This is what watching superhero movies for one week taught me

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier came highly recommended to me by a friend. Were it not for his insistence that this is one of the best movies out of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, I wouldn’t have bothered.

I have no skin in the game when it comes to any of the Avengers, but if I had to choose one to lose it would be Captain, “Steve Rogers,” America … or it would have been until I saw The Winter Soldier.

Thanks to the numerous YouTube videos offering tutorials regarding everything Marvel, I got the CliffsNotes version of Captain America’s backstory. Most importantly I learned the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D., the importance of Tony Stark’s father and how Captain America gets his vibranium shield.

The Winter Soldier plays out like Jason Bourne movie (both guys are created by the government and betrayed by some kind of top secret, shadowy special ops organization) except he doesn’t have sex with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), he’s got a cool friend named Falcon (Anthony Mackie) who can fly and his bestie is a brainwashed assassin.

I have to admit, I wish I’d looked to YouTube for answers much sooner because knowing what the heck is going can make some of these movies not just tolerable but enjoyable. I stand by my assertion that Marvel feels a bit like a bully trying to take my lunch money in order to keep digging its rabbit hole deeper and deeper — 22 movies and counting. There aren’t enough pills in the world to get me to follow that white rabbit.

The DC Extended Universe is far less daunting, but DC comic characters are killing it on the small screen. I know because I fast forward through the promos while watching Riverdale.

There is an undeniable commonality between all of these movies: there are sinister forces at work in this universe, but if you’re basically a good person, show kindness to others and believe in yourself, you’ll be okay. It doesn’t hurt if you happen to get bitten by a radioactive spider along the way.

As for me and my experiment: I came, I saw, I did better than I thought I would. It’s time to tackle a new project. I’ve got my eye on something fast and furious.

Which comic book character do you think deserves a movie? Let us know in the comments section below.