Day 01 - The Avengers

40th Celebration

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It's sort of hard to imagine at this point that there was a time when the superhero genre was still struggling. You had your good ones, but they were few, and even looking back on some of them now, they were more "good for the time" (like 'X-Men') But things were kind of hit-or-miss, and for whatever reason, despite the box office success of many, they weren't taken very seriously. Something about a lot of them was, in a word, "off".

Thankfully, in 2008, 'Iron Man' would come along and pave the way for today's oversaturation of superhero material. Now, let me be clear on this - I'm all for this oversaturation because for someone like me, it's like taking vanilla ice cream and putting chocolate sauce, sprinkles, chocolate chips and peanut butter cups all over the top of it. I fit into the geeky category that these films cater to, and I'm afraid it's gonna be a while until I'm ultimately sick of it all. I can discuss Marvel fan theory until I'm blue in the face. But back on topic, 'Iron Man's post-credit scene featuring Sam Jackson as Nick Fury provided the spark to something much bigger that has now lasted about 14 years!

It's ridiculous to think about nowadays, but during the time between 2008's 'Iron Man' and somewhere between 2011's 'Thor' and 'Cap', the very idea of them being able to pull off an Avengers team-up movie was kind of beyond comprehension. In fact, many critics would insist that it could not happen. I don't pretend to understand why, but I'm sure it had a lot to do with the budget it would take, and attempting to balance an ensemble cast. History has shown a solid flop or two when it came to ensemble superhero movies, like 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' or, perhaps better recognized, 'X3: X-Men United'. But one thing I've said during this time that still holds true today - "never say never".

Eventually, after a few years of build-up, 'The Avengers' was released with damn near perfect timing for yours truly. I won't get too deep into this, but my Dad had just been diagnosed with Cancer at the time and, in a way, this provided an interesting sort of metaphorical escape where I could watch a team of heroes take on what was plaguing New York City - in the form of an alien race, lead by Loki, the God of Mischief. It was something I very much needed at the time. As cliché as it probably sounds, 'The Avengers' provided something of a ray of hope for me. And even though we all knew how things would go, and it was a hard struggle for us all, this helped me stay strong during my Dad's illness.

Now, just to get away from the sad and deep part of why this made the list, let's get into something a little more positive. Besides it being an unprecedented team-up movie, a few years in the making, one of the biggest deals about it was that it did it right! One thing the 'Avengers' did that a lot of previous comic-based movies didn't do was (at least in my mind) basically open a comic book, point out a bunch of fantastic, impossible illustrations and say "we need to make it look like that". Even if you hate this stuff, you can't really deny that the first 'Avengers' movie has been a complete game-changer in the superhero genre... of course, if you DO hate all of it, that's probably also why.

This one also counts as one of the most fun theatrical experiences I've ever had. It was a lot of fun to watch with an audience of fellow geeks on opening night, all cheering, laughing, and having the best time. This event was sort of like a next-generation 'Star Wars' opening night as far as its popularity went, and it might be one of the last movies I remember actually standing in a lineup for (although I'm probably wrong about that). But I'll never forget being so captivated by the scene involving a single shot, panning through Manhattan, and seeing all of the heroes do their thing in the fight. That was the scene where everything clicked for me and I fully realized that superhero movies would never be the same again.

To narrow everything in the MCU down to one stand-out movie is almost as impossible a task as making this "30 Favourite Films" list to begin with. I have mentioned 'Civil War' and 'Infinity War' as the all-out coin-flip between my personal favourites in the MCU. But the original 'Avengers' just means so much more than anything that follows when you really think about it. This team-up of individual heroes opened the door wide for geekdom to come spilling through, and, at least for the time being, we geeks pretty much rule, and I couldn't be happier about it. It has been a long time coming, but I do think our time is coming to an end sooner than later. In the meantime, I think it's safe to say that I now see 'The Avengers' as the overall classic title of the MCU, and I will hold it close to my heart forever - even after the superhero era fades away one day.

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