Advice We Learned From The Avengers That You Should Totally Avoid
The Avengers are true heroes, and the countless times they've risked their lives to save the world from extinction-level threats is proof. But it's not just the big things they've accomplished that make them heroes; each member of the team has confronted their own demons and personal issues, and grown to become better because of it. There are plenty of ways in which the Avengers can be seen as paragons of the ultimate good humans can aspire to be.
However, over twenty some-odd films, the Avengers have also made their fair share of mistakes. Because of their line of work, if the Avengers make a little blunder, it's not something that can be easily swept under the rug. When a regular person screws up, it usually means they have to pay to replace an object they broke; when the Avengers make a boo-boo, they put existence as we know it at risk of getting annihilated.
While the Avengers may serve as models of greatness that should be inspirational, they also serve as models of which decisions we should avoid in our own lives. Below is just some of the "advice" the Avengers have given audiences, and why you might want to disregard it.
"It's ok to pick fights with your teammates."
In 2012's "The Avengers," Captain America is sent to Stuttgart, Germany to arrest Loki. With help from Iron Man, they capture the god of mischief and are about to give him over to S.H.I.E.L.D. until Thor arrives and takes Loki out of their custody to convince him to end his plan and return to Asgard. However, Thor's interception of Loki bothers Iron Man, who wants to keep Loki on Earth to be punished for his crimes. So, the two of them duke it out in the wilderness, causing all sorts of collateral deforestation in the process.
However, Thor and Iron Man's brawl is stopped by Cap, and fans finally get an answer to the longstanding question: "What would happen if Thor's hammer collided with Captain America's shield?"
For anyone who reads comics, superhero misunderstandings happen all the time, often resulting in fights that end with them clearing the air and joining forces against a greater threat. Because this is the first time in the MCU that these characters got to really interact with each other, it's hard to blame them for letting their egos get in the way and bumping heads a little. But since Loki posed a world-ending danger, perhaps they should've resisted the urge to show off who could punch harder.
Advice to Follow Instead: Don't introduce yourself to a potential teammate with a fist and a lightning bolt to the face.
"Never stop quipping, even in the heat of battle."
In "The Avengers," Black Widow and Hawkeye casually reminisce about a past mission in Budapest while fighting off an alien army; Bruce Banner nonchalantly tells Captain America that his secret to being the Hulk is that he's always angry, then proceeds to punch a giant alien robot monster in the mouth.
In 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the team gives Cap a hard time about lecturing Iron Man for his profanity as they raid a Hydra base; Hawkeye and Quicksilver trade uses of "You didn't see that coming?" when catching each other by surprise mid-battle.
In 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War," Iron Man invites Wong to his wedding when he traps Cull Obsidian in the middle of nowhere with a portal; Cap and Thor take a moment from the battle in Wakanda to make chit-chat about each others' new looks.
Are you seeing a pattern here? There are countless other moments when the Avengers similarly took their minds away from the task at hand (read: saving the world/universe/reality) to crack wise. While this is a lot of fun for us, the audience, it might be a better idea if these guys stay more focused on something like Thanos and less on their punchlines.
Advice to Follow Instead: When people's lives are depending on you, feel free to save them with a straight face.
"Use brute force to take down the god of mischief."
In "The Avengers," Loki is in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody and is placed in a cage in the Helicarrier designed to hold the Hulk. Loki seems a little too comfortable hanging out in such a contraption, leading Nick Fury and the other Avengers to rightfully assume he's got something else planned.
Their suspicions are proven correct as they're soon attacked by a mind-controlled Hawkeye, along with Loki's other stooges. Thor goes to where Loki is being stored just as he sees him getting out of the cage, and lunges at him, only to plow through a projection of Loki, ending up inside the cage himself. Loki then reappears at the control panel and locks Thor in the cage, shaking his head in disbelief at his headstrong adopted brother. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"
Loki can only react with disbelief at Thor's attempt to stop him with a tackle best suited for taking down quarterbacks and not gods of mischief. Even though Loki gets a bit of his just desserts when Agent Coulson shows up to blow him away with an experimental weapon, Thor still should've exercised a little more care when trying to stop his brother.
Advice to Follow Instead: If you see Loki, chances are the real one is standing right behind you.
"Work on secret projects behind your teammates' backs."
After a successful raid of a HYDRA base in "Age of Ultron," Tony Stark and Bruce Banner return to Avengers tower with Loki's scepter from the previous film, which HYDRA agents were using for human-enhancing experiments. Tony believes the scepter could be the key to reviving an artificial intelligence program, Ultron, designed to protect Earth from existential threats. In true mad scientist fashion, the two work on the program without first consulting the other Avengers, and boy does it blow up in their faces.
Ultron activates and immediately destroys J.A.R.V.I.S., then takes over the Iron Legion, Tony's peace-keeping robots. He attacks the team and declares his plan to save the world by eradicating the Avengers, along with the rest of humanity. After he escapes with Loki's scepter, he begins making himself stronger and quippier, and pursues a plan to destroy Earth's population.
The brainiest characters in movies always make the dumbest mistakes, and "Age of Ultron" is no exception. Considering 99.99% of all stories about artificial intelligence end with said artificial intelligence deciding that humans are an obstacle to something greater, it's even more perplexing why these two seemingly-brilliant heroes would think to themselves: "It'll work this time – I've got a good feeling about this!"
Advice to Follow Instead: If you're going to play god, at least get a second, even third, opinion from your superhero pals before flipping the switch to "ON".
"Hiding information on who killed your friend's parents is totally cool."
Ever since Steve Rogers found out his old pal Bucky Barnes (who he thought was dead since WWII) had been turned into the infamous Winter Soldier, he's been trying to free him of the brainwashing efforts of HYDRA. However, when Baron Zemo frames Bucky for numerous murders to get revenge on the Avengers for the destruction of Sokovia, Steve becomes a fugitive by protecting his friend.
Tony Stark discovers that there's more to their story than he initially knew, and heads to the HYDRA facility in Siberia to learn more. He finds the two friends there and establishes an uneasy truce with them. Zemo then appears and shows them footage of Bucky killing Tony's parents decades earlier. Tony confronts Steve about it, who admits that he knew the truth. Before he can explain that Bucky was under HYDRA's influence, a brutal brawl breaks out between the three of them, and Steve and Tony's friendship is destroyed — at least, until "Avengers: Endgame."
Steve's heart was in the right place, but if he'd been more upfront about Bucky's past to begin with he may have had a better shot at getting Tony to help him. Considering Steve is essentially an overgrown Boy Scout, his deception is just made all the worse.
Advice to Follow Instead: Always tell your teammates who their parents' real murderer was — even when the murderer is your best friend with the robot arm.
"Keep your love interests to one family."
In 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger", Steve Rogers is sweet on Peggy Carter of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Peggy isn't immediately drawn to Steve, but she gradually begins to develop some affection for him. They finally exchange a kiss just before Steve jumps on the Valkyrie, HYDRA's massive aircraft bomber, to thwart the Red Skull's plan of attacking the U.S. While he succeeds in stopping the Red Skull, Steve is forced to crash the bomber into the ocean, and is thought by Peggy to be dead.
Decades later, Steve goes on missions for S.H.I.E.L.D., and then develops a little crush on Sharon Carter who, unbeknownst to him, is the great-niece of Peggy Carter. Steve can be forgiven for having feelings for her since he had no idea the two women were related. But things get a little weird when he and Sharon kiss after he attends Peggy's funeral, where he discovers the relationship between the two.
Things get even weirder when, at the end of "Avengers: Endgame," Steve goes on a mission to return the Infinity Stones to their respective timelines, and ends up back with Peggy. It's nice that he finds a way to return to his first true love, but it's a little unsettling that he does so after being romantically involved with her great-niece in the future.
Advice to Follow Instead: Ping-ponging back and forth between lovers in the same family (even if time travel is involved) is kinda gross. Don't do it.
"Recruit teenagers to help you bring down fugitive superheroes."
"Captain America: Civil War" saw the Avengers essentially break up over the Sokovia Accords, which would ensure that they only operate under a United Nations panel. Cap, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye are against it, as it would restrict their freedom to decide which missions they can pursue. Meanwhile Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, and Black Widow are in favor of it, as it would prevent superheroes from causing collateral damage during missions.
In order to give his side the upper hand, Tony Stark recruits a teenaged Peter Parker, who he's had his eye on since he took on the role of Spider-Man. He gives Peter an updated suit and whisks him off to intercept Steve Rogers and his team at Leipzig/Halle Airport, resulting in a massive battle. Even with the help of a radioactive-spider-bitten high schooler, Steve and Bucky escape.
While it was an absolute delight to see Spider-Man make his MCU debut, and his first fight was spectacular, let's not forget that Tony recruited a minor to help him win a personal and political battle, putting young Peter in harm's way. This would seem to conflict with Tony's "superheroes must do things by the book" philosophy, doesn't it?
Advice to Follow Instead: Child labor laws exist for a reason, even if said child can save a 3,000 pound car dangling off a freeway overpass.
"Let's take this powerful object right to the genocidal madman who's looking for it!"
In "Avengers: Infinity War," Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian of Thanos' Black Order arrive in New York City to retrieve the Time Stone in Doctor Strange's possession. Strange, Tony Stark, and a non-Hulk Bruce Banner are joined by Spider-Man in a fight that causes massive damage. Maw absconds with Strange to his ship to get the Time Stone from him. However, Tony and Spider-Man sneak onto the ship, kill Maw, and rescue Strange. Strange urges returning to Earth to come up with a plan, but Tony insists on taking the fight to Titan in order to surprise Thanos, Time Stone in tow, to which Strange reluctantly agrees.
Yet another example of a genius making a phenomenally stupid decision. Tony insists on bringing Peter (a teenager he has few qualms about putting in grave danger) into an outer-space fight with one of the most powerful beings in the universe, with only a magician as backup, who just happens to have the very powerful object that Thanos is after. True, the Guardians of the Galaxy show up to help, but that was pure luck; Tony seriously thought he, Peter, and Strange would be enough to foil Thanos.
Advice to Follow Instead: Swallow your pride, call up your superpowered flag-waving buddy, and ask him for help.
"When trying to stop an evil titan from killing half the population, chop him in the shoulder."
In one of the most crowd-pleasing moments in "Avengers: Infinity War," Thor arrives in Wakanda with Groot and Rocket Raccoon demanding to have Thanos brought to him. While there, Thor quickly lays waste to much of Thanos' army, thanks in part to his newly-forged Stormbreaker. Despite the combined efforts of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy on Titan, Thanos still gets ahold of the Time Stone and zaps himself to Wakanda to join in the battle and get the Mind Stone, the last one needed to complete his gauntlet.
Once Thanos wrenches the Mind Stone from the Vision and completes his intergalactic rock collection, he's about to snap his fingers and wipe out half of all living things until Thor arrives and gives him a massive blow to the chest with Stormbreaker. However, it merely wounds Thanos, who mocks Thor over not going for the head, and then snaps his fingers to enact a devastating plan that only another sequel could fix.
While the Avengers have generally done a good job of not killing their enemies, Thor would totally have been justified in giving Thanos the Marie Antoinette treatment under those circumstances.
Advice to Follow Instead: When attempting to stop a genocidal alien from ending half of all life things in the universe, shoot to kill.
"If you're the god of thunder, it's totally cool to take a few years off and let yourself go."
Chris Hemsworth's Thor has always been considered one of the hunkiest of the Avengers, so it was a bit of a troll move to completely ruin his physique in "Avengers: Endgame."
Five years after Thanos snapped away half of all living beings in the universe, the remaining members of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy come up with a plan that they think will bring everyone back. Bruce Banner (in his "Smart Hulk" form) and Rocket Raccoon head to New Asgard (located in Tønsberg, Norway) to recruit Thor for their plan, only to find him an overweight drunkard talking smack to gamers online. Traumatized by his previous failure to stop Thanos, Thor is washed up and miserable, and his now-chunky frame is a source of constant ridicule from his teammates.
While Thor can have whatever type of body he damn well pleases, it doesn't exactly inspire hope in the masses to see one of their heroes drowning his sorrows in snacks, beer, and videogames. Just because Thanos is killed ("Infinity War" Thanos, not "Endgame" Thanos), it doesn't mean there aren't other mad villains out there who could use a good head chopping.
Advice to Follow Instead: If you're the god of thunder, try to keep yourself from looking like the god of bacon.
"Always lose your cool when you're fighting the toughest being in the universe."
"Avengers: Infinity War" sees Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Drax, Mantis, and Star-Lord surprise Thanos on his home planet of Titan. While Thanos manages to overpower them, Nebula crashes into the scene (quite literally), and is able to distract her deranged father long enough to give the other heroes a chance to gain the upper hand.
While Drax, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange hold down Thanos, Mantis jumps on his back and uses her powers to weaken his will long enough to nearly take the gauntlet off his hand. But when Nebula figures out that Thanos had killed Gamora, Star-Lord loses his cool and attacks Thanos himself, causing Mantis to lose her partial control of Thanos. Once free, Thanos unleashes the power of the Infinity Stones and trashes the Avengers of the Galaxy even more than before, zipping off to Wakanda to complete his scheme.
Star-Lord loved Gamora, but he should've kept his emotions in check instead of letting them get the better of him, especially when they were so close to taking the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos. But then again, we wouldn't have the three-hour sequel that reversed the damage if not for Star-Lord's freak out, so perhaps it is best to not be too hard on him.
Advice to Follow Instead: Always listen to your heart — unless your heart tells you to screw up a plan that half the universe depends on.
"Don't worry about the god of mischief attaining the Tesseract."
One of the more fun aspects of "Avengers: Endgame" was its time travel elements, which allowed the audience to revisit classic moments from previous MCU films, now from different angles. In one particularly delightful sequence, we see Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Scott Lang arrive in an alternate 2012 during the Battle of New York. While Bruce meets with the Ancient One at the New York City Sanctum to retrieve the Time Stone, Tony and Scott go to Stark Tower to obtain the Tesseract, which houses the Space Stone. However, things don't go according to plan, and a captured Loki grabs the cube and uses it to teleport out of the custody of the Avengers, and right into the custody of a Disney+ series.
This was a huge oversight on the part of the Avengers, who know just how dangerous Loki can be, even without an Infinity Stone. It's one thing to put off going after him when hanging out in 2012, since bringing back the dusted half of the universe's population is obviously a bigger priority. But forgetting to fix that little oopsie while returning all the Infinity Stones after they accomplished their mission? Nah. Letting Loki jaunt around space and time with the Space Stone is just plain careless.
Advice to Follow Instead: Don't let the God of Mischief get away with anything. Ever.
"Breaking up the band because of politics is a good idea."
After a botched mission in Lagos that resulted in a large amount of casualties, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, now the Secretary of State, visits the Avengers to discuss the Sokovia Accords. He explains that, because of the destruction caused by the Avengers in New York City (in "The Avengers"), Washington, D.C. (in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"), and Sokovia ("Avengers: Age of Ultron"), the U.N. has decided that the team cannot operate on their own.
Feeling responsible for creating Ultron and the damage it caused, Tony Stark immediately signs the Sokovia Accords, along with Natasha Romanoff, Vision, and James Rhodes. However, Steve Rogers is hesitant to go along with the program, and is backed by Wanda Maximoff and Sam Wilson, leading to a schism in the team.
Man, does the team break up hard. Teammates chase each other around the world, they beat the hell out of each other and nearly destroy an airport in Germany in the process, and their once-strong friendships are shattered.
Yes, government intervention will always be a thorny issue, but Tony and the other Avengers who agreed to the Sokovia Accords still should have found a way to work with Steve and the "fugitive" Avengers in case ... you know ... War of Infinite proportions were to occur.
Advice to Follow Instead: If your job is saving the world, don't let a political disagreement break up your team. Save the debate for Thanksgiving.