Marvel Academy brings out everyone’s “inner nerd”

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Elliot McCurdy

Sponsor and principal of Maize High School Chris Botts is a Marvel fan making him a great sponsor for Marvel Club. His favorite superhero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe was Spider-Man.

Leah Brown and Elliot McCurdy

 Are you a fan of Captain America, Iron man, or any other Marvel characters? Maize High School now features a Marvel Academy Club for superhero enthusiasts.

A few years ago, two freshmen boys approached Chris Botts proposing a new club at Maize High, Marvel Academy. 

“I thought it would be a great way to get students involved in a school activity,” Botts said. “The overall mission of Marvel Academy is simply just helping others.”

Marvel Academy participates in many different services that contribute to the community which include, participating in the homecoming parade, completing community service projects, and watching new releases at the theater together. 

Senior Tyler Leslie originally started the club because he wanted a club in high school where he and his friends could potentially nerd out over Marvel. 

“Tyler and I love Botts because the first day of our freshmen year, Botts came dressed up as Captain America for the first pep assembly, so we thought he would be the perfect sponsor, said senior leader Matthew Brock.

Marvel Academy has a total of around eight to ten members, but Brock hopes the number will increase throughout the school year by ensuring everyone feels welcome. 

“Marvel Club is to mainly help out the students of MHS bring out their inner nerd. Like if any freshmen need to find their classes and we have a chance  to help them, we’ll try to help any of the lower classmen,” Brock said. “Marvel Club is essentially a place where we get to geek out so we mainly talk about what’s new in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), and potentially any new characters that they may have introduced. It was originally Tyler Leslie’s idea to start the MAC (Marvel Academy Club), and he and I brought it into motion.”

A few of the club members mentioned why they think Marvel Academy is different compared to all of the other typical clubs that MHS has. Senior Karsyn Fraser-Slothower, who is the third leader of the club, describes what makes the club unique. 

“At first glance, Marvel Academy seems to be like every other regular club, however, what other club do you know completely accepts and embraces our inner nerd? Also, we have a diverse mix of personalities allowing us to constantly keep things fun,” Fraser-Slothower said.

Maize High Seniors Matthew Brock and Tyler Leslie pose for a picture representing Marvel Academy. (Leah Brown)

Like many other clubs, Marvel Academy requires an initiation. 

“Anyone is welcome to join, but they must be prepared because one thing that we like to do is whenever we have a new member, we quiz them on what they know about Marvel which is actually one of my favorite things,” Brock said. 

Leslie hopes to grow the number of people in Marvel Academy and welcomes anyone to join, no matter their Marvel knowledge. 

“It doesn’t matter if you know nothing about Marvel or if you are Marvel’s number one fan, we still want everybody and anyone to join,” Leslie said.

Brock enjoys talking with anyone he can about marvel. 

“We like to include everyone, no matter if they are big, small, nerdy, popular, or even purple, we would absolutely encourage anyone and everyone who is a marvel fan to join,” Brock said.