Before I presented many Marvel heroes from the Infinity Saga, phases 1-3 of the MCU movies. Avengers Endgame and Spider-Man Homecoming marked the end of Phase 3 for the MCU. With these movies, some of the heroes and villains I showcased before are now gone, allowing new heroes and their own philosophies to lead the way for Phase 4 and onward. A few heroes that will have a large influence for the coming years of the MCU are Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Spider-Man and Vision. And for our showcase, complicated villain, I’ll take a closer look at Loki.
Dr. Steven Strange
Dr. Strange is a 'wizard-like' character who uses the power of the mystic arts to conjure powers and spells. Before he became this wizard, though, he was a talented surgeon who was full of himself. He crashes his fancy sports car and ruins his hands, hence not being able to do surgery. This leads him to looking for healing, leading him to the Ancient One, who teaches him the mystic arts and also how to become a selfless hero. This journey changes Dr. Strange and his philosophy. As a surgeon, his philosophy would be to do whats best for himself and make a lot of money to do whatever he pleases. After his transformation, however, his philosophy becomes to do what's right to protect mankind, even at the cost of his own life. We see this when he uses the time stone to lock himself in a time loop with a celestial being, Dormammu, that wants to destroy the Earth. Dr. Strange used the time stone to keep time in their instance going on a loop, where Strange died over and over again, but didn't allow Dormammu to get to Earth by doing so. He was willing to stay there forever if it meant saving Earth, though Dormammu eventually gives in and leaves Dr. Strange and Earth alone, thanks to Strange's clever thinking and sacrifice play.
T’challa - The Black Panther
T'challa is the king of Wakanda, the most advanced civilization on Earth. He has a very noble, king-like mentality. His philosophy is to be an involved, honest, and protective king to his people. Wakanda was a secret kept from the world, but by the end of the Black Panther movie, T'challa lets the world know of their advanced civilization's presence so Wakanda could help the rest of the world with their technology. This speaks to what kind of king T'challa is. He not only wants to look out for his people, but also the world.
Peter Parker - Spider-Man
The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. This sums up his philosophy pretty well. The spider-man character's philosophy, in his many iterations, is to protect the little guy. Spider-Man is always portrayed as a young, energetic hero that uses his abilities for the good of the city around him. Peter Parker is a noble, white-knight character that is speculated to become the new leader of the Avengers, though this is just fan theory at the moment. If this is the case, however, Peter's philosophy would do well in leading the Avengers. The Avengers always look out to save the world, and even the universe, but with Spider-Man as their front-runner, it could remind the Avengers to look out for the little guy too.
Vision
 |
| Wanda and Vision |
Vision is the creation and brainchild of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner “Hulk”, the mind stone, and Ultron. Vision was killed in Avengers Infinity War when Thanos ripped the mind stone from his head, but we know he is coming back to life for the WandaVision TV show coming out soon.
Vision is all about doing what's right. When asked in Avengers Age of Ultron essentially what side he was on, Vision responded by saying the side of life. He lived and died by this statement. When Thanos was coming for Vision's mind stone, he wanted Wanda to destroy it, thus killing Vision, so that Thanos couldn't get the stone and kill half of the universe. This is what ends up happening, Vision sacrifices himself through Wanda to destroy the stone and kill him. Vision's philosophy was straight forward: he just had to do what was right for the lives around him.
Loki
Loki, the God of Mischief, is possibly the most complicated character when it comes to good vs. evil. His philosophy, however, is quite simple: do what’s best for me.
He got himself into trouble in the first Avengers movie, when Thanos used Loki to attack New York, which didn’t make Loki very many friends on Earth. However, we later learned that Loki was under the influence of the mind stone that was in the scepter he wielded throughout the Avengers movie, being controlled by Thanos. So was Loki really the bad guy?
There are times when Loki still looks out for himself more than others though, such as in Thor Ragnarok when he chooses to act like he doesn't know who Thor is so he doesn't hurt his status on the new planet himself and Thor arrive to. By the end of Ragnarok, however, Loki fights along side Thor, Valkyrie, and Hulk. I believe Loki, in each of these scenarios, was just joining the side that he thought would win or would benefit him the most. Loki seems to change sides time to time, so who knows how they might portray him in his upcoming TV show.
It's important to note how the common people look to these heroes. People look up to them and it makes them want to be something more, to do good for others like these heroes. There are many times in various Marvel movies where a common person attempts to help the hero because they want to be a part of doing good and fighting evil. These heroes inspire people to stand up for themselves in times of trouble.
I believe it's a similar reason to why the Marvel movies are so popular today, even in older adults. People enjoy watching good defeat evil, and watching these heroes do good for so many of those around them inspires some of us to be better in our lives, to look out for the little guy and help those in distress. It's not uncommon for people to think about a situation that could happen to them that they could be the hero in.
These heroes and their philosophies will shape Phase 4 and onward of the MCU. Knowing each of their philosophies now gives us a sneak peak as to what might come for the Avengers in upcoming movies and shows.
Quiz Questions
1. What two movies marked the end for Phase 3 of the MCU?
2. Vision's philosophy was choosing the side of ___?
3. What Civilization is T'challa the king of?
Discussion Questions
Who do you believe will be apart of the next 'big three' in the upcoming phases of the MCU?
How do you like Loki as a character? Is his philosophy one you would agree with?
Comments on other Finals:
https://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2019/12/johann-kaspar-schmidt-max-stirner.html?showComment=1575658181783#c2177992566000775892
https://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2019/12/progress-view-from-morality-vs.html?showComment=1575658506721#c841377806317007008
Relatable Midterm Blogpost:
https://marvelheroesphilosophy.blogspot.com/2019/10/marvel-heroes.html
Sources
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.nocookie.net%2Ftmnt-x-pokemon%2Fimages%2F0%2F02%2FDr_Strange.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20180713141634&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftmnt-x-pokemon.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FDoctor_Strange&docid=KYNg7PLP4A1arM&tbnid=xYs_uQ6k8loHzM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwj0zvvLuY7mAhUxnOAKHU_YCLwQMwi5ASgHMAc..i&w=1864&h=1279&bih=773&biw=1166&q=dr%20strange&ved=0ahUKEwj0zvvLuY7mAhUxnOAKHU_YCLwQMwi5ASgHMAc&iact=mrc&uact=8
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.qz.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F02%2Fblack-panther-e1513870292357.jpg%3Fquality%3D75%26strip%3Dall%26w%3D410%26h%3D231&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fquartzy%2F1196551%2Fblack-panther-is-more-than-a-film-it-carries-the-hopes-of-the-global-african-diaspora%2F&docid=UeAZfJG6FKzMiM&tbnid=3iDWbHLidCUPiM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjR0ZPvuY7mAhXiQd8KHT0DBvAQMwjRASgiMCI..i&w=410&h=231&bih=773&biw=1166&q=black%20panther&ved=0ahUKEwjR0ZPvuY7mAhXiQd8KHT0DBvAQMwjRASgiMCI&iact=mrc&uact=8
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpmcvariety.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F02%2Fspidermanavengersdowney.jpg%3Fw%3D1000%26h%3D563%26crop%3D1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2017%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Ftom-holland-spiderman-homecoming-2-1202017512%2F&docid=oRdWL5Lis3LXqM&tbnid=g95YvQf20j8PqM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiywqjYuo7mAhUHTt8KHY6sA4kQMwisASgpMCk..i&w=1000&h=563&bih=773&biw=1166&q=spiderman%20tom%20holland&ved=0ahUKEwiywqjYuo7mAhUHTt8KHY6sA4kQMwisASgpMCk&iact=mrc&uact=8
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic0.srcdn.com%2Fwordpress%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F04%2FMarvel-Endgame-Vision-Future.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Fvision-marvel-future-avengers-endgame-dead-return-how%2F&docid=pJYEILf1cHBmMM&tbnid=woEbYj1SGTb8hM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwidyZ6Eu47mAhVGdt8KHRbODsIQMwh8KAMwAw..i&w=1400&h=700&bih=773&biw=1166&q=vision%20marvel&ved=0ahUKEwidyZ6Eu47mAhVGdt8KHRbODsIQMwh8KAMwAw&iact=mrc&uact=8
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Finsidethemagic-119e2.kxcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F05%2Fdisney-confirms-tom-hiddleston-in-loki-tv-series-1159835-1280x0-800x400.jpeg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Finsidethemagic.net%2F2019%2F06%2Fmarvel-first-look-loki-series-disney-ba1%2F&docid=VsXxZSH1oVUmAM&tbnid=wRtgZapQYJZquM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjh5qDeu47mAhUIy1kKHXWbDxoQMwh7KAMwAw..i&w=800&h=400&bih=773&biw=1166&q=loki&ved=0ahUKEwjh5qDeu47mAhUIy1kKHXWbDxoQMwh7KAMwAw&iact=mrc&uact=8
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.collider.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F06%2Firon-man-2-peter-parker-spider-man-slice-600x200.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcollider.com%2Firon-man-2-spider-man-peter-parker-fan-theory%2F&docid=tyP8WUIh8dv5gM&tbnid=Z2uDG9OpDRA7yM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjEgJrK2qHmAhXPtVkKHblhC_YQMwhVKAcwBw..i&w=600&h=200&bih=812&biw=1149&q=little%20kid%20iron%20man&ved=0ahUKEwjEgJrK2qHmAhXPtVkKHblhC_YQMwhVKAcwBw&iact=mrc&uact=8
Do these heroes inspire more heroic conduct on the parts of normally-endowed humans, do you think? Or are their powers so superlative that we mere mortals find them impossible to relate to, or emulate? Are any of them more relate-able and, thus, more useful as role models?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think so many young people, of your generation and of previous ones, are drawn to these stories? Is this something people should expect to outgrow? Or is it sad that superheroes eventually seem to become irrelevant to people's actual lives?
DQ: How do you like Loki as a character? Is his philosophy one you would agree with?
ReplyDeleteI personally like Loki, I think he is misunderstood. I enjoyed his stories in Norse mythology and enjoyed his character in the movies. Ultimately, people's perception of good and bad are complete subjective. Some people think Thanos did the right thing and others hate the avengers for the amount of destruction they cause. We often attribute attention getting, heroic acts with the good guys, but Loki is more patient and cunning. He waits, blends in, observes, makes himself useful, becomes some-what trusted. When the situation and timing is right, he does "the right thing" or helps the heroes in a way that only he can, because he is on the inside. I think that is a good philosophy to follow.
Section 13