The Avenger's Journey
There is a humility that comes with choosing to take the path that all others choose to turn face from, a selflessness that coincides with embracing the world that exist only to them so all others may live in their own worlds. Heroes show qualities that mere men cannot because the epitome of man is his flaws and the inability to overcome them. A hero is what we all wish we could be if we weren't so self centered, envious, and Afraid. However, that isn't to say that hero is not flawed, they are very much so but in difference choose to face their flaws in order to become what they need to be. Indeed, that is why they are upholded as such great symbols of valor and courage. The heroes we will be focusing on will be the motion picture adaptation of Avengers, Age of Ultron. It is a great example of the heroes journey because it takes a team of heroes to overcome terror and come out victorious. They each bring strong suites to the table, and where one may be flawed another steps in to fill the gap. They are a working machine all from their own worlds but coincide in this one team in order to avenge the world of injustices.
The call begins with The Avengers in pursuit of Hydra, an organization that infiltrated Shield which worked in part with The Avengers. Advancing upon an unknown Hydra fortress, the Avengers work together in order to breach the barrier with Iron Man making his way to the central building and all others making their stance elsewhere to divide and conquer. Inside the heavily guarded fortress is a set of twins the scarlet witch and quicksilver, they are what stands in the way of a scepter that holds inconceivable power. Once inside Iron Man proceeds to copy all files and with the help of Jarvis finds a secret door. He finds the scepter only to be put in a trance by scarlet witch, in which he sees his comrades all on the floor dying, and captain america stating that Iron Man could have saved them if he had done more. He looks up to see a nuclear wormhole opening with creatures ready to start mass devastation. Scarlet witch allows him to leave unharmed with the scepter, unknowing he was in a trance. Iron man and the team return to headquarters to analyze the gem inside the scepter and to see what they are up against. It is then that tony stark tries to open the pandora’s box that is the scepter and the true call is unveiled. Dr Bruce Banner and tony stark believe it holds the power to achieve artificial intelligence and that they could create a program that could create a suite of armor around the world, ulton. They are truly entering the unknown, having no idea what they have concepted.
Nevertheless, The avengers share a strong threshold and when working together can accomplish so much more they would ever be able to on their own. They compliment each other and make up for flaws in strength and will. Captain America is a great leader showing vast compassion. Tony Starks’ mind and his Iron Man suite provide great wisdom with precise focus. Thor being a God King shows great fortitude and his hammer is without triumph. Black Widow shows conviction for her spy upbringing and wants to undo her injustices. Hawkeye's amazing natural ability in archer in uncanny. Where Dr banner shares his great scientific mind, not to mention his inner turmoil the Hulk. All together they form a strong unbreakable bond that stands solid in the face of evil. They go where no team will go, they face odds that mere man cannot understand, and they do so knowing they may not return from the threshold.
With this in mind, The Avengers now face a new challenge, Ultron. The artificial intelligence program that initiates itself once Stark leaves the room and begins to find itself to be self aware. It begins to try to find answers to its own questions. The moment Jarvis finds Ultron to be threatening it seizes the moment and attacks him and states he is on a mission “peace in our time” showing he is an altered construct of Tony Starks intentions with no modulation of conviction. Tony stark is the reason quicksilver and scarlet witch oppose The Avengers. They blame him for their parents death and the torturement of the days that followed afterwards because the missiles that destroyed their home showed his emblem and the reason they know is because one lay under the rubble with them landing and not going off. Ultron now heads to wakanda with quicksilver and scarlet witch in search of vibranium to complete his master plan. This represents the challenge that the Avengers are now going to have to face
Unknowingly, The Avengers fall right into the grasp of Scarlet witch when they go in search of Ultron. She sends them all into a mental abyss; putting Captain America in a trance of the dance he never got to have, Thor into a realm where Heimdall tells him he “sees him leading them to hell”, The black widow falls into her spy upbringing, and to finish the plan she sets off the Hulk, Iron Man must now try to contain him. With the Hulk running rampant in the city, Iron man on his tail, and all others immobilized or stuck in trance Ultron takes off with the vibranium. The Avengers have failed their mission and now must go in search of a safe house, falling to new lows. Thor heads to find answers to what was said to him in his trance while the other choose what will be their next move with the help of Nick Fury. This experience symbolizes the low that must be reached in order for The Avengers to come out of the abyss stronger and willing to put their might to the test
It is then they realize Ultrons plan of transformation, he wishes to evolve himself from artificial intelligence to android. It is a transformation that could possibly be stronger than the avengers combined, So the avengers must come back transformed, stronger and better than they were before. It is In Thor’s search for answers that he heads into the water of sight to find what he may have missed. The revelation is revealed when scarlet witch is finally able to see into the vibranium infused tissue that is connected to Ultron to see his true plan to destroy the world in order to evolve it. The real power is the gem in the cradle and with the mission successful to retrieve it the Avengers now have the upper hand,especially since jarvis, starks operating system, is revealed to not be destroyed. Stark wishes to put jarvis in the vibranium infused humanoid suit which will transform Ultrons being into an entity on their side.
A fight unravels and the team is put against each other. It ends with Thor using his hammer to give life to the vibranium embodiment because he sees it in a vision destroying the world and believes it can be a formidable ally. This is the atonement of this new being. On his forehead is the mind stone, one of the infinity stones off the scepter, he is infused with jarvis’s matrix, but he is not Jarvis or Ultron. He agrees to help destroy Ultron because his pain will destroy the world. The being accepts who he is and his transformation. The goal to attain the stone has been achieved, so now all thats left to do is finish off Ultron. Ultron has one final attempt to destroy the world. He plans to raise a city full of vibranium and drop it while the avengers are busy trying to stop his robot army. Only working together they stand a chance.
When all is said and done and Ultron is defeated the Avengers return to mission command. With Dr bruce banner flying off into hiding, Thor heading back to Asgard, and Tony stark going to settle down, the Avengers receive a gift of new initiates for training so that protection of the Earth can continue. these heroes tale very much follows the hero’s journey and does a great job in opening up for another hero’s journey. Through adversity one is able to see a group of talented heroes come together to defy all odds and somehow claim victory over such an eviscerating journey. There is always some lesson to be learned from a hero’s tale in which one can grow upon. The Avengers shows a type of teamwork that has no bounds, even with all the great powers they possess they work together because a task as big as saving the world requires a little help from everyone. This is the only world we have. It is each and every one’s own solitude. We will always be stuck in a pitfall if we believe we are more deserving of it than others.
Works cited
Whedon J. (2015). Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel Studios. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures