I always say the X‑Men shelves are the heart of Man Cave 2.0 — the place where my childhood, my collecting habits, and my midlife reinvention all collide in one glorious, over‑crowded, slightly unstable display. But today… the shelves decided to remind me who’s really in charge.

Episode 4 started out like any normal Shelf Life Saturday. I was excited to walk through the X‑Verse — from the Silver Age roots to the wild ’80s and ’90s expansions that shaped Marvel’s mutant legacy. I kicked things off with my Classic X‑Men and New Mutants shelf, then moved into the ’90s X‑Factor lineup and the beloved (and bizarre) Excalibur team. Everything was going smoothly. Too smoothly, in hindsight.

Then I got to the “work in progress” shelf — my Starjammers and Alpha Flight display. It’s always been a little chaotic, a little experimental, a little “don’t breathe too hard near this one.” But today, it decided to go full supervillain on me.

One moment I was talking about Corsair and the cosmic weirdness of the Starjammers… The next moment — BOOM.

The entire shelf gave out and collapsed straight into the X‑Villains shelf below. Figures everywhere. Stands flying. A full‑on avalanche of mutants, space pirates, Canadians, and bad guys. It was the kind of end‑of‑year bang I absolutely did not plan for.

And honestly? It was hilarious. And frustrating. And kind of perfect for where I am in life right now.

Because Shelf Life isn’t just about toys — it’s about the mess, the rebuilding, the unexpected disasters, and the weird joy of putting everything back together again. Midlife is basically one long shelf collapse anyway. You think everything is stable… until it isn’t. And then you rebuild. And sometimes you rebuild better.

After the chaos, I did some unboxing to calm my nerves, teased my upcoming Avengers ’80s Era shelf, and introduced the newest addition to Man Cave 2.0: The Shelf of Mishap — a place to honor the figures who didn’t survive the fall with dignity.

I also talked about how I rotate figures to keep the collection fresh. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s that nothing stays the same — not shelves, not life, not the person you were last year. And that’s okay. Reinvention is part of the quest.

If you love Marvel Legends, X‑Men history, toy displays, or watching a grown man try to recover from a shelf collapse, Episode 4 is definitely one for the Vault.

👉 Watch Episode 4: (Add link when ready) 👉 Explore the full Shelf Life eJournal: https://christopharo.stream/shelflife

Here’s to rebuilding — shelves, life, and everything in between.

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