Hey y'all!
I went to the theater to see Marvel's Ant-Man yesterday, and it had me thinking about life in general in a better perspective. I needed a place to get this all out, so I figured why not here?
I've always looked up to Captain America and Superman as my "role model superhero" types; mainly because I've pretty much been a "goody-two shoes" my whole life and I'm really old-fashioned. Getting back to the topic at hand, I really valued these characters for their outlook on the values of Justice and what is truly right. I've gone so far with wanting to be like them that you could say I have a mild obsession, but the point being, these two characters have always been used to demonstrate the "ideal" superhero character.
Enter Scott Lang, a man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who, despite his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, has led a life of burglary and shown ingenuity in his infamous actions and heists. Without giving anything in the movie away, after Lang steals the Ant-Man suit from the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, Pym concludes that Lang is the perfect candidate for being the new Ant-Man despite all Lang has done in the past. Throughout the movie, we see Lang wanting to make a better life and a big comeback as a regular person not living in the face of crime exposure anymore. A man wanting to redeem himself, and he does that by becoming the next Ant-Man to make a better life for himself and those around him. No "goody-two shoes" backstory or behavior, but just an average Scott Lang wanting to erase his past and create peace in the world.
Superman in particular is often criticized as someone who is not very relatable due to his "pristine" behavior and few flaws. Captain America has also been under fire for this as well. Then we have well-known heroes like Iron Man, "billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" with a stuck-up demeanor, and as a result of Age of Ultron, can sometimes have some priorities mixed between what is seen as good and not so good (not inherently evil); yet, he still is capable of being a superhero with all that he is as a person, and despite the past of Stark Industries being a war machine producer.
Bringing the point home, Ant-Man is another superhero who is more relatable for the public because of his flaws shown in the movie, but overcomes those flaws with a righteous sense of justice that is shown through the faces of Superman and Captain America. I'm not downplaying my two favorite superheroes, but I'm also appreciative of the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (yes, I know Superman is DC, I do prefer Marvel though...) can display such characters with tragic backstories or histories and say there's still a chance for these individuals to still make the world a better place for everyone.
Clichรจ, yes, but you don't have to have superpowers to be a "superhero". The world may not always view those willing to make a better name for themselves as good people, but for those who are willing to give up themselves for others, freely, and take the risks to make the world a better place...It doesn't matter what happened in the past. Keep moving forward, and make forth toward a brighter future. The past can't be changed, so redeem the time that is now. All this thanks to me seeing a superhero movie about a man who controls ants (to be slightly blunt).
If you read all of this, thanks and I hope you enjoyed it!
