Because we need them

I absolutely loved Avengers. But here, I don’t want to talk about the complete absence of plot, the kickass action, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, or the God who got bullied (Note that I just slyly did talk about all these things).

I want to talk about power. And I want to talk about free will.

The movie ends with Samuel Jackson saying – “(The Avengers will return…) Because we need them”.  No one seems to notice it, but I find it to be an extremely disturbing thought. This bunch of extremely powerful personages is to be at our beck and call because we need them!

What is it that makes a hero (in the sense of DC or Marvel)? Is it a unique ability? Is it the desire for adulation? I don’t know. But what is clear is that the motives lead to vastly different actions. Anyone seeking public admiration will of course have to perform acts of public welfare. The greater the hunger for admiration, the greater will have to be the services rendered and the possible cost of them. And the reverse works too, the more the people love you, the more you are expected to deliver. It seems fine thus far unless we realize that this is also the clear highway to megalomania. But we know that Captain America is not a megalomaniac. Neither is Iron Man (Stark is, but not his steel clad avatar), or Hawkeye, or any of the others.

What about their unique ability? This is where the question of free will comes in. Anyone with a unique ability is just that-nothing more. Does this situation rob them of the choice to not participate? Is a quirk of birth or fate enough to necessarily deprive a person of choosing what they wish to be committed to? Should Bruce Banner give in to the all-devouring god of our need and embrace “the other guy” (whom he hates, BTW). If he wishes to withdraw into the medical profession and never “Smash” again, is that not his prerogative? But alas, society gives no such choices to its mighty.

And in all this, let’s see where Nick Fury stands. He does nothing in the whole damn movie. He originally rejects Stark from the Avengers initiative because of instability. And then has the cheek to pull him in as soon as fighting begins. There is no indication that Tony Stark is any more stable at this point. He deigns to command a team of people who are infinitely greater than him in all aspects. And why does he expect them to obey? Because he needs them. It's a confidence ploy, emotional blackmail to abuse power that is not his own. The ends, however noble, do not justify the means.

”Is there trouble? Let’s call in the band of poor sods whom we insulted when we didn’t need them. Of course they will come. Don’t we need them? Our need comes before their free will.” Flashes of Atlas Shrugged anyone?

“With great power comes great responsibility” seems to me to be an incomplete statement. It is the willingness to wield power which brings responsibility. The mere possession of power is a triviality, a happenstance. It changes nothing about who or what we are. It is when we choose to exercise this power is when we face the choice of how to do it. The use of power is an ethical dilemma, which may make one a hero or a villain (again depending on who is writing the story).

In short, I found the concept reprehensible and I left an excellent movie with a rather bad taste in my mouth. I have written thus far in the context of the movie and that one line in it. But generalize and see if it isn’t true of the world and our society in general. Imagine an acquaintance, powerful in some way, but who didn’t grant you a favour because he doesn’t care enough about you. Would you feel cheated simply because you think he should do it?

Then pity the avengers.