“It’s clobberin’ time!”

It would be fair to say that I have a very bad memory. At least, a bad short term memory. My memory stretching back over the years is considerably better.

For example, I can clearly remember going to the cinema to see Superman with a friend and his Dad aged 9.

Me.

I was aged 9, not my friend’s Dad.

Anyway, the tag line for the film was “you’ll believe a man can fly”, and you can take my word for it, we absolutely did believe it. We came out of the cinema with my friend’s Dad swinging us round and round, lifting us above his head making whooshing noises and it didn’t seem feasible that Clark Kent was just some actor in a film using clever tricks to make us kids think that flying was possible.

In fact I didn’t grow out of believing that one day I might fly until the age of …….. well, about 28. It just seemed so ……. real.

Yesterday, Joseph saw a film trailer for the Fantastic Four previewing on TV yesterday evening.

“Wow, can I watch it Dad, can I?”

“Umm, I tell you what. I’ll watch it and tape it and maybe you can watch it tomorrow, ok?”

And that’s what I did.

Of course, things never quite go to plan and we ran out of time to watch the film but, to avoid a total bedtime fit, I said he could watch the bit where they get their superpowers and then he could watch the rest tomorrow.

This was agreed so I played the promised clip.

The two bits I found were the Human Torch flying through the air on a trials bike whilst on fire - which made Joseph’s eyes widen with his thumb slowly falling out of his mouth - and Reed Richard’s putting his hand under a door and stretching his arm up to open it from the inside. This earned a “wow, that is cool” response with pleas for more.

As I was watching, looking from the film to Joseph, I thought of the difference in special effects in the (exactly) 30 years since Superman came out but remembered the amazement I felt at seeing someone fly.

How must Joseph feel (aged 5 and a half, let alone 9), seeing one man’s hand stretch and another handle fire? How amazing that computer-generated imagery can make the even more unbelievable even more believable.

Fantastic!!

No wonder he looked excited.

Naturally I will have my “fire is dangerous” speech ready for when the Human Torch “flames on”. Similarly I will have my “of course there isn’t really a Doctor Doom walking the streets in a metal mask zapping people with lightning” and “of course a man made of stone doesn’t exist”.

Come to think of it, I might see if he wants to watch Toy Story instead.

Maybe.

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