Let me tell you a little story. We’ll call it:

The Evolution of a Geek

Once upon a time there was this movie called Iron Man that I kind of liked. A lot. I watched it once and then again, and I had the vague notion that it was based on a comic book character that I had honestly never heard of. So I did what I always do in times like this…I Wikipedia’d the hell out of it. I read up on Iron Man and I kinda liked what I read because he was a very different kind of comic book hero.

And then Iron Man 2 came out, and I didn’t like it quite as much, but I will watch Sam Rockwell in anything. Seriously.

At the end of Iron Man 2 there is a post-credits scene wherein a very distinctive hammer is found in the middle of the New Mexican desert. Being aware of Thor as a character, at least more aware than I had been of Iron Man, I recognized Thor’s hammer right away. And I thought, “Huh. That’s interesting.”

Sometime not long after that I saw The Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton. Being a part of the very small minority that adored Ang Lee’s Hulk, I had up until this point been studiously avoiding the 2008 reboot. But I think we were bored, or something, because we watched it, and I really did kind of hate it, right up until Tony Stark walked in at the end of the film and said that they were “putting a team together.”

And I thought, “That’s very interesting.”

Of course, fans of the comics were already aware that The Avengers film had been announced several years before, but it wasn’t until they confirmed Joss Whedon as the director that I really sat up and took notice. Joss Whedon, who writes comic tragedy like he was born to do it. Joss Whedon, who does truly fantastic work with ensemble casts. When he described the Avengers as a motley family that “shouldn’t be in the same room let alone on the same team,” it certainly felt like he was the right guy for the job. Joss Whedon, who has actually written comic books.

Joss. Freaking. Whedon.

I knew that I would have to see the movie then if only for Joss (and Iron Man, of course), but I didn’t think much of the other films that were still coming. I figured I’d watch them, at some point, just so I wouldn’t feel totally lost.

But when Thor turned out to be, well, about 1000x better than I was expecting it to be, my excitement for The Avengers multiplied as well. Rather than being just a stepping stone for the penultimate film, Captain America was going to be the last we would see of any Avenger for almost a year. So I got myself incredibly pumped up for this last taste of the characters on the big screen before we finally see them all together next May.

This is not a movie review post, but let me tell you…I was not disappointed.

Much like the crowd for Harry Potter, the midnight moviegoers for Captain America were by and large devoted fans. There were more than a few fellow females and most seemed to be excited in their own right, not just there on the arms of a geeky boyfriend. For all of the condescension that female fans face, the girls in the comic tees geeking out together really made my heart fuzzy. After the credits for Captain America there’s a teaser trailer for The Avengers, and at one point during it the guy in front of me pumped both fists in the air. I wanted to hug him.

That comic book fans are so enamored of these movies makes me, to be honest, all the more interested in the comics. I’m not a longtime fan, like so many are, but I like what I see. Comic books intimidate the hell out of me; more than Doctor Who ever did, and that’s saying a lot. It is a very vast, very deep ocean, and I’m only just dipping my toes in. But like I said…I like what I see. And May is such a very long way away.

There’s almost nothing I can say, except that it’s the funnest ensemble movie in the history of the planet, and that Joss Whedon is God. - Clark Gregg

I think the answer to the question, can Emily be allowed to roam unsupervised in Wal-Mart? has been well and truly made clear.

(And, yes, I’m wearing it to the midnight show.)

It’s a tradition for me now, to buy midnight tickets for all of my most-anticipated movies. I saw Harry Potter this week. I’ll be seeing Captain America next week. I’ve been to numerous midnight shows and I am already excited for premieres that are nearly a year away (*cough*Avengers*cough*).

Midnight premieres are a uniquely interesting experience. For a movie enthusiast like myself, once you get a taste of those late-night showings, you’re ruined for all others. It’s not just the anticipation of a much awaited film. It’s also the tangible sense of audience camradrie: everyone that’s there is there because they want to be. They’re excited. They bought their tickets ahead of time. They love the movie already, and they haven’t even seen it. These are the people that talk backstories before the show and fall into reverent silence when the lights dim (and, if they’re like me, discuss plot details for the entire ride home).

Now imagine that vibe, times about 1000, and you’ll get a sense of the atmosphere for the premiere of The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. I’ve never been to a Harry Potter midnight showing before, but those who have told me that, in terms of fan support and presence, this one premiere far surpassed all the others. I can’t speak for the other theaters in the area, but the one I attended had The Deathly Hallows playing in all fifteen of their auditoriums (as well as several 3am showings for ‘overflow’ crowds) and of course, all of those showings had sold out more than a week before. This is a movie that made $32 million in advance ticket sales.

But it was more than just people buying tickets. People dressed up. They came in groups. They brought their books. They brought their wands. As we waited outside in a line that stretched out the front, along the side, and all the way down the back of the building, there was a ‘Fred’ and a ‘George’ running around with sparklers. You knew they were coming when you heard the cheers and whooping. People were snapping photos with their favorite characters like they were celebrity photo-ops.

Above all, they reminisced. Most of the people there were people my age, people who were right on the cusp of adolescence when the first book came out. And they could probably pinpoint with great accuracy where they were for the release of every subsequent book and film. I posted on Facebook that it felt as though I was at a giant Harry Potter-themed slumber party, and that’s really what it was like. A great big group of people who had truly grown up with Harry. I’m a later Potter-convert myself, but you know, it really didn’t matter. Long-timers and late-comers, we were all there for the same reason.

I haven’t posted anything about the movie, I realize. Or my own premiere memories (which consist largely of killing time by ‘talking geek’ with an awesome gal pal). Fantastic or not, the movie would still have been significant. But it was fantastic, it truly was. I laughed and I cried and I walked out of the theater, surrounded by flowing cloaks and pointy hats, and it didn’t really feel like I was saying goodbye.