Marvel Musings #2: On Growing Up with Marvel
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My 21st birthday is in 3 days.
That means that I am 3 days closer to being an adult, 3 days closer to graduating college, 3 days closer to getting a job, et cetera. And that’s scary.
I’ll be turning 21 on a three-day weekend, and I have no idea what I’m going to do. Hopefully, I’ll be surrounded by all my friends. A year ago, newly 20-year old me would have wanted a fucking rager, with copious amounts of alcohol and drinking and going out to bars every night that weekend. She imagined I’d be surrounded by her friends from near and far and maybe some guy on her arm by the end of the night. She’d have an entire weekend of partying and no work, because it’s only the first week of school — what work could she actually have?
But after a tumultuous 2018 akin to what Chris mentioned last week, all I want to do is pass the fuck out. The lightweight that I am knows that I will die if I infamously take 21 shots. The anxiety-ridden individual that I am doesn’t trust people as easily as she did a year ago, no matter how much she tries and how stubborn she intends on being. And the responsible leader that I have to be is aware that I have to plan whatever I do around the work and meetings that I have to attend to — which means I definitely can’t take 21 shots.
And honestly, that last point makes me glad. It gives me a need to crawl out of my room and face reality: that I’m growing up and that I have duties and people I am responsible for. It puts not just my weekend, but my life in balance. All the work I do gives me a purpose, putting me closer into figuring out what I want to do.
Infinity War feels like it put Marvel Studios on some cultural plane that we’d never really seen before — yes, Marvel has always been popular but now the brand feels like it’s been launched into a spotlight, at the mercy of memes, political tension, praise, and criticism. With this huge blockbuster event, it’s impossible not to think about what’s next.
As I look down the blank, unknown road that is Marvel Studios’ release calendar after Spider-Man: Far From Home, I can’t help but carry some similar feelings and expectations of Marvel Studios’ feelings on their future. Marvel Studios probably reached emotional adulthood in their saga a long time ago (my guess is Captain America: Civil War), but their 22nd film, Avengers: Endgame, feels like they’re reaching literal adulthood. Whatever it is, it definitely feels like some kind of turning point.
I’m hesitant to say Avengers: Endgame is a “closing of a chapter” or anything alongside a metaphor of death and things ending, because to me it feels more of like a new beginning filled with excitement, change, and new horizons to cross. It’ll be scary watching the landscape of the MCU change before my eyes, but I think I learned quickly that this change will be inevitable. And overall, the MCU’s future exhilarates me. Sure, there are some movies projected to fill in the slots — a prequel Black Widow movie, expected sequels for Doctor Strange and Black Panther — but I cannot wait to see how these different movies fit into the new narrative that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios are creating.
All in all, Marvel Studios has always been “growing up,” and whatever Phase 4 will be — if that’s even what it’s truly called — will hopefully let us see Marvel at its most mature. I hope that Marvel Studios, emboldened by all its struggles and its massive success, will just be able to embrace themselves and their legacy to pave a future they’re proud of throughout their next ten years.
The future is scary. Growing up is scary. But as I’ve grown up with Marvel over the past ten years, it’s helped me find my own purpose and shown me how it’s not really that bad. I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do with my past after I turn 21, but I know that it’ll only help me to learn, embrace the future, and grow.
-Izzy Sio (@delirilyn)
Originally published at www.patreon.com.
