On a hot and muggy Saturday afternoon, I trudged myself over to 42nd Street. Why would any self-respecting New Yorker willingly spend their weekend at Times Square? (Other than to see The Puffs, of course.) Why, for a superhero tour during New York Comic Con, of course!
On Location Tours does walking/bus tours through New York City year-round, and they started their superhero edition a few months ago. With NYCC in full swing, there were plenty of sights to see.
Our tour group of nine actually met up at Midtown Comics. Our tour guide, Max, led us with a cape on his back and Mjölnir in hand. Soon we headed to Times Square, crossing a Justice League promo. I couldn’t get close enough for a picture, as people were clamoring to get a snap of the actual Batmobile and Batsuit used in the movie.
From there we headed out of Times Square to a bus that drove us to the Daily News. This beautiful Art Deco building was used as the set for the Daily Planet in the Christopher Reeves Superman movies. It’s a location I never would have gone to if not for this tour. And it’s well-worth checking out!
The beauty of On Location tours was that not only did you get to walk up to actual location where your favorite movies were shot, you also get to watch the scenes from the movies themselves. On the bus, we watched clips ranging from The Dark Knight series to Jessica Jones to the 1980s Superman franchise.
Our guide Max was also full of knowledge about what was shot where and he was able to answer all of our questions. He was engaging, fun, and let us wander to take pictures. (I also highly recommend his monthly live show at the PIT. It’s called Tinderella and it’s high-larious.)
As our tour moved on, we traveled by Grand Central Station, the UN Building, Union Square, and Wall Street. I once walked through a shoot for Iron Fist, back when it was called “Kick” and we passed that too. Our tour ended at Battery Park City, within view of the Statue of Liberty.
Living here, it’s easy to forget that we kind of live in a movie set. We see New York everyday, then turn on our TVs to watch Luke Cage protect Harlem or Daredevil fight ninjas in Hell’s Kitchen. So every once in a while, it’s nice to take a tour and remember what an amazing city this is. To quote Hamilton, it’s “the greatest city in the world.”
So if you’re a superhero fan living in the city, have a stay-cation and treat yourself. The sights you see every day might just change a little bit. (Just don’t go on a summery day. Our AC wasn’t working well in the van and it felt like July all over again. At least there wasn’t that summer garbage smell.)
If you are visiting, and you wanna see the sights and indulge in your nerdy fantasies, by all means take this tour! NYC is the Mecca of superheroes, and the city itself is almost its own character in the comic world. So kill two birds with one stone with On Location tours!
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Saturdays and Sundays at 12pm.
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Nerdophiles was provided with complimentary tickets in exchange for a fair and honest review. Nerdophiles was not compensated for this post. Our opinions are ours and ours alone.
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