Andrew Thomson aka AndrewsVisual is an Influencer and Creator across a multitude of social media platforms. He creates content about the things he loves most in this world, superheroes & movies. At the time of writing he has over 1.7 million followers on TikTok with almost 78 million likes across his videos.
In this short Q&A AndrewsVisual answers his most commonly asked questions and talks about his extreme passion for the superhero genre. With all of that being said, lets get into it.
Introduction
AndrewsVisual: “ My name is Andrew and I am 21 years old. In early 2020 I started creating content on what I love and in just over a year I have built a massive following of over 1.7 million people.
I’ve always been the type of person to spot an opportunity when it arises. At the age of 14 I set up my own personal landscape photography business and started making money online from it. This was the first sign that I could do things I enjoy online and make a living from it.
Seeing the massive increase in TikTok accounts and how easy it is for anyone to ‘blow up’ overnight I made and account and started making videos until one took off. I gained enough followers to start a small platform on which I could talk about, explain and share my love for superheroes and movies in general. Its from here that I carried on building this foundation into the community and creative outlet I have today.
At first I was very scared and nervous for anyone I know in real life to find out about what I was up to in my free time as many people enjoy laughing at others attempts at success.
However, sticking at it long enough I made it to where people’s opinions do not matter now. I simply do it openly because I enjoy it myself which ironically is very similar to a lot of superhero stories of people nervous or scared to show what they can do until its time to show off their hard work and achievements and be proud of who they are.”
Why Superheroes?
AndrewsVisual: “ The thing that draws me to superheroes is the fact the most, if not every single superhero has problems, dilemmas or hardships that are relatable as a regular person. Whether these characters are aliens, superhumans or even Gods, its shows you that no matter who you are its okay to not be perfect and to face problems and hurdles in life.
I think superheroes are massively popular not just because they’re cool or they look great but also because people turn to them for inspiration when overcoming personal goals and problems. Just to understand my point we have had 3 Marvel Disney plus shows released this year. In WandaVision a massive underlying theme for the characters was dealing with loss and grief. You don’t have to be a superhero, mutant or android to experience this emotion.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier was next dealing with Depression & PTSD, things that are extremely common in many people these days.
And finally LOKI had clear connotations of identity crisis and finding what you’re meant to do in life. This is a super important lesson especially for kids and younger adults who still haven’t decided on what path to take yet. The motto of the show was literally ‘Your Glorious Purpose’ which is a great message for anyone.“
What Got You Into Superheroes?
AndrewsVisual: “ So superheroes have been a huge part of my life since I can remember but the one distinct thing that got me into the heroes for the first time ever and really captured my interest was the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies.
I grew up at the perfect time to watch them as a very young kid and became completely engrossed by how this high school student could go from a nerd to a hero. Swinging through the streets of New York, getting girls and stopping the bad guys. To me as a kid, he was the coolest person I had ever seen in my whole life and I wanted to be him.
Naturally as all kids do I asked for toys (some of which I still have today) and clothes to do with Spiderman, birthday cakes with Spiderman on them and every time I ever got the opportunity it would be my Spiderman DVDs on the TV. I was completely obsessed.
My mum was a single parent while me and my sister grew up and she would always stay in with us at night and let us choose movies to watch and I think this is where my obsession for film came from.
I also grew up watching animated shows such as the 1999 Spider-Man unlimited and the 2001 Justice league after school at my grandparents house. Naturally I kept this childhood interest as I grew up and I’ve been able to watch this genre grow into the entertainment titan it is today. Seeing my favourite characters and their relationships and stories throughout the years has always kept my interest.“
MARVEL or DC?
AndrewsVisual: “ I get asked this question so often that I’ve refined MY PERSONAL perfect and easiest answer to it. I absolutely love characters and stories from both companies and I don’t want this answer to discredit either.
I think Marvel do live action movies and TV shows much better at the moment. In my opinion DC do video games and animated movies and TV shows much better at the moment.
And I think in the comic book world you cannot choose between them as they are both outstanding.
With all of that being said though, my perfect world would have both to be completely equal and perfect in everything. It’s not about comparing or choosing a side, its about enjoying the media we get from them and in an ideal situation I’d love everything from both studios and I’d have even more content to become engrossed in and obsessed with.“
Who is your Favourite Superhero?
AndrewsVisual:” My favourite superhero is Wolverine. Alongside the original Spiderman trilogy I relentlessly watched the X-Men movies growing up. In doing so I decided from a young age that Wolverine was my favourite hero followed by Tobey’s Spiderman.
I loved his non caring attitude, I thought he was very funny, i loved how he fitted into the X-Men team while also not fitting in. Most of all I just loved how badass he was. His power set makes him a walking tank. Taking nukes and shaking them off. Scaring the life out of people with an angry look and swiping away enemies with his insane adamantium claws.
You cant blame me, as a young boy, thinking Hugh Jackman’s perfectly casted Wolverine was the coolest hero. And I guess ever since then its stuck. However Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, The Punisher, Wonder Woman & The Flash have came pretty close. “
Who is your Favourite Villain?
AndrewsVisual:” My Favourite Villain without a doubt is Magneto. Magneto is one of the saddest and deepest Hero to Villain Arcs ever. His parents were killed during the holocaust. The German forces attempted to weaponize his powers. He took personal revenge and vowed to never be marked or categorised by humans again – whether its for being a Jew or being a mutant.
There are so many emotional dynamics to his whole character. He is one of those villains you cant help but smile when he’s on screen. He always steals the show. He’s one of the most powerful villains ever but also his motivations and reasoning for what he does is so understandable. And that’s why Magneto is my all time Favourite Villain.“
What is your favourite Superhero movie?
AndrewsVisual:” This is the easiest question ever. My favourite superhero movie of all time is Avengers: Endgame. I saw this movie 11 times in the cinema when it released (10 of which by myself). Then I saw it again 3 times when it re-released with Spiderman: Far From Home. Every single time I watched it, I cried multiple time even though I knew what was coming. I never got bored of it once. Hearing the theater roar at certain scenes and cheer and cry with me was an experience I will never ever forget.
To watch 11 years of interconnected movies from my favourite characters all come together for a climax like that seems too good to be true. If I had the opportunity I’d go another 14 times easily. It’s hand down the greatest media experience of my whole life. As fans, if we ever get something that exceeds Avengers: Endgame or even matches its level of hype and emotion, we are going to be extremely lucky.“
If you could have one Super Power what would it be?
AndrewsVisual: “I actually have 2 answers for this. Assuming evil villains don’t exist in real life and I don’t need invincibility or to shoot energy from my hands, I’d take unlimited knowledge. I think to know everything would be a practical and helpful power in every real life situation. To fix anything, talk any language, know every medical practice etc. It seems like definitely the most useful.
However the other power I’d really want to take and play around with is Super Speed. You can travel anywhere geographically or even through time. It would be super fun to mess with people and you could be so much more productive in life if you didn’t have to take as much time eating, reading, typing, commuting to work etc. I think super speed is a great balance between fun and realistically helpful.“
Anything you’d like to add?
AndrewsVisual:” Yes, of course. I don’t want the message of this article to be just that superheroes are really cool. The real message here is that regardless of what you’re passionate about – whether its movies, superheroes, pop culture or whatever else you love. There’s a place online and a community you fit into.
When I was younger it was a huge stereotype that superheroes and comics were for nerds and weren’t a cool thing to like. If you fast forward to now they dominate the box office and they’re super mainstream. I went from talking to no one about this stuff to having a follower base of 1.7 million people to share my thoughts and interests with and I didn’t particularly do anything special. I just stuck to what I love and built a foundation and kept on working hard and putting in the time to make it what it is today.
The most beautiful thing about it is anyone can do this with anything. I just want to put across that no matter what you’re into, regardless of how niche or small you think it is. I promise you there are other people somewhere out there that would agree with you and love to hear about what you have to say. All it takes is a leap of faith and some dedication.”
Conclusion
So there you have it, the always inspiring AndrewsVisual! You can check him out over on Instagram @AndrewsVisual, on TikTok @AndrewsVisual or over on his YouTube channel AndrewsVisual. A huge thank you to Andrew Thomson for taking the time to do this with us.
If you enjoyed this why not check out some our other creator Interviews. As always, thanks for reading.
