Touring arena spectacle pits Marvel good guys against forces of evil

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This article was published 23/07/2015 (3703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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‘HULK smash,” is the catchphrase many kids will be hankering to hear during Marvel Universe Live! this week at the MTS Centre.

Of the 25 Marvel heroes and villains appearing in the live-action arena spectacular opening Thursday, the green, havoc-wreaking Hulk is the No. 1 champion among pint-sized fan-boys and girls.

“Everyone is anticipating Hulk during the show,” says Rick Papineau, who created the props and scenic elements for the American travelling production. “Everyone is screaming for Hulk to come out. Sure, they have Captain America shirts on, but everyone wants to see Hulk. I think it’s the sheer scale of him that impresses everyone.”

That the youngsters get their wish is mainly thanks to Papineau and his crew, who might be the real superheroes of this two-hour stunt show packed with pyrotechnics, 3D projections and movie-style special effects.

Marvel Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, had never seen a Hulk created to its satisfaction. Papineau’s challenge was to create the gigantic, muscle-bound humanoid that meek scientist Bruce Banner turns into when he loses his cool. The 45-plus-kilogram costume comes with animatronics that allow the eight-foot-six Hulk to move and pound things naturally.

“Now Hulk is my favourite, too,” Papineau says, over the telephone form Sarasota, Fla. “I had to do so much research on him. What I’ve gone through to create him has given me a little more affection for Hulk.”

Marvel Universe Live! is a year into an 85-city debut tour that is in Winnipeg for a seven-show run through Sunday.

Emmy Award winner Shanda Sawyer — who was approached to create a concept for a Marvel arena show in 2012 — came up with a story about Thor shattering the Cosmic Cube because he’s sick of it being the source of all mankind’s suffering. He scatters it to the corners of the Earth so no one will ever possess it again.

His evil brother Loki, however, manages to collect a little dust from the smashed cube and uses it to begin building a cosmic clone. The global threat demands that superheroes Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Widow and Wolverine band together against the likes of Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Red Skull and Madame Hydra, culminating in a final battle.

“When I started, I was thinking about what could bring these characters together,” says Sawyer, during a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles. “What would be a dire enough circumstance? There were only two things: either the gauntlet or the cube. I knew it had to be one of those pieces of power.”

Sawyer attempted to pump up the fun factor by teaming up the superheroes in unlikely combinations. Wolverine is partnered with Bruce Banner in an attempt to free Storm and Cyclops from Loki, while Spider-Man heads out with Thor to face off with the Sinister Six.

There was no real role model for an endeavour like Marvel Universe Live!, which is performed by an American cast of 63 that includes X-Games stars, daredevil motorcyclists, mixed-martial-arts champions, acrobats and aerialists. It’s designed to be a thrill-ride with breakneck action driving the epic, good-versus-evil story.

“Some of the performers are amazing,” says Papineau, who grew up drawing comic-book characters. “These motorcycle guys do stuff I think is absolutely crazy. They are jumping 18 feet in the air. They do it every show and make it look like nothing. It’s not nothing.”

Other highlights include an aerial battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin atop a huge Statue of Liberty, a man on fire, a live car chase, numerous high falls and a spiral ramp that motorcyclists ride up and jump down to different platforms.

“I went through months of being told it can’t be done,” Papineau says of the motorcycle chase scene between Captain America and Red Skull. “For me, to watch it move mechanically is a piece of artwork. They go up this spiral and to escape Captain America, Red Skull — on his bike — jumps down to these platforms with explosions going off. It looks absolutely amazing.”

Sawyer says a writer couldn’t ask for better source material than the Marvel universe. Each of the heroes has a fatal flaw and an ability to transform into something incredible. All their powers are based on what ordinary humans wish they could do, she says.

“Each has a special appeal,” says Sawyer, who was one of the directors of the 69th Academy Award TV broadcast. “Who, when they really get angry, bursting with rage, wouldn’t want to be the Hulk? Who wouldn’t want to be the Black Widow with all her incredible skills? And Spider-Man is universally appealing to kids. You can fall in love with all of them.”

Since Marvel Universe Live! premièred on July 10, 2014, in Tampa Bay, Fla., younger fans have been transfixed by seeing their heroes up close, while their parents and die-hard Marvel geeks appreciate the show’s eye candy.

“The most rabid fans fall into that sweet spot of boys between six and 12,” she says. “I’ve had eight-year-olds come up to me and say, ‘I’ve been waiting my entire life for this.'”

kevin.prokosh@freepress.mb.ca