Superheroes are all about identity—and we're not talking about jumping into a phone booth to change into a pair of tights. Well-written superheroes always struggle with questions of who they were/are/will be.
Captain America, a man out of his time, tries to define who he is in a world he feels has passed him by. Tony Stark isn't used to doing things for other people and doesn't know if he's up for it. Thor has to fight his own brother to keep his adopted world safe. And the Hulk? Yeah, it's safe to say he's not at all happy about who he is.
It's a struggle for heroes like these to know who they are…but the good news is that struggles make for terrific storytelling, and The Avengers doesn't disappoint.
Questions about Identity
- How do the characters' costumes emphasize their identities? How do those costumes hide their identities?
- What, specifically, sets the Avengers apart from the rest of humanity in terms of identity?
- How does the characters' sense of their own identity grow and change from the beginning of the film until the end? (That includes Loki as well as the heroes.)
- How do the characters' assumed identities inform the way other characters treat them?
Chew on This
The characters' personal identities are separate and distinct from their heroic identities.
The characters' heroic identities are just an enhanced variation of who they always are.