Recently, I went to watch the new record-breaking movie, The Avengers. As most people know, The Avengers are comprised of all of the most popular Marvel superheroes, including Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawk Eye, The Hulk, and Captain America.[1] Though I have very little interest in comic book superheroes, even I found myself excited by the action and comedy in the movie.

Although I don’t want to give anything away, I want to say that I think the group of superheroes enlisted[2] in The Avengers works because they are all so different. Iron Man is purely based on intelligence and technology —while The Hulk, on the other hand, is pure brawn[3] and muscle. Thor, in my opinion, lacks brains due to naivety[4] and the fact that he is from an entirely different universe. To be honest, both Black Widow and Hawk Eye lack any sort of identity that makes me really like them, but they add to the cohesiveness of the group.[5]

Strangely enough, even though superhero movies are always, and I mean always, the same, I never got bored during The Avengers. The plotline doesn’t stray from the typical action movie—an earth-threatening problem occurs, the superheroes come, run into several obstacles along the way that could perhaps mean that the bad guys (usually aliens or some inhuman force) will prevail, conclude with an awesome action scene at the end, and maybe throw in a little romance—but the mix of eclectic characters in the movie kept the action fresh and exciting.[6]

Because I’m not a superhero fan, I found the beginning sequence of the movie particularly intriguing.[7] By finding out each superhero’s background, I was able to fully understand each hero’s skill set and how they could contribute to the team. However, though I have been told that Captain America is the founding member of The Avengers (at least in the movie), I found his character one of the most bland out of all of them. The only way I felt the directors could keep him interesting was to involve him in testy dialogue with Iron Man, played by the magnificent and charming Robert Downey Jr.[8]

Although much of the movie was comprised of action, I really felt like I could identify with a select few of the characters. I think many of the heroes’ powers are based on their individual flaws. For example, the Hulk is able to evolve into the green monster when he loses control of his temper, Iron Man is able to develop the technology he does because of his self-absorption and need to prove his intelligence to the rest of the world, and Captain America is compassionate, but sometimes his compassion is what functions as his fatal flaw.

As a girl without any sort of superpowers whatsoever, I saw that each superhero’s weakness was extremely relatable. I related to[9] The Hulk in particular. I, too, often find it difficult to control my temper. Although I don’t evolve into a giant green muscular superhuman, but sometimes I feel that way. The green monster is simply a metaphor for everyone who loses control at times. Perhaps other people will relate to other heroes, but I enjoyed the presence of The Hulk most on screen.

Seeing as the ending of the movie was clearly edited to introduce the inevitable sequel to The Avengers, I think I’ll go watch it. Who knows? Maybe superheroes weren’t as boring as I once thought.