This is a subject that has been on my mind a lot, lately. A couple of weeks ago there was a story about a young attorney who ran for city council and won and took his oath while holding a replica of Captain America’s shield. Also, that same week, an acquaintance wrote a blog about what his fandoms meant for him, especially in the current environment. A mix of all of that had been stewing in my head for the longest time… then Geek Watch One turned two and I became reflective. 

I do have several fandoms and I have come to realize something. Each of my fandoms speak to a part of my personality and augments that part to make me the kind of person that I want to be… from a rebel alliance fighter to an adventurer in the Marvel Universe. So many people really don’t get it. They think that this all about holding on to a long passed childhood, but it is not. This is my mythology, my pantheon of gods, goddesses and titans. These remind me of the man I truly am when life feels a bit too real. I look at my S.H.I.E.L.D. tattoo or Poe Dameron’s X-wing at my desk and there’s no challenge that I can’t face, no individual that stares me down.

That is what we all have to remember. These are not just characters – not really. They are templates, they are totems, they are beacons that call out to us to be the heroes that this world needs right now.