Guest Post: When Heroes Fail: Our Lives In Comparison To The Avengers’ Struggle

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the greatest comic-based film series and many have been inspired by watching these awesome stories of superheroes – their successes and failures. Every viewer takes something away and is influenced by the heroic examples of these titans and can be encouraged to manifest similar character and valour.

Words and actions of each Avenger sometimes have a profound wisdom to teach everyone who is willing to learn from them. Wisdom that still can be applied in our daily interactions.

So, what are the lessons that audience can learn from these mighty heroes? Lots of them! But let’s discuss the most important things that you can learn and exercise from the MCU:

Captain America’s Resilience

When Captain America only dreamed of being a soldier, he was scrawny and didn’t have much physical strength. Bullies used to pick on him and he was unable to protect himself.

The military continually rejected his application to enlist because of his health complications and this dismayed him very much. Despite rejection and continually being bullied, Steve Rogers strives on trying to uphold to his principles. And only after that does he receive an opportunity to become a supersoldier. Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who granted him his superabilities,  acknowledges that Steve’s true power lies not in his muscles, but in his heart: his faith, his kindness and his resilience to fight for good things, no matter what.

This resilience helped Captain America to get through the devastating outcome of the Infinity War. The resilience brought hope, which eventually turned their defeat into an epic triumph.

The Smarts of Iron Man

Iron Man is known for his wise words in times of distress. Despite being depicted as an egoist, he truly cherishes the safety of every person and constantly works on the projects, that can help protect his loved ones and the planet as a whole. Above that, Tony Stark also has a great sense of humor, even when the world is falling apart.

Iron Man’s superpower is, of course, his great intelligence. This ability allowed him to build his invincible and intricate armour suit. But before his robotic costume became so great, it underwent a lot of trials and errors. And here is Tony Stark’s next valuable quality: he is not afraid of making mistakes. Because that is how we learn and improve ourselves.

Only by accepting his failures did Iron Man manage to live after the Avengers defeat in Infinity War. He basically rebuilt himself from scratch, like he did many times with his costumes before, and started a new life. This rebirth allowed him to become strong again. And when the challenges of his past reoccurred, he was ready to smite evil and save billions of lives.

Hulk’s Anger Management Skills

Many people deal with anger management issues and some suffer from intermittent explosive disorder. When they have their episodes, their emotions start controlling them and can cause devastating consequences, like ruining their relationships and career. In this case Bruce Banner can teach us a lot.

After a military experiment went out of control, Dr. Banner shares his conscience with another identity – the Hulk. He always strives to be calm and control his emotions, or else this bulky green monster comes out and starts smashing everything around. He tries his best to avoid situations that can induce his aggression by isolating himself.

Gradually Banner managed to get Hulk into helping the good guys. But after the events of The Age of Ultron, he completely loses control over his raging personality and for two years stays in the form of a green berserker on a remote planet.

After recovering from this, Banner is concerned about the prospect of losing his first identity for good. But the experience of Infinity War teaches him a good lesson: when you struggle with yourself, you only get crippled. Instead by embracing his counterpart he merged into a form of sentient power: Banner and Hulk in the same moment, with great physical strength but his emotions under control.

This hero teaches us, that our emotions can be not an embarrassment, but a valuable power.

Believing in Yourself Like Thor

The majority of the population has gone through times where they were told that they were unworthy. Sometimes you may be tempted to believe in that and start having a negative self-image about yourself. If that is the case, you can learn some tips from Thor.

This mighty hero had a serious connection to his war hammer. Only those who are deemed worthy by the hammer can wield this powerful artifact. Thor gained a great portion of self-respect when he managed to pick up this weapon. But then a series of events broke him and left him shaken. Bearing the guilt and embarrassment after losing in the Infinity War, Thor degrades into a drunkard.

With the help of his friends and family he regains his self-respect and learns not to rely on estimation of magical artifacts. Thor is again an optimistic and energetic hero, who keeps faith in a better outcome, no matter what. The self-belief he has and never let die attitude can inspire people to have the same qualities. And his ability to befriend everyone on his way can certainly teach us a lesson in our relationships, because often our strength comes from people who stand behind us.

Value Your Humanity Like Captain Marvel

Although all superheroes possess great powers that help them fight evil, Captain Marvel deems that being called a human is the biggest achievement. She believes that her identity as a human being makes her even stronger than her opponents. Indeed, in the world of monsters and mutants having great powers is not a big deal, while keeping your humanity is the most important struggle.

When you can fire lasers from your hands and fly through space unimpeded, the biggest question is “What for?” Do you want power for yourself or to protect the innocent? And if you are going to join the good side, are you sure that you know which side it is? Carol Danvers knows how it is, when your abilities being manipulated in a destructive way.

Another great lesson from Captain Marvel is that we can be superheroes even though we are human. You can do that by being there for people whenever they are facing hardships and other life problems. Most of the time helping people is not a question of power, but of your willingness and desire to help.

Deal With Your Past Like Black Widow

Natasha Romanoff probably has the most awful past that haunted her for a long time and affected her self-esteem. That is also evident in the Age Of Ultron scene when everyone was trying to lift Thor’s hammer. Black Widow didn’t even want to try because that’s how unworthy she thought she was. Even though that it’s true, she later on learned that her past was only a preparation for the present moment.

You can also learn that you aren’t defined by what happened in the past. Rather you should focus on what is happening at that moment and time. On what to do next. Natasha could have collapsed to her depressing memories, but she chose to devote her skills and experience to fighting evil.

In the end, it was her efforts that saved rogue Avenger and her friend Clint Barton from going astray. Black Widow teaches us that, no matter who you were, you can still use your past for the greater good.

The bottom line

Everyone faces moments when they are down and out and don’t have the strength to carry on. In that case, the Avengers can help you learn valuable life lessons about not giving up, believing in yourself and dealing with your emotions. These valuable lessons can be applied to our everyday lives and completely change our mindset.

Leon Collier is a blogger and academic writer from the UK who’s currently working for UK assignment help. He’s a versatile writer who loves to write about everything from pop culture to history, travel to self-development. When not writing, he spends his time blogging, reading books and writing poems.

Advertisement