Team Thanos Forever

On a bustling Sunday afternoon—the very weekend Avengers: Endgame exploded onto screens—a tight-knit group of friends and family gathered at a packed movie theater. Among them was our Hero, a dad known for his booming voice from years of commanding attention on the firing range, and his son, alongside a handful of his son’s closest friends, the “peeps.”

With his wife and daughter still en route, our Hero and the crew snagged a cluster of seats, staking their claim like generals before the battle. As the chatter buzzed and the lights lingered bright, our Hero sensed an opportunity for a bit of theatrical mischief. Spurred on by the peeps to do something funny that would also be embarrassing for the son, a decision was made. 

Before the previews could even roll, he rose like a Shakespearean actor taking center stage, arms spread wide in a grand gesture. Then, with a voice trained to carry over open fields and echo through shooting ranges, he bellowed, “Am I the only one here who is on Team Thanos?!”

The theater fell into stunned silence—as if time itself had paused—before a couple chuckles arose. Two young men in their twenties pumped their fists and voiced their allegiance. An older lady, evidently not swayed, shot back a sharp “No!” sparking a ripple of even more laughter that spread like wildfire. Popcorn rustled; someone might have even spilled a bit in their surprise.

Meanwhile, our Hero’s son, towering well over six feet now but still a kid at heart, tried desperately to shrink himself down to two inches, wishing to disappear under the stadium seats. His friends, however, reveled in the chaos, laughing as if this was just another episode in the ongoing saga of “Dad being Dad.”

Twenty minutes later, the scene shifted again. Our Hero’s wife and daughter arrived, navigating the crowded stairs to join their party. She overheard whispers—a mixture of disbelief and amusement—from fellow moviegoers commenting, “I can’t believe that guy said that!” Her eyes locked onto her Spouse, our Hero, with that signature “Oh no, what did you do now?” look. Upon reaching their seats, she pointedly asked him to explain.

The crew—stirred to a new wave of laughter—recounted the moment with the pride of pranksters who’d pulled off the perfect caper.

Those boys were just fourteen at the time, wide-eyed and eager. Now, six years later, they still tell the tale—proof that moments of boldness and humor, shared in good spirit, linger far longer than the film credits.

As for the wife, while she diplomatically refrains from encouraging her husband into more antics, she continues to affectionately refer to the group as “the peeps,” embracing their bond in her own understated way.