I Know It's Fiction. Shut Up.

Fair warning: this article includes tangents from someone who takes Marvel far too seriously for someone who doesn’t work for them.

But I haven’t been this locked in on Marvel updates since Endgame. My daughter's just as invested since this has been our thing since she was eight years old.

I Googled how to get into the next San Diego Comic-Con and quickly realized it seems easier to get out of the mafia than it is to get into SDCC.

Still, I am undeterred.

Last week, I wrote about the power of a great story and how, after Avengers: Endgame, the MCU just wasn't quite the same.

Then Robert Downey, Jr. walked back onstage, and soon after that infamous Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, it became very clear the stakes were back.

I’m not a screenwriter, and I don’t run a billion-dollar franchise. I’m sure my loved ones were hoping that by this point in my life, I’d be writing essays on The Seventh Seal or pontificating on The Double Life of Veronique.

But I am someone who watched her daughter's first supero move be Iron Man, and sat next to said daughter when she was 19, watching Stark die in Endgame.

So when RDJ was announced to be returning, we were both more than a little curious about what could come next.

(I have range, I swear.)

Before all that, I had tapped out. Even the Russos acknowledged the post-Endgame slump was...inevitable. (Heh.)

To be fair, Endgame was a colossal hit for all the right reasons, so of course, anything immediately after was bound to be overshadowed.

Still, a lot of us have been chasing that high ever since, and it's been frustrating. It's That's what happens when you've had too much of a good thing.

I never got into the Disney+ lineup. I did see part of Loki Season 1, mainly because Hiddleston and Wilson are magic together.

But I couldn’t finish it. The ending got spoiled, and in my head canon, if I didn't see it, it never happened.

Which is why, to this day, I refuse to watch Marley & Me.

And then…the debut of Thor: Love and Thunder. Oof. I hadn’t physically cringed that much at a film in years.

(I’m so sorry, Mr. Hemsworth. Still a big fan, just…not of whatever that was.)

Being a Marvel fan began to feel complicated. You had to specify the era: “Yes, I loved that Marvel. Not this one.”

And I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but my daughter and I had real history with that Marvel. That franchise was ours.

The Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal shattered records: 275 million digital views, 3.1 million social interactions, and the biggest Marvel Studios livestream ever.

And let me just say, the slow, deliberate execution of it felt very old-school MCU. So they do, in fact, still know exactly how to get our attention.

That reveal wasn't subtle by any stretch, but it didn't reek of desperation, either. Marvel was lighting the beacons because this lineup is stacked. I’m betting the budget’s probably larger than some countries’ GDP.

And of course, I have theories.

First: Doom has the face of someone Peter Parker loved like a father. For one aching moment, Peter thinks he's looking at the man who taught him everything - only to be met with a detached, "Who's Mr. Stark?" Uggghhhh…

Second: This feels like Infinity War. For all the heroes named so far, I don't think they're actually going to win this one. The lineup is too big, and the stakes seem to be set a bit too deliberately. Someone is being set up to lose.

Third: Earth-616 Tony Stark shows up just long enough to see what he could've become if only. And then they take him away again, because Marvel has never once passed up the chance to inflict this specific kind of damage on us.

I doubt they're about to start now.

Fourth: I think the sun will shine on those yet-to-be-named characters again. Especially (please, Kevin!) on the brothers who never got their goodbye.

I wouldn't be surprised if Thor and Loki team up again, older, wiser, now bound by something deeper than fate. A lot of unresolved family history finally/hopefully getting the closure we're all waiting for.

(Not unlike my family gatherings, but with way better outfits.)

I’ll say this: something about all of this feels different.

Maybe this is Marvel’s actual redemption arc, or just elite-level promotion. Either way, if it leads to another epic theater moment with my kid, then it’ll be well worth it.

(Ideally, from a premiere seat. Preferably not next to anyone who defends Love and Thunder.)

If one of these theories pans out, I’ll happily take the credit. Kevin - I’m always available for notes.

Heather Papovich is the voice behind Unfinished Business. She's seen some things. She'll tell you about them.