  When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I've had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y'all.  A lot of stories have come out about my "dark years," and how I'm "unrecognized"... I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I'm ALL about my darkness) that they described.  Because I have so much.  I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I've yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating.  Communicating to the point of collaborating.  I've thought, "maybe I'm over; maybe I've said my piece."  But never with fear.  Never with rancor.  Because of y'all.  Because you knew me when.  If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you're probably new here.  (For the record, and despite my inhuman distance from the joy-joy of it: topping a box office record is super-dope. I'm an alien, not a robot.)  So this is me, saying thank you. All of you."

When asked if would feel sad if The Avengers’ box office record is steamrolled by The Dark Knight Rises, Whedon replies:

"I will feel sad. But let's look at the bigger picture, and I can't say this enough: THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME.  Our successes, whoever has the mostest, are a boon to each other.  We're in the business of proving that superhero movies aren't just eye-candy (they're eye-TRUFFLES!).  People seem intent on setting us against each other, and though I'm proud to be Woody Strode to Nolan's Kirk Douglas, I think they're missing the point.  Whatever TDKR does on its first weekend, the only stat that matters to me is the ticket I'M definitely buying.  Nolan and Raimi INVENTED the true superhero flick, yo.  (Special mention to Jon Favreau and James Gunn.) Happy to be in the mix."