Models and toys of Marvel superheros are in display at the toy exhibition in Shanghai in October. Photo: VCG

 Amid the 80th anniversary of Marvel Comics, a video showing stories of Chinese Marvel fans is circulating on Chinese social media, in which fans talk about the Marvel world as a kind of utopia that can stimulate them to overcome difficulties in real life.

Since 1939, when Marvel was started by Martin Goodman, the comics have spread around the world and 23 films based on Marvel characters have grossed over $22.5 billion at the global box office. Although the comics brand has a long history, it is still young in China, one of the Chinese fans said in the video.

The video shows three Chinese Marvel fans who have different ages and professions but have the same deep love for Marvel.

He Jia, a designer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) who was born in the 1970s, came across Iron Man 11 years ago. He said he was inspired by the symbolic gestures of the hero and he even designed the UAVs belonging to Iron Man that appear in the movies.

"When I researched UAVs, I often entered the world of the comics and imagined myself as Iron Man," He said. "You can't tell that I am more than 40 years old from appearance. Marvel brings young blood to me."

Wu Yuze and Hu Tianqi are cover painters for Marvel comics who were born in the 1990s and 2000s. The younger fans have the same feelings as He. "When you paint these characters, you will feel their mind. I can enter the Marvel world rather than letting characters step out," they said.

But this does not mean they want to hide in the Marvel universe to avoid difficulties in real life. "Marvel shows many super heroes to us and although it does not ask us to become one of them, it encourages us to become braver and better ourselves," Wu said.

C. B. Cebulski, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, said in July that China has also been brought into the Marvel Universe, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.