Sunday, May 3, 2015

“Gyros with My Heroes”


            For an entire week, my husband and I immersed ourselves into the Marvel Universe. The bold and brash Tony Stark swaggered through our living room. Thor, with “just the right amount of stupid” delighted us. Steve Rogers tugged at our hearts. We speculated about Natalia Romanova’s past and discussed the tie between her and Clint Barton. And through it all, we discussed the melancholy isolation of Bruce Banner. I have a particular fondness for these comic book heroes who exploded onto the screen during a rough period in our lives and continue to entertain us with their enormous adventures.
            Yesterday, our anticipation to view Avengers: Age of Ultron found us sitting in the theater extra early—the only way to get a good seat. Reality suspended, our world of unrest tucked into the background as we wallowed in mayhem and destruction Hollywood-style.
            Afterward, we headed for Papouli’s, our favorite Greek restaurant, and discussed our love of these fictional heroes with our gyros. Our lively conversation wound from the story line of the movie to the future exploits of these characters. We discussed the increasing tension between key characters and toyed with possible script twists and turns as the series moves forward.
            By the time I dipped my French fries into ketchup, we drifted into suppositions about what approach the DC World will have as a result of the success of the Marvel franchise. Will we see yet another rehashing of Batman? Or will the DC Comic leadership imitate their rivals and pull fans into an intricately woven narrative that doesn’t focus on one or two characters, but instead draws into the lives of the Justice League? Will their tactic of introducing audiences to the entire League all at once and following up with a Part Two escapade compare to Marvel’s build-up into the Avengers and all of their individual storylines?
            In the end, I suppose I’ll eventually find myself again smack in the center row of the theater enjoying the quests of each of these heroes.
Copyright 2015 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman