Why the Marvel Fandom is insanely awesome…#capforstrat

I need to back up for a moment and explain why this story has brought me to tears on a packed CTA bus.
My father died of renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) in 1999. At the time,  he was ONE of 1500 known cases in the world.
He was a federal cop, a solider and the coolest dad ever, he died a superhero to me.  Towards the end, my father submitted himself to clinical trials which made him even worse. When I begged him to stop the trials he told me “if it doesn’t help me it will help another family”
13 years later, I found out  that the FDA approved a drug that would help treat this cancer. It wasn’t a cure, but it was a huge step in the right direction. When I saw who the pharmaceutical company was that got approval, I cried at my desk at work. It was the same company that my dad was part of the trials for.
He WAS right.

A year after my father died, thanks to my speech coach, one of my film professors and a sociology professor, I became addicted to comic books…in particular Daredevil. To make a long story short, I find out from one of my uncles ( 2 months later another family member confirmed this for me) that not only was my dad a huge comic nerd, but his favorite books were all Marvel – in particular Daredevil. I never knew this.

I was welcomed into the Marvel Fandom with open arms. Since Iron Man came out in the theaters in 2008, the Fandom has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s insane, but awesome. I have made some of the best friends because of this fandom. I have been a part of and witness too the Fandom rallying around each other and helping with whatever they can.

Since Marvel Studios came to be,  I have noticed the actors, production heads even a prop master rally to help a fan. But this story of Sophie and Stratford hit close to home.

I don’t know if Strat’s daughter Sophie will ever read this blog, but what you have done is amazing.  I wish that I was able to do something like this for my father.  As one fan to another, please tell your dad that I am keeping him and your family in my thoughts. I am also rooting for him to prove the doctors wrong. No one should be told when their last days are. Our heros, both real and fiction, get up every day and fight the good fight not knowing if it’s going to be their last day or if they still have years left in them.

It’s the hardest thing to watch a family member in a situation like this. I’m doing it again with my mom. The only thing that gets you through the day sometimes is when your other family, the ones who you never met but talk about your favorite things with (like comics) are out there rooting for you and supporting you. I have never met this family, but because Stratford is a fellow Marvel fan, he’s part of my other family…my Marvel Fandom family. 

For all the Merry Marching Society members that moved with lighting speed to help Sophie out: you guys are the reason why the Marvel Fandom is so great.  We may not know all of each other, I may not even meet a quarter of all the members in my lifetime, but when shit hits the fan, I know you are there.

So, I ask that all of the Marvel family, support in anyway you can another family member. In this case, I ask that you send messages of support on twitter with the hash tag #capforstrat so this family knows we are sending our support and love from around the world.

Sometimes, just sometimes, a message of love is exactly what a hero needs to keep fighting.