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My bio for this column states that I am in touch with my inner nerd, but that's a misnomer. My nerd is not so inner. I wear my love of comics and super heroes on my sleeve, er, chest as much as I can. So when my little ones want to know who these testosterone-infused muscle men are on Daddy's clothes, I need a way of introducing my favorite characters to my kids without scaring them or turning them into violent crazies.
Enter: Marvel Kids.
Marvel Kids has given me the chance to sit my little one on my knee and show her who Spider-Man, Hulk, Thing, Captain America, Iron Man, and Wolverine are without all of the violence that accompanies these characters within their modern comic incarnations and movies.
Unlike DC's anemic attempt at the same kind of site, Marvel has created a fully interactive site full of games, videos, wallpapers, IM icons, you name it.
Now one thing I do need to make clear is that this is a commercial website. Therefore, the intent there is to sell merchandise. From a father who does not have television service in his home, this is slightly troubling. I watch DVDs of my favorite shows so that I am not inundated with constant solicitation. Yes, I am the reason for product placement!
But the internet is a bit different. On most sites, the advertising is off to the side and easily ignored. Having grown up with comics, I'm used to hurriedly flipping past the ads to get back to the good stuff, so seeing an ad on the side of marvel.com pushing the upcoming live-action kids' show on Cartoon Network(??!) has never seemed that strange to me. A little advertising is acceptable to me for free content on the web.
Marvel Kids has plenty of content. From a daily strip of your favorite Super Hero Squad characters to free comics of 'Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius' and all your favorite heroes, you can get your daily dose of Marvel Entertainment any time you'd like.
I had fun with the games, which were mostly old school style side-scrolling action games. I haven't played video games regularly since the NES, so I felt right at home. There is also a first-person shooter game called 'Armory Assault' featuring Iron Man where you shoot targets rather than people and a game that reminded me of Galaga called 'Drone Attack', also featuring Iron Man (it turned out to be an ad for Iron Man action figures, but it's still fun!).
You can also print coloring pages and mazes, download wallpapers, and create your own super hero. 
You can register to start a free account there, which does collect names, email, etc., but it's not necessary to enjoy the site. Marvel will need parental approval before soliciting your child for information.
I recommend parental discretion for this site. Mainly for the commercial nature, but also for some violent content. Then again, that's what super heroes are all about, right? ;)
In the end, when it comes to all-ages Super Hero excitement on the web, you can make mine Marvel Kids!
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written by Jason, June 25, 2009
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written by CK Lunchbox, June 25, 2009
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written by Dwayne Hoover, June 25, 2009
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