I remember sitting in the theater during the first Iron Man, before any of this was a "universe." Tony Stark was building a suit in a cave with a box of scraps. That scene hits different than a theme park ride, because it’s about character, not spectacle. Rides are linear—you sit back and get pushed along. Marvel movies, even at their messiest, have arcs. Characters grow, relationships shift, choices have weight. You can’t get that from a roller coaster. Sure, the action is flashy, but underneath there’s a blueprint for storytelling that’s been around for centuries. Theme parks don’t make you care about a billionaire’s guilt or a teenager’s grief. Marvel does.