I spent the last forty minutes watching the premium sections of Avengers: Endgame and it took me through the gamut of emotions. I laughed, I cheered, I got super hyped (multiple times and generally around Mr. Rogers and his moments) and I teared up… often. That film, released 6 years ago now, represents the best of what Marvel is capable of in terms of storytelling. I fear there will be nothing like that ever again for them. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they can string together an incredible story that weaves all of these characters into a narrative thread (I’m mixing metaphors again) that makes me feel for them the way that I did. I love comics and hero stories for this reason. I have a Mk II helmet on my desk for this very reason. Stories brought to life by remarkable (and well cast) talents make us feel. I can get this from a book, because my imagination allows me to. However, it doesn’t work that way for everyone. Movies make that range of emotions far more accessible. It also happens faster for the viewer than it does for the reader.
I’m still wiping my damn nose as I type this blog. Downey’s “I am Iron Man” moment ended me, and they just kept on piling on after (the work of Gwyneth Paltrow is entirely underrated–even if she felt like she mailed it in). All of this leads me to a curious understanding. I want to script a comic series. I want to do more. I want to tell more stories that get people and that people get. I miss being able to go that deep into a character that you actually feel what they are going through and understand the struggle. I spend so much time telling story that I don’t tell story. I think the latter is what people need most. I think we need to see ourselves in characters, but I also think we need something to believe in. Something accessible and relatable. Someone who, given opportunity, access, and power, makes bad choices and, eventually, learns to make really good ones. We need hope–especially now. We need to see the better part of ourselves. I think that I’ve been writing about this my entire life and never been quite able to get there. I think, above all else, it is time for me to work a lot harder at it.
I think I’m going to make that my thing.