Comic books and motorcycles could lead to heroic win

Motorcycle heroics are once again coming together to fight the evils known to bikers everywhere.

Okay, so the latest team-up between Harley-Davidson and Marvel Entertainment isn’t that dramatic, but it does offer the opportunity to win motorcycles and be rendered in superhero fashion.

The effort from the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer and Marvel is called Assemble Your Freedom which allows customers can assemble their dream bike and become a character in an Avengers comic.

From now through July 1, anyone can enter the Assemble Your Freedom contest online simply by creating a profile with a hero name and description along with selecting a Super Hero bike model and features on the Harley-Davidson H-D1 Bike Builder.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Marvel again and to do it with such a great and historic property like the Avengers,” said Dino Bernacchi, Harley-Davidson Marketing Communication Director.

The contest celebrates the releasing of the latest superhero movie featuring Marvel comic book characters.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, the Avengers film brings together the mightiest Super Hero characters on screen for the first time. The recently launched Harley-Davidson Softail Slim motorcycle will have a role in the new Avengers film, scheduled to premiere in May 4, 2012.

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and written and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012.

This isn’t the first time Harley and Marvel have brought their powers together for good and not evil.

Harley-Davidson collaborated with Marvel Studios to create five motorcycles for the Captain America: The First Avenger film, released last year and traced Captain America’s origins as a World War II era Super Hero who rides a military motorcycle as a means of transportation.

To get the authentic look that appeared on the big screen the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer coordinated the modification of the current day Harley-Davidson Cross Bones model to resemble an original 1942 WLA Army motorcycle. The Motor Company also worked with Marvel Studios to recreate additional parts, such as an ammunition box and leather gun scabbard, to ensure the motorcycles looked as authentic as possible.

Three bikes were used in the film for riding and stunts, and two were reserved for a scene in which Captain America lifts a motorcycle over his head at a USO appearance.

As they say in the comic books, ‘currently….’ the Assemble Your Freedom contest will be select five winners based on various factors with prizes that include the motorcycle they created and being immortalized with a personal likeness and motorcycle drawn into a custom Avengers comic book.

“The Assemble Your Freedom contest gives anyone who believes in things like freedom and independence the chance to express their passion and spirit for Harley-Davidson and Avengers in a truly unique way,” Bernacchi notes, “They’ll be able to ride into an Avengers mission and be immortalized in this special edition digital comic.”