I can still recall the months of anticipation leading up to that theatrical release; hours spent perusing web articles, watching and rewatching official trailers, and scrolling through still images on the official “Avengers” film site, all in the hopes of gleaning any minute details previously missed. I’d been introduced to the MCU nearly a year ago, after a whimsical suggestion to the same friends that we check out Captain America: The First Avenger. While this film left me undeniably enthralled, I was still a rookie to the world of comics and superhero splendor; as such, I had a lot of questions:
“That was awesome, but when is Green Lantern gonna show up?”
“Captain America and Superman, they’re friends, right?”
Woefully ignorant as I was, I had plenty of time to catch up on what’s now been dubbed “Phase One” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And catch up I did.
I remember leaving the theater with my friends that Saturday evening, replaying what we thought were the “coolest” and most “badass” moments out amongst each other. I can vaguely recall being shuttled home to Thompson by my mother (I was too young to drive at the time), sitting awestruck and silent in the backseat. Though we might’ve discussed moments, one-liners, character beats, no words could capture the unique blend of awe, adoration, and even terror The Avengers imprinted upon my adolescent mind. Thank God that Joss Whedon (dir.) and everyone else involved produced such a phenomenal film; it’s truly possible that my life so far may have taken a drastically different course had The Avengers underwhelmed.
The Avengers changed my life. Every now and then, a movie will do this, and always in its own unique way - Star Wars, Sing Street, and Baby Driver are just a few others. And I love that movies can do this to us. Most films leave us the moment we leave the theater, discarded from our memories like those cheap, buttery paper bowls we deposit in the garbage can on our way out. But The Avengers didn’t leave me; I carried it around with me: in my backpack, through the school hallways, into the lowest, loneliest moments of teenage angst we all inevitably endure. Whatever hardships came my way, I always had those six heroes at my side.
Sorry, that got really heavy there for a moment. Lemme lighten things up a little. At first, I wanted to be Iron Man. Every young boy did, right? He’s witty, self-assured, and a certifiable genius. A billionaire with the world at his feet, his superpowers arise from his intellect. As a STEM geek - I once owned not one, but two quantum mechanics t-shirts - this really resonated with me. Tony Stark showed me how a nerd like myself could be cool, and suddenly it all just made sense to me. I found myself trying to model my behavior after this fictional character in (probably not-so-) subtle ways.
These days though, I’d be far more inclined to cite Cap as my favorite. In certain ways, Steve Rogers represents the epitome of everything I hope to be one day: a man who’s upright; a man who’s insufferably brave, loyal and true; a man who’s willing to stand for his morals to the very end. Plus, he’s jacked as shit. (Credit to you, Chris Evans, for embodying this role like no one else could). To this day, I find myself making decisions based on what I believe Captain America would do; what my morals dictate I do. And sure, that’s an aggressively geeky thing to admit, but it’s so illustrative of the real and quantifiable impact these movies have had on my everyday life. And I think it’s beautiful that what’s ostensibly two and a half hours of “popcorn cinema” could do that to me.
But perhaps the greatest gift The Avengers has given me is something else entirely - this is the movie that taught me how to love movies. The Avengers awakened in me a passion for cinema that is still alive to this day. Movies had always impressed and fascinated me before that weekend in seventh grade, sure. I can recall countless childhood hours spent running around the backyard, waving plastic lightsabers every which way, leaving a trail of welts and sniffling noses in my wake. But The Avengers taught me that a movie can be something more. Though I study engineering and I can see myself pursuing a career in this field, “screenwriter/director” remains my dream occupation, and I owe that to The Avengers.
Seven years have passed since that afternoon, and it seems that soon, this saga of Marvel I’ve been following since my adolescence will be drawn to a close. My enthusiasm for this franchise has ebbed and flowed with the seasons; admittedly, I more and more frequently find myself feeling like the MCU is getting away from me. While I typically enjoy each new installment on some level, this is a franchise that now encapsulates dozens of new and old heroes, and I occasionally find myself longing for simpler days. Each new entry, each new viewing experience seems to bring with it an ever-so-subtle sense of desperation: that unshakable hope that the latest Marvel movie will recapture that magic I felt years ago, combined with the knowledge that… it probably won’t. Going into Avengers: Endgame, I hope I can set this fervent anticipation aside and just enjoy the film on its own terms - the hours preceding “Infinity War” caused me visceral anxiety, but that’s what these movies have always done to me. They’ve always been more than just movies, for better or worse. But as eager as ever to be swept away by the Marvel franchise, I’m willing to chalk most of this subtle disillusionment up to “maturing tastes.” Just as the MCU has matured, I have too.
My taste in film has undoubtedly expanded since my pre-teen years; no longer am I blown away by spectacle for its own sake and the other pitfalls that plague superhero flicks. I’ve seen many movies since The Avengers: movies that were more technically proficient, movies that have proven easier to revisit, movies that have challenged me in bolder, more original ways. But this one will always stand alone for me. It’s a feeling that, try as I have, I doubt I’ll ever be able to perfectly capture in words. The Marvel franchise will continue to evolve through the years, just as I have. Marvel will find new fans, transform into something wholly original, and who knows? There may come a day when I outgrow the MCU entirely. But whatever the future may hold, I’ll always have that circling pan shot of six heroes, standing defiant in the streets of NYC, and everything that went along with it.