Captain America greeting the crowd

If you’re familiar with 8 year olds, you know that words like epic, awesome, sick and fart are tossed around with abandon. However, you know they really mean business when the repetitiveness is ramped up a notch.

That WAS EPIC
Oh my gosh, that was so awesome. It was epic!
How epic was that? It was so awesome I can’t stand it!
Did you see that flip! Spiderman is awesome!

This is how I know that my 8 year old and his two cohorts thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Marvel Universe Live!

avengers assembled

This live arena spectacle follows a typical comic book storyline. The evil Loki has created a Cosmic Cube clone using the powers of Storm, Cyclops and (GASP) Wolverine who he has kidnapped. The only way to stop him and save the X-Men, is to find the pieces of the original cube, which his hunky brother Thor had previously destroyed, scattering its pieces around the world. Ironman rallies the Avengers and Spiderman who unite to stop the threat of Loki and save the world by finding the pieces and reassembling them for the forces of good.

Marvel Universe Live Sho Photos

Spiderman was a crowd favorite for both his agile acrobatics and cheeky sense of humour. Watching him fight all his famous enemies like Green Goblin (in a real flying scooter!), Rhino and Doc Oc makes someone like me who grew up watching the TV show a little giddy. I particularly enjoyed the unexpected bromance between Thor and Spiderman as they teamed up to retrieve a piece of the cube from Spidey’s stomping grounds in New York, trading quips, fist bumps and witty repartee about as easily as they tossed their enemies. If the parents in the crowd weren’t mesmerized by the stunts they were amused by the droll dialogue such as Bruce Banner (the Hulk) telling Wolverine he should consider anger management or when Thor tells the incredulous Spiderman not only is he on Twitter but he has over a million followers. Dude.

And speaking of Hulk, the kids in the crowd were really impatient for his arrival. So when he did appear, there were many happy kids!

 

This show is fun for all ages, with the caveat that it is loud, really, really loud! One of the boys in my group had his fingers in his ears for most of the show while the sudden bangs and pops made everyone jump in their seats. The pyrotechnics, while awesome (natch) can be a bit disconcerting for the younger set who find it unexpected. And most frightening of all, for parents at least, is the souvenir and food prices. With lots of colorful, bright shinny guns, swords, cups, and t-shirts to admire, prepare to drop several months allowance!

spidey and green goblin

The show is a mixture of unbelievable acrobatics, high wire hijinks, motorcycle stunts and humorous exchanges to keep kids young and old thoroughly entertained.

Upcoming Tour cities and dates include:

Vancouver Pacific Coliseum June 18 -21, 2015
Saskatoon SaskTel Centre July 16 -19, 2015
Winnipeg MTS Centre July 23 -26, 2015
Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre July 31 -August 2, 2015
Hamilton FirstOntario Centre August 6 -9, 2015
Toronto Air Canada Centre August 13-16, 2015

For more info visit: http://www.marveluniverselive.ca