Being home due to covid is a good time to visit (or revisit) the world of Marvel superheroes streaming in film, on tv and in the world of comic books.  This was a fabulous Marvel exhibit I attended a year ago in Philadelphia.    

I fell down a rabbit hole of Marvel Super Heroes recently which started with the movie Spiderman: Homecoming.  From there, I went to the movie theatre to see Spiderman, Far From Home (yes, I know out of order) which led me to Avengers: Endgame which led me to the only East Coast exhibition of Marvel, Universe of Super Heroes at the Franklin Institute in my hometown of Philadelphia (there’s still some time left to visit as the exhibit is ongoing until September 2nd).  The Franklin Institute Science museum is a must for any Philly visit and often has really fun and cool special exhibits like the Science Behind Pixar and the Lego exhibit, The Art of the Brick.

My Marvel Superheroes History

I grew up reading comics of all kinds including Marvel superheroes. I think my dad was initially more interested in the comics but at some point I fell into the world where a boy gets bit by a spider and has powers and then on television I watched the super hero shows of the 70’s/80’s.  The Marvel universe was all around me as well as the DC Superhero universe (Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Justice League, etc.) and of course Star Trek: The Next Generation and the original three Star Wars movies. My dad had two girls so we grew up with superheroes, science fiction and sports.

When the Marvel movies started eons ago, I still remember my friend making me sit through what felt like a forever and a day’s worth of credits along with two other people in the theater for the special clip, a spoiler in some cases for what was to come. Little did I know then how many movies were yet to come and how our secret geek group of four who sat through the credits would slowly grow as more learned of the bonus scene(s).

The Franklin Institute – Philadelphia’s Science Museum

One of my favorite “Philly” iconic views is at the Franklin Institute.  Between the front entrance and ticket area is Ben Franklin statue in the soaring domed atrium.  I’ve been visiting Ben for over thirty years now, he doesn’t age and frankly my sense of adventure doesn’t either – I’m still a kid discovering something new in the science museum. I wonder what he would think of the science, imagination and the storytelling that Marvel begat.

 

Visiting Marvel, Universe of Super Heroes

The timed ticket is good for a 30 minute window so my 9:30 entrance ticket sold at 9:45 was good to enter the Marvel exhibit up to 10 am. The ramp up to the entrance is a bit long and during peak time will be filled with folks waiting to enter. As it was early Sunday morning, there was no line and my only wait was a few minutes as there is controlled entry to view the short film before beginning your visit.

And with that I was led into the Marvel universe,

Did you Know? The Marvel universe was created in less than two years primarily by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 

The short film gives you a peek into the early days when Stan took over a fledgling paper.   Once the 12 minute film ends you can begin the visit. There tends to be a bit of a bottleneck here to read the panels and see the first comic book produced (worth millions!).  Once you get past this hallway the exhibit opens up and gives you the freedom to wander about.

Marvel Superheroes – The Photo Options

Fancy a picture with a superhero?  There are a few to choose from – The Thing, Spiderman, Black Panther and The Hulk.  A few folks planned ahead – kids in Spiderman masks, kids with hulk hands, etc. Such creativity on display for the perfect social media post. But it was the adults having a bit too much fun with their superhero t-shirts and multiple selfies with the characters.

A Marvel Walk Through Comic Books History

Each superhero is given his or her area with detailed boards and a few bonuses like comic books, original art, art mock ups and movie costume and props.

 

Did you know?  Stan Lee has had a cameo in every Marvel movie made until his recent death earlier this year.

Entering the World of Marvel is falling down a rabbit hole of your childhood, teenage years and adulthood.  How you relate depends on your age – did you grow up with the comic book stories spending your allowance on the next story?  Or did you dive into the film and streaming world?  Either way, there’s something for every fan and non-fans too. The toughest question of my visit was “Who is your favorite superhero?”

Captain America Comics and Movie Props

Captain America was born out of war time as a super solider and appeared in the first comic in March 1941 by Timely Comics, the comics before they became Marvel Comics.  He became popular during World War II and then faded in the early 50’s and reemerged in Avengers #4 in March 1964.

Spiderman

We all know the story of Peter Parker and have probably watched some (if not all) of the movies with different actors portraying the web slinger.  The displays at Marvel Universe of Super Heroes highlights Spiderman over the years in the comics, art, props and newest entrant, Spiderman, Entering the Spiderverse, which received an Academy Award for animated feature.  The Spiderverse introduces us to Miles Morales and the many universes of Spiderman. Spiderman continues to be a fan favorite and new movies are planned for the future.

The X-Men Comics and Artwork

The X-Men created in the 1960’s are primarily mutants born with an “X” gene which gives them superhuman abilities.  They fight for a world of acceptance for all humans and mutants.

 

The Avengers Art and Movie Props

The Avengers were brought together as a team in the 1960’s (September 1963) to fight against Loki, the brother of Thor. The original Avengers were Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant Man and the Wasp.

Did you Know? The Wasp was originally a housewife who divorces The Ant and becomes a powerful heroine for feminism in the 1960’s.  She named the group “The Avengers”.

The Avengers continued to add to the roster as you’ve seen in Infinity War which includes Dr. Strange, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America and many others.

Marvel – Wall of Aliens

The world of superheroes needs not only villains but a world of aliens to encounter and potentially fight off world destruction.  The map of alien worlds along with threat level and background information is truly for the superfan.  You need to know which aliens are which.  For me, after recently seeing Captain Marvel, I focused on the Kree because frankly that’s all I could remember. For the guy behind me with his Gen-X friends, they got a bit more intense into the deep dive of the aliens and didn’t need to read the boards.

Marvel Superheroes – New to Me

There are a few Marvel superheroes I’ve not heard of – the Street Level Heroes – Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Jessica Jones and the Punisher.  All of whom have found their stories come to life on television and streaming services like Netflix.  The X-Men spawned the New Mutants in 1982 (never heard of them either). The Runaways was created in 2003 which follows the children of super villains and their struggles with their inherited powers (that sounds like an interesting story to follow)

Did you know The Hulk had a cousin? SheHulk decides to incorporate her inner Hulk into her outer appearance (leave it to a woman to decide this is who I am).  I’m sure it was about all the ripped clothes and budget, right?  Who wants to buy so many great clothes only to rip them apart every time you get angry?

Final Thoughts – Marvel, Universe of Superheroes Exhibit

If you are a fan of the comics, you’ll enjoy the exhibit. Love the movies? Then the props and costumes will make you happy.  Know nothing and are along for the ride with your passionate partner or kids? No worries, I think you can enjoy the show too.

If you do a drive by with highlights and selfies, you can do both rooms in an hour.  If you want to read everything and view it thoroughly then allow two hours at least. If you are in your 40s/50s and come wearing your Captain America tshirt and bring your friends, well, let’s say you might want to bring snacks with you as you discuss who is the best superhero and villan.

While your wristband allows you to come back into the Science Museum, the Marvel exhibit doesn’t allow you to exit and reenter.  As it is spread across two rooms, same thing there, once you say goodbye to The Hulk to go to the other room you can’t go back.  The ticket price of $35 is a bit steep but totally worth it in my opinion as it also includes access to the science museum and a few extras like Planetarium, live shows and demonstrations (IMAX and Take Flight Simulator are additional).

So I leave you with words from Stan Lee…..