| Now |

ENDGAME

17 May 2019, 11:39

Yeah, don’t know how it happened, but I became a comic book nerd. Well. Mostly a movie comic book nerd. For the last ten years, been watching these movies because of my nerddom and well, because, they are fabulous movies. They were appendices to all the print comic book flotsam I was force fed. But, despite that experience, I got to be a really big fan of the movies, the marvel cinematic universe, the actors playing them, and the characters they’ve created. Marvel Studios really has something special going on. I even became a giant fan of the X-Men movies, especially when the new, hot, young, Charles and Erik were introduced. I would see all of those over any Twilight or Harry Potter flick.

So, of course, I was over-the-moon excited on seeing this Avengers: Endgame. I had saw Infinity Wars, and was waiting almost patiently for Endgame. We didn’t see it when it first came out. We waited a week for the hordes and crowds to die down, and even went at 9:45 on a Sunday because I had thought all the southern christians would be in church and we could see it for $5, because I’m cheap. We were expecting a near empty theater… we were, oh so, wrong.

I got up early, put on my special Cosmos t-shirt, shaved my legs and got mentally primed for this. We tottled off to the movies, and actually didn’t stop for food or to buy candy and pop we could sneak in. This, would be a mistake I wouldn’t soon make again. Armed with only anticipation, we went to the movies. Brian’s nerd friend had warned that it wouldn’t be as good as we expected, the ending wasn’t great, etc., so I was prepared to be disappointed. We got some not-so-good seats, theater food (box of curly fries and sliders, drink and twizzlers) that cost more than my car payment and geared up to watch this three HOUR movie. THREE HOURS.

And. It was better than expected. It was MAJORLY better than expected. It was EXCEEDINGLY better than expected. I didn’t even mind the three hour length. I think the threee hours helped a bit – though it was slow in the beginning, the time was used very well. There were cheers and laughs. Some gasps and boos. There were TWO places in the movie I started to cry. The first was I engaged in a bit of choking up when Gamora and Nebula talked about being sisters, and well, there was some JUST outright Dusty-bawling at the end, for Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers.

HOLY SHITBALLS you got to be kidding me. The ending, I was warned, wasn’t as good as it could have been. This person, whoever told Brian this, had to be brain damaged. It was a epic ending, the battle and subsequent sentimentality. You had me crying and sniffling and LAUGHING, and wondering when they were panning through the mourners, who the HELL was that dark, spikey haired teenager just standing there (and where was Gamora?) Cheeseburgers and all, I was enthralled and engulfed. I felt I was actually at the funeral of a close friend.

Then it hit me during the credits. I am saying goodbye to almost all of these characters, and it grabbed at my chest. It was like saying goodbye to close friends. I was hit by meloncholy. I was agog, I was impressed, I was estatic, and I was in mourning. I loved that the last image of Steve Rodger with his love, back where he belonged. Bittersweet, joyous image of a man returned to where he should be. I see the next generation of Marvel heros coming up and I am not disappointed but jesus christ, I am mourning the heros that I have lived with for 10 years or so. The friends and characters that enriched my dull little mortal life. Good going Marvel. Well done. Bravo.

After the movie, we went and played nerd cards (Firefly Toys & Games) of which I won more games than I ever did before, then went home and drank red hooks in the sunshine on the porch. Then I got on the internet and bought a commemorative Endgame poster, because this movie has joined the patheon of honor that I have in my nerd cave to all the best things ever.

Best weekend ever… until the next one.