THE FICTIONAL MULTIVERSE

As a kid, I was daily enthralled by the seemingly unending possibilities one could be in the fictional multiverse that existed in my mind. The possibility of being a superhero in a swirling cape or a meta being with a powerful ring that seemed to defy the laws of physics will tingle any child’s fancy. I dare to say that even as an adult and a father, I am still thrilled by the seemingly endless possibilities that arise from the fictional comic universe.

From the biker mice from mars, silver hawks, Voltron, Thundercats, teenage mutant ninja turtles, Dino riders (I cannot seem to remember all). These comics helped form the definition of what it felt like growing up as a little boy and anticipating 4 pm on weekdays and 7 am on Saturday mornings. Saturday mornings were never complete without the cartoon experience and the expectation of hot ‘akara’ (African beancake) or ‘moi moi’. That tale will be discussed later in another blog.

Regardless of how these big-name comics or cartoons made waves, none comes close to the content provided by the two big studios – Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) and Detective Comic Series (DC). These studios had their origins in the mid-1950s and were modified with content over time but their impact has been felt generations over.

The rivalry between the big two (DC and MCU) has resulted in some of the most mind-blowing action movies of all time even going as far as breaking box office records. We the viewers cannot simply get enough of it. It is hard to go further without giving special mention to the face of the MCU movies, a character that will be sorely missed as he was always there in some way – Mr. Stan Lee.

A run-through of some of the A-list superhero names from MCU includes – The Avengers (Tony Stark’s Iron man, Steve Roger’s Captain America, Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow, Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, Bruce Banner’s Hulk, the famous Guardians of the galaxy, Clint Barton’s Hawkeye, Dr Steven Strange, The Asgardian thunder god Thor, Scott Lang’s Ant-man, Carol Denver’s Captain Marvel etc). I cannot but mention the X-men (from where we had the pleasure of the Wolverine and Professor Xavier), Reed Richards Fantastic four and the blind crimefighter/Legal counsel known as Daredevil.

The MCU universe does not disappoint in the villain aspect also with some of the ‘baddest’ in the comic world  – Thanos, Green Goblin, Magento of the Xmen series, Dr Doom, Ultron and the Daredevils Kingpin boss.

In everything about the MCU, non draws my fantasy like Thanos does (weird to say actually considering he is a supervillain) but something just seems to thrill about a being who is willing to wipe out half of the world not just because he is evil but because he believes his mission is to save the universe from its own possibility of self-destruction. Who saves the world by wiping out half of it and doing with so much conviction?

Some of his most thrilling words are.

• “THE HARDEST CHOICES REQUIRES THE STRONGEST WILLS”
• “I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LOSE, TO FEEL SO DESPERATELY THAT YOU ARE RIGHT, YET TO FAIL NONETHELESS, IT’S FRIGHTENING”
• And the most thrilling of them all “I AM INEVITABLE”

Josh Brolin obviously does justice to this character in ‘The Avengers’ movies.

I do not want to sound too biased towards the MCU because the MCU was mostly part of my adulthood. DC gave me a childhood. DC gave me superheroes like the Justice league (Clark Kent’s Superman, Bruce Wayne’s Batman, Princess Diana’s Wonder woman, Arthur Curry’s Aqua man, Bruce Allen’s Flash, Victor Stone’s Cyborg) and so many others a simple blog cannot contain.

As always, with the advent of a superhero comes a nasty villain for trouble in order to stir things up. DC doe not disappoint on this with high end ‘A’-grade bone-chilling villains such as lord of the Apokolips, Darkseid, the Joker, Deathstroke, Sinestro, Brainiac, Lex Luthor, Ra’s al Ghul to name a few.

At the end of it all, it does not come down to which studio has the best villains or best heroes, we the fans simply want more. I am expecting these studios to continue to defy the laws of physics to satisfy the child in me. Who knows, perhaps when I am 90+, I will still be fancied by this wonderful fictional multiverse.

What do I say to MCU and DC, BRING IT ON!!!