What Marvel Means to Me

Marvel has molded and shaped me into the woman I am today.

If you're a young girl growing up in a small town, you know how it feels to be watched. You're constantly under surveillance, being made sure that you're turning out to be society's version of perfection. Because of this, Middle School and High School were probably the most stressful and anxiety inducing times for me. I knew I wasn't alone in the world, but I felt alone in my small town. When times felt the toughest and I was struggling to find myself, I turned to Marvel.

The first Marvel movie I ever saw was Thor. I remember seeing the trailer on repeat in 2011, and wanting to see what the story was really about. None of my friends or even my sister wanted to go with me to see it, so my Dad stepped up and took me to a matinee opening weekend. I was 13 at the time, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I have never really heard of any other Marvel characters besides Spider-Man and Hulk. I wasn't interested in seeing the already released Iron Man films. But after experiencing Thor in theaters, my whole life changed.

When times felt the toughest and I was struggling to find myself, I turned to Marvel.

That same day I saw Thor in theaters, I marched straight through the mall to Hot Topic with my Dad where he bought me my first Marvel t-shirt. It was an artists rendering of the battle scene on The Rainbow Bridge from the film. I still have that shirt to this day, and I cherish it so deeply.

Since then, I've devoted a lot of my free time to learning all I can about the Marvel Universe; comics and film. I discovered stories and characters that I can relate to in ways that I wouldn't expect anyone to understand. The female characters and their origins are stories that I wish my younger self had growing up. Seeing these characters drawn with their flaws and imperfections and still being loved by so many really resonated with me. Finding myself in these comic books was probably the last place I would've looked if it wasn't for my Dad. Sometimes I try to imagine how different my life would be if I didn't have this passion for Marvel. What if my Dad never took me to the cinemas? Yeah I probably would've eventually seen a Marvel film, but would it have had the same affect on me? Would I be this proud nerdy girl that I am today? It's hard to imagine my life without Marvel. It's something I have grown so passionately about as I've been growing up.

Marvel means so much to me, and I know there are others out there who feel the same. I also know there are others out there that find this fandom so intimidating, and avoid learning more because they think they're already too far behind on both the movies and comics. I am here to tell them that it's never to late and I want to help!

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With my "years of experience" as a Marvel fan, I want to be the person you feel comfortable coming to with any questions you may have about the fandom.

I want to help you break down the movies and tv shows and tell you which comics to read that will help you understand them.

I want to introduce you to characters and explain why they're important.

I want to share Marvel's history and how it became the juggernaut it is today.

Sharing my love for Marvel with you is a passion project I love to work on. I'm constantly learning more and more each day, and I can't wait to share all of what I know with you. Assemble here with me weekly for Marvel news and more. I can't wait to meet you!