Some thoughts on superheroes and talking about them

I recently attend the Salt Lake Fan X comic convention, both as a fan and as a panel member. I’ve been going to Fan X for several years now. It’s a great time, very easygoing, family friendly, happy place of a comic convention. I haven’t been to other comic conventions but the stories I hear and read about canceled events, lack of refunds and overall stressful experiences don’t make me want to check out any others. For such a huge event (over 100,000 attendees) Fan X runs very smoothly. This time around there were issues with the photo ops but otherwise things ran – once again – very well. 

I was on a panel about the future of the MCU, specifically what did people think, hope for, fear would happen to the characters in the second part of the Infinity War (or whatever the movie turns out to be called). The questions we received from the audience were fantastic and demonstrated a deep interest and connection to the characters. After the panel, my wife mentioned one question in particular. She noted how the crowd was captivated by the discussion of the romance between Vision and Scarlet Witch. She thought it was great that so many people were so invested in the characters. Also, she wondered where else (besides the con) people could talk about this interest.

Her question got us both thinking that I could use this space as a venue for such conversations. At the very least, I could bring up topics that might spur more such conversations out there in the wide world of fandom. So this is that start. Over the weeks and months, I will bring up questions about particular characters (heroes, villains, sidekicks, etc.) and maybe even speculate on what it would be like to be a superhero. For real. 

Well, that’s it for now. I’ve got to go think about stuff.