degree-of-interest: Master of Science in Counseling 10 MCU Characters Who Could Probably Benefit from Counseling (Spoiler Ahead!) Marketing and Communications | October 3, 2023 Marvel superhero movies have been dominating the box office for more than a decade. While it’s exciting to watch these heroes defeat enemies on the screen, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) offers much more than action sequences and explosions. Many characters have had to deal with battles on a more personal level. This kind of drama can make you wonder if some MCU characters might benefit from counseling. What Is Counseling? Counseling refers to a certain kind of support or guidance that people receive from mental health professionals. This usually takes the form of talk therapy, which gives individuals a chance to discuss their thoughts and feelings. Counseling can help people process trauma or other challenges that they’ve experienced. Those who seek this type of help can also learn healthy ways to handle stressful situations and improve their mental and emotional well-being. Why Is Counseling Important? Counseling provides people with a safe place to talk about personal or sensitive issues. During these sessions, they can discuss anything they’re struggling with and receive guidance on how to manage mental health challenges. Professional counselors have the training required to help people with depression and other mental health disorders. Some specialize in certain areas, such as marriage or school counseling. MCU Characters Living in the MCU might seem fun but think about all the drama characters deal with. From battling aliens above the streets of NYC in the first Avengers movie to coping with losing half of the universe’s population in Avengers: Endgame thanks to Thanos. Being part of the MCU involves a lot of trauma and stress. MCU Characters Who Could Benefit From Counseling Attending counseling sessions could likely help many MCU characters process everything they’ve been through. Just being able to talk to a counselor about their experiences and struggles might help ease a bit of the pressure they’re under. Some MCU characters have had a ton of trauma that a trained mental health professional could help them cope with in healthy ways. The following are some of the main characters who really should consider counseling: 1. Ant-Man/Scott Lang Scott Lang, better known as Ant-Man, made an untimely trip to the Quantum realm just as The Snap was happening. With Hope, Janet, and Hank being snapped out of existence, Lang was trapped there for five years. During this time, he missed out on being part of his daughter Cassie’s childhood. By the time he saw her again, she was already 16. 2. Star-Lord/Peter Quill Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, lost his mother to cancer, then spent his childhood and young adult years being raised by aliens. Although Quill finally met his father, he found out that his dad is a living planet who wants to dominate the universe and that he was directly responsible for his mother’s fatal brain cancer. 3. Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange Dr. Stephen Strange prided himself on being one of the top neurosurgeons in the world. When a terrible car accident led to serious hand injuries, he discovered that he couldn’t be a surgeon anymore. The loss of his career and life passion caused him to sink into depression. 4. Spider-Man/Peter Parker Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man, lost his parents at a young age. He also lost Uncle Ben and Aunt May, the family members who raised him. Thanks to Dr. Strange’s spell, the world forgot all about Peter, including who he is and what he’s done, causing him to lose his girlfriend MJ, best friend Ned, and other friends, since their memories of him disappeared. 5. The Hulk/Bruce Banner Bruce Banner, AKA The Hulk, is a brilliant biochemist whose life became unpredictable and chaotic when he was exposed to gamma radiation. Banner turns into The Hulk, a destructive rage machine, when he’s angry. These extreme anger issues have affected his relationships and led to considerable property damage over the years. Having to keep a lid on his anger has also been an ongoing struggle for him personally. 6. Iron Man/Tony Stark Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, is a genius billionaire who built the suit that gave him his name and made him a superhero. Although he saved the world quite a few times, his narcissistic personality also got him into plenty of trouble, causing many problems in his personal and professional life. Stark’s overconfidence and desire to protect the world from invaders led to the creation of Ultron, a robot that planned to destroy humanity. Stark also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to his experiences as a superhero. 7. Thor As the God of Thunder and Prince of Asgard, Thor led a charmed life for centuries. However, dark elves killed his mother, Frigga, Thanos killed his brother, Loki, and his father, Odin, died. When his evil sister Hela returned and tried to rule Asgard, this led to the destruction of his entire home world. In addition to suffering so much loss, Thor struggles with arrogance at times, preventing him from beating Thanos and allowing The Snap to happen. 8. Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, lost her parents when she was young. Her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff, was killed during the Avengers’ fight with Ultron. Wanda fell in love with Vision, partly due to the fact that she could talk to him about her grief. However, Thanos killed him. Wanda altered reality to bring Vision back and created twin sons, but she ended up losing this new family as well. 9. Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, became a HYDRA super soldier against his will. HYDRA used mind control to make him forget who he was and forced him to assassinate people. Even though he didn’t want to kill anyone, he carries around a lot of guilt since he remembers everything he did as the Winter Soldier. 10. Captain America/Steve Rogers Steve Rogers, or Captain America, was willing to sacrifice his life to save others. Instead of dying, though, he stayed frozen in Arctic waters for decades. When he woke up, he was in a new time and didn’t recognize his modern surroundings. He lost the love of his life, his friends, and everything else he knew from the 1940s. All MCU Characters While the characters mentioned have been through a lot of trauma, all MCU characters could really benefit from going to counseling. The chaos that comes with living in the MCU could easily negatively affect any character’s well-being, whether they’re superheroes or normal folks. Talking to a counselor could help them manage stress and give their mental well-being a big boost. Earn Your Degree, Today If you’re feeling inspired to pursue a career in counseling, please contact Carson-Newman University. Our school offers a Master of Science in Counseling that helps you learn the skills needed for this kind of career. You can specialize in clinical mental health counseling, school counseling, or both.
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