The Avengers hits theaters this week, and I really can’t put into words how excited I am for this movie. I’ve been waiting for it since the first Iron Man movie came out back in 2008, and now its just a few days away.

Contrary to what most people think, I haven’t always been an avid comics fan. Honestly, growing up, I had no connection to comics besides shows like the 90s X-Men cartoon and others like it. I didn’t develop a true appreciation for the Marvel universe until early in high school, when I would play Marvel vs Capcom and other games in the vs series on an emulator on my PC. By just playing these simple fighting games as different Marvel characters, I was hooked.

It was a long while before I really looked deep into the backstories of the various characters. Although I checked out the basics, I didn’t become obsessed until I played Marvel Ultimate Alliance. It was one of my first Wii games, but I shortly became fed up with the controls on the Wii and bought it on the 360. To this day, it remains one of the few games that I got 1000/1000 GS in. After Ultimate Alliance, I was completely hooked. Although I haven’t actually purchased a comic book, I’ve kept up with every storyline in recent history. I’ve also purchased the Marvel Heroic RPG, and I’m planning to start a campaign in the very near future.

So what am I hoping to see in The Avengers? Well for one, more badassery from Tony Stark/Iron Man/RDJ. More Hulk smash. And of course, an awesome set-up for the next series of movies (Iron Man 3, Cap 2, Thor 2, and others [Doctor Strange, perhaps?]).

Avengers, assemble!