Buckle in, kids, it's time for a life lesson: Pop culture can literally change your life. Fifteen years ago today, my geek life took a turn. I had always been a pop culture fan and had always taken some of it to heart a little too much. (I remember my poor little heart when She-Ra was taken off the air - it wasn't pretty...) As a true child of the 80s, I understood "fandom" before the word was used and when it was far from mainstream. I'd get made fun of from time to time and my parents didn't always get where my head was. Then I grew up and learned to stop caring about what other people thought and being a fan of something became something so much more. My husband and I were sitting on the couch when we saw the first televised trailer for Iron Man and it was ALLEN who spoke first. The suit caught his attention and made him instantly say that we needed to go "see this movie" whereas my brain went to the tragic flubbed together ending of Ally McBeal's fourth season. I was no stranger to superheroes. I grew up on Batman '66 and The Greatest American Hero reruns, my favorite superhero movie was Batman Returns, I saw all of the X-Men, Spider-Man, and other Marvel property movies in the theaters, and I had watched more cartoons than I knew what to do with, but this...this was something special and not only because it wound up being the beginning of something so very vast. Allen and I left the theater excited and energized. At the time, the formula (that, yes, is now everywhere) was just different enough that something happened and we found a thing we liked equally and on several different levels. The once C List hero was going places... Over the next decade plus, we became COLLECTORS. Props from Marvel Studios, autographs, statues, Hot Toys, even my vehicle...and it was something so fun to do together. Personally, Tony Stark and what would become the Infinity Saga got me through surgeries, loss of family members, family illnesses, and so many bumps in the to teach or not to teach career road...and it 100% led me to this Facebook group, so many wonderful people, and ultimately my career here at Sideshow. When Tony's story ended, I have no shame in saying I was beyond gutted to the point where a lot of people didn't understand. No, it's not a "real" person and the events didn't happen, and there are a lot of truly awful things in the real world...but that's just it, isn't it? I lost this wonderful piece of escapism - there were no new chapters in his story to look forward to...and while that ending still stings, the rest of the ride was so very worth it. So today I'm raising an arc reactor to my favorite superhero of all time and celebrating the journey his story took ME on throughout the last 15 years. Always remember to Let Your Geek Sideshow...you never know where you may wind up.

Posted by Missy at 2023-05-02 14:40:32 UTC