Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. Exhibit Report
While I was at Special Edition NYC (see my report here), my friends and I decided to leave the con and get some lunch and then wander over to the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) Exhibit on 44th Street. I had heard about it from Leonard and the con was giving out fliers which doubled as coupons for $5 off admission.
When we got there we found that they also had the $5 coupons as soon as you come in (I definitely recommend grabbing one of these coupons as an adult admission is $27.00 & a child is $19.50. So depending on how many tickets you are purchasing that could end up being a huge savings). After we got our tickets, we were led downstairs to wait in line. While waiting, you are asked to sign up to be an agent of S.H.I.E.LD. by supplying your name and email address in one of the many machines along the queue. When finished, you receive a card with your name on it which works with many of the interactive exhibits. Also, this was when the staff briefs the new agents about everything available in the exhibit and intel about the Avengers, which really added to the experience.
Todd Rowker – Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As you’re led in, an Agent stops you, checks your ID and tells you to stand in front of a green screen for the “last civilian picture you will ever take.” Also, you have to do your best superhero pose because the Avengers team will be put in behind you. Then, you are led to a waiting area and yelled at a little – after all you are raw recruits. And by yelled at I mean they give you the rules. The most important of these rules is you’re not allowed to take ANY pictures (they were pretty adamant about it the day I was there or I would have tons of pictures).
After we were given the rules, we were led into a room and told to face the wall. Here we were scanned for weapons by a laser scanner and were shown a welcome video by Agent Blake. After the video, we were allowed to enter the exhibit floor which is designed to look like a S.H.I.E.L.D. hub. We watched a short instruction video on the Avengers and shown how to use the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. card on various interactive displays within the exhibit.
We were shown the costumes of Hawkeye (with bow quiver and arrows), Black Widow, Nick Fury (with bullet hole, post Captain America 2), Agent Hill, and Agent Coulson (with Captain America cards in his breast pocket). Each one had a touch screen with information about the character next to it (I wanted to grab Hawkeye’s stuff in the worst way but I eventually thought better of it). From here on out, the exhibit is broken up into four main rooms, focusing on each of the main Avengers members with a few different attractions interspersed throughout..
First up: Captain America. This room had different stations where the new Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. recruits could compare their abilities to Super Soldier Steve Rogers. Inserting a card in these stations would activate and display your name and then allow you to proceed. The stations included: a scale that compared your height and weight to Captain America, an exercise machine to see who is faster, a strength tester so you could see who is stronger and a touch screen battle simulator to compare reflexes (Spoiler: Cap is always better than you). Some props on display include: the machine Steve Rogers was put into to be bombarded with Vita-rays; a set of the Captain America trading cards; Cap’s WW II shield; displays of Peggy Carter, Colonel Chester Phillips and Dr. Abraham Erskine; and Cap’s outfit, original shield and his round shield. (OF COUSRE I plotted how I would steal the shield even longer than Hawkeye’s bow and arrows. I was too tempted so I had to leave this room).
The next hallway had the Red Skull’s costume, a Hydra WWII soldier uniform with Tesseract weapons, Chitauri armor and weapons, a Chitauri battle glider and Weapon 47 from the Marvel original mini movie. They didn’t have Loki’s costume, but they did have his staff and helmet (I would have looked good in that helmet!). All these displays had a touch screen with information next to them.
Next up was the Hulk. This room was designed like a lab that had a section to check yourself for Gamma ray exposure, a world map for Gamma ray incidents and displays for looking at Hulk and Abomination blood samples. The coolest thing was an interactive life size video display of the Hulk that is better experienced than explained. They didn’t have many props here.
Next was Thor. This room had the least stuff in it but it makes sense that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t have many Asgardian artifacts. It had Thor’s costume with no helmet. There was no Mjolnir because Thor would obviously have it with him. They did have a hologram of it with detailed information about it. They had a huge display with a diagram and description of the Nine Realms on it, too. That was really quite impressive. Also, they had display that had theories on how the Bifrost transports through vast distances so fast.
The last room was Iron Man and it was by far the biggest. It had its own arc reactor, video screens that constantly rotated the various armors explaining all the capabilities and one of the actual armor variations on display. There was a flight simulator HUD display that showed what it is like to fly like Iron Man while information popped up. This, by far, was the most popular attraction in the whole place. The line was huge for it and I never even got close to it. Though that looked cool, my favorite thing was an Iron Man hand that you could control. It was in a case with a square hole beneath it. You stuck your hand in and hovered it in the air and the hand did whatever yours did. Well, except one gesture they obviously programmed it not to be able to do (I know because I tried).
That concluded the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit. Upon exiting, they asked if you would like to buy a copy of the picture of you with the Avengers that was taken at the beginning. I passed on mine but I did see a lot if parents buying them for their kids which was really cool. And whether or not you buy the picture they give you a certificate that you have concluded your training and now are an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. They was also a souvenir shop filled with Marvel merchandise that was doing brisk business as I passed through it. It was nice that I could look at my own pace and if I felt like going back to one of the rooms to look at it again I could. All in all, I have to say I felt Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. was well worth the $25 I had spent. I highly recommend you check it out if you’re a big Marvel fan and especially if you’re a big fan of the movie universe.
