Superhero Movies are Marvel-ous

Many of you know me as a musician and that is true. Music is and always will be my passion and hopefully at some point, a rewarding and sustainable career path. We’ll just have to see how long this Covid thing lasts. Anyway, in tandem with being a dedicated musician, I’m also a full-time nerd. I think it’s safe to say that many musicians have identified as such and we wouldn’t want it to be any other way.

I grew up around comic books, action figures, corny superhero movies, and video games. My favorite movies as a kid were the 1980 Batman and the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies. Much like many young boys, I wanted to be Spider-Man more than ANYTHING. Watching Toby Maguire climb buildings and swing around New York City was the coolest thing I’d ever witnessed. The way he fought and defeated the Green Goblin and Doc Ock made him more than just a hero, it made him an icon. I remember explaining to my mother that if I couldn’t be Spider-Man when I grew up, I didn’t want to grow up. Kind of dark I know, but he was just so awesome.

So why am I telling you this? Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have noticed that Marvel has been consistently releasing superhero films for the past (almost) 14 years. These films have been collectively organized into a universe outside of our own, best known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Since first appearing on the scene with Iron Man (2008), these films have shattered box office records, touched the hearts of billions, and allowed us, fellow nerds, to reignite our affinity for superhero content.

I have to admit that at first, I was skeptical of these movies. I was somewhat of a traditionalist when these movies started gaining global attention. I was stuck in the days of Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man and Christian Bale’s Batman. I didn’t want to watch a group of characters dressed up in bright-colored suits fighting aliens and wizards. I wanted something dark and gritty like The Dark Knight and villains like Doc Ock and Heath Ledger’s Joker. Those were true villains. But then in 2018, a little movie called Avengers: Infinity War was released.

I should mention that The Dark Knight has been my favorite movie of all time since it was released, but Infinity War… that movie is a close runner-up. I will never forget the day I saw Infinity War; the ending, the blip, the snap, the ashes; WOW, that will never ever be topped. That was the biggest cliffhanger of all time; yes, even more so than season seven of Game of Thrones. Everything was at stake. Half of all living organisms in the universe were snapped from existence; and Thanos, oh Thanos…There will never be another villain quite like him. One could say his intentions were good, as he wanted worlds on the brink of collapse to prosper again. He wanted children to have full bellies and clear skies. He wanted peace, but of course at the cost of genocide. How can you justify that? Well, obviously you can’t. He was insane.

My point here is that ever since that fateful day of watching Infinity War, I’ve been a changed man. Just this past week, I got word from my cousin that Spider-Man: No Way Home was the greatest Marvel movie, possibly even one of the greatest movies he’s ever seen in general. After hearing that, I took the following 15 days to watch and rewatch all the MCU movies in chronological order. Wow, what an experience.

I came away with some new love for the art of movie-making. I also came away with a wealth of knowledge about the MCU itself; the characters, storylines, and the easter eggs. There is so much to learn and enjoy that it was truly a humbling and rewarding experience. I ended the self-inflicted marathon with a Tuesday night showing of Spider-Man: No Way Home. My cousin was right. Yep, at was a trip. I’ll leave it there for those who haven’t seen it yet.

To end this, I guess I should say that the MCU is truly a spectacle to behold. I recommend these movies to people of all ages. I know that may sound like Marvel is endorsing me to say that, but obviously, they’re not because well honestly, they definitely don’t need my help to promote their billion-dollar movies…Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope we have the chance to catch up and talk about Marvel one day. These films are truly amazing, no matter what Martin Scorsese says.