When you think of superheroes, you think of Superman and Batman. Seemingly perfect humans with a sad past but overcome such through helping the greater good. Superman especially is seen as perfect, although not entirely human. He is in a stable relationship, has a good job, superpowers, and saves the world.

When you think of a superhero, you think of Captain America and Iron Man. Humans who focus on helping the greater good, even when they themselves are struggling. This is why Marvel heroes are the ones we should think of and why I think the MCU does better. Marvel has made their main superheroes more relatable. DC, I think, does not really show their characters struggling, or at least not in the same way that Marvel does.

Heroes like Hawkeye, who is, more or less, a trained agent with unparallel archery skills and in the comic books is deaf, is a pretty normal guy. Agent Phil Coulson is a trained agent. Peggy Carter was a trained soldier turned agent. Peter Parker is a high schooler, who got powers after being bitten by a spider and excels at chemistry.

Tony Stark is a billionaire with a girlfriend and a company that is the most advanced in producing clean energy. But he is also shown struggling with PTSD and anxiety. The third film in his trilogy showed him dealing with panic attacks due to his PTSD from the Battle of New York in The Avengers. And the panic attacks are an accurate portrayal, not overly dramatized as sometimes seen in movies.

How many superheroes have you seen dealing with a mental illness? Very few, but Captain Steve Rogers, fellow Avenger, is shown struggling with PTSD in The Avengers as he has flashbacks to WWII.

Marvel shows their heroes as struggling, although not all, but enough that they feel more realistic. Because if heroes were real wouldn't they have normal struggles. Wouldn't it be realistic to have PTSD when you have a near death experience even if you were a superhero?

Because heroes are not that different from us.