Marvel’s Super Hero Academy - help please!

[WildEyed]

So I see that the Wonder now has the Marvel’s Super Hero Academy in the Oceaneer Club.

Somehow our family has managed to miss the boat (ha) on all things related to Marvel Superheroes...until now. This isn't a conscious choice, just not something that has overly interested us or our kids up to now. (We are the same with Star Wars - crazy I know). I don't know much more than the basics (i.e. there is Superman, Batman, Thor? Iron Man? Do they all know each other somehow?)

Our three kids ages 7-12 will be going to the Club for our cruise at the end of August and I'm thinking they might enjoy the Marvel stuff more if they had seen a few of the movies, or read some of the comics.

It seems like there are so many movies, comic books, etc. out there I don't know where to start! Can anyone recommend some of the best movies and/or print comic books that we can watch or read together to get up to speed? Are the movies too scary for a 7-year-old?

 

[Angie_T]

My 7 year old has seen most of the Marvel movies. He enjoys them and hasn't been scared of anything so far. It really depends on your child's exposure and how comfortable you are with his take on reality and violence. They aren't gruesome (he hasn't seen the first Captain America movie). Iron Man has some language that I'd prefer my kid not know but he doesn't seem to notice. I believe there are Marvel cartoons you can watch. And, in my experience, the kids clubs have enough activities that it won't matter if your child has exposure to superheroes, they'll still enjoy the clubs. The worst that could happen is they will come home and want to see the movies

 

[Bethany10]

I know nothing about the club, but as a general comic fan here are a couple of thoughts.

There are 2 BIG comic book companies. DC and Marvel. Disney owns Marvel (hence the superhero academy on the ship). What does this mean to you/your kids? Batman, Superman and the rest of the justice league (movie coming out soon) are all DC properties. You won't see them on the ship.

Marvel properties include all the Avengers/Agent Carter/Agents of shield characters: Captain America, Iron man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye etc.

The movies are what my DH calls cartoon violence. lots of explosions, gunshots etc. Cap uses his shield to both defend himself and fight bad guys, Iron Man/black widow both use guns. Hulk is well, hulk. I believe all of them are PG to PG-13 unless you get into Deadpool (which is R) and I can tell you right now that is totally NOT appropriate for your age group, but a very funny/irreverent movie for adults. I would seriously doubt you'll see him anywhere near the ship.

I'd check out kids in mind movie reviews for a breakdown of films that look like something your kids would like. I really like that they give an unbiased clear overview based on three things: Violence, language and adult themes. I have used them many times when something is a rating I'm squidgy about and need to know what pushed over to PG 13. That way you can judge the content and how it works for your family. There are MANY films at this point, from the well known Iron man franchise to the lesser Doctor Strange that just came out (and was playing on the ships).

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[Angie_T]

Ha...I forgot about Deadpool. I don't even consider him when I think of Marvel. Yep, told my kids they'd never see that as long as they live in my house

 

[Bethany10]

Ha...I forgot about Deadpool. I don't even consider him when I think of Marvel. Yep, told my kids they'd never see that as long as they live in my house

yeah, I was typing out my reply and thought should I say something? there's no way he'd ever make an appearance on the ship, but it's such a funny movie and worth watching if you like that kind of humor.

 

[Mighty Mouse Mama]

Spider-Man is also part of the Marvel Universe, and my son likes him a lot. There are a few different series of Spider-Man movies that have come out in the last couple decades, mostly okay for kids (from what I remember) as long as they don't get scared by "bad guys" easily. As far as the other movies, I'd say the first Ironman is lighter than the other ones, the first Thor is pretty kid friendly (second one too, for the most part) and Captain America is a pretty squeaky clean hero. You may want to watch any of the movies before you show them to your son though, just so you know if it's something you're comfortable with. If not, there are tons of cartoon movies of all of these characters and the Avengers as a whole (the Avengers are a whole group of them, including Ironman, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and a whole bunch more of them...they seem to be joined by more with every movie. So yeah, they all end up knowing each other.)

 

[cadien]

The activities on the ship are tied directly to the Marvel Studios movies. The comics (which I've read for years and years) go off in all kinds of different directions. Usually I'm all about pushing the reading angle but it's more trouble than it's worth in this case. After the cruise, go for it.

Our 6-year old has seen all of the movies without getting scared. They minimize the gore, although there's still plenty of violence. The easiest way to watch the movies is in the order they were released because the storylines are all linked. If you try to watch all the Iron Man movies then all the Thor movies, etc, it will make much less sense.

None of the existing Spider-Man movies are related. The one coming out this summer will be but I doubt there will be much on the ship about it.

So the order would be
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor 2
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Avengers 2
Ant-Man
Captain America: Civil War (I don't know why he doesn't get numbers)

Guardians of the Galaxy is very fun but doesn't really tie into the rest until next year. Doctor Strange is still optional too, although I've read he'll be on the Fantasy soon.

 

[Mighty Mouse Mama]

None of the existing Spider-Man movies are related. The one coming out this summer will be but I doubt there will be much on the ship about it.
.

From what I've read, Spider-Man is a character on the ships. I don't remember which ship (if it's just on one or more), but I remember seeing a review with pictures that showed him visiting the kids club and doing and activity with them. If you want to stick with the movies from this specific series, he shows up for the first time in Captain America: Civil War. It's a small appearance though, and for a kid, the Spider-Man movies that have been done apart from this particular storyline are a perfectly decent introduction to the character and don't clash with the Avengers storylines...mostly because they don't touch on the Avengers at all.

 

[bbel]

From what I've read, Spider-Man is a character on the ships. I don't remember which ship (if it's just on one or more), but I remember seeing a review with pictures that showed him visiting the kids club and doing and activity with them. If you want to stick with the movies from this specific series, he shows up for the first time in Captain America: Civil War. It's a small appearance though, and for a kid, the Spider-Man movies that have been done apart from this particular storyline are a perfectly decent introduction to the character and don't clash with the Avengers storylines...mostly because they don't touch on the Avengers at all.

Yup on the Wonder, there is a spider man based programme.
I wouldn't be surprised if it made it to the magic in time for the marvel day at sea cruises.

 

[bbel]

I believe on the Wonder, Spider-Man, Black Widow and Captain America make in-person appearances in the Club.
Meanwhile on the Magic, it's just Captain America and a 'virtual' Iron Man.

I have never seen a Marvel movie :O
But the only time it was a problem for me during Marvel Academy was when kids tried to have a conversation with me about all things Marvel... The programmes are designed in a way that they don't have to have character sepcific knowledge, but those that do will also love it. If there's any information that they do 'need' to know, it's well presented through the entertainment hosts and/or video clips.

I'd say for most kids, if they're going to enjoy the Marvel programmes they will regardless of seeing the movies or not, some kids love Marvel but aren't a fan of the programmes, just because it's not their type of activity.
But it would be quite cool to have some pre-cruise family bonding over something that's new to you all and you can all get excited over it together.

 

[msmama]

My 9 year old has NOT seen the movies (not will he any time soon, he's a scaredy cat). But he's read a lot of Marvel books/graphic novels - try Barnes and noble that's where we've gotten them.

I also would recommend the cartoon versions: Avengers Assemble, HULK and the Agents of Smash and the Ultimate Spider-Man. They all are no longer on Netflix but we've gotten them at the library. There are a couple of marvel things left on Netflix. Just search under marvel.

All that said I certainly wouldn't push it on my kid if he didn't show any interest. If your kids are Phenneas and Ferb fans they're is a hilarious crossover movie with the marvel Superheroes.

 

[cadien]

We really enjoyed the Super Hero Squad cartoon when DS was younger too. Also Marvel characters.

 

[dskib]

The Disney channel DXD shows an Avengers cartoon, a Spider-Man cartoon and a Guardians of the galaxy cartoon. Most kids that age won't care about the origin stuff. They'll get to know the characters anyway. Otherwise, my son started watching the Marvel movies at age 7 and has been fine. Loves them.

 

[elvispursley]

Both my 10 and 13 yo boys have seen all of the Marvel "super hero" movies. Most recently, they really enjoyed watching Dr. Strange. Personally, I've enjoyed the Iron Man series and after DH begged me to watch Dr. Strange with him, that was probably a favorite (just for the effects)! Wish the language was a little more tame but as long as I don't catch my kids repeating it, I'm fine with it.

 

[Mark D.]

Yup on the Wonder, there is a spider man based programme.
I wouldn't be surprised if it made it to the magic in time for the marvel day at sea cruises.

Spider-Man was on the Magic in March as a character meet and greet. My son had his picture taken with him. I'm not sure if he made a Club/Lab appearance or not.

On the movies, I'll second checking out the kids in mind movie reviews. Some of the movies are definitely more kid-friendly than others. But having said that, my 10 year old has seen all of them except Deadpool (which he will NOT see until he is several years older). Oh, and there is a Hulk movie that came out right after IronMan, but with a different actor as Bruce Banner. It's called The Incredible Hulk. I think it's generally accepted as part of the latest Marvel lineup (one of the characters even reappears in Captain America:Civil War).

 

[Msmit002]

All of the above.

So my 12 yo son has seen all of them except Deadpool (despite his pleadings and no I couldn't care less if he has a friend who saw it) and about all I can offer is: you know your children and what they can handle at their age. Nevertheless, I think the Disney/Marvel movies have been quite well done and are a bit tamer than I would have expected. Typical family movies for this era: good action, plenty for young'ns with enough sly humor thrown in for adults/mature understandings. Oh, and some good things to look at for the Moms and Dads alike. Benedict Cumberbatch, anyone? Yes please.

 

[WildEyed]

My 7 year old has seen most of the Marvel movies. He enjoys them and hasn't been scared of anything so far. It really depends on your child's exposure and how comfortable you are with his take on reality and violence. They aren't gruesome (he hasn't seen the first Captain America movie). Iron Man has some language that I'd prefer my kid not know but he doesn't seem to notice.

My 7 year old DD seems to be far more worldly than her older siblings, probably because she thinks of herself as a 10-12 year old...and she is fascinated by blood, guts, gore, etc. (and no we don't watch that at home! not sure where this came from) so now that I think of it she probably will be fine. Good to know that your son wasn't scared.
DH also "has some language that I'd prefer my kid not know", so I guess that's covered as well....

 

[Donathius]

My kids (DS6 and DD4) love the Marvel movies - more of the action/comedy oriented ones like Avengers, Ant-Man, Dr Strange, and Guardians of the Galaxy. The pacing of the Iron Man movies results in them being fairly bored and uninterested. They ARE violent, but not gory/scary in my opinion. Thor 2 is probably the scariest so at least don't start with that one. Guardians of the Galaxy is fun because the characters are really silly and it wades into slapstick comedy territory now and then without being too crazy. The Avengers academy seems to focus on the primary avengers characters - Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man (have only seen videos so grain of salt here - haven't seen it in person). If you want to get the quickest possible introduction to the characters I'd maybe steer towards Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War. Ant-Man is pretty funny, and he shows up in Civil War. Most of the Avengers are in Civil War, but without seeing the second Avengers movie (Avengers: Age of Ultron) they'd be a bit lost about who a couple of the characters are and why one is practically superman, but it shouldn't matter a ton. Civil War has some great action set pieces showing off all of the heroes and their various powers.

Honestly, though, if your kids can handle them I'd show them the list someone else posted above (with my notes):

Iron Man (Tony Stark is THE major character of the Avengers series, really helpful to get to know who he is)

Iron Man 2 (Could be skipped, introduces the Iron Patriot -> a US Air Force colonel who wears Iron Man armor - the colonel is in Iron Man 1, but doesn't wear the armor in the first one and is played by a different actor in 2 and beyond)

Thor (might be more boring for kids, could maybe skip but it explains where Thor comes from and he's a major character as is his brother Loki)

Captain America: The First Avenger (skippable <- Cap was a soldier and became a supersoldier as part of a government experiment during WWII, ended up frozen in ice and was revived modern day)

The Avengers (the movies before this build to Avengers, really shouldn't skip this one)

Iron Man 3 (skippable <- I personally find this one to be the weakest Marvel movie, 2nd act is really slow, the ending is fun though)

Thor 2 (skippable <- doesn't really do anything to influence the "main" Avengers storyline - not a bad movie, might be too scary for kids who haven't seen many violent movies)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Introduces the Winter Soldier has some callbacks to the first Cap movie - Winter Soldier is a major character in Civil War)

Avengers 2 (Events in Avengers 2 setup Civil War <- it's a good movie, not as strong as first Avengers but still fun - Ultron could be a bit scary for smaller kids, best part of the movie is the fight between Iron Man and the Hulk)

Ant-Man (could be a good "testing the waters" movie - not too scary, one guy and a goat get turned into a little puddle of goo is about as scary as it really gets unless you're seriously phobic about ants)

Captain America: Civil War (if you only show them one movie do this one - pretty intense fight at the end, but it's a really good movie)

Also Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy but they don't seem to be part of the Avengers academy on the Wonder. Good movies though.

If I mentioned something as scary keep in mind that my DS6 and DD4 don't find them scary - this really depends on your children's temperaments. My kids love the Marvel movies and my son is actually mildly disappointed that we won't be going on the ship with the Doctor Strange training (it's being added to the Fantasy and we're going on the Wonder next year).

 

[WildEyed]

There are 2 BIG comic book companies. DC and Marvel. Disney owns Marvel (hence the superhero academy on the ship). What does this mean to you/your kids? Batman, Superman and the rest of the justice league (movie coming out soon) are all DC properties. You won't see them on the ship.

Marvel properties include all the Avengers/Agent Carter/Agents of shield characters: Captain America, Iron man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye etc.

This is SUPER useful! I never knew this. Team Marvel and Team DC, got it. Clearly I live under a rock.

I'd check out kids in mind movie reviews for a breakdown of films that look like something your kids would like. I really like that they give an unbiased clear overview based on three things: Violence, language and adult themes. I have used them many times when something is a rating I'm squidgy about and need to know what pushed over to PG 13. That way you can judge the content and how it works for your family. There are MANY films at this point, from the well known Iron man franchise to the lesser Doctor Strange that just came out (and was playing on the ships).

Also great advice! I have used Common Sense Media in the past but am going to check out Kids in Mind as well.

 

[WildEyed]

unless you get into Deadpool (which is R) and I can tell you right now that is totally NOT appropriate for your age group, but a very funny/irreverent movie for adults. I would seriously doubt you'll see him anywhere near the ship.

Ha...I forgot about Deadpool. I don't even consider him when I think of Marvel. Yep, told my kids they'd never see that as long as they live in my house

yeah, I was typing out my reply and thought should I say something? there's no way he'd ever make an appearance on the ship, but it's such a funny movie and worth watching if you like that kind of humor.

my 10 year old has seen all of them except Deadpool (which he will NOT see until he is several years older).

So my 12 yo son has seen all of them except Deadpool (despite his pleadings and no I couldn't care less if he has a friend who saw it)

I'm getting a clear message here... I have actually heard of Deadpool as a few of my coworkers went and were SHOCKED at how many children were at the screening with their parents. I'd guess it's probably too violent for ME .