Seeing Through The Eyes of a Child, Part II: "Stumbling In The Dark..."

       As we continue this new series on Seeing Through the Eyes of a Child, we move onto a very different story.  We just might see some overlap in the concept, which was also relevant to the latest Monster-Verse movie, of imperfect parents and their forgiving children (see last post here).  In order to find a different perspective on the matter of seeing stories of forgiveness and redemption through the eyes of a child, we turn now to the X-Men (more on the series here and here).  The concept of the perspective of children and their relationships to their parents, teachers or mentors has often been of great relevance to the X-Men stories, as it centers around a team that is grown out of a school.  Given that this summer's Dark Phoenix is the direct follow-up to 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, it is interesting to consider how it continues on some of it's themes and concepts.

Spoilers Ahead for X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Dark Phoenix (2019)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016):
The opening monologue in Apocalypse featured Charles Xavier asserting that mutants are "children, stumbling in the dark, searching for guidance."  This is a stark contrast to the words that closed that same movie, as Mystique tells them that, because they are no longer children, all the lessons they have learned before don't matter now.  Whereas Charles's opening words imply that the guidance children receive determine what they will become in the future, Mystique's closing words imply the opposite, that the lessons given to children have no relevance to their adult life.  The staggeringly nonsensical incoherence of these two statements seems to be meant to indicate a clever contrast, but in fact seems rather to point toward the confusion that has always plagued the X-Men movies.  It is a confusion about knowing they have something relevant and important that they want to say about maturity and finding ones place in a world that is still marred by various forms of bigotry, but never quite being certain what it is they want to say.  At times, they have been clear about their willingness and even desire to show that even Xavier loses his way sometimes.  Yet, he is still their hero and their mentor.  Mystique is usually the reluctant antihero, torn between Xavier and Eric.  Her words seem to reflect a determination flowing more out of a fearful desperation than any kind of maturity or wisdom.  Still, the question of whether Xavier's conviction is mistaken, regarding the nature of the guidance given to children and mutants alike, seems left unanswered.  The opening monologue clearly implied that En Sabah Nur himself was a child who needed proper guidance.  The guidance Charles gives to the children at his school is clearly meant to protect them from a similar fate, which is of course meant to be a subtle foreshadowing of the fact that that movie would set the stage for its sequel, in which one of his children becomes a feared villain.

Those opening words had set up especially well for the introduction of the new, young mutants proposed as the future X-Men, who are the "children, stumbling in the dark, searching for guidance."  This plays out over roughly the first half of the movie, in which four different mentor figures taking a "child" (young mutant) under their wings were shown in comparison and contrast to one another.  Starting with the most unique, we see Erik trying to living a normal, peaceful life with his wife and daughter.  His daughter is a sign of his hope of redemption, the sign of the possibility of a new beginning.  That is part of the beauty of the birth of every child!  This sign of hope is taken from him.  Before long, however, Peter (Quicksilver) re-enters the story simply as Erik's long lost son, unbeknownst to Erik, looking for his father.  Meanwhile, the rest of the new young mutants introduced to be the new X-Men, each receive a different mentor.  Mystique finds Kurt Wagner, A.K.A. Nightcrawler (interesting in light of the fact that she is his mother in the comics).  Young Scott Summers (Cyclops) comes under the mentorship of Xavier (and Hank McCoy), alongside Jean Grey who has been benefiting from this mentorship for some time.  Finally, it is striking that En Sabah Nur (who believes himself to be a/the god and calls all mutants his children) begins gathering his four horseman, by first encountering a child (another teenage mutant): Storm.  The contrast between the different types of guidance given to these four "children" is an important feature of the first part of the story.  En Sabah Nur seeks to show them that the "systems" that he claims "man has created" are holding them back from their full potential and seeks to liberate them, simply by expanding the reach of their powers.  Meanwhile Xavier and McCoy have been trying to teach Scott and Jean and the rest of the students to control their powers, as they see how the children are in fear of that which they cannot control.  And the greater the power, it seems, the greater the fear of losing control.  Finally, Mystique is ever the one to stand in between the hero and the villain.  After very reluctantly embracing a process of redemption in the previous X-Men: Days of Future Past, she is now living with the fact that countless young mutants view her as a hero.  Her part in Apocalypse becomes about her gradually beginning to embrace the consequences and choose to be a role model and mentor to the young.  But, the guidance she gives them is primarily about not seeking to control the powers they fear, but letting them loose in battle, fighting for good.  She has already left behind the relentless drive toward vengeance, retaliation and elimination of threats which had previously made her a villain and is finally able to persuade Erik to do the same when he is at his lowest point and bringing about the greatest destruction.  So, by the end of the movie, the reluctant antihero is willing to be, not only a hero, but even a mentor to the young who will be the heroes of the future.  But, does her theory that the lessons of our youth are irrelevant and we should simply to stop seeking to control ourselves hold true?

Dark Phoenix (2019):
Clearly, when one of these new, young X-Men acquires even greater powers than she could ever control, driving her to become a greatly feared villain (Dark Phoenix), Mystique is not made out to be the mentor who got it wrong, but the hero who is widely revered from beginning to end.  I appreciate both the complexity and nuance given to her character over this more recent series of movies, as well as this heroic ending to her redemptive arc. While Xavier and McCoy's attempts to help the young find control seems to work for Scott, for example, Jean is shown to be a more difficult case, with whom Xavier went to questionable extremes.  From the beginning, the fact that Xavier can't fix everything that is broken is foreshadowed.  But, is also established from the beginning that his goal was never to control her, but to give her the tools to put her in control: "It's your gift.  What you do with it is up to you."  When it is revealed that he had, not only lied to her to protect her from the painful truth about her father, but also manipulated her mind in certain ways to attempt to help her acquire control.  This all is shown to create even greater obstacles to control, when her powers are amplified beyond measure by the cosmic force known as "the phoenix."  This all goes from bad to worse when her amplified powers enable her to learn that her father is alive, prompting her to go meet him and learn the truth, at a point when she is both the most vulnerable and the most overwhelmed by a power beyond her control.  When this all progresses into a violent confrontation, in which Jean loses control and takes Mystique's life, many reach the conclusion that Xavier's methods of guidance are a greater danger than a help.  By the end, it is Xavier's persistent determination to help Jean that allows her to see him as the contrast to her father.  While her father could not handle her and wasn't willing to try (a task which became even more daunting for him after she accidentally killed his wife, her mother), Xavier became the new father-figure who took her in and was unwilling to give up on her.  He became the one who relentlessly pursues her, unwilling to give up hope on her.

Strikingly, she is able to see this most fully when she views him through the eyes of a child.  Just as the story began with a glimpse of Jean's childhood, so the turning point is when they retreat together into Xavier's mind where she is able to view him again from the eyes of a child and to forgive him.  This is striking in light of the fact that, in some ways, Dark Phoenix gives us a bit more perspective than previous X-Men movies on the role of the children in the school.  While we don't necessarily get to know any of the younger children as unique characters, a few key scenes allow us to glimpse the events of the story through the eyes of childlike wonder and fear.  We see the wonder in the eyes of children as they return from rescuing the astronauts.  In this brief moment, we glimpse how crucial the X-Men are to Xavier's plan to guide the children.  He is clear and intentional in allowing them to be an inspiration to them, as Mystique reluctantly learned to be in Apocalypse.  Later, however, after the death of Mystique and the rumors spreading among the children that Jean had killed her, we see the fear in the eyes of children as they encounter the painful realities of what battle consists of and of the dangers that can result when one as powerful as Jean does lose control.  Thankfully, that fear is met with inspiration, as Scott insists they will not give up on bringing Jean home.  This is a moment in which we see the innocence of children being threatened, but also how the right inspiration in those key moments can bring about greater maturity and readiness to face life's worst challenges.    

It is good that this follow-up to Apocalypse continues to explore the question of what is the right kind of guidance that the young need.  It is shown that the wrong kind of grasping at control can be problematic, as many parents who have futilely sought to protect their children from all pain and suffering may have learned.  It is also shown that our mentors are never perfect.  They make mistakes.  Sometimes, they make big mistakes and we suffer even more as a consequence.  But, it also shows that the suffering we experience is still not necessarily entirely the parent's fault.  And when the parent or mentor has the kind of humility Xavier shows, to be able to acknowledge their fault and to continue seeking to help the child, whatever it takes, we begin to see that redemption is possible for both the parent and the child alike.

Children do need guidance.  And they do need help learning self-control, not simply to be taught to let go of all control.  It is a subtle and clever lie of the Enemy, which is prevalent in our culture today, to suggest that all efforts of a mentor to seek to help the young learn self-control are efforts to control the young.  This could not be further from the truth.  The goal is not to control youth, but to give them the guidance they need to be in control themselves.  This is not an easy process and we can make mistakes along the way.  Still, with humility and persistence, a good mentor or parent can show the young the relentless pursuit of the Father's Merciful Love.  And in the process, they too can see that same Merciful Love through the eyes of a child.

Part III>>>

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Seeing Through The Eyes of a Child, Part I: Wonders, Horrors & Monsters

       This year is offering us a number of reasons to revisit the theme of "Seeing Through the Eyes of a Child."  We explored this previously, while considering Stranger Things (Season One), especially in light of how both fear and wonder are seen acutely in the eyes of a child, as well as the relationships of children to their parents and/or mentors.  We continued the topic at the beginning of this year, as we considered Glass, the latest from M. Night Shyamalan, who has done wonders with this theme a number of times over the years.  This summer, I will offer another multi-part series on this topic, looking at some current or more recent examples.  Unlike the last couple of series, the entries will not all be weekly.  Part II will come within the week, while Parts III and IV might be a bit more spread out.

Spoilers Ahead for Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

       For this first entry, we will briefly take note of how the themes of fear and wonder through the eyes of a child and of children's relationship to their parents is seen in the recent Godzilla movies in Legendary Entertainment's new Monster-Verse.

Godzilla (2014):

       While the imagery might have been under-utilized, the importance of children and their fathers was obviously intentionally being evoked from the beginning of the movie.  The parallel drawn between the relationship between Joe and young Ford and that between adult Ford and his son Sam is not subtle, even down to the banners both sons make for their fathers.   Of course, we see the fear in young Ford's eyes at seeing the disaster taking place while he was still a child, as we will later see wonder in his son's eyes in seeing a "dinosaur" on the news.  Even more significantly, as a son, we see the simplicity with which Ford desires his father's time and attention.  This extends into his adulthood, as his father's grief and determine to uncover the truth behind his wife's death, clearly resulted in his relationship with Ford being even more strained.  While Ford is clearly devoted to his own family as an adult, when he receives news of his father's arrest, he responds with a kind of bitterness and resentment.  As everything unfolds with his father's arrest and the awakening of the monsters, we see how Ford is torn between his role as a son and as a father.  He desires to get back home to be with his family, yet his concern for his father initially keeps him away.  On some level, it seems as if Ford is still the boy who desires the time and attention of his father, even though it is not without bitterness and resentment.  As the situation with the monsters continues to unfold, we see him somewhat imitating the behavior of his own father, as he continually puts off his reunion with his family.  We even see him taking time to care for a strange child on a train, attending to his fear and to his safety.  This sequence emphasizes both his protective, fatherly instincts and also his distance from his own family.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019):

       The childlike perspective in relation to both parents is a bit more thoroughly explored in the sequel through Madi, the young teenage daughter of both Emma and Mark.  We meet this family in grief, after losing a child in connection with the disasters of the first movie and see how both parents have dealt with it in different, but equally unhealthy ways.  We see how Madi is torn between her parents and concerned about both.  Very early on, we see her reaching out to her dad in an email, including beginning to express her concern about her mother.  While Emma does not know the content of the email, the fact that Madi is writing it already becomes a source of tension and conflict.  All along, we see her wanting to go to her father, while also not wanting to abandon her mother.

Man, rough childhood!  First, she has the demigorgon to face,
then, a whole "MosterVerse"?!
What? Same actress, different character?  Oh. Never mind.

Meanwhile, it is notable that we see more wonder than fear in Madi.  The wonder comes across clearly at the birth of Mothra, and carries her throughout the film, even when fear enters in, even until the arrival of Godzilla in Boston.  This is indeed one of the stories which shows the child as the one who seems to have the most healthy balance of the two.  The sequence which shows her on the catwalk, as her father calls her to himself and her mother calls her back, is especially striking.  That catwalk can be seen as a kind of spectrum between wonder and fear, in which she is pulled in both directions, but ultimately moves daringly toward wonder.  At one end, her mother stands at the extreme end of wonder, as she is so enamored with the idea that the "titans" (monsters) might be the key to the earth's salvation, that she is recklessly willing to throw away countless human lives.  Among other things, she lacks the needed fear to understand the incredible power that she is unleashing, which Mark reminds her she "can't control."  Yet, her reply to Mark shows how he stands on the opposite extreme of fear, as she tells him he "can't run away from" everything.  Meanwhile, as Madi is torn between the two, she has just enough fear at watching everything come undone to be able to recognize when her mother has lost touch with reality and unleashed havoc on the world.  The point is not very subtle: Emma just might be the "real monster."  Meanwhile, as she sees everything spin out of control, Emma is finally able to regain some of her reason and concoct a plan that Madi overhears and is daring enough to put into action.  Meanwhile, the surprising revelation of Mothra's role as "Queen of the Monsters," who has a symbiotic relationship with Godzilla seems to be instrumental in reawakening a bit of wonder in Mark, which enables him to play his own part in working toward the resolution.

The image this all leaves us with with is rather striking.  The drama unfolds in such a way as to awaken enough fear in Emma and enough wonder in Mark to move them both toward the center, to move them back toward their child.  The more their view of reality and willingness to engage the whole of reality, rather than simply the extreme which they have chosen in dealing with their grief, matures and evolves, the more they are drawn together once more.  Fear and wonder are both important lenses which we need, in order to properly view different aspects of reality.  Both come naturally to children.  As we learn to process and deal with different traumas and trials, we might run to the extreme of one or the other.  These extremes might become what divide us, but when we are able to move back toward a more complete view of reality, walls are torn down, bridges are built and we can move back toward one another.  This husband and wife dealing with the loss of their son had been pulled apart by their respective retreats into fear and wonder.  Between them, their child stood, hoping for the sanity and wellness of her parents, but also for the reunion of her family.  We all have our own ways of coping with the painful parts of reality and can retreat into our own preferred perspective on reality.  These safe retreats from reality in its fullness can isolate and divide us from one another.  The child's natural desire for unity, peace and harmony - for family - becomes a sign of the fact that it is the truth that unites us.                   

Part II>>>

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Reconciliation is the Endgame, Part IV: Mercy, Healing and Making Our Lives a Gift

     At last, we come to the discussion of the "endgame" of this saga.  The reconciliation of Tony and Steve is admittedly only part of the story, in this final, desperate attempt at victory over Thanos and at bringing back all of those who were lost.  But, it is a very important part.  Thankfully, in the telling of the story, great care and precision was put into all that had gone before and led up to this reconciliation of characters.  In fact, many have commented that more care has clearly gone into the conclusion or continuation of character arcs than the realism of plot points - depending on whether you hold the opinion that there is a version of time travel that can be considered "realistic."  Regardless, some of us don't expect a high level of technical realism from stories derived from comic books, but appreciate the opportunity for real depth and value in the form of the journey of the characters and the themes that can be drawn out through that journey.  So, overall, I was quite pleased.  Now, let's dive into this final phase. 

MAJOR SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame ahead.
Seriously, there will be some pretty thorough
summarizing, if you keep reading...

     The pain of loss and defeat overshadows the story from the very beginning and it isn't long before we see how this is further aggravated by the pain of division between these two old friends.  We immediately hear the difference between Tony's messiah complex and Steve's determination to give everything in order to simply do what they can.  When Steve is helping Tony off of the ship, after it was carried back to Earth by Carol Danvers, we hear Tony lamenting: "I lost."  The simplicity of Steve's response is perfectly on point: "Tony, WE lost."   But, naturally, this doesn't sit well with Tony who throws Steve's own words, from the conflict with Ultron, back in his face.  When Tony had insisted that his creation of Ultron was meant to protect them from what was coming (whose name they now know is Thanos), Steve had responded that they would face it together and if they lost, they would "do that together too."  The utter despair Tony is experiencing leads him to mock Steve's commitment to freedom and to insist that he has "no trust" in Steve, because he had just wanted to keep the team together for that moment... the moment arrived and Steve was not around.  Of course, Steve had given him the phone.  Bruce told him to use it.  It was Tony who couldn't bring himself to call.  Steve doesn't necessarily know that, of course.  But, he knows that he didn't want any of this either.  He knows that Tony is speaking out of his pain, rather than out of his reason.  And it seems, he is tired of fighting.  He stops firing back.  This is the time for them to pull together.  If Tony isn't willing, at the very least, Steve knows it will accomplish nothing to fight back.  Yet, regardless of whether their reunion is yet a reconciliation, it makes little difference at this stage.  The Avengers' only chance at finding and stopping Thanos yields nothing that is able to change what has been done, because he has already destroyed the Infinity Stones.  All it brings them is an opportunity for Thor to kill him in act of fruitless vengeance.       

     When the story jumps forward five years, both Steve and Tony are in very different places from their past heroics.  In fact, all of the original Avengers are in very different places, leading to a striking re-gathering sequence, which resembles the way they were originally gathered, but instead of some supervising organization reaching out to gather them, we see them reach out to one another as friends.  Steve is now devoting himself to helping people move forward from the tragedy of loss, after Thanos's snap.  His commitment to helping others in whatever way he can is fitting for the man who "knows the value of strength... and he knows compassion."  The support group setting almost seems like an homage to Sam, who was doing a similar kind of work when Steve first met him.  Meanwhile, he goes to visit Natasha, who is now leading a very different team of Avengers, just as Scott Lang returns from the Quantum Realm.

     Meanwhile, Tony had already made clear that his belief was that "we fight... so that we can end the fight and go home."  So, he and Pepper have made a home for themselves, now that there is nothing more that they can do.  The fight has ended.  They just lost.  But, it is not just him and Pepper.  They have a daughter... a daughter that they might possibly no longer have if they were to go back in time and change all that has taken place (again, depending on the actual nature of time travel).  This sets us up well to understand how badly Tony doesn't want to go along with Steve, Natasha, and Scott's plan to use the Quantum Realm to travel back in time (because time works differently down there, of course).  Naturally, Tony is the only one who is able to crack the whole time travel thing, and Pepper is able to convince him that he will never truly "be able to rest" until he knows whether he could possibly help the many who weren't as fortunate as they were.  So, under the condition that they try to get back what was lost, but "keep what we've found," Tony returns to the Avengers complex to help them.  And he brings Steve's shield with him, in order to finally return it to him, after the conclusion of Civil War.

     This is when the real reconciliation takes place, in as moving and emotional of a way as Tony's ego will allow.  "Turn's out resentment is corrosive.  I hate it."  And this has always been where Tony's strength lies.  His ego gets him in trouble.  But, he is willing to change.  He is willing to hate and turn from that - even within his own actions - which stands in the way of the good that must be done.  Meanwhile, Steve's strength is shown forth as well, in his ability to show mercy and to help a friend who is hurting to have a second chance.  Not unlike he showed Bucky that his actions under brainwashing were not him and helped him to move beyond the pain of guilt and shame, so also he does not hold it against Tony that he essentially blamed the whole defeat by Thanos on him.  Even after everything, he does not fail to see the good in Tony, to believe in that good and to give Tony the freedom to choose to be the best version of himself.  Elsewhere in the story, we will see even more striking examples of mercy, especially between Banner and Thor, Gamora and Nebula(s), and most especially, Natasha and Barton.

     But, the trust Steve places in Tony comes across boldly when their "time heist" (to acquire the Infinity Stones from the past) takes the two of them on a detour together.  As Tony is devising the plan, he asks Steve, "You trust me?"  And with a simplicity that is incredibly meaningful, Steve only replies, "I do."  So, these two go on a journey together into the past, which ends up being quite meaningful for them both.  In other parts of the larger story, we learned that the Quantum Realm has some healing capacity.  Strikingly, then, this ends up being a journey of healing.  The "father-wound" has always been important to the healing process connected to Tony's ongoing conversion.  Thus, this little detour enables him to have a conversation with his father, to witness the love and care that his father had for him before he was even born and speak to him words that he hadn't the chance to say.  Meanwhile, Steve is given a brief glimpse in person of the woman he left behind when he went into the ice all those decades ago: now Director Peggy Carter.  The reason Steve was only "at home" fighting alongside his fellow soldiers was because of all that he left behind.  Peggy stands for more than a lost love.  She stands for the fact that Steve is a man out of time, who has never quite been able to find his home in the time in which he awoke from the ice.

     Finally, one more leg of the "time heist" needs to be discussed (not that the others aren't important and meaningful; I'm just trying to stay on the topic of Steve and Tony's story).  Not unlike Tony's healing encounter with his father, Thor is given one with his mother.  This whole time, Thor has been undergoing a (relatively) redemptive story arc, as Banner and Rocket had to pull him out of a very low and dark place.  Without going into too much detail about the ups, downs, ins, outs, good, bad and ugly of his character arc, the dramatic conclusion of that crucial conversation with his mother is when he successfully calls Mjolnir (his hammer) back to his hand.  It had previously been destroyed (but they are in the past, before it was destroyed), and it can only be wielded by one who is deemed "worthy."  So, his response to the hammer coming to him signifies the final piece of the puzzle in reviving his spirits: "I am still worthy."  But, this sets the stage for the moment in the final battle against Thanos (who followed them back to their time from another leg in the "time heist") when the hammer flies into the hand of... drum roll, please... Steve Rogers.  Besides that, from a sheer entertainment standpoint, this was the single most exciting moment in this or possibly any Marvel movie, it is a fitting moment for the final stage of Steve's story.  Steve is the quintessential "good man," the "weak man" who knows "the value of strength... and he knows compassion."  It can be said that the moments when Thor has faltered are moments when he had forgotten the value of strength, weakness, and compassion.  In these moments, he is reckless and arrogant, falling back on his brute strength of will and he is utterly crushed by his defeat and failure to stop Thanos by his own strength.  Steve knows the value of the strength entrusted to him and continually uses it to help others, even when he must come to terms with his weakness and inability to accomplish every victory.  He is indeed worthy (which may be further demonstrated by the fact that he may have found this out back in their playful competition just before Ultron showed up, but not allowed it to be a spectacle for showing off).  It is nice to see Mjolnir confirm this fact before his story closes.  And since part of his strength and compassion in seeking to help others was always found in leading others and helping to draw the strength out of them, it is fitting that he be the one to welcome all of the fallen back (because they successfully used the Infinity Stones to bring back all of those that Thanos snapped away) and call them together with the iconic "Avengers, assemble!"  Of course, this dramatic return of their fallen friends only happens after we see the central three Avengers (Steve, Tony, and Thor) face Thanos alone, standing together again.  In the dialogue within this standoff, we again see how Steve offers a striking contrast to Thanos.  Not only do his strong moral convictions hold to genuine truth and goodness, unlike the strong moral convictions of Thanos, but he is also quintessentially the one who has not forgotten what was lost.  This man out of time's pining for the world that once was, and perhaps some of the values lost with it, stand in bold contrast to Thanos's newly stated belief that those who remember "what was" will forever be an obstacle to "what can be." 

     Meanwhile, Tony's character can be defined by the fact his initial conversion caused him to finally start taking responsibility, until he took so much of it on himself that he truly believed it was his job to save the world.  And he is indeed willing to "make the sacrifice play" in order to do it.  In the midst of the raging and epic battle with all of the resurrected heroes fighting together as one against Thanos's forces, it is Tony who finally ends it.  Using his nano-tech gauntlet to move the stones from Thanos's hand (just as Thanos finally got a hold of it) into his own, he bears the power of the stones in order to use them to snap Thanos and his forces out of existence.  {Again, the believability of this depends on whether we accept their understanding of how time travel works; but like I said, I support their decision to prioritize character-arcs over the kind of realism that would satisfy everyone.}  The power of the stones takes his life and the sadness of loss is cushioned by the sense that he finally fulfilled the mission for which he always believed he was destined.  Thus, it is as fitting as it is emotional when Pepper tells him, "You can rest now."  Far from wasting his life, Tony made of his life a gift given away.  And of course, we see another beautiful image of making one's life a gift given away in Natasha and in the competition to sacrifice themselves between her and Barton.             

     Steve's finale is interesting in a very different way.  After being sent into the past to put all the stones back in the exact place and moment it was taken, he makes the choice to remain behind in the past and choose to live a quiet, simple life, at least part of which is clearly with Peggy.  It seems like they finally had the chance to spend their lives together.  Still, they left just enough of this unknown to us for us to be unsure of whether it actually works, without undoing too many essential things (again, depending on one's understanding of time travel).  Many debate whether this is believable for Steve, who had always remained committed to the apparent belief that the fight required constant vigilance.  But, I would argue that the reason why I can believe Steve might finally decide to hang up the shield is found, not only in the scene in which he lays eyes on Peggy again, but also in the scene in which the myriad of other heroes are coming out of the portals and he calls them to assemble.  Steve has never believed this fight was just his alone.  He has never believed it was his job alone to save the world.  Personally, I don't have a hard time imagining him choosing to entrust their legacy to this vast army of heroes now populating the planet and beyond.

     Of course, the final legacy to be entrusted is the shield itself (and the title of Captain America that comes with it).  There has been a sort of competitive relationship between his two best friends, Sam and Bucky.  In the comics, of course, both have taken up the shield and the title at different times.  One of the biggest questions going into this conclusion of Steve's story has always been, will one of them become the new Captain America and if so, which one?  In terms of abilities, Bucky is the obvious choice, as he has similar scientific enhancements which give him similar physical advantages to those Steve had after the super soldier serum.  By comparison, Sam is just a regular guy.  And this is why he is the perfect successor.  Whether or not they choose to give him some kind of physical enhancements later on, his real strength is found simply in his goodness and uprightness of character.  One can imagine Erskine easily saying the same words he said to Steve, as Sam takes up the shield: "Always remain who you are, not a perfect soldier, but a good man."

     And this is the perfect note to end on.  As we walk out of the theater (literally or figuratively) and return to reality, we recall that, like Sam, we don't have superpowers.  But, the call still speaks to us to remain consistent in living out the deepest truth of who we are... as good men and women.  This is so much more than just being a nice guy/girl. The difference between a "good man" and a "nice guy" is the maturity of one who lives his life by wisdom, striving to conform his life to the truth, to authentic goodness.  The good man or woman holds themselves, not only to firm moral convictions, but to a firm conviction to the truth, to authentic goodness.  Sometimes this means that, like Tony, we have to be willing to change.  With this choice, the process of ongoing conversion can move forward.  And as Christians, we know that this conversion is made truly possible by the knowledge that our Father has loved us, even since before we were born.  This love of the Father heals the wounds in our hearts. And the knowledge that His Son has shown us mercy and given His life for us enables us even to show mercy to others and to ultimately choose to make our lives a gift given for others.               

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Reconciliation is the Endgame, Part III: Freedom and Responsibility In Desperate Times

       We have one final part of the story to consider before discussing the final reunion between Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Tony Stark (Iron Man) in Avengers: Endgame.  We have seen how the beginnings of their stories established them as images of integrity and ongoing conversion, respectively and how challenging the initial process of building trust was when the Avengers were first formed.  Next, we saw Tony's ongoing conversion, centered around taking responsibility for his actions and ultimately for the safety of the world, evolving into a kind of messiah complex, as the trauma of the battle continued to weigh heavy upon him with a kind of obsessive fear of the enemy's return.  Meanwhile, Steve remained fixed in his determination to fight for the good of every soul he could, amidst an increasingly broken and corrupt world, especially that of his old childhood friend, who has been brainwashed and turned into a villain.  Finally, the tension between these two perspectives was finally brought to a boiling point by the Sokovia Accords, which would split the Avengers into Tony's "legal" Avengers (who are under the thumb of the United Nations) and Steve's "secret" Avengers (who are essentially in hiding, on the run from their old friends, who would be responsible for their arrest and capture).

       In the conflict over the accords, a number of interesting characters, new and old, were torn between their allegiances to Steve and Tony and the ideals for which they stand.  Others, however, do not seem torn, but remain quite decidedly on one side or the other, such as Sam, who is ever-faithful to Steve.  Somewhat similarly, that phase of the story ended with Tony and his old friend Rhodey together again, with few others still standing with them.  This is interesting because Rhodey has always been the one with strong moral convictions, calling Tony to more than his earlier selfishness.  In this way, he somewhat resembles Steve, but his ideologies seem to be quite different.  Had Steve been around earlier in Tony's story when the government was attempting to require Tony to turn in his Iron Man suit, rather than taking the responsibility of global protection upon himself, it is hard to say whether a younger Steve would have stood beside Rhodey in attempting to persuade Tony to accept this kind of direction.  We could also wonder, however, whether Rhodey's unshaken loyalty to his country and otherwise established government would have been at all shaken had he been with Steve during the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and seen the depth and the impact of that corruption more closely.  Regardless, not only does Rhodey's military background prompt him to see the good sense in following orders from the government, so also does his friendship with Tony through the years better situate him to see that this is a part of his ongoing conversion, as he tries to finally take the kind of responsibility that Rhodey wanted him to take years ago.  Meanwhile, both Steve and Tony also each recruit a new hero to side with them, both of whom seem rather focused on the honor of being recruited by an Avenger and simply seeking to not let down the one who invited them into this fight (providing a good deal of comic relief in the process).  After siding with Steve, Scott Lang will opt for house arrest, because all he really wants to do is be a good father, not unlike Barton who chooses the same path and thus will be absent from the next part of the story. Meanwhile, Tony's new recruit becomes his new protege.   

• Tony Tries to Rebuild (Spider-Man: Homecoming):  Peter Parker "comes home" after accepting the invitation from Tony to fight alongside them in attempting to stop Steve from escaping Germany.  While Tony comes across as somewhat distant and standoffish, Parker is clearly an important part of his plan, as he tries desperately to rebuild the Avengers, in order to be able to keep the planet safe from the inevitable return of the intergalactic foe who previously sent Loki to Earth.  Meanwhile, Parker remains as focused as he was during the fight in Germany on his need to "impress Mr. Stark."  Still, as he enjoys the prestige of thinking he is an Avenger, he resents being sidelined and treated like a child, as he is still in high school.  The irony of this young orphan looking to Tony for a kind of fatherly affirmation of his strength and abilities is quite intriguing.  This tension between the mentor and the protege culminates in a moving scene in which Tony comes personally to aide him when he is in over his head.  Parker tells him if he cared he would be there (because Tony had previously only sent a drone-suit), only to have the suit open and Tony step out, revealing his presence, without missing a beat in his disciplinary tirade.  It is in this moment when the importance of this relationship becomes more clear, as Peter tells him, "I just wanted to be like you," and Tony unhesitatingly replies, "And I wanted you to be better."  Since the moment that Parker explained his motivation to Tony, when he was first recruited to help them face off against the "Secret Avengers," it has been clear just how much Parker is a reflection of Tony.  His understanding of responsibility in the face of these incredible abilities he now has is understandably that of a scared child, who has already seen a great deal of evil and is perhaps vulnerable to a touch of the same messiah complex.  These similarities seem to prompt a kind of affection in Tony that motivates him to take young Parker under his wing, thus he gives him a suit, bearing some similar abilities as his own.  But, he also clearly wants him to be free of that which plagues him, namely the narcissistic obsession with saving the world, thus he begins to desire to help this young hero learn humility.  This prompts him to take the suit back for a time: "If you're nothing without the suit, you shouldn't have it."  When he says this line, we are prompted to wonder if he has ever had the same thought about himself.  Parker does indeed learn a lesson of humility, but it seems as if Tony's plan backfired a bit, as this lesson prompts him to turn down the offer to become an "official" Avenger, in favor of being a "friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man," just at the moment that Tony was about to introduce him to the general public in a press conference.  Meanwhile, Steve only shows up in a few cameo videos shown at Parker's school, as a role model for the youth.  This is meant to be doubly ironic, both because he is now a criminal in the public's eye and because Parker has personally gone toe to toe with him.  Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether the experience of helping a younger hero learn a lesson he himself desperately needs will benefit Tony.                  

• Still on Separate Worlds (Avengers: Infinity War):  The arrival of that long-feared enemy who previously sent Loki to Earth begins with a scene that features brothers reconciled, as Thanos attacks and slaughters those aboard the refugee ship containing the survivors of Thor and Loki's home world of Asgard.  Just before Loki gives his life in a desperate attempt to kill Thanos, he looks to his brother and identifies himself once more as the son of their father, after a long journey of relative redemption and reconciliation.  Meanwhile, when the announcement of Thanos's imminent arrival reaches Earth, Tony immediately realizes that what he has most feared is finally at their doorstep.  Still, despite Bruce's urging to lay aside their differences for the sake of the planet, Tony can't bring himself to use the phone that Steve gave him to call his old friend for assistance.  At the moment that he is finally actually considering it, a scout ship of Thanos arrives, seeking the Time Stone (of which Dr. Stephen Strange, who is their host at the present moment, is the guardian).  This initial conflict sends Tony on a journey beyond Earth with his young protege, Parker (who he attempted to keep out of this interstellar part of the battle) and the one ego possibly capable of rivaling his own, Strange.  So, this climactic battle begins with Steve and Tony fighting the same battle, but literally on different worlds.  Back on Earth, Steve is working with the remaining Avengers to devise a plan to protect both the Mind Stone and Vision, of whom the stone is a part.  Although Vision is certain the solution is to destroy the stone, and himself with it, Steve is determined to find another way simply because they shouldn't take an innocent life, even in order to save countless lives throughout the universe.  Even in the most desperate situation, Steve is determined to do what he believes they ought to do.  This was the understanding of freedom Steve has always been fighting for, only increasingly so as the journey continued - the freedom to do what they ought.  Tony was fighting for a kind of freedom as well in the conflict over the accords, but in a more pragmatic sense.  He desperately sought to "keep (Steve) from tearing the Avengers apart," with an eye toward "what's coming."  Reading the current political climate in response to the catastrophic damage left behind, including innocent lives, by their many battles, Tony saw the acceptance of this government oversight as the only way to hold the team together to keep fighting the battles at all.  He has outgrown the immature selfishness of his earlier days, which caused him to seek the freedom to do whatever he wanted, but is now fixated on the freedom to do what he believes they must.  The essential difference between the freedom to do what we ought and the freedom to do what we must, is simply that the latter is more vulnerable to allowing its judgment to be clouded by fear, while the former is guided by a firmly fixed moral standard.  Meanwhile, the impact of the accords effectively comes to an end, as Steve and his "secret" Avengers are welcomed back by the last man standing back at the "legal" Avengers compound, Rhodey, who even accepts a court marshal in the process.  The reunion of these two men who both, at different stages, had offered Tony the challenging witness of strong moral convictions is striking in light of the fact that their convictions still seem to diverge in certain ways, although Rhodey's long endurance of the corrupt oversight of Ross seems to have altered his perspective on the accords.  Meanwhile, they face an enemy who shows that the solution is not simply a matter of having strong moral convictions.  It is a matter of being strong in one's conviction to the truth.  Thanos holds to strong moral convictions.  He is deeply convicted that what he is doing is right.  But, his strong moral convictions are so gravely skewed that he is seeking to take countless innocent lives in an attempt to provide peace and harmony for the survivors in the galaxy.  The depth of depravity in this "mad titan" who holds himself with a kind of noble bearing, as he genuinely feels what he believes to be love and mercy, bring us into a close encounter with the potency of an evil that hijacks our noblest intentions and orients them toward the most horrific wickedness.  This is the great horror that has gripped Tony with such crippling fear all of these years, as he tells Thanos plainly: "My only curse is you."  This kind of desperation is met by a kind of determination to do what they must, in order to survive and defeat Thanos.  This determination is confounded by Strange, who quite willfully does the one thing they all are certain they must not.  He freely gives Thanos one of the powerful stones he is seeking, apparently simply to spare the life of Tony.  Strange has undergone a similar kind of conversion to Tony's, from a self-centered ego-mania.  But, his journey has brought him to an awareness of realities beyond the physical and visible realm, for which Tony cannot give account.  It is important for viewers to understand that the way this kind of "spirituality" is portrayed, and particularly the manipulation of it, is really not consistent with Christian faith, but far more closely resembles the occult in a way that warrants great caution against its intrigue.  Nonetheless, there is something to be said for the fact that Strange understands things Tony simply cannot as his ongoing conversion has not yet brought him beyond materialism.  Whatever knowledge Strange possesses, he seems confident that this was the way it had to unfold, indeed the "only way," and it brings them into "the endgame."  But, that endgame dawns on that most horrific note of the realization that Thanos has achieved his goal and many of their friends have disappeared into dust, along with half of the life in the universe.  Yet, among the living are all of the original Avengers: Bruce, Natasha, Thor, Rhodey (who was a very early ally who only more recently became an Avenger), Barton, and of course those two separated brothers awaiting reconciliation, Steve and Tony.             

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Reconciliation is the Endgame, Part II: Christ-Figures and Messiah Complexes

       By now, many of us have likely seen how the eventual reunion of Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Tony Stark (Iron Man) unfolds in Avengers: Endgame.  But, we will continue to work our way toward that discussion gradually, perhaps giving a bit more time to those who haven't seen it yet.  We previously discussed (here) how the first part of the story emphasizes integrity, ongoing conversion and the building of trust.  The story continues to evolve and progress...

Major Spoilers ahead for Iron Man 3, Captain America: Winter Soldier,
Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War.

Picking up the Story of Steve and Tony...

• Tony Will Never Be the Same (Iron Man 3):  After his self-sacrificial trip through a wormhole to save a civilian population from a nuclear attack, Tony clearly will never be the same again, for better and for worse.  For better, because it is clear that we see his growing sense of responsibility moving him to even greater selflessness.  For worse, because after the whole experience of fighting off an alien invasion, led by a foe as formidable as Loki, who awakens him to the much greater threats within the universe, he is left with a serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder.  While the central conflict of this part of the story foreshadows the next part, in that the villain is somewhat of Tony's own making (as he comes from Tony's pre-conversion past), leaving Tony to become all the more aware of the consequences of his actions, this is overshadowed by the obsessive fear plaguing him.  We begin to see that his constant upgrades to his suit (quite expansive by this point) manifest more than an addiction to tinkering.  They are the product of his fear that the alien threat which sent Loki to Earth in the first place will one day return and he must be prepared.  This has such a hold upon Tony that we see his awakened sense of responsibility begin to transform into a genuine Messiah complex, which has yet to reach its full culmination.  As we see this all begin to take a heavy toll on his relationship with Pepper, we see a great turning point when he finally gives Pepper the "Christmas present" of destroying his thirty-some suits and even having the shrapnel and device removed from his chest, as a gesture of his desire to detach from the suit, which becomes his protection and means of believing he can save the world, in order to finally commit to Pepper.  But, the messiah complex still has a hold upon him...   

• Steve Pays It Forward (Captain America: Winter Soldier): Meanwhile, Steve continues to find his place in this world, in a very different generation.  The gradual erosion of his optimistic view of mankind continues as it begins to be discovered that Hydra, not only was not entirely defeated in WWII, but has remained hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D., the very organization he now serves, and has even risen into its highest ranks.  Still, he does not allow his faith in humanity to be completely shaken.  He is the weak man who knows the value of strength: to be able to fight for what is truly good.  Unlike the messiah complex, which would take the weight of saving the world completely upon his own shoulders, Steve continues to call others to both goodness and greatness, as he has always done.  His "price of freedom" speech to the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, calling out the Hydra agents among them and calling upon those who are faithful to take a stand, brings great results.  But, we see this most boldly in his conflict with Winter Soldier himself.  This becomes a key moment for Steve, which ultimately leads to him being a rather bold and clear Christ-figure, even more so than his previous sacrifices.  All of the lessons of integrity, through which he struggled and suffered, become something he is able to "pay forward" when he discovers that his best friend (Bucky) is, not only still alive, but no longer able to "remain who he is... a good man" because his memory and identity have been robbed from him, transforming him into a weapon by the evil Hydra (Winter Soldier).  Steve faces his old friend, who views him, not only as an enemy, but even more heartlessly as his target, insisting upon the truth of who he is, as his friend.  So great is his insistence that Bucky is, not his enemy, but his friend, that he is willing to allow his old friend to kill him, in order to save his soul.  

• Tony Creates a Monster (Avengers: Age of Ultron):  With the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and Winter Soldier still at large), Steve reaches out to Tony for assistance in reuniting the Avengers, this time as a self-governed group of independent super-powered global vigilantes, determined they will be different than S.H.I.E.L.D.  For the time being, their primary task seems to be hunting down and shutting down remaining Hydra cells worldwide, through a series of "raiding parties."  On the raid they believe to be their last, they come upon the scepter that Loki used in his attack on New York.  During the raid, they encounter a pair of twins given superpowers, through Hydra's experimenting with the scepter, one of whom (Wanda) has mind-control abilities, including hallucinations.  Wanda induces Tony into a vision, which manipulates his growing messiah complex to believe that he will bring about the end of the Avengers because he "could have saved" them.  With this fear having taken a firm hold of him, she gleefully allows him to take the scepter.  Tony and Bruce Banner run analysis on it, only to discover a gem within (the Mind Stone - another Infinity Stone) that is apparently the key to developing Artificial Intelligence.  Fearing the obstacles the team will present them with and believing this is necessary to keep the world safe, Tony persuades Banner to assist him in secretly working toward this goal, resulting in the A.I. villain, Ultron.  Coming to the logical conclusion that humanity appears to be its own downfall, he seeks mankind's extinction.  Despite the disastrous results of their efforts to create Ultron, after some initial very tense conflicts among the entire team, Steve still defends Tony's ability to make this right, until Wanda (who has now changed allegiances, along with her brother, after discovering the horror of Ultron's evil plans) convinces him that Stark's own insecurities are what gave birth to Ultron and will continue to mislead him.  Steve, Wanda, and Pietro (her brother) confront Tony and Bruce, attempting to stop them from placing Tony's U.I. (Jarvis) inside the android body that Ultron initially created for himself, which happens to have the Mind Stone embedded into its forehead.  Thor interrupts some more very intense infighting, in order to re-initiate the process of bonding Jarvis with the android body, having seen a vision indicating that a hero borne of the Mind Stone itself will be needed to defeat Ultron.  Thus, Vision is born - an android hero who is part-Jarvis, part-Ultron, part-Mind-Stone and part-whatever-Thor-did-with-his-lightning and he helps them defeat Ultron.  In the process, Steve leads the others in proceeding by keeping the safety of civilians a heavy priority, because of his conviction that this battle is "about whether (Ultron) is right" that the Avengers are more of a threat to the world than legitimate defenders.  Again, we see Steve holding to the hope that their fight can actually preserve true and genuine goodness, including the value of every human life (again, persevering in the good, not just in the fight) and not simply obsessing over keeping the world safe, allowing that fear to lead them into countless compromises.  At the conclusion, Tony still seems to want to retire, leaving the (new) team essentially in Steve's hands, since he is very much "at home" leading soldiers in fighting to keep the world safe, leaving us with the contrast between one who needs to find a reprieve from his obsession with saving the world and another who is calm, confident and very much at peace in leading a team of heroes to simply do all that they can to fight for justice and peace.  Meanwhile, these two initially very reluctant allies are clearly now genuine friends.  In their deepened respect for one another, we can better appreciate the best of both of their intentions: Steve maintains that the fight for goodness and truth requires constant vigilance (integrity and fortitude), while Tony is increasingly motivated by a vision of safety, peace and rest.

       

• From Allies to Friendship to Fracture (Civil War):  Ironically, it will be the one who created the "murder-bot" in the first place (Tony) who will allow the impact of this event to cause him to lead the charge in supporting a U.N. mandate (The Sokovia Accords), which would require the Avengers to register and allow themselves to be governed and directed.  Having seen the organization that was previously giving him orders be corrupted, almost at its very core, and being subsequently determined that the Avengers would be better than that, ever free to remain committed to goodness and truth (more on that here), Steve cannot accept this kind of governance.  We are given a hint that he's onto something in the fact that the Secretary of State who is managing this whole arrangement is the same military leader who was previously seeking to capture Bruce Banner, in order to turn the Hulk (and hopefully, eventually others like him) into a weapon at the military's disposal.  Not only his involvement with the accords, but even the fact that this man has been able to rise to such a position of authority in the government should certainly give them pause about placing themselves under such direction.  Meanwhile, Steve's position might be well summarized by Natasha's much earlier words on Capital Hill, after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.: "It's a vulnerable world and yes, we helped to make it that way... but we are still the most qualified to defend it."  Naturally, however, Natasha is torn between them, as she was once working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to bring Tony to a point of similar cooperation, as she continually genuinely strives to do what is right.  Thus, she initially sides with Tony, while still pleading with Steve, only to later switch sides.  She offers an interesting point of perspective in the conflict, as she clearly cares for both of them and sees the best of both of their intentions, but manages to remain objective and convicted about what she believes is right, even as that belief continues to evolve.  It is fascinating to consider all of the many perspectives and motivations in the various players in this whole conflict.  As tempting as it is, I will refrain from trying to discuss them all.  But, we see in this dark episode of the story the constant human tension between our personal convictions to what we hold to be true and our loyalty to those we love.  We see how the strength of these convictions motivates Steve to fight, regardless of how much he respects and cares for the person who stands against him.  Meanwhile, Tony seems to be desperately trying to hold things together, clearly hurt and frustrated that the "righteous man," Steve Rogers, his good friend, doesn't see or agree with the fact that he is trying to repent in the only way he knows how, by taking responsibility and trying to make things right.  He is clearly motivated by a deep remorse, after the tragedy with Ultron and this is clearly a part of how his ongoing conversion is plagued by his messiah complex.  Nonetheless, Steve insists, "When I see a situation headed south, I can't ignore it," and he has the clarity of mind to not be controlled by his emotions, after he let his emotions get the best of him at the beginning of this part of the story, resulting in tragedy. We see so many in this story who clearly are controlled by their emotions - Tony, Zemo (the villain who orchestrated many of the events that unfold) and T'Challa early on, just to name a few.  In fact, there is a parallel between Tony and Zemo, as both use their superior intellects to work toward a goal that is being clouded by their emotions.  Meanwhile, Steve clearly is neither mindless nor heartless.  He feels very deeply and this is very personal story for him as well.  He is all the more driven by the fact that this new conflict has arisen at precisely the time that Bucky has resurfaced.  Despite that Tony and his "legal" Avengers remain determined to bring Bucky in (and Steve, if he attempts to stop them) for a crime for which he has been framed by Zemo, Steve remains determined to finish what he began, in fighting to help him recover the "good man" he truly is, underneath the layers of Hydra's brainwashing and manipulation.  Meanwhile, Zemo's plan culminates by baiting Steve, Bucky and Tony to be all in one place, as he reveals - just at the point they seemed to be nearing reconciliation - that Bucky (under Hydra's brainwashing) killed Tony's parents.  Early in this episode of the story, Tony had openly acknowledged how many of his problematic behaviors in life were in fact "the things I did to avoid my grief" over the loss of his parents (recall the "father-wound" deeply explored in an earlier episode).  Thus, this final revelation sets Tony completely off the chain, causing him to lose sight of all reason.  Not acknowledging what Steve, in his quite reasonable and merciful compassion, had told Bucky shortly before this whole sequence unfolds, that the things Bucky did under under Hydra's mind-control were not him, Tony turns relentlessly against both Bucky and Steve (for not telling him that he knew Hydra, and possibly Bucky, was responsible).  Thus, this great fracture between these two initially reluctant allies, turned true friends, is both political (representative in part of the rejection or acceptance of a large and powerful government, intensely regulating our lives in an apparent attempt to promote peace and justice) and profoundly personal and emotional.  Regardless, the fracture between them is deep and strong... seemingly insurmountable, despite the message Steve sends Tony at the end, that he and the "secret" Avengers who side with him (which is most of them by the time it all concludes) will always be there when they need them.               

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Reconciliation is the Endgame, Part I: Conversion, Integrity and Building Trust

       With the imminent release of the long-awaited Avengers: Endgame, fans are being given the opportunity to see a kind of conclusion to several important interwoven character arcs for over a decade on the big screen.  This way in which Marvel has interwoven the evolving arcs of various characters through the years has given me much to comment upon in the past.  As my first Heart Speaking to Heart Symposium presentation indicated (here), I find the relational dynamics between this very diverse collection of heroes, who each bring their own experiences and lessons to the table, to be an interesting parallel to that One Body, with many parts (1 Corinthians 12), known as the Communion of Saints, the Body of Christ, the Church (and I think the Guardians of the Galaxy capture a bit of that same concept).  I must clarify that I got a bit carried away in both preparing and delivering that presentation, in that I made a grave error, saying that the difference between the call to heroism, in a secular sense, and the call to holiness was "just details."  At the time, this felt like it had a fitting rhetorical flare, but it is embarrassing to recall having both written and said it publicly, because it is indeed quite wrong.  The difference is Jesus Christ, who so far from being simply a "detail," is the purpose for all that we do, the aim of all that we do, and the source of the strength and grace to be able to do it.  He is the Source, Summit and Center of all that it means to live the Christian life, which is to answer the call to holiness.  In short, He is not just a detail (I fervently recant that statement made in reckless excitement).  He is Everything.  That having been said, I continue to hold the opinion that the stories of these heroes can reflect certain elements of conversion, growth in virtue, and various other aspects of what is contained in living this Christian life (which can only be rightly called the Christian life when it is truly centered on Jesus Christ) which can be helpful to point out both for the Christian seeking inspiration and encouragement and for the seeker who is perhaps trying to better understand what it is that strikes them about these stories.  This conviction has also led me to comment on Age of Ultron (here), Spider-Man (here and here), Civil War (here), the "surrogate father" figures to several of our heroes (here), Thor (here), Black Panther (here), Ant-Man (here, at the end), Captain Marvel (here), Black Widow (here, at the end), and Infinity War (here).

       In a way, this year's "end of an era" epic is a sequel and perhaps a culmination to all of these previous stories and character arcs, most especially Infinity War.  But, the aspect of this grandiose "conclusion" of sorts that I wish to focus on is the sense in which it has potential to be the long-awaited follow-up to Civil War, which is at the heart of the "everything is falling apart" quality of over half of the movies in the latter years of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.  At the heart of this conflict are two "brothers in arms" whose tense and ever-evolving relationship has always been a central tie to the whole MCU: Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.  The last series of posts has motivated me to, again, spread this out across a series of four posts.

Major Spoilers ahead for Captain America: First Avenger,
Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Avengers.

So, let's review their story...

• Steve's Story Begins (First Avenger): As Steve story begins, he is a young man who is weak in body, but strong in conviction and with a firmly fixed moral compass.  This leads Dr. Abraham Erskine, his "surrogate father" figure, to select him for the super soldier project underway during the Second World War.  Erskine gives him his defining lesson the night before the procedure, telling him that the strong man is easily corrupted, while "a weak man knows the value of strength and he knows compassion," but most importantly, whatever happens, Steve is told, "always remain who you are, not a perfect soldier, but a good man."  Steve is chosen as one capable of not being corrupted by being made into a "perfect soldier," not only because of his weakness, but even more because he is a good man.  The central lesson driving his quest to defeat WWII-era Hydra (an evil organization presently under the leadership of Red Skull, which has attached itself to the Nazi regime, during that time in history) is essentially one of integrity.  Steve is called to remain living consistently the deepest truth of who he is, demonstrating fortitude by persevering in the good whatever the obstacles, to remain essentially a good man.  This phase of the story concludes when he is presumed dead, after sacrificing himself to crash land a Hydra plane full of explosives, in order to save countless lives.  Although, the bookends of the story tell us he was frozen in the ice around the crash site, only to later be thawed out by S.H.I.E.L.D.     

• Tony's Change of Heart (Iron Man 1 & 2):  A few decades later, the son of the principal technician on the super soldier project that turned Steve into Captain America is all grown.  His story begins as essentially the opposite of Steve's. Rather than preserving a seemingly natural goodness, Tony is in great need of making a change.  A headline we see early in the movie describes him as a "prodigal son," as we see him living a self-centered lifestyle, careless of any kind of moral or even social standards.  A near death experience leaves him severely wounded, only saved by a device implanted in his chest, which prevents shrapnel from entering his heart and taking his life.  This becomes an often not very subtle image of Tony being given a "new heart."  Meanwhile, the technician  (Yensin) who created this device is soon revealed to be a sympathetic figure, also held captive by Tony's abductors, and essentially becomes the "surrogate father" figure.  Yensin lays down his life in helping Tony escape and the defining lesson he gives to Tony is even simpler: "Don't waste it."  As Tony realizes the gift Yensin has given, he is immediately told "Don't waste it... Don't waste your life, Stark."  This prompts him to create the Iron Man persona, which enables him to begin to right some of the wrongs done by his family's years of arms dealing.  Meanwhile, his constant upgrading of both his Iron Man suit and his "new heart" allow him to be a tangible image of conversion as an ongoing process. But, we see how one of the few people in his life who genuinely motivates him to want to be a better man is the assistant with whom he is clearly in love, Pepper Potts.  When she quite appropriately turns him down after his first significant victory, he is thrust inward once more, immediately turning "Iron Man" from a path to redemption to a vehicle for his own ego.  Thus, the sequel opens with Tony in a state of relapse, returning to his utterly self-centered ways.  But, this relapse becomes quite illuminative of the process of ongoing conversion, which involves a process of ongoing healing.  Behind the scenes, we see that his heart is beginning to die.  Before long, S.H.I.E.L.D. enters the picture, in the form of Natasha Romanoff, Agent Phil Coulson (who was around after Tony first returned from captivity) and the director himself, Nick Fury.  Having known and worked with Tony's father, Nick helps Tony to explore his "father wound," especially at the prompting of a villain whose roots go back to Tony's father.  Of course, Fury has his own motivations, as he is manipulating Stark into experimenting with recreating the raw materials of an Infinity Stone (a fascinating little part of the story), but also to determine whether Tony can be a fitting candidate for the "Avengers Initiative," which proposes to one day unite a team of extraordinary heroes, who can "fight the battles that we can't."  Meanwhile, Tony relies heavily on the influence of Pepper and his friend Rhodey, who finally stands up to him and is willing to no longer tolerate his self-destructive behavior, which is also quite dangerous to others. Thus, Tony's process of healing and ongoing conversion is ultimately preparing him to enter into a kind of communion.  While he still has much growth ahead of him, his relative readiness is indicated both by him "solving the mystery of his heart" and by the fact that he finally is able to commit and enter a "steady relationship" with Pepper.               

• Reluctant Allies (Avengers):  Steve and Tony finally meet when Loki arrives from the far reaches of space, seeking the same Infinity Stone, which Red Skull used to make powerful weapons in Steve's story and which Tony was given the task of trying to recreate its raw material in his story.  Fury and company recruit them both for the "Avengers Initiative" to combat this threat.  The apparent duplicity of S.H.I.E.L.D. challenges Steve's unwavering goodness and faith in the inherent goodness of mankind (despite the pervasiveness of evil), and similarly stirs up Tony's own trust issues deriving from his father.  Of course, Loki very effectively plays the role of the tempter and accuser, seeking to exploit all of the natural tension that already exists between these very different individuals.  The process of watching these two come to blows and only gradually learning to view one another as genuine allies is a rich image of the messiness that often marks human community.  Steve's convictions seem too old-fashioned to some, causing Stark and others to initially not take him very seriously, until they see his genuine leadership and ability to bring the best out of others.  Likewise, the sincerity of Tony's ongoing process of conversion begins to become evident, until even Steve sees that he is indeed willing "to make the sacrifice play."  

Oh yeah, and they get to work with this guy.

Go to Part II>>>

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