In any superhero movie, there are scenes of thrilling action and extraordinary displays of superpowers. Even though I love and am obsessed with these kinds of movies, there is one outstanding problem that seems to plague many superhero movies and movies in general.
This problem is that they have boring protagonists. Now when I say boring, I don't mean that they are overtly bland characters. Obviously, in superhero movies, the main character has superhuman abilities, which make for great fight scenes and awesome displays of their power. What these superheroes lack isn't a cool suit or grand powers, it's a coherent character arc. In many good movies, one of the main things that makes a story good is a character that starts off as one thing, but through the events of the plot, is forced to change and ultimately become a different version of their past selves. In my opinion, there have been few superhero movies that have achieved in creating characters that each undergo external and internal struggle, forcing them to become not just stronger heroes, but stronger people. Then there are some that base their entire movie around developing the protagonist's arc.
This is a list of my most favorite character arcs in superhero movies.
1. Steve Rodgers aka "Captain America" in the MCU
In the 2011 movie "Captain America: The First Avenger" we are introduced to the eager to serve Steve Rodgers, a man who wants nothing more than to serve in the U.S. army and fight in World War 2. Shortly after enlisting, he is chosen to become the subject to a government experiment to create the first ever "super soldier" and finally becomes the Captain America. Even though he goes through this physical transformation, his true character arc doesn't reveal itself until his second movie, "Captain America: Winter Soldier."
In the second installment of the Captain America trilogy, Rodgers' worldview is drastically challenged. He slowly learns that the world he lives in no longer the black and white world that he knew. This realization occurs when he finds out that the agency he works for, "S.H.E.I.L.D." is actually the cover for the covert organization Hydra, the same group he fought against in World War 2. It was the events of this movie that forces Rodgers to question his own morals and his purpose in the world; this comes in full circle in the third movie "Captain America; Civil War" in which he betrays the U.S. government and is on the run from the international community. The reason I love this arc is that it shows Captain America struggling to learn and adapt to all the gray in this new world, while strengthening his resolve to fight for what's right.
1. Bruce Wayne aka "Batman" in The Dark Knight
My favorite out of the three movies in the Dark Knight trilogy is hands down the second one, "The Dark Knight." My favorite aspect of the movie is the dynamic between Batman and the Joker. Joker plays a very direct role in changing Bruce Wayne as a character. This is because unlike Batman's previous foes, the Joker isn't afraid of what the Batman could do to him, since he does not fear death. In fact, there are moments in the movie when the Joker tries to get Batman to go against his code and kill him. This lack of fear Joker has for Batman forces Bruce to go beyond just capturing and imprisoning him, but rather try to win the mind games that the Joker had started.
Throughout the movie, Batman and Joker are both fighting for the same thing, the "soul of Gotham" and the only way for Batman to win is to prove that he and the city have the strength to stand by their moral codes. In the end, it is through the battle against Joker and his campaign of chaos that changes Bruce from being Batman to becoming the stronger, and wiser, Dark Knight.
1. T’Challa aka "Black Panther" in Black Panther
In February this year, the blockbuster movie, "Black Panther" hit theaters in the United States. Now I loved this movie for many reasons, but I think what makes the movie so loved is how it reflects the current problem we have in the world of countries practicing interventionism or isolationism. In the movie, T'Challa starts off a newly crowned king of Wakanda and upholds the isolationist values of his far, keeping the country's wealth and technology a secret. This secret is eventually threatened by black ops soldier Eric Killmonger, T'Challa's cousin who comes to Wakanda and challenges him for the throne. When T'Challa loses the challenge and his title as the Black Panther, he learns about how his father kills his own brother, Killmonger's father, and leaves the boy orphaned.
It is at this moment in the movie when both the audience and T'Challa agree that although his tactics are despicable, Eric Killmonger's anger and frustration with Wakanda and the world is fair and relatable. In the end, T'Challa is named king once again, but has changed for the better, deciding to reveal Wakanda's true nature to the world and to atone for the country's isolationist past. Overall, the movie fittingly captures the transformation of T'Challa from being a man that only seeks to maintain the status quo, to a king that will do everything he can for his people and the world.
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