They’re in the endgame now.
Local moviegoers camped out at Revere’s Showcase Cinema de Lux this week, marathoning every Marvel blockbuster up to and including the climactic “Avengers” entry.
One hundred and fifty superhero aficionados converged on the multiplex at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, when a screening of “Iron Man” kick-started a 59-hour marathon comprising all 22 entries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It culminated at 5 p.m. Thursday with an early screening of “Avengers: Endgame,” the wildly anticipated capper to film history’s highest-grossing franchise.
Though they hailed from all over New England – and ranged from peppy high schoolers to middle-aged mega-geeks and married retirees – the patrons formed a camaraderie after sensing some obvious common ground.
When the Globe checked in during the brief intermission Wednesday night between “Doctor Strange” and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” (films 14 and 15), the lobby was quiet, though patrons milling about appeared in good spirits. Four queued at the Starbucks; two lingered by an arcade machine. In the bar, just after last call, three strangers sat discussing the merits of a gun-toting space rodent voiced by Bradley Cooper.
In the theater, a few patrons snoozed in the reclining seats, some clutching blankets Marvel delivered as part of a marathon “survival pack.” (Other items included T-shirts, toiletries, mints, and specialty “Avengers” coins.)
Out in the parking lot, one couple had converted their Honda into a bed on wheels, lowering the seats to slide in an air mattress. (Earlier, Monster reps swung by the marathon to sling energy drinks at patrons.)
“I don’t choose to sleep,” said Mike Hobbs, who traveled from Meriden, Conn., to attend. “Sleep chooses me.”
Hobbs, 35, has followed the Marvel films closely since early days. He’d planned to plow through them again, and when he learned the price of Revere’s marathon – $90, or roughly $4.09 a film – attending was a no-brainer. Plus, on-site accommodations, including shower stations trucked in behind the theater, made it a little less grueling.
Not that Janet Kent would know. Attending with husband Bob Smith, she’d been timing quick runs to their home, in nearby Woburn, for showers. The marathon was an unorthodox vacation for the couple.
Smith also saw it as an opportunity to get his wife involved in a universe he’s adored since childhood.
“I have 600 T-shirts and sweatshirts from Marvel and DC,” he bragged, holding up his phone to show a shelving unit overflowing with geeky garments. On Wednesday night, he sported an ‘All-New Iron Man’ pullover. Kent, meanwhile, rocked a hoodie with a picture of the Marvel maestro himself, captioned “The Amazing Stan Lee.”
Ladue Leger, 23, took off work to attend the marathon, enlisting less Marvel-savvy friend Christian Pearson, 21. The pair, from Newton, claimed they wouldn’t sleep until after the “Avengers” finale.
“There’s never going to be another ‘Endgame,’” said Leger. “I’m the most excited for a movie I’ve ever been.”
Added Pearson: “It’s like the end of his childhood.”
What Leger loves most about the Marvel movies is how they speak to his inner kid. “The movies grew up with us,” he said.
It’s been a tough six months for Marvel fans, he added, given comic-book titan Lee’s passing last November. “What’s three days to me over all the years he spent to build this?”
Besides, they were in good company. “I’ve made at least five new friends,” noted Leger. “The people you meet, they’re just as fanatical as we are.”
Some were’t so well-versed in all things Marvel. Chelsea resident Stephanie Sánchez hadn’t seen “roughly 98 percent” of the movies beforehand, she said.
“Honestly, my boss didn’t schedule me,” explained Sánchez, 21. “I figured, ‘Well, if she doesn’t need me, I’m going to make myself as unavailable as humanly possible.’”
Sánchez asked a Marvel-obsessive friend to join her. To 21-year-old Katie Lugo, such a request felt like a dream come true. “We walked in, and I was just like, ‘This is home, man,’” she said.
