An Open Letter to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

With the enormous release of Avengers: Infinity War, it marks the beginning of the end of the first major portion of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. This event has been in the making for ten years, nineteen movies (in addition to various tv shows), and has earned several billions of dollars across the globe. It is unprecedented in movie making and it's an incredible accomplishment. These are all sort of of broad, high level milestones i'm pointing out, but the effect of this franchise goes so much deeper than that.

Josh (now) and his Marvel ink as well as his adorable dogs, Oliver and Vader

When Iron Man was release on May 2nd, 2008.... exactly ten years ago from the time of writing, we had no idea what we were in for. In 2008, I was working at a summer camp and a coffee shop while floating through community college. I was still 18 years old and had recently moved home from a semester away in college, after having broken up with my three year girlfriend. I barely knew who I was as an adult. To show the difference in what ten years means; I am now married, have bought two houses, have two dogs, have a professional career (complete with a fully decked out Linked In account,) and have truly grown into myself. There is a meme that has been going around of a child watching Iron Man in 2008, and then a photo of him now as a young adult watching Infinity War. I can almost completely relate to how he must be feeling, but that young adult still has a long way to go in life.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I LOVE Marvel and the MCU. I have Marvel characters tattooed all over my arm. However, people may not realize just how much they mean to me. The MCU has been there for me since I was a lost eighteen year old trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life. These movies and characters have been there for me through heartbreak, disappointments, loss, as well as the good times. I've spent many occasions watching the movies with friends, or putting The Avengers on at the background of my birthday parties. I draw inspirations from the characters which helps me in many aspects of my life. They are heroes I can strive to be in a weird way. Let me expand on my thoughts about a few of the characters, a little further...

Captain America is always strong in his convictions. He will always do what he believes is right, without question. He will not bend his morals to fit into something. It's so easy to lose sight of this, especially when presented with many of the difficult decisions that we face as we grow up.

Star Lord and the Guardians are a reminder what friendship and family can be, even if they drive me crazy. They helped teach me to appreciate those who truly care for a love me. There were many moments in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that were extremely emotional and poignant to me personally.

Thor... well (apart from being noble, dependable, and powerful,) Thor just reminds me to work out and eat healthy, because... come on.. Have you seen him??

This article has been mostly about me, and my personal attachments to the Marvel Universe and it's inspiring characters, but lets not forget that young kid in the meme I mentioned earlier. The MCU has provided positive heroes and role models to countless kids across the world. They have provided joy, inspiration, and comfort to many. Kevin Feige recently posted a Thank You to us fans for supporting the MCU for all these years, which was awesome. In a way though, I feel as if the thanks and appreciation should go to him and the many amazing teams who have worked on any number of the MCU movies throughout the last ten years.

So thank you to Kevin Feige, all of the stars, the writers, the crew members, and anyone who has a played a role in delivering us the greatest film making feat ever accomplished. Keep up the wonderful work.

PS... Can somebody just give DC some pointers? We REALLY want those to be good too. thanks!