Marvel’s Thunderbolts* does more than set the scene for the “New Avengers.” It also highlights mental health and addiction.
I’ve gotta admit — I should have watched this film in the theater. Nothing matches a Marvel movie for theatrical greatness. If you want to experience the fights, explosions, and dramatic musical score in its full glory, you must see it in the theater. But I waited until after Disney Plus’s streaming release, on August 27. It was a big mistake — but I was wowed by more than the special effects. I was impressed by the movie’s focus on mental health and addiction.
First, let me catch you up. For those new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), here’s what you need to know, before watching the film. The Avengers were awesome — there was never a team to save the planet more times than Iron Man, Spiderman, The Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and friends. Now that they’re gone, there’s a new team in town to resist the latest villain. According to the MCU Wiki:
Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
To tell you what the film is about, I must reveal a few spoilers. But I will try to be vague enough not to give away too many major plot points. The movie is ostensibly about the formation of a new team. But it’s really about the effects of trauma on a person’s life. And it’s about the coping mechanisms we develop to survive.
One of the messages of The Thunderbolts is that we’ve all got trauma. Except for Bucky Barnes, who says he had a “great past,” all the main characters suffer from trauma of one kind or another. (Honestly, why is it that Superhero movies seldom deal with heroes living with PTSD?)
One of the movie’s prominent messages is that trauma isn’t always something you fix. Usually, it’s something you have to learn to live with. One of the primary characters, Bob, revisits his childhood traumas and says it led to his use of methamphetamine as a survival strategy. Bob makes himself a villain because of his poor coping mechanisms and lashes out at others to deal with his pain. But the team learns that “fighting the bad guy” won’t fix the problem. Instead, they decide to be with him in his pain. Through their persistent presence and determination not to give up on him, Bob finds redemption.
As a visual representation of trauma, the film walks us through Ylena’s and Bob’s relentless revisiting of the most shameful moments of their lives. We discover that Bob isn’t the only one who turned to substances to escape from pain. Ylena admitted that she found her solace in alcohol addiction. But escape is not the answer. Heroes and villains alike find that it’s only by facing their shame and trauma head-on that they can find healing.
Psychology Today points out the role that PTSD, Complex PTSD, depression, and substance misuse play in this film. Ylena tries to stuff her pain way down deep, so she doesn’t have to deal with it — but this is unsuccessful. Bob’s safe place that he retreats to in his mind becomes a void of depression that ends up swallowing others around him.
Without giving away the end of the film, I will say this: Though the Void claims many victims, healing doesn’t take place in a vacuum. It happens together. Shame breeds isolation, but recovery takes teamwork. Whether we are talking about mental health or substance misuse (or a combination of both), Thunderbolts* reminds viewers that isolation only makes it worse.
It’s been said that the opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection. This is just as true for mental health struggles as it is for substance misuse. If you need healing, you can’t do it alone. Only by letting others into your life to be with you in the pain and help you toward healing will you ever find wholeness.
And, if you’re a healer, there’s a message in this movie for you as well. The Thunderbolts take a team-based approach as they work toward Bob’s recovery. They recognize that they are all wounded healers who must rely on each other for strength. And they find more value in just being with Bob than they do in trying to fix him. Only Bob can face his inner Void — their job is simply to help.
As a behavioral health specialist, I recognize many of my own clients in Bob. I am glad for the ability to openly discuss trauma and substance use with so many of them. As a former pastor, I am reminded of how isolating the religious world can be for many who struggle with mental health issues and addiction. Too often, the Church has told people that the solution to depression is prayer, and that the answer to addiction is determination.
Unfortunately, misunderstanding and stigma in religious circles often contribute to a sense of isolation and despair. It’s past time for the Church to take behavioral health seriously and to recognize that those with mental health struggles aren’t experiencing sin problems. You can’t pray everything away — and the toolkit that most pastors possess isn’t sufficient for dealing with issues like depression, PTSD, trauma, and addiction. Pastors must acknowledge when it’s time to refer parishioners to professionals. And they must recognize their own unique role to play in a team of superheroes that work to restore a person’s body, psyche, and spirit.
Marvel’s film shows that we all have trauma — but healing happens when we face it together. Even if you’re not a superhero movie fan, you should check out Thunderbolts* if you’re interested in a creative take on mental health and addiction, from the MCU perspective. And, even if The Avengers weren’t quite your thing, maybe there’s new hope for the world as the Thunderbolts save the world (and each other) as a team.
Read more on Patheos – Seek. Understand.
