Due to the small confines of my town’s borders, everyone I’ve ever known since birth is all back for the summer and smushed into one place. Everywhere I go, I am a moving target, and I can only hide myself so well in broad daylight.
The one place that used to be my saving grace is now my worst nightmare come to life: the movie theater. I don’t make it there that often, but when I do let’s just say it is for a very specific reason. Has anyone ever heard of the man named Stan Lee? If you haven’t, then I’m not sure if we can be friends. He is a genius, the creator of all things Marvel comics.
The first time I heard his majestic voice was while playing the very first Spider-Man PC game. As a kid I had to know about the man behind that velvety voice. I grew to love Stan Lee because he believed so strongly in the heroes he had created. Poring over my dad’s Spider-Man encyclopedia (yes, it does exist, and I now also own the Marvel Universe encyclopedia) I would get lost in bios and comic strip bits for hours.
My cousin, her husband, my parents and I now have what we lovingly refer to as “Marvel family movie night.” We all don our uniform t-shirt, whether it is X-Men, Spiderman or Captain America. Not too many people I went to high school with knew how deep my comic book love ran. Now when I see them at the movie theater, it’s even more awkward because followed by the conversations are the questioning looks at my family of Marvel bandits.
Marvel Studios’ next release, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” comes out on August 1. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper and more, “Guardians of the Galaxy” tells the story of Peter Quill (Pratt), an American pilot who teams up with a group of misfits to protect a powerful orb.
With movies such as “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” there is no way I can stay away from the movie theater this summer. While I may fear the awkward conversations with people and the questioning glances, I’ve also come to realize something important. I don’t care. Truth be told I’m not the person I once was in high school, because now I’m finally being me. My true colors are showing, only now they happen to be in shades of red and blue in the shape of a Spider-Man symbol on my shirt, worn proudly in a dark theater, in the hope of spotting the man behind the voice, Stan Lee, make an appearance on screen.
