The Crazy Marvel-Themed Restaurant Time Forgot
If you ever dreamed of stuffing your face with nachos while The Incredible Hulk fetched you a refill of Pepsi, well, it turns out you had an incredibly small window of time to fulfill that oddly specific fantasy back in 1998. That's when Universal Studios Hollywood debuted Marvel Mania, a restaurant themed entirely around the beloved comic book universe.
Sadly it only lasted for a little over a year. From February of '98 until September of '99, superhero fans could head to Marvel Mania's elaborately-decorated dining area and grab foods like the "Fantastic Four Cheese Pasta," "Gambit's Ragin' Cajun Quesadillas," and "Mutant Chicken Wings" -- so perhaps the lesson here is not to willingly put the word "mutant" in the names of menu items. Adult guests could also order cocktails such as the "Asgard" martini, which presumably simulates the buzz of being a ripped cosmic god living inside of a pocket dimension. Most excitingly, actual Marvel heroes would sidle up to your table and awkwardly hover above you as you ate.
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Since the restaurant was a collaboration between Marvel and Planet Hollywood, Marvel Mania similarly featured "props" from the world of Marvel, like the Green Goblin's mask, The Avengers' I.D. cards, and Spider-Man's belt, all presented as if they were as real as Bruce Willis' toupee from Hudson Hawk.
Frustratingly, what would have been the world's most popular eatery in the 21st century went belly-up back in the '90s. Why? Well, the novelty restaurant bubble eventually burst, and Planet Hollywood was forced to declare bankruptcy, nixing plans to expand Marvel Mania into a chain. The space was eventually converted into Universal's House of Horrors, a far cry from the culinary pop-culture paradise where you could order the "Doc Ock's Wok" stir fry.
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Top Image: Marvel
