I thought I’d say a little bit more about Age of Ultron.

Actually, this isn’t isolated just to this movie, its in a lot of stuff now.

But one specific scene that really bothered me was the conversation between Bruce Banner and Natasha (Black Widow.) She shares some more of her dark past, about being sterilized.

Maybe I’m just naive, but the practices of whatever organization she was supposed to being sound more like Granny Goodness’es orphanage than they do a spy school.

Furthermore, if she started being a spy when she was six, like the first movie showed, why would she still be in training in her twenties?

But worst of all, she refers to herself as a monster because of what happened.

Am I the only one that finds that really degrading to the many people who choose to have that operation for various reasons? Not all of them are good, but not all of them are monstrous either.

but aside from that, I have a problem with them referring to Banner and Natasha as monsters to begin with. Then later Tony Stark (who I never liked) says he and Banner are both monsters and they should own it.

This was exactly the problem I had with Ever After High’s occasional confusion of principles. And the whole point of that show initially was that just because you were raised to be evil, and other people think you are, doesn’t mean you should be or have to be.

And it sure as heck doesn’t give these three avengers the excuse to be monsters.

I’ve worried about it myself, most people have. We all act in ways we aren’t proud of, and sometimes we scare ourselves with how messed up we can be. Or how mean. Maybe like Banner we have anger issues, maybe like Natasha we’ve lost all our integrity and want to get it back, maybe we have a huge ego like Tony and don’t use the best judgment.

What do all these things boil down to? Fear.

All three of them are afraid that they will either fail the team just when they are needed most, or will actually be the reason it falls.

That’s why all of us feel this way. I should know. IT defined me for a long time.

At least movies like Frozen are honest about it. Fear is the monster, it has nothing to do with our power or our personality. It’s this weakness in us that makes us prone to fear, and every human being has it.

But that’s no reason to shame ourselves or each other. And in my humble opinion, it was disgraceful for the movie to shame it’s own characters and also every person watching who struggles with their issues. That’s not lifting up a beacon of hope, folks.

And don’t tell me “Well, that’s just the second movie, and their character arcs aren’t finished yet.” That’s no excuse. If I can’t find some truth in every single installment, then it’s not worth watching.

Also, the way the movie portrays people in the military is just wrong. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are only in the army because of a horrible thing that happened to them when they were kids. They want revenge on Stark. So they let themselves be turned into human weapons.

Um…most people do not join the military because of personal loss, there are more noble reasons than revenge to try to do something. I notice just about every agent in these films is in for some personal reason. Which may be okay for them, but sometimes people just sacrifice themselves for the good of mankind, and they don’t need a personal payoff in doing it. And war is no way to redeem one’s character either, it’s too morally debatable to begin with.

I also hated Ultron. His view of humanity is terrible. And Vision, whom I was counting on to be more positive, basically says. “yeah, you’re mostly right, but I’m pro-life.” I’m pro-life of course, but his argument certainly wouldn’t have convinced me if I was wavering.

And what Ultron said about humanity is a lie. Most of what he said is a lie. He quote my least favorite Disney movie several times, (Pinocchio) and I think it’s supposed to symbolize how he view humans as puppets he can manipulate and alter as he wishes, and himself as a real person, the enlightened man.

Ugh.

I notice he reflects all the worst parts of Stark, and magnifies them. He’s arrogant, inconsiderate, and has the same sense of humor. And he denies being like him, just like Tony denies that what he’s doing is insane.

By the by, when Huntress did something similar to what Tony did on the Justice League Unlimited show, she got got kicked out. Just saying.

I’d have to agree with Fury that Tony was a loose cannon. His actions were inexcusable.

And these are the heroes.

It might sound like I’m being too hard on them, but consider what we’re giving our youth and children to look up to.

A lot of them love the Avengers, they love every single movie, no matter how bad it’s message is or how depraved the ideas get. And we aren’t doing anything to stop it.

Because it’s cool.

Gosh, and to think how often that word excuses things that are wrong.

I’m sorry if there’s a marvel fan out there who’s getting really mad at me right now, but I just don’t see where the good in this is coming from. Excitement alone isn’t enough to salvage it.

And if we say it is, then we are disrespecting the very genre itself. Superheros were meant to be looked up to and to inspire kids and adults alike to be heroic and brave and self sacrificial, the superhero craze began right after WWII for crying out loud. America wanted its youth to be like soldiers. Devoted to good and their fellow man at whatever cost.

And what have we let that become?

I don’t care what’s modern and culturally acceptable, it’s still wrong. Id on’t think I’m alone in this conviction either.

And if you saw something in the Age of Ultron movie, or the Avengers movie that I’m missing, please tell me,  because I’m hard put to it to find anything in it to honor.

But I do have some hopes for Guardians of the Galaxy.

Until next time–Natasha.