The journey: how I met my first Marvel Super Heroes

I watched the Avengers all the way through for only the second time, including its cinema debut the summer of 2012, where we went opening day in Horton Plaza, a reliable ways from our first shawarma experience later that afternoon over on Fourth Avenue. Me being my best friend and band mate, Anji Bug. I love how that one post-credit scene, of any of them, does no more previewing than simply showing they socialize.

Now, I’m recalling the first of my Marvel Super Heroes.

When I’m three, there’s already Spider-Man, and soon after, the Incredible Hulk, who I probably started watching in his first season.

I already could read the TV Guide well enough.

G-Force is already my favorite superhero team when I’m four, and I love Goldar from The Space Giants, and will meet the Superfriends just before Ultra Man and Spectre Man.

Avengers is so great because at its core, it’s got the four of the first five Marvel heroes I found: Hulk, then Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. I’m less sure about Thor, but have vivid memories of Cap from his TV show,which later led me to his treasured Hot Wheels Van, where he's throwing his shield inside, which looks cool, but made me wonder why he would do that with the doors closed.

Somehow, I found Iron Man’s cartoon from the Marvel Super Heroes. I'm blessed with Batman's TV show so early on, I hardly remember life with no Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman, and Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman right behind.

The 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon made it to me, barely-I think we had antenna issues, then the NBC affiliate moved it to God Knows. I probably saw more episodes of Fred and Barnie Meet the Thing. So the Thing at least is probably the fifth Marvel superhero I knew.

I was lucky enough to purchase Iron Man #124, a very atypical plot, but with the sheen of Romita Jr and Layton making up for whatever words I couldn’t comprehend in those late summer days of 1979 in South Carolina. I’ve figured out it must’ve been on the stands quite a while, because I got Marvel Tales #108 before that. That one came out in July of ‘79, so we were still on Spring Circle in Lindale, Georgia.

That September, I discover the Shogun Warriors through their three feature coloring books.

I’d figure out Thor before The Vision, a lunchbox image mystery I saw in a vintage store once and thought of often. That shop is sort of why I dream about imaginary shops with imaginary Marvel Comics.

The rest of the Four, and Thor, would round out my first nine Marvel Super-Heroes. The Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-man Board Game from Milton Bradley greatly expanded my love of Ditko (a name I didn’t know), and the Fantastic Four, and the Spider-man rogues in general.

Her cartoon assures Spider-Woman the tenth spot in my quest to discover Marvel Heroes.

But I really see her more in syndicated reruns, alternating days with my favorite cartoon then, Spider-Man '67. I had a crush on her, Princess from Battle of the Planets, Nova from Star Blazers, Wonder Woman, and Wilma from Buck Rogers.

I met Matt Murdock before ever seeing Daredevil in action, when Peter is jailed for trespassing in Ryker’s in Amazing Spider-Man #219, one of my three favorite O’Neil-penned issues. But I can’t honestly say I met Daredevil for quite a while. I remember that corner box, though, on some issues I found but couldn’t buy on a car trip back from the Christmas family get together in Menlo, when we cut through Adairsville. Or, A Dare-devil’s Ville. That corner box, oh. Mysterious!

And then, the number of super-heroes I could identify would double in one late summer month. I'll tell that story, next post.