Most people probably wouldn’t really think about a fictional character having symptoms of mental illness. Not unless they had some sort of mental illness themselves. At that point, you see the signs in all kinds of media; movies, television, books, and comics, really anywhere.
So why is it important that we have these characters? It’s important because there are real people who struggle with these things in their everyday life. It makes us feel less alone when someone in something we enjoy not only has the same problems as us, but also manages to continue living their life while dealing with these problems.
Now, how do all of this relate to Wanda Maximoff, also known as Scarlet Witch, a character in the Marvel franchise? Well, if you’ve seen Avengers: Age of Ultron, and recently, Captain America: Civil War, you’ll know her. She is one half of the Maximoff twins; the other being her brother Pietro.
In Age of Ultron she and the rest of the Avengers work together in a grandiose fight against Ultron. At one point she is seen crawling into the shell of a house, very clearly frightened and panicking, only to be confronted by Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. During said scene, Barton checks on her well-being, both mental and physical, and then explains that she has two options: hiding and not fighting, or going out there and doing her job to protect as many innocent people as she can. During this scene we see her realize that even though she’s scared and panicked, she’s able to gather her courage and continue the fight.
Anyone who has dealt with anxiety on a chronic level will tell you that that conversation is pretty similar to what we have to say to ourselves in our head before we attempt to tackle something anxiety provoking or, even menial tasks on a bad anxiety day. Wanda gets anxious and still does what needs to be done. Ideally, that’s what everyone can do, but sometimes we need a tiny Hawkeye to sit on our shoulder and remind us that we can do this, and that we need to do this.
If you haven’t seen Avengers: Age of Ultron or Captain America: Civil War then I highly recommend you check them out. Not only does the Marvel Cinematic Universe accurately represent various mental illnesses such as PTSD and Anxiety, they’re also just really funny with excellent balance between action and storytelling.
