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Mrs Miracle is said to be the first Marvel superhero to be canonically a superhero fanatic. But while the superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe obviously exist in the world of the MCU, the concept of the MCU itself doesn’t exist – for now. While the adventures of the Avengers were recorded by media such as Rogers: The Musicalthe characters in the stories we know and love exist as celebrities in Kamala Khan’s world.
That’s why Ms. Marvel’s The AvengerCon scene felt so bad. While we can go to Comic-Con and see dozens of Captain Marvel cosplayers, they’re not playing Carol Danvers; You play Brie Larson how Carol Danvers. So what happens when MCU fan culture becomes universal celebrity culture? A variety of problems, the most noticeable of which could affect our vision Thor: Love and Thunder.
From our point of view Ms. Marvel’s AvengerCon is a bit like RuPaul’s DragCon: fans come from all over the world to meet and share their devotion to real people and their alter egos. But DragCon, unlike Comic-Con, focuses on the actual people rather than the stories they are involved in. Creating an event dedicated to these heroes without any of them being present is bordering on hero worship.
There are statues of various heroes, photo ops, cosplay competitions, a giant tribute plaque dedicated to the late Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, and Avengers tour tickets. Those last two elements introduce a new aspect to the MCU celebrity sphere.
This is a convention that not only exists as a fan room, but also as a place of shared mourning. Fans pin notes to celebrate Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, just like we would post on Twitter when a public figure dies. Although they never met her, the Avengers have had a massive impact on her life, which is a crucial part of being famous.
Then there are the Avenger tours, which really exist in our world. But in the MCU, they would be a lot more like the Star Maps of the Old Hollywood days, where tour buses brought swarms of fans to the homes of movie stars just trying to live their lives. Is this what happened in the MCU? Walking tours lead rabid fans to the Shawarma restaurant from the Battle of New York? When people still knew who Spider-Man was, fans crashed by the dozen at his high school?
Which brings us to gate 4. After the loss of Asgard, the displaced Asgardians found a new home in Tønsberg, which they renamed New Asgard. We know New Asgard will have a strong presence Thor: love and thunder, as trailers have shown us a bored-looking Valkyrie trying to get through her many meetings.
But could the apparent burgeoning cottage industry of Avengers tourism mean that New Asgard will have to contend with an influx of tourists? Unless the city operates with a level of secrecy comparable to Wakanda, there’s no way they can keep out anyone who wants to pay tribute to their heroes.
If the celebrity culture surrounding the Avengers is that big, chances are she’ll be in it Thor: love and thunder, as the film seems to show the more mundane aspects of post-blip Asgardian life. Thor has to get back to the gym, and Valkyrie learns that being a leader (and a star) isn’t everything.
Staying anonymous after saving the world is difficult. Unless you’re a lifelong celebrity like Tony Stark, there’s bound to be a learning curve. Maybe we’re finally getting to the point in the MCU where that’s actually being shown.
Mrs Miracle is now streaming on Disney+.