There may not be a lot of advantages to living in Los Angeles, but at least you can go to the new theme restaurant dedicated to the characters of Marvel Comics! Marvel Mania is probably the best theme restaurant I've been to. You cannot forget for a second that this is a place dedicated to comics. There are constant visual and audible stimuli reminding you that you are having lunch in a world where people smash skyscrapers on top of each other--over the most trivial of arguments.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning. I stood outside the structure and looked at the gigantic but cheesy renditions of Human Torch, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and Storm. I glanced over to the Universal Hilton, where Spider-Man apparently got into the Guinness Book of World Records by swinging from there to the multi-colored eatery as part of the opening day festivities. Impressive. I walked up to the "Mutant Detector" that granted me access to the noisy comic book funhouse. As I entered, lights flashed and alarms sounded, as a sign blinked on and off warily, "Mutant entering the Marvel Universe." I had been caught!

The first thing I saw when I entered was a large display case with a man-sized suit of vintage 1970's Iron Man armor constantly rotating. While this "armor" was definitely made of plastic, nonetheless it was kind of cool to see the old Iron Man armor so large and so close up. Other tubes lining the walls contained other Marvel Universe "artifacts." There was the Avengers' charter and I.D. cards of the founding members, Captain America's Shield, Thor's hammer, Silver Surfer's board, Doctor Strange's cape and medallion, Magneto's helmet, and nothing less than the Infinity Gauntlet itself!! Granted, the appearance of these icons is not as impressive as it should be, but just the fact that someone went to the trouble of making and displaying them made me feel somehow in the right place.

The bar is appropriately dedicated to the supervillians. Their images snarl and sneer on the walls and ceiling of the bar area. A dartboard with Captain America's face is spattered with darts. The drinks themselves are amazing! Served in test tubes and beakers, they come with pipettes filled with colors to change the hues of the already colorful beverages. They sport names like Marvel Triple Action, Journey Into Mystery and Tower of Shadows. There are drinks of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. These are some of the most interesting-looking and tasty thirst quenchers I've ever come upon.

There was an obligatory gift shop with the expected overpriced amusement park type souvenirs. The life size statue of Captain America that was in there made me feel terribly uncomfortable as it was the gooberiest Captain America I'd ever seen--so back to the restaurant...

The lobby area included an X-Men vs Streetfighter video game and plenty of TV monitors constantly displaying bits of cartoons (taken from many different sources), a few of them even original, and plenty of character profiles.

Roaming around the place was a costumed Wolverine (complete with claws) ready to take pictures and shake hands (he's the best at what he does, bub). Spider-Man was there too, and I was told that even Dr. Doom had been known to make an appearance.

The dining area was split level. The upper floor even had a booth that apparently led into the Negative Zone! Many of the booths were dedicated to a specific comic, i.e., Thor, the Fantastic Four, and Hulk. Large images of superheroes in action adorned the walls and ceiling. The theme of the dining area was a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. The waiters wore jumpsuits and were ready for trouble! The walls were lined with Kirby-esque computer consoles and technical gobbledy-gook. A huge video screen and several small monitors continued to broadcast the cartoon lunacy. The atmosphere was very vibrant.

The food was, alas, nothing to write home about. The portions were fairly small and the taste was average. But considering the price and flavor of most amusement park food, it was actually pretty decent. The entrees ran from about $8 to $12, which is reasonable for LA. The 1 lb. Hulk burger was a bit of a disappointment. It was served on one of those annoying French rolls and didn't really come packed with condiments. It certainly wasn't the juicy hunk of gamma-cow I was expecting.

Overall I enjoyed my visit to Marvel Mania. If you are a comics fan and you find yourself in the LA or Orlando areas it is definitely worth checking out. I wouldn't make a cross country trek to eat there, but it's kind of cool to be in a joint that is decked out in the splendor of the superhero nonsense you grew up with.

Excelsior!!