For Marvel Entertainment Group;

Joe Quesada, Stan Lee, Avi Arad, and all others whom it may concern -

Every Marvel comics reader, when they open up a newly purchased comic, before wiping their fingers, while they carefully handle the glossy pages, is looking for something – they want to be walking down the streets of New York, bite into a lukewarm hotdog purchased from a street vender, look up, and see Spider-man swinging past; or, they wish to see the Fantastic Four, in the Fantasticar, flying out of a hanger in Four Freedoms Plaza; Some may wish to, when biting into that hotdog, catch a glimpse of Thor, Mjolnir in hand, fighting the trickery of Loki.

Unfortunately, this isn’t possible; these heroes do not frequent our city streets – the next best thing, for us, is to fork over $5.95 for a “Dare Dog,” with fries and apple sauce, and enjoy the superhuman environment only a themed restaurant can provide.

And so “Marvel Mania Hollywood,” a joint venture Marvel Entertainment Group entered into with Planet Hollywood International Inc., was forged in an effort to make that compromised dream come true. For those unaware of what Marvel Mania Hollywood was, it was a restaurant that opened in August 1997, in which one could pay obscene prices for “Stanwiches,” “Uncanny X-Pasta,” or, my personal favorite, “Fin Fang Fettuccine.”

Costumed heroes roamed the restaurant, entertaining much to the joy of fanboys young and old (much to the embarrassment of those travelling with them). Televisions gleamed with the soft glow of animated glory, as masked vigilantes battled their nemeses over an over, good being the eternal victor over evil. In a game room, fans of Marvel could further immerse themselves in the Marvel Universe by becoming the heroes they idolized. A gift shop allowed for remembrances of the life-changing experience to be brought home with them. A mini-museum served as a tribute to Marvel’s illustrious past, highlighted its present glory, and foreshadowed an almost certainly prosperous future.

But life is cruel.

Originally, five Marvel Mania restaurants were planned; however, only one was forged, and it was located in CityWalk, in Universal Hollywood. The others were cancelled for financial reasons – soon after the opening of Marvel Mania Hollywood, the Planet Hollywood bubble burst, and the financial toll on Planet Hollywood’s fast-paced expansion was too much to bear. The second project, Marvel Mania Orlando was canceled promptly – the official reasoning was, as there were other Marvel-themed eateries inside “Islands of Adventure,” the restaurant would be competing with itself. Soon afterwards, the plans for the three other restaurants were nixed.

Two years later, Marvel Mania Hollywood was shut down.

Children who read comic books now have other ways to immerse themselves – now, one can go to a movie theatre, buy an obscenely priced hotdog, and look up and see Spidey swing through the streets of New York. One can hear the busy streets in surround sound, one can watch Spider-man in all his CGI glory, but, there is something missing. When we go to the movies and look up at Spiderman, or Iron Man, or The Hulk, they are not with us; or, more importantly, we are not with them. Tobey Maguire is somewhere else, as are Robert Downey Jr. and Ed Norton. And what’s more, we know that Tobey Maguire is not, nor will he ever be, Spider-man. Ed Norton and Eric Bana are both definitely not the Hulk.

For many, Marvel Mania Hollywood proved to be a unique place where, for even a few hours, someone could live in the world of their favorite heroes, heroes they grew up on, because at Marvel Mania Hollywood, they were more than a story, and they were more than a character – they were people, real, tangible people you could look at and talk to, and they had real energy, the kind of energy one can expect to find in a world in which super powered heroes fought for those who had an inability to fight for themselves.

And comic fans need that now more than ever.

As fans of Marvel find themselves dissatisfied with the entire state of affairs in the Marvel Universe post-Civil War, we know the only way to change it is from the inside out.

That means forcing ourselves into the universe we know and love, and taking back what belongs to us, by God, before it’s too late.

Marvel Mania was truly the only way to “enter” the Marvel Universe. We can come close by watching our favorite comic movies, reading the books, or even going to Universal studios and riding The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, but ultimately, when we bite into that hot dog and look up, we only see a comic book panel, or a TV screen, or a digital projection.

Marvel, you can let us in. you have the technology. Before you weren’t sure enough of us want to come.
We do, and desperately. The return of Marvel Mania would be the answer to so many fanboy prayers it would be foolish to not make every attempt to re-open it. It is one of the most brilliant concepts to come out of the House of Ideas, and it met it’s demise far too early because of poor timing.

But now, the time is right, and we deserve to be able to order “Fin Fang Fettucine.”

In short, when it comes to paying for ridiculously overpriced food, make mine Marvel!