Us Normal Little People

When I asked a friend what he thought of the latest Marvel Comics movie, The Avengers, he provided me with a very succinct and quotable answer.  In fact, I reckon it should be included in every single positive review of the movie...no, wait, hang on...I'm assuming there will be negative reviews - silly me.

"It was too short."  That's what he said, and that's a sentiment I share wholeheartedly.

When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I was so excited I could hardly contain myself, so when I bought my ticket to go see it the first time (yes, it's not a typo, I did say "first time"; because there was a second time...and there might be a third time!) I was a little bit scared that it wasn't going to live up to my expectations.  But I was being silly again, it absolutely lived up to my expectations, and because of Joss Whedon being the director, it took my expectation and shot it out into space, far beyond the limit of the skies.

Who is Joss Whedon?  Did you seriously just ask that question?  Yes, of course I can hear you wondering out loud behind your computer, I have skills...silly reader.

Joss Whedon is the genius who brought you Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and subsequently the movie Serentiy.  Yes, I own all of them...proudly.

But I'm not actually writing this blog because I want to review the movie, or Joss Whedon's epicness.  I'm writing because movies like these always leave me a little depressed if I'm not careful.  Think about it, you have six people with super-abilities and very high skill-sets defending the planet against Transformer-like creatures from an un-imaginable realm.   A planet filled with people that do not have the super-abilities to defend themselves.

And then I usually find myself wishing I had a superpower.

So, in an effort to make myself, and you all, feel better about Us Normal Little People, here's what I think:

Yes, The Avengers have a Demi-God (Thor) and two Gamma-Freaks (Captain America and Hulk), but then they have the following:  "A genius, millionaire, playboy philanthropist" (Tony Stark's words, not mine) in the form of Iron Man.  His suit comes entirely from his genius and his ability to push his own limits in understanding science.  Granted, he started out with very selfish motives, but in the end his diligence resulted in a Protector that Earth really needed.  Secondly, you have a Russian spy named Natasha Romanov.  She's absolutely human, but she has such a subtle and specific skill-set that, if you blink, you miss it:  She ALWAYS gets the information she needs (and she doesn't even have to shed a shred of clothing to get it).  Lastly, we have Clint Barton, another spy, also absolutely human.  He's the greatest marksman on the planet, not because he may have accidentally drank an unnamed green substance or injected himself with luminous blue glitter (or got bitten by a radio-active spider...haha!); he has this skill because he devoted his life to develop it and to understanding it.

My point is, I want you to look at your group of friends.  You will most probably have a representation of the Avengers in that group, and if it's not evident from the start, play a game of Find the Hero and you might be surprised.  There might not be a guy (or girl) in that group that physically transforms into a "big green rage monster" (once again, Tony Stark's words, not mine), but you may know someone that have overcome anger-management issues against all odds.

And if you step back and think that you're the Normal Little Human, remember Natasha and Clint; they're not called Black Widow and Hawkeye for nothing.  Find your skill and work at it, sharpen it and aim for the best.  Who knows, maybe one day you'll have your own metaphorical Iron Man suit with which to protect what is close to your heart.

And don't stop when you face the possibility of failure:  "And if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it."  Again, Mr Tony Stark.