Marvel Heroes

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU for short, is a wildly popular franchise for movie goers. With so many superheroes, all unique in their own ways, it's hard not to find one a movie viewer enjoys. And with each of these characters comes their own philosophy.

The big three, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Iron Man (Tony Stark), and Thor, are arguably the most popular superheroes in the MCU with the most character development. Throughout their movies, we learn a lot about each of their philosophies.

Thor is the god of thunder and the wielder of Mjolnir, his powerful hammer that only he can wield as only those who are worthy can pick it up. This whole idea gives into Thor's philosophy of, ‘if I’m worthy, then I can fight any battle confidently.’ Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, said “Whereas everyone else, it’s some bad guy who they’ve gotta take down. It’s a different approach for me, or for Thor. He’s constantly having to battle the greater good and what he should do…” (ew.com) Thor is headstrong in knowing that he's worthy to hold his hammer, so he can fight any battle.

In Captain America Civil War, the audience is given a strong look into Captain America's and Iron Man's philosophies. The debate among the Avengers is whether they should be put in check with their powers or not. Steve's stance on the subject is the group needs to decide for themselves where they should fight and where they shouldn't. Tony's take is the group needs to be under supervision and handled by the government so they don't accidentally cause innocent casualties like they did in the beginning of the Civil War movie.

Their difference in philosophies sparks a clash among the Avengers. It's easy to see where each of them is coming from. Regardless, the Avengers take sides with Steve or Tony and fight. People get hurt and friendships are bruised. This shows that even though people's philosophies may be different, it's important to be civil when debating philosophical standpoints. Another character who didn't take kindly to people getting in the way of his philosophy was Thanos.

Thanos is the most powerful villain the MCU has seen to date. His goal is to wipe out half the universe with the snap of his fingers by using the six infinity stones. He wants to do this because the universe is finite and the population is growing to large, so he's attempting to restore a balance to the universe to keep it alive. His philosophy is to achieve this goal no matter the cost, as it's what the universe needs. He even goes as far as sacrificing his own daughter for his cause.

Another MCU villain, Mysterio, has strong philosophical ties. Plato's philosophy put an emphasis on appearance vs. reality. He argued that everything wasn't always as it seemed. Mysterio would agree with Plato, in a more literal sense. Mysterio came across as a protagonist, fighting powerful beings with his wizard-like powers. In reality, however, Mysterio was putting on a big show by using drones to display these powerful beings and even himself fighting them. Mysterio would argue that if you control appearance, then you control other's realities.

The MCU's heroes' various philosophies can teach us many things, from noble philosophies, taking violent stands on philosophy can be disastrous, and not everything is as it seems. On your next watch of the MCU movies, take note on each character's philosophy and how it could change their world.

Quiz

1. What did Thor hit himself with in the video?

2. What are Steve Roger’s and Tony Stark’s superhero names?

3. Who did Mysterio's philosophy of appearance vs. reality strongly relate to?

Discussion Questions

1. Who would you side with, Steve or Tony?

2. What do you think about Thanos’ goal? Was he truly evil?

Sources:

https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Thanos

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/521854675571631100/

https://www.businessinsider.com/captain-america-civil-war-box-office-2016-5

https://ew.com/article/2011/09/29/the-avengers-dis-assembled-exclusive-cast-portraits-revealed/