Excelsior! Captain America and the ever-expanding Marvel Universe

By now, everyone is seeing stars. Or rather, a white star: one on a shield ringed with red, white and blue. A shield that happens to be wielded quite effectively by a very well-built Chris Evans.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” opened in Philippine theaters on Wednesday, March 26, more than a week ahead of the US. Like many people, I caught it on opening day, and yes, I stayed for the two credits scenes. I was, I admit, hoping to see more of the blond and blue-eyed Chris Evans.

But for many fans of the star-spangled hero, watching the movie might not be enough. Maybe you’ll want to buy a toy, or a t-shirt. You might also want a comic book. You’re in luck, because at Kapow! Universe in Glorietta 5, you can get all of those, and check out the Winter Soldier exhibit, too.

'Winter' is coming to the cinematic universe

Ivan Guerrero, one of the proprietors, shares the news about the goodies they have on display in time for the movie: “We just brought in the Funko Pop! Winter Soldier line. They’re adorable figures, and we’ll be bringing in a lot more Marvel Funko Pop! figures.”

Indeed, the store is full of Captain America merchandise, and more than a few of these items have the SHIELD logo stamped on them. But the exhibit is probably Kapow’s biggest tribute to the new movie. Unveiled on March 22, the Winter Soldier exhibit features a little bit of the comic book history behind the movie’s main characters. This exhibit is on display until April 11, but Kapow! promises fans will see more after that.

With more and more Marvel characters making it to the big screen every year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a great way to interest new fans in these decades-old characters and stories.

Fans ready for 'Winter'

The early reviews are already popping up all over the Internet, and at Kapow! Universe, a few fans talked about what parts of the movie they were really excited about. Among them were cartoonist Ariel Atienza and Geekmatic.com’s Mark Cerbo, who were viewing the Winter Soldier exhibit. Cerbo wondered out loud, “Paano nila i-e-explain si Falcon sa movie? How is it going to be shown in the film? And what’s the political intrigue behind the story?”

Atienza is one of the organizers of the annual Philippine komiks convention, Komikon. He couldn’t resist spoiler-filled comments and speculation about the movie, especially when it came to the identity of the Winter Soldier. “Paano nila i-e-explain yun kay Steve Rogers? And ano yung character ni Robert Redford? And meron ding rumor, mamatay ba si Nick Fury dito? Yun yung mga gusto ko malaman.”

The universe is expanding

“Captain America: Winter Soldier” is just the first of the 2014 movie releases featuring Marvel characters. April 30 has the opening of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” and August is set to introduce us to the “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Personally, I’m really excited about “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” coming in May. It’s an exciting year for Marvel.

Another reason this is an exciting year: it’s the 75th anniversary of Marvel Comics. Kapow! Universe is part of the celebration, and its contribution was an autograph-signing session with artist Leinil Yu, the man behind such titles as “Secret Invasion” and “Infinity,” while various artists drew original sketches for store visitors.

The four highly-anticipated movies are the biggest feathers in Marvel Comics’ cap this year. While three of those movies are sequels, audiences are looking forward to “Guardians of the Galaxy” probably because it’s remarkably different from the other Marvel movies. I mean, who are the Guardians anyway? Are they a gang of intergalactic criminals? Is that an Ent? And a heavily-armed raccoon? That’s probably what the non-comic book-reading moviegoers are thinking.

In addition to the spectacular and highly profitable movie franchises, perhaps Marvel’s greatest success in its 75th year is the fact that their characters have become embedded in mainstream consciousness. Every five-year-old knows who Iron Man is, and I’ve seen more than a few girls in Black Widow costumes. For Cerbo and Atienza, the rest of the world has finally caught up.

Cerbo says, “Before, it was simple. You pick up your comics every Wednesday or Tuesday. Now you’re seeing them everywhere, online, due to social media. So it has become a bigger market. I think Marvel is working on “Agent Carter” as a second series.” Atienza also shares, “Para dun sa mga lumaki sa comics ng Marvel, malaking dream come true ito, na ma-translate into movies itong mga comics.”

Indeed, Captain America is quite dreamy, and the upcoming movies are certainly a million-dollar geekgasm. With the Avengers, the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy wreaking havoc across silver screens for the next few years, there will be more and more chances for the Muggle population to join die-hard Marvel fans in their love of these colorful and wildly popular heroes. – Text and photos by Regina Layug-Rosero/TJD, GMA News