The MCU comes to life at The Amazing Brentwood with the arrival of Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network).
“The Marvel Studios’ Avengers movies were game changers, and this exhibition will give everyone a chance to extend and personalize their experience with this iconic franchise,” said Gilles Paquin, CEO of Paquin Entertainment Group that is a joint organizer with immersive experience specialists Cityneon Group, in a news release when the travelling event made an initial stop earlier in Toronto.
Mimicking a super hero training center, hence the name, guests begin their adventure in an enclosed briefing room where Commander Maria Hill (played by How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders) gives a brief 411 onscreen to the fresh batch of recruits before the door to the rest of the 25,000 square-foot facility opens up.
Once through, there are multiple rooms dedicated to different characters. The first highlights Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, showing his giant green hands (presumably to scale) and a detailed explanation of how gamma radiation transformed the scientist’s life forever.
Some areas are more interactive, like where people can test their worthiness and attempt to pick up Mjölnir against a digital backdrop of the Asgardian Bifrost bridge. Or don a virtual Iron Man suit and test out its offensive capabilities in a cool augmented reality booth. Even the motorcycle Bucky rode in Captain America: Civil War is available to hop onto.
Unsurprisingly, Instagrammable opportunities abound. Speaking of Cap, grab hold of his iconic Vibranium red-white-and-blue shield. Other options including posing underneath the towering Hulkbuster and destroyer of worlds Thanos, and next to any of the various Iron Man suits standing at the ready in the stunning “Hall of Armour.”
Fans of Black Widow, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Black Panther don’t fret, as these heroes and their gear/weapons are on display throughout the expansive space. After wandering, there is one final room to go to before being let loose on the gift shop. Getting to it is a bit of a problem, however.
Everyone is required to queue up in a mystery line that isn’t well marked, nor is an alternate exit obvious for those who’d rather skip out early. The result is on a busy weekend, wait times of up to 45 minutes is a possibility. The reason being the last section is a series of screens where a select number of participants get to assume the role of one of six Avengers, and play a mini video game via a handheld mobile device. Taking about five or six minutes to complete, only so many can fit inside at once.
Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. runs until May 28. Tickets, purchases for a specific time slot, start at $34 for adults (seniors are $31 and children over three $28). Visit avengersstationcanada.com for more info.