Dear Marvel,
Though the MCU may have been born 11 years ago with the release of the first Iron Man film, my fascination with you did not start there. Let us take a stroll down memory lane!
My first encounter with anything Marvel related was when I was kid, I grew up watching the X-Men movies with my dad (in Spanish, because we would watch them on Telemundo when they were playing on the weekends). I remember being in awe at Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and the idea of human mutants with crazy superpowers living on Earth. Since then Wolverine became my favorite superhero and the X-Men films my go to movies. One can say this was the beginning of an era.
Then I found out about the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man movies and I became a total nerd! And then there was Blade, The Punisher, Daredevil, and my all time favorite: the Ghost Rider movies! Yes, these movies were kinda lame and weird and cringy at times, and nothing like what was to come in 2008, but they were the beginning! These films are what kept me wondering what was coming next.
Finally in 2008 Iron Man came out. It was absolutely amazing, a complete game changer! I quickly became a fan of Robert Downey Jr. and his portrayal of Iron Man. This movie was completely different from the other Marvel movies I had been watching, it’s graphics and story arc were actually good, it wasn’t lame or cringy. I was instantly obsessed! Then The Incredible Hulk came out, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger and I was like what is going on here?!??!!! Until then I had never picked up a comic book, I thought those things were extinct! So I had no clue that these movies were setting up something big: The Avengers.
It’s the year 2012 and I am sitting in a packed theater with my dad unbeknownst that were about to witness history AANNND IN 3D! The movie ended and we were speechless. The Avengers was everything a superhero movie should be, it had the sadistic villain, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) whose ultimate goal of course was to rule the world, it had the badass ringleader, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who thankfully brought all the heroes together and made them realize that they were fighting something bigger than themselves. The film had the crazy other worldly invasion with the Chitauri fleet, and the unknown threat in space, the Other and Thanos. It had a comedic side with the banter and bashing going on between the heroes, an emotional and personal touch with the death of Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the fact that Loki was Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) brother. Most importantly it gave us the most epic-iconic-legendary team up in the MCU, when all the Avengers finally set their plan in motion to save the world from Loki and his army! The Avengers also made it clear that there were bigger threats to come with the closing scene and Nick Fury’s confident prediction that the Avengers would return if and when they were needed.
After The Avengers I was officially a fan. I began to buy anything Marvel related, t-shirts, pencil cases, folders, notebooks, and pins! I started reading the comics and suddenly everything made sense! I knew everything about almost every character, I knew the story arcs, the main villains, I knew everything about the different dimensions. I started to come up with my own theories and friendships were created through that nerdy bond of questioning.
By then Iron Man had become my new fav superhero (sorry Wolverine, you were now in 2nd place). I just loved his snarky attitude and the fact that he was always preparing for the future. And come on! How could he not be my favorite superhero when RDJ was just perfection as Tony Stark! The next two Iron Man movies were not that great though, but they were part of the ongoing journey
Years had gone by and more MCU movies came out, as well as other movies not related to the Universe like The Amazing Spider-Man movies and the never ending X-men movies. I was in high school by the time the last Amazing Spider-Man came out, and although I was not fond of the storyline I was upset when I found out that it was not going to continue, I couldn’t take a 3rd remake. During my junior year of high school Avengers: Age of Ultron came out and it could have been soo great! If only they would have followed the actual comic arc with the terrifying outcome of Ultron’s rule! One thing it did do was introduce us to new characters like Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who would become vital in upcoming events. It was also a chance for Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to redeem himself, proving that he is an essential part of the team. Age of Ultron also introduced us to the growing tensions within the team, which would have us fans picking sides.
I was now a senior in high school and since most of my friends were Marvel nerds like me I came up with the idea to start a club. It was called the Movies and Comics club and I and my bff Nick were the co-presidents, it was a pretty fun experience! Usually we would have conversations about movies, or discuss upcoming comics, or have debates. One of our most exciting debates was regarding Captain America: Civil War, it was simple, who’s side were you on #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan? Instantly everyone in the room quickly took a side. Of course I was on Team Iron Man until the very end, regardless of what happened at the end of the movie, which by the way had me shaking!!!
Also around that time, the end of one of my beloved heroes was nearing. The Wolverine was making his last appearance in an emotional ending. Logan definitely ended me. I was soo depressed after watching it and I could not believe that it was the end of what had started it all. Wolverine taught me love, pain, and patience and I will forever be thankful for him.
Now it was time to prepare myself for an unexpected ending.
So far, this nerdy journey has included a new obsession, a new hobby, and new friendships. Now it is the summer of 2017 and we have a new Spider-Man. Okay so honestly I did not like this new take at all but I loved Tom Holland as Spider-Man, he was everything Spider-Man should be! I would have loved if Marvel would have followed an og comic arc, I mean if ya’ll were starting over why not just give us an old Aunt May, Uncle Ben’s death that inspired the idea of Spider-Man, and a Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy! But I have now come to terms with it and can’t wait where this is going to take us. Summer 2017 was coming to an end and so was the third phase of the MCU.
In 2018 Avengers: Infinity War would set the stage for the grand finale. This installment was the ultimate team up we were waiting for. It was years after the events of Civil War, the Avengers had broken up, Thor had lost everything, the Guardians were out in space somewhere not expecting Thanos to hit the galaxy hard, Wakanda was just chilling, and Spider-Man was just busy being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man; when all of a sudden BAM! Thanos and his children are here to balance the universe, now the heroes have to try and stop him, and they fail horribly! It was such an intense film that had me at the edge of my seat hoping that nothing really bad would happen, but like we all know our worse fears came true. Now we just had to wait.
Captain Marvel then came out, answering our questions about that end scene in Infinity War. Other than bringing back old characters like Agent Phil Coulson and Ronan, giving us the backstory on Fury’s eye, and introducing the Kree and Skrulls into the MCU; Captain Marvel sucked. I did not like it AT ALL. (The details of my opinion are for another time).
Finally Avengers: Endgame was here! Ughahsfshshhkajhaahhhh! This ending tore me apart, I and every Marvel fan in the whole damn world were crying throughout the whole 3+ hours of the movie. Our team was back together for a final time fighting their own demons along with other honorary Avengers. Half of the Universe had been wiped out by Thanos. Some people, like Tony and Bruce moved on, while Cap, Natasha and Thor were struggling to come to terms with their defeat, and Hawkeye having lost his family was taking matters into his own hands. They eventually put their differences aside and were able to come up with a plan, and it was not what we expected. Many of us who had come up with theories were quaking when we realized we were no where close. I had thought that everyone would live and Tony and Steve would just step down, but my heart was completely broken when my hero Iron Man made the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. But Endgame brought everything the MCU had built up to a subtle end. The CGI, VFX and other visual effects where out of this world, the color scheme especially during that final scene where Captain America was ready to face Thanos and his entire army was just absolutely beautiful, all of Earth’s Mightiest heroes coming together in on single legendary team up was just too much to handle, and the all female team up during the final battle was just powerful, the references to all the movies paying tribute to the memories made was a trip, the end of the battle where Pepper tells Tony that her and Morgan would be okay was just soo emotional, Steve’s long awaited dance with Peggy was heart warming, but that final “end credits” scene where we hear Tony’s hammer from the first Iron Man movie was just the best way to wrap up a rollercoaster of 11 years of joy, sadness, and excitement.
Marvel Thank You for the 11 years of laughter, pain, sorrow, sadness, extreme excitement and happiness you have brought me and many other fans across the world. Thank you for bring the comics I love to life. Thank you for the heroes like Wolverine, Iron Man, Peggy Carter, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Loki, and Spider-Man who have all taught me soo much! I will forever be thankful for all the memories you have created and cannot wait for the next 11+ years!
With Love,
Your #1 fan Julissa <3