More Than Meets The Eye

There's one thing you should know about my husband. Like all other boys of the 80's, he grew up on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, and every comic book character possible. Although he didn't actually read the comic books about them, he had friends who did, and he also watched the movies and cartoons about them all. (He also watched the "Thriller" video every day thinking it was an actual movie, but that's beside the point.)



Now, twenty years later, I am learning that that little boy who got an adrenaline rush every time Superman beat Lex Luther is alive and well....in my husband. He knows every single character of every comic book and Saturday morning cartoon. The good ones, the evil ones, their powers and sidekicks, their arch-nemeses....And now, with the wave of comic book/toy character movies that have exploded onto the big screen, he's like a kid (literally) in a candy store. But nothing, NOTHING so far has created as much excitement in him (I think the word is giddy) as the movie that is hitting theaters July 4th.

TRANSFORMERS

Oh yes, the release date has been seared into my brain for weeks now. The 4th of July BBQ's, family time and fireworks are merely annoyances he must endure before entering a world of pure boyhood bliss. The 4th of July is a sacred day to him, worthy of the greatest celebrations-- Transformers is being released. (Oh, and it's also something about the anniversary of our country's independence.) He announced to me two weeks ago that the minute the last firework fizzled out in the black sky, he was gone, headed to a theater near you.

It's very entertaining to me. It's really adorable, actually. If I'm talking and the trailer for the movie comes on tv, suddenly it's like a brick wall is standing where Bill just was. He has gone into a trance, his eyes glazed over as he watches the Autobots try to defeat the Decepticons. I know enough to keep my mouth shut until the next commercial has come one. Then Bill comes back to me, his face lit up, talking a mile a minute about each robot, which ones are good and which are evil, and what each robot turns into. For example, the transformer shown above is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots (the good ones). He turns into a semi. "Bumblebee" turns into a camaro. He is also a good one. Megatron is leader of the Decepticons (the bad ones). I've learned quite a bit about the world of Transformers.

I can only imagine what he'll be like if they bring He-Man back.