This is Lucy. If she looks excited in this picture, it’s because she is extremely excited. In this picture she is riding the train, heading downtown to see Marvel Universe Live, and she cannot wait. More than any of our other kids, Lucy has always marched to her own drummer. She decides what she likes and what she is into based on, well, what she likes. And she loves Thor. She is obsessed with Thor. He is by far her favorite super hero. She has a birthday coming up, and we had the opportunity to bring her to Marvel Universe Live, which is a large stunt show based on characters from Marvel Comics. We thought she would really enjoy it. And boy, did she.
The show itself is about what you would expect from a stunt show. Picture something like Disney on Ice, with no ice and Marvel characters instead of Disney characters, throw in a few lasers, explosions and motorcycles, and you have Marvel Universe Live. Just like Disney on Ice, this show is intended for all ages, so you can bring your kids. It’s not overly scary, and the action is manageable. I didn’t feel like it was any worse than the Marvel shows that currently run on Disney XD. Unlike Disney on Ice, you as the parent will not be bored out of your mind during the show. It is entertaining enough to hold your attention, and the story is ok. I mean, this isn’t The Avengers, but it is palatable for grown ups. The acting is what you would expect from a show like this, which is not great. Here’s the thing to remember, the performers are stunt people first, actors second. The special effects are pretty good for what the show is. They won’t blow you away like the movies, but they are still fun and exciting. The show wins by introducing all the kids to another strong female character in Captain Marvel, as well as keeping the action fast paced and packing it all into two hours. It loses when it tells yet another story about the tesseract. I have been reading comics for a long time, and I had never even heard of the tesseract before The Avengers came out. Now it seems like everything Marvel revolves around this thing. I feel like we need to move on. I also enjoyed that before we see Spider-Man with the Avengers in the upcoming Civil War film, we saw him with the Avengers here, as well as Wolverine and fellow X-Men, Cyclops and Storm. Overall, just based on the show itself, this was fun.
What really made the evening special for me, though, was watching Lucy watch the show. She had been looking forward to going for a few weeks, since we had told her we would be taking her for her birthday. Everyday she would ask me if we were going that night, and I would have to disappoint her by telling her not yet. I knew she wanted to go, and that she was excited, but I was still worried that part way through she would get bored. Usually that’s the case with little kids. Trust me, I have gone to movies with little ones where I have spent more time in the bathroom than in the theater itself. Kids just don’t have the super long attention spans, and they just lose interest.
That didn’t really happen with this for Lucy. She was glued to the show the whole time. She didn’t want it to end, and really enjoyed it. When it came time for the intermission, we told there was more coming soon, and she wouldn’t leave her seat. She just patiently waited until the show started up again. It didn’t hurt that Thor was the first hero we see. She was so excited when he showed up and smashed the tesseract with his hammer. She was hooked from that moment, and stayed hooked until the end. For that reason alone, it was totally worth going. It was building a memory she will never forget. Not only was it a special night with mom and dad and only her, it was a special night with Thor and the rest of the Avengers. She enjoyed it so much, in fact, that she is, as I write this, sitting down and watching YouTube videos of the show. She loved it.
So, in short, if you are wondering about taking your kids, if the like Marvel heroes, I would say take them You won’t regret it. It is something they will always remember.
Have you gone to see Marvel Universe Live? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below, or you can send your feedback to me directly at [email protected]. If you would like to find out more about the show, or find out when it might be coming to a town near you, check out the Marvel Universe Live website.
