Super hero action will soar, smash and burst into Liverpool in 2019 as Marvel Universe LIVE! makes its very first visit to the M&S Bank Arena.
Marvel fans will be able to see Spider-Man, The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy join forces with Doctor Strange for the all new live stunt production.
With aerial stunts, martial arts and even motorcycle stunts, its an impressive show which including cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, and 3Dvideo projection mapping.
Tickets are already on sale for the Feld Entertainment production which is from the same company behind Disney on Ice.
To find out what it’s really like behind the scenes at Marvel Universe LIVE! I went to get a masterclass in all things superhero.
The basics of stunt fighting
They might make it look easy but there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make it possible and I’m not just talking about lighting, sound and set design.
Every fight scene is fully choreographed and one slight wrong move could mean the performer gets an unexpected real punch to the face.
So it’s safe to say they practise the fight scenes until it’s second nature to them.
Stefan Reynolds, who plays the Green Goblin, said: "You have to really overstate it, so the person right at the back of the audience sees it and feels it."
Chad Cramer, who plays Iron Man, demonstrated how to throw a punch.
He took hold of Stefan’s shoulder, pulled his arm back and threw a punch that sailed past Stefan’s face.
Watching it, it looks real, but that’s because they have rehearsed so much that they can get as close to the real thing as possible without actually hitting each other.
"We’ve just ruined the magic!" Chad joked.
What about flying?
Turns out, you have to be pretty strong to be a superhero and you can’t just rely on your souped-up costume and choreographed fight scene to get you through the performance.
That’s something I learnt the hard way when I attempted to do some aerial stunts - also known as - flying.
First of all, it HURTS, if your muscles aren’t up to scratch you won't be able to hold your body up properly and you WILL get rope burn.
You know that feeling you get when you’ve held too many shopping bags for too long? It’s that x1000.
One of the characters that spends a lot of time up in the air and is Ashley Olivier, who plays The Wasp, she said: "It’s really fun but everybody here has such extensive backgrounds and we’ve gone through a lot of training.
"Really, it takes some guts and some strength."
She wasn’t joking about it taking guts either, there are no special harnesses or clips in place to stop her and other performers from falling.
When they are 20 ft up in the air swinging around on ropes they really are putting their lives on the line.
She added: "I spent about two years on aerial in general before I even touched the more advance apparatus.
"For the basics it probably took me about six months but I had already had a pretty extensive background in aerial arts."
What about the costume?
The ECHO spoke to Head of Wardrobe, Rebecca Williams, she said: "We have around about 130 costumes ranging from heroes to villains and everybody in between.
"The biggest consideration [for me] is making sure they can move in them, if your performer can’t move in their costumes they’re going to be stiff and they’re going to be breaking stuff all the time.
"So a lot of our costumes incorporate spandex because it’s the most moveable fabric we have available to us.
"The costume process actually starts about two years in advance, because first of all you have to pick the right designer, the designer then has to work between Feld and Marvel to get the correct vision."
Are the motorcycles real?
One of the first things I asked the cast when I met them was about the motorcycles.
Seeing a high speed motorcycle chase taking place on stage is impressive, especially when they take on ramps and back flips and other insane stunts.
Surely they were toys, I thought. But I was wrong, they are real motorcycles.
Louise Forsley, who plays the Black Widow and is motorcycle stunt performer, said: "There is so much progression to riding and I love trying to get better every single day with new tricks, new stunts.
"It's like a freeing feeling for me, I don't really think about anything else I just think about the feel of the bike and the control of it."
"The guys really push me and try new things all the time. It takes time and a few mistakes to get there, but you see in the show a whole range of cool tricks and stunts. I’ve been riding since I was younger, so awhile."
During Marvel Universe Live audiences should be prepared for some jaw dropping tricks on the motorcycles that will have both kids and adults sitting on the edge of their seats.
"It’s amazing seeing the reaction," she said. "They really love the stunts and you can see their reaction as you do them. It’s amazing to see how people react to everything."
Sign up to the What's On newsletter - packed with brilliant things to see and do in Liverpool and beyond.
