Why do you relate to the Avengers?

[txfantasystar]

First off: This may seem a bit long, but its for help with a school project. Skip the first couple of paragraphs if you want to...

At my high school, we do a Senior Project for our English 4 class and that time has come for me. I'm a huge Marvel fan so when it came time to decide what to do, I looked at the guidelines and tried to figure out how to relate comics to the project. The guidelines turned out to be very loose, so I decided that it would be incredibly easy to do something relating to comics.

For my project, I'm doing a kind-of scrapbook of important characters in the Avangers and what makes them relatable to people and why they are so popular (This can relate to our "Meaning of life" unit. And I already wrote my Macbeth paper over Tragic Heroes and how Tony Stark is the Modern-Day Macbeth...)

For one of the requirements, we have to 'move into the community' AKA talk to people, so I need some help.

I have composed a list of Avengers I'm thinking of using (although suggestions of ones I've missed would be welcome) and I would like your feedback.

If you could tell me who your favorite is, why you relate to them, why they are important, and/or why you think they make a good hero, it would be very helpful for my project.

The quotes I collect will be put into the scrapbook along with your screenname on the character's page. You can tell me your thoughts on as many as you like, and suggest others that you think are important that I've missed ('Cause I know I have).

Thank You!!

Here's my list:
Steve Rogers (Captain America)
Bucky Barnes (Captain America)
Luke Cage
Bruce Banner (Hulk)
Tony Stark (Iron Man)
Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird)
Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel, Warbird, Binary)
Clint Barton (Hawkeye, Ronin)
Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch)
Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman)
Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
The Vision
Henry Pym (Yellowjacket, Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Wasp)
James "Logan" Howlett (Wolverine)
Hank McCoy (The Beast)
Natasha Romanova (Black Widow)
Stephen Strange (Doctor Strange)
Maya Lopez (Echo, Ronin)
Sam Wilson (Falcon)
Danny Reed (Iron Fist)
Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver)
Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk)
Namor McKenzie (Sub-Mariner)
Thor Odinson (Thor)
Greer Nelson (Tigra)
James Rhodes (War Machine)
Janet Van Dyne (Wasp)
Simon Williams (Wonder Man)
Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic)
Nick Fury (Not really an Avenger, per se, but important to the history)

 

[Harlekin]

Wow, what's the name of your school? I doubt they'd okay this for your assignment.

 

[The Geek Vault]

Hey if he can do it more power to him!
I'm gonna say I relate to Hank Pym because he was such a founding member of the Avengers and such an important member to yet was viewed as so small and people thought he couldn't do anything because he was ant-man.

 

[txfantasystar]

@Harlekin: I've already okayed it with my teacher. And it's just that cool here in Austin. The guidelines are /really/ loose.

@DHR: Thanks, ^^. PS, I'm a girl. ^^

 

[The Geek Vault]

If your mentioning specific comics the new Mighty Avengers basically deals with Pym talking about how he felt being Ant-man on the Avengers.

 

[txfantasystar]

I'm not mentioning specific comics, but that could really relp with his bio/description. Thanks! ^^

 

[KingOfMars]

I have to say i relate to hank pym the most as well, since he was always inadequate and constantly trying to find himself, and his girlfriend never helped by acting like a tramp whenever thor or captain america was around.

 

[Aztec]

I relate to the Hulk because when I get angry I turn huge, green, and go on a murderous rampage...

In all seriousness read The Ultimates. It really takes these characters and discusses some real world issues they might actually encounter. It also humanizes these heroes more than any other Avengers story that I'm aware of.

 

[Docker2.0]

Why is it always "new" users who ALWAYS have something for their school who open up threads like this? Not saying I don't believe him but if it walks like a chicken and barks like a chicken, then it damn sure isn't a hamburger.
Anyway, I relate to them only becuase............because.................Avengers I just like the characters. Not sure if I relate so to speak becuase I'm not on a team of super powered guys. But just love the Marvel universe.

 

[K.B.]

Wow, what's the name of your school? I doubt they'd okay this for your assignment.

Why is it always "new" users who ALWAYS have something for their school who open up threads like this? Not saying I don't believe him but if it walks like a chicken and barks like a chicken, then it damn sure isn't a hamburger.

And this is why we get no new readers to the medium. Ignorant fanboys.

TRY EMBRACING PEOPLE FOR A CHANGE!!!!!!


As for your assignment, I suggest pairing the list down to maybe 5 or so characters and be sure to pick the ones who have the most human and dramatic backstorys. For example I suggest

Ironman-Overcoming his addictions but other then that your on the right path already with this one it seems

Luke Cage-Discuss how he came from nothing and has worked to become a positive figure in his community

Hank Pym- He tries to do the right thing even if he goes about it the wrong way.

Steve Rogers Cap-For being the inspiration to people and the goal that we as a human try to acheive.

Wasp-Overcoming the odds such as domestic abuse to become a strong woman and leader.

 

[Harlekin]

And this is why we get no new readers to the medium. Ignorant fanboys.

TRY EMBRACING PEOPLE FOR A CHANGE!!!!!!

How does one relate to the other?

All I'm commenting on is that if I were the teacher, there'd be no way I'd allow this. Allowing students to pick up comments from the internet, with no other sources but screen names?

As to Docker's comments, it's true. There's a lot of new users that are here just for their school assignment. Neither one of our comments has anything to do with the actual hobby of reading comics.

 

[txfantasystar]

Wow. I never meant for people to start an argument over my school assignment.

Look, my teacher is allowing me to do it cause I'm honestly the best student in the class and she loves me. And also because she knows there are big online fan communities that I can get information from for this kind of thing.

As for the 'new user' school assignment thing: I don't have much time on the internet, so I'm sorry if you feel prejudiced towards me because I don't have as many posts as you, but I really thought that you would be willing to help me with this because for the most part the people on this forum seem like nice people. If I was wrong, then I feel very stupid.

And I have been reading comics for years, so don't think I'm not a fan. I just need different points of view for my project.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't see why a teacher wouldn't allow this in a high school English class. A college English class would be another matter entirely, but my high school teachers encouraged me to use the internet on projects, and a comic book message board is a perfectly legitimate fan community. If the teacher wants to check her sources, she can copy and paste the URL for this thread into a browser and read them for herself (and probably be dismayed by how judgmental some posters are of newbs, to boot).

Anyway, as much as I love Thor, the character I relate to on the Avengers most is probably the Vision. He's the Avengers' stalwart. Other characters may come and go, but since the Vision joined, he pretty much stuck with the Avengers straight through until his death in Disassembled with a few exceptions due to extraordinary circumstances. Plus, he was something of an orphan who basically adopted the Avengers as his family and learned to be human through his interactions with them; and, in so doing, he acted as a mirror on the other Avengers' own humanity (or lack thereof sometimes).

Other than the Vision, there's also the Black Knight, whom I always found compelling because he straddled the worlds of science and magic. He was a scientist whose uncle was the villainous Black Knight, and his innate good nature made him take up the mantle to atone for his uncle's sins. He started out with sci fi weaponry and eventually switched to magic, but his scientist brain still made him question the nature of his magical weapons. There's a scene in an old issue of Solo Avengers where Dane literally has the Ebony Blade hooked up to a bunch of machines, testing its magical capabilities through practical, scientific means. That always stuck with me as a really cool aspect of the character.

 

[BLACKVULCAN]

okay I'm game.
Even though i looove Luke Cage the Avenger i have always related more to is The Beast. reason being as an African- American i can totally relate to that " being judge strictly on your appearance instead of the person that you are. The guy is one of the smartest guys in the Marvel universe yet he was look at as just a blue ape.i can understand the frustration of not being judge for your accomplishments, but rather that you have blue fur covering your body or in my case black skin.I also understand using humor like Beast did to deal with all that frustration as a defense mechanism against that prejudice to disarm people. Not only is he a mutant that eveybody hates. he cant conceal it like the others did. it was cool cause the reason he joined the Avengers was to legitimize himself being a superhero, by being on Marvel's premier team.Unfortunately this bias an predjuice still goes on. I still get this pre-judgmental even with comic nerds. when i go to conventions sometimes, because i don't fit the "nerd" stereotype i usually get shouldn't you be at the rap or hip hop convention instead since i work out alot and look like i can handle myself in a fight instead of being a comic book loving nerd.Funny thing is again i would rather party and be cool like Beast is than to fight, but people just see the outward appearance instead of that he was just a big blue teddy bear.a genius mind but a blue teddy bear too. I love that guy and he will always be one of top tier characters of all time

 

[Docker2.0]

And this is why we get no new readers to the medium. Ignorant fanboys.
TRY EMBRACING PEOPLE FOR A CHANGE!!!!!!


As for your assignment, I suggest pairing the list down to maybe 5 or so characters and be sure to pick the ones who have the most human and dramatic backstorys. For example I suggest

Ironman-Overcoming his addictions but other then that your on the right path already with this one it seems

Luke Cage-Discuss how he came from nothing and has worked to become a positive figure in his community

Hank Pym- He tries to do the right thing even if he goes about it the wrong way.

Steve Rogers Cap-For being the inspiration to people and the goal that we as a human try to acheive.

Wasp-Overcoming the odds such as domestic abuse to become a strong woman and leader.

New readers? Dude isn't even trying to read. He's asking fanboys why THEY read. And must you call us ignorant becuase of something we noticed? If you believed this story, then I have swamp land in Maryland that I want to sell you. Not complaining, just saying the story makes no sense.

How does one relate to the other?

All I'm commenting on is that if I were the teacher, there'd be no way I'd allow this. Allowing students to pick up comments from the internet, with no other sources but screen names?

As to Docker's comments, it's true. There's a lot of new users that are here just for their school assignment. Neither one of our comments has anything to do with the actual hobby of reading comics.

Exactly!


But I did give my opinion of why I like the Avengers. I can't really relate to them, just love the characters. Spidey, I can relate to becuase he's trying to do the right thing but yet has problems and alot of inner tormoil. But can't say i honestly can relate to Thor, a perfect adonis of a guy who's all powerful, good looking, and every woman and gay guy's wet dream, though I do love the character. There's just some characters you love and some you just connect with. Hard to explain in words but I know some of you guys can feel me.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Thor should be relatable to anyone who was deemed inadequate by a parent. That was his whole schtick up until Odin died: nothing he did could please his father. Yeah, he's supposedly Odin's favorite, but what does that get him? Loki screws up and he's chained to a new rock because Odin expects it from him. Thor screws up and he's banished to spend decades as a disabled human or kicked out of Asgard or left to rot in Mephisto's realm. The fact that he's muscular and handsome means nothing, since every superhero is muscular and handsome.

 

[K.B.]

The fact that many of you seem to act as if this person is trying to pull the whool over our eyes with their "story" is exactly what Im talking about with fanboys. It's a simple school project for an english class...what exactly does she have to gain from "lying to us" with this "story". She just wants to do a project and connect it to comics. Whats the harm?

Try helping your community instead of shunning and treating them like "outlanders".

As for my comment about ignorant fanboys and not getting new readers, it relates because here is someone who is asking for help from the comics reading community and wants OUR input and most of you turn around and talk down to her and condecend as if she isn't worthy of our comics knowledge, which is exactly how you would treat someone who would be new to comics. I've seen it a million times both on here and in person.

 

[Docker2.0]

Thor should be relatable to anyone who was deemed inadequate by a parent. That was his whole schtick up until Odin died: nothing he did could please his father. Yeah, he's supposedly Odin's favorite, but what does that get him? Loki screws up and he's chained to a new rock because Odin expects it from him. Thor screws up and he's banished to spend decades as a disabled human or kicked out of Asgard or left to rot in Mephisto's realm. The fact that he's muscular and handsome means nothing, since every superhero is muscular and handsome.

Wow Corp! That actually makes sense! Is that why he your favorite? Not saying you have a man crush on the dude but you are pretty much known as THE Thor guy. And I love Thor but just never saw it that way becuase on the human side(midgard)all any of the Avengers ever do is seem to worship the guy. He's always the most powerful one and noted for his good looks.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Nah, that's not why Thor's my favorite. I actually prefer him with Odin dead and Thor being forced to step into his shoes and make all the hard choices. That's part of why the King Thor saga and the current JMS comics have been so great.

 

[Docker2.0]

I love what JMS is doing but I'm kind of hating the King Thor saga. He's not really in the MU right now. Plus with the Odin force, dude is kind of to powerful. If Loki is going to be the new Odin, I'm hoping he can get the Odin force during Dark reign, to at least make it interesting becuase as of right now, Thor can't be challenged. Only the Sentry can give dude a challenge when he's eating his Wheaties, becuase let's face it: when Odin was at his most powerful, dude went up against Celestials which not even Galactus can say, I don't think he can anyway..... that makes Thor probably the most powerful being on Earth.

 

[txfantasystar]

Wow...Just Wow.

First: I am a girl.

Second: Stop arguing about my so-called story. Seriously. I, as an avid comic reader, want to know why other people relate to and love the characters. I know why I do, but my point is to show how universal these stories and characters are as part of modern literature.

So please stop agruing over whether this is legit. I don't want a board full of arguments. I want a board with genuine replies to the question I asked which I can use in my project to show the power of the characters.

And thanks to those of you who have already done that. ^^

 

[random_havoc]

I relate most to Captain America (Steve Rogers).

I have old style morals and beliefs and often feel out of place in today's culture which so often outright rejects or even mocks such morals.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I love what JMS is doing but I'm kind of hating the King Thor saga. He's not really in the MU right now. Plus with the Odin force, dude is kind of to powerful. If Loki is going to be the new Odin, I'm hoping he can get the Odin force during Dark reign, to at least make it interesting becuase as of right now, Thor can't be challenged. Only the Sentry can give dude a challenge when he's eating his Wheaties, becuase let's face it: when Odin was at his most powerful, dude went up against Celestials which not even Galactus can say, I don't think he can anyway..... that makes Thor probably the most powerful being on Earth.

Odin got his ass kicked by the Celestials, so the Odinpower's not all that great. I wouldn't mind seeing Balder take it off Thor's hands, though.

 

[Harlekin]

Ah, I should apologise. I misread a part of the opening post. They let me use the internet in my high school too. Not that I agree with it, but yeah, okay.

Either way, sorry for having this devolve into arguments. Good luck with the assignment. I don't necessarily relate to the Avengers. I just want to see them kick epic ass.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Really? None of them?