History DeconstructedCharacterArchetype / MarvelCinematicUniverse

* [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy The Green Goblin]] in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' Deconstructs the MultiversalConqueror and ForTheEvulz characters that you see in Crossovers: Because he wants to conquer and caused Mayhem in the MCU he overly underestimated the heroes there. This bites him in the ass when he enraged MCU Peter to the point he doesn't pull his punches and effortlessly [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats him to a pulp.]] and would have killed him and Osborn. If it weren't for Raimi Peter plus because he is so sadistic and wants to be in the MCU he destroys the box containing the Botched Spell that it tears through reality that MCU Peter and Strange reluctantly had to [[Unperson erase everyone's memories of Peter Parker in order to fix it.]]

** [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy The Green Goblin]] in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' Deconstructs the MultiversalConqueror and ForTheEvulz characters that you see in Crossovers: Because he wants to conquer and caused Mayhem in the MCU he overly underestimated the heroes there. This bites him in the ass when he enraged MCU Peter to the point he doesn't pull his punches and effortlessly [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats him to a pulp.]] and would have killed him and Osborn. If it weren't for Raimi Peter plus because he is so sadistic and wants to be in the MCU he destroys the box containing the Botched Spell that it tears through reality that MCU Peter and Strange reluctantly had to [[Unperson erase everyone's memories of Peter Parker in order to fix it.]]

** [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy The Green Goblin]]'' in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' Deconstructs the MultiversalConqueror and ForTheEvulz characters that you see in Crossovers: Because he wants to conquer and caused Mayhem in the MCU he overly underestimated the heroes there. This bites him in the ass when he enraged MCU Peter to the point he doesn't pull his punches and effortlessly [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats him to a pulp.]] and would have killed him and Osborn. If it weren't for Raimi Peter plus because he is so sadistic and wants to be in the MCU he destroys the box containing the Botched Spell that it tears through reality that MCU Peter and Strange reluctantly had to [[Unperson erase everyone's memories of Peter Parker in order to fix it.]]

** Lemar Hoskins deconstructs the BadassNormal. He is a highly-trained soldier wearing elite military gear but with no superpowers backing him up...[[spoiler: and the second he gets into a serious one-on-one fight against Karli Morgenthau, he gets killed instantly. It's a fact that the only reason "Normal Badass" type characters manage to stay relevant in a world of superpowers is a mixture of using supertechnology, real-world abilities greatly exaggerated by fiction, most often facing off against another "Badass". "No superpowers, MANY layers of Plot Armor and use of over-the-top climactic endings. Unlike most examples of this trope present in the MCU, Hoskins is entirely normal. He doesn't have the fancy [=SHIELD=] gadgets and gear Romanoff or Barton have, nor the advanced vibranium tech of the Wakandans, or even the giftedness Frank Castle has as a soldier. An entirely normal man like Hoskins would never have lasted long in the MCU because he had no special gear or talents other badass normals would need for the trope to play in full effect.]]

** Lemar Hoskins deconstructs the BadassNormal. He is a highly-trained soldier wearing elite military gear but with no superpowers backing him up...[[spoiler: and the second he gets into a serious one-on-one fight against Karli Morgenthau, he gets killed instantly. Unlike most examples of this trope present in the MCU, Hoskins is entirely normal. He doesn't have the fancy [=SHIELD=] gadgets and gear Romanoff or Barton have, nor the advanced vibranium tech of the Wakandans, or even the giftedness Frank Castle has as a soldier. An entirely normal man like Hoskins would never have lasted long in the MCU because he had no special gear or talents other badass normals would need for the trope to play in full effect.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'': Ironically, Uatu is this for TheWatcher, [[TropeNamer the very trope he named]].

* Erik "Killmonger" Stevens in ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' is an examination into what happens if a {{Blaxploitation}} hero in a movie with a black majority cast was the villain. Killmonger embodies every negative stereotype about black culture, from growing up in a ghetto neighborhood with politically radical elements such as the Black Panthers to helping the US government destabilize the world as a spec-ops soldier ([[{{Hypocrite}} despite his own railing against Wakanda failing to prevent the US and other Western nations from performing atrocities against communities of color]]). Killmonger in a regular Blaxploitation film would be a hero whereas here he is a bloodthirsty and ruthless murderer who wants to cause a world-wide race war solely because he is a ''very'' AngryBlackMan.

** Thanos the Mad Titan can be argued to be a deconstruction of the AntiHero; Some of the villains in previous comic book films (including those in the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself) have been presented as [[VillainHasAPoint having legitimate points]], but Thanos is the first major villainous character to be an unquestionably irredeemable monster who is none-the-less convinced that ''he'' is ultimately the hero of the film. Not only does he think that he's the good guy, but he's fully accepted the belief that he's a suffering, righteous lonely martyr hero who has totally made peace with no one ever recognizing, rewarding, or even thanking him for his NecessaryEvil. Thanos doesn't even want power or leadership, with him planning on exiling himself to live a simple and humble life after he's performed his "HeroicSacrifice". He's also the VillainProtagonist of ''Infinity War'', and is given quite a bit of CharacterFocus, [[SympatheticPOV being given multiple scenes]] [[CryForTheDevil garnering him sympathy from the audience]], and is seemingly positioned as having a legitimate point at times... except both this film and its immediate sequel (''Film/AvengersEndgame'') ultimately point out he ''doesn't'' [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist have an legitimate point]]: His Malthusian plan to solve an universe-wide OverpopulationCrisis is fundamentally flawed and broken due to being based on both InsaneTrollLogic and an obvious misunderstanding of how resource scarcity works. In short, the film shows with Thanos that many times, {{Anti Hero}}es are often just deluded {{Villain Protagonist}}s in practice.
* Erik "Killmonger" Stevens in ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' is an examination into what happens if a {{Blaxploitation}} hero in a movie with a black majority cast was the villain. Killmonger embodies every negative stereotype about black culture, from growing up in a ghetto neighborhood with politically radical elements such as the Black Panthers to helping the US government destabilize the world as a spec-ops soldier ([[{{Hypocrite}} despite his own railing against Wakanda failing to prevent the US and other Western nations from performing atrocities against communities of color]]). Killmonger in a regular Blaxploitation film would be a hero whereas here he is a bloodthirsty and ruthless murderer who wants to cause a world-wide race war solely because he is a ''very'' AngryBlackMan.

* Erik "Kilmonger" Stevens in ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' is an examination into what happens if a {{Blaxploitation}} hero in a movie with a black majority cast was the villain. Kilmonger embodies every negative stereotype about black culture, from growing up in a ghetto neighborhood with politically radical elements such as the Black Panthers to helping the US government destabilize the world as a spec-ops soldier ([[{{Hypocrite}} despite his own railing against Wakanda failing to prevent the US and other Western nations from performing atrocities against communities of color]]). Kilmonger in a regular Blaxploitation film would be a hero whereas here he is a bloodthirsty and ruthless murderer who wants to cause a world-wide race war solely because he is a ''very'' AngryBlackMan.

** [[http://stormingtheivorytower.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/everybody-hates-grant-ward-woobie.html This article]] makes a case for Grant Ward of deconstructing the type of AntiHero Ward is, [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse by showing that the pain of his past life does not justify him taking it out on others and making it clear that everything is not about him.]]

** Walker also deconstructs the LegacyCharacter. While he greatly admires the hero whose persona he is assuming, a combination of his self-doubt, being seen as an InadequateInheritor by those close to the original, the pressure of the public attention his new role has brought, being a product of a different, more cynical time than his predecessor, an already troubled mental state, simply [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint misunderstanding some of the fundamental ideas of his and, last but not least, not having some of Steve Rogers' best qualities such as his compassion, humility and restraint, sends him into a dangerous spiral that culminates in him [[spoiler:brutally killing someone in broad daylight, tarnishing the uniform and symbol of the hero whose persona he had assumed]].

* Later in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' Peter Quill becomes a HeartbrokenBadass after [[spoiler:Thanos kills Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone]], but his grief and anger only causes him to lash out at the worst possible time and thus setting off the chain of events that [[spoiler:allows Thanos to win]]. Thor also is a deconstruction of this trope for the same reason. He was {{forced to watch}} Thanos kill [[spoiler: his brother, his best friend, and half of the surviving Asgardians]] in the beginning of the film, and also lost both his mother and father not long before that. His need for revenge against Thanos most likely was what clouded his judgment enough to prevent him from realizing that [[spoiler: he would need to kill Thanos nearly instantly to stop him from using the Infinity Gauntlet. This ends up having very tragic results, for Thor and the rest of the universe.]]
* Erik Stevens or Killmonger in ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' is an examination into what happens if a {{Blaxploitation}} hero in a movie with a black majority cast was the villain. Killmonger embodies every negative stereotype about black culture, from growing up in a ghetto neighborhood with politically radical elements such as the Black Panthers to helping the US government destabilize the world as a spec-ops soldier. Killmonger in a regular Blaxploitation film would be a hero whereas here he is a bloodthirsty and ruthless murderer who wants to cause a world-wide race war solely because he is a ''very'' AngryBlackMan.

** Walker also deconstructs the LegacyCharacter. While he greatly admires the hero whose persona he is assuming, a combination of his self-doubt, being seen as an InadequateInheritor by those close to the original, the pressure of the public attention his new role has brought, being a product of a different, more cynical time than his predecessor, an already troubled mental state and, last but not least, not having some of Steve Rogers' best qualities such as his compassion, humility and restraint, sends him into a dangerous spiral that culminates in him [[spoiler:brutally killing someone in broad daylight, tarnishing the uniform and symbol of the hero whose persona he had assumed]].
** Lemar Hoskins deconstructs the BadassNormal. He is a highly-trained soldier wearing elite military gear, no superpowers backing him up...[[spoiler: and the second he gets into a serious one-on-one fight against Karli Morgenthau, he gets killed instantly. Unlike most examples of this trope present in the MCU, Hoskins is entirely normal. He doesn't have the fancy SHIELD gadgets and gear Romanoff or Barton have, nor the advanced vibranium tech of the Wakandans, or even the giftedness Frank Castle has as a soldier. An entirely normal man like Hoskins would never have lasted long in the MCU because he had no special gear or talents other badass normals would need for the trope to play in full effect.]]

** Both Infinity Ultron and the Natasha Romanoff from his reality have noted how Uatu's role as a strict observer of their universes appears to be downright voyeuristic to them. The former points out how creepy it is that Uatu doesn't actually do anything other than talk to himself when watching them, and the latter accuses him of seeing her and the other alternate characters [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall as little more than entertainment for his behalf]].

* ''Film/{{Thor}}'' deconstructs the ProudWarriorRaceGuy character with Thor, himself. He is admired by almost everyone in his culture because he is a powerful, honorable warrior that embodies their values, so they are very happy when he is about to be crowned king of Asgard. However, when a few Jotun (members of an enemy race) break into Asgard's weapons' vault right before his coronation, he storms over to Jotunheim to demand answers from their king without taking the time to investigate whether their king was behind it, or if the people responsible were acting on their own. He says things to provoke a fight with Jotunheim's king even though he and his friends are outnumbered, and then, when a random Jotun calls him a princess, [[DisproportionateRetribution uses the insult as an excuse to kill the person who insulted him, along with dozens of other Jotnar.]] It's only after he's [[BroughtDownToBadass stripped of his powers by his father]] and put through significant [[HumiliationConga humiliation]] and [[TraumaCongaLine trauma]] by various other characters that he starts to realize that he shouldn't make all of his moral decisions based on his rigid version of a warrior's honor. When he is put in a situation where he is too weak to physically fight one enemy, and gains empathy for the Jotun he killed for so little reason in the beginning, he finally becomes the hero he only thought he was, before.

!!''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''

** Lemar Hoskins deconstructs the BadassNormal. He is a highly-trained soldier wearing elite military gear, no superpowers backing him up...[[spoiler: and the second he gets into a serious one-on-one fight against Karli Morgenthau, he gets killed instantly. Unlike most examples of this trope present in the MCU, Hoskins is entirely normal. He doesn't have the fancy SHIELD gadgets and gear Romanoff or Barton have, nor the advanced vibranium tech of the Wakandans, or even the giftedness Frank Castle has as a soldier. An entirely normal man like Hoskins would never have lasted long in the MCU because he had no special gear or talents other badass normals would need for the trope to play in full effect.]]

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' deconstructs TheParagon with Steve Rogers. In the ideological conflict between Steve and Tony, everyone involved takes one side or the other because of Steve and his immovable faith in what he believes in. Those siding with Steve are of the opinion that he must be right because ''he's Captain America'', while those siding against him think that there's no use reasoning with him because ''he's Captain America''. Both sides base their position on the premise that Steve will never back down from what he believes in. The only difference is whether or not they agree with him, [[spoiler:and this ultimately results in the Avengers as a cohesive unit falling apart.]]

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' deconstructed the MinionWithAnFInEvil with Dr. Arnim Zola. He was originally a timid scientist working under the ComicBook/RedSkull during World War II in [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger the original film]], who only reluctantly sided with him after [[PiggybackingOnHitler his boss killed his Nazi allies]] to start his own campaign of world conquest. By the end of the film [[HerrDoktor he defects to the Allies and rats on him]], but when he reappears in the sequel as a VirtualGhost, it's revealed that [[spoiler:he had a far greater potential for evil than anyone suspected, he spent decades rebuilding HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D. so they could ultimately launch a much more insidious campaign to TakeOverTheWorld. While he wasn't an overtly sadistic CardCarryingVillain like the Red Skull, his methods ultimately prove far more effective; someone who chooses to work within such an ObviouslyEvil organization like HYDRA isn't likely to be an incompetent lackey after all.]]

* ''Film/{{Thor}}'' deconstructs the ProudWarriorRaceGuy character with Thor, himself. He is admired by almost everyone in his culture because he is a powerful, honorable warrior that embodies their values, so they are very happy when he is about to be crowned king of Asgard. However, when a few Jotun (members of an enemy race) break into Asgard's weapons' vault right before his coronation, he storms over to Jotunheim to demand answers from their king without taking the time to investigate whether their king was behind it, or if the people responsible were acting on their own. He says things to provoke a fight with Jotunheim's king even though he and his friends are outnumbered, and then, when a random Jotun calls him a princess, [[DisproportionateRetribution uses the insult as an excuse to kill the person who insulted him, along with dozens of other Jotnar.]] It's only after he's [[BroughtDownToBadass stripped of his powers by his father]] and put through significant [[HumiliationConga humiliation]] and [[TraumaCongaLine trauma]] by various other characters that he starts to realize that he shouldn't make all of his moral decisions based on his rigid version of warrior's honor. When he is put in a situation where he is too weak to physically fight one enemy, and gains empathy for the Jotun he killed for so little reason in the beginning, he finally becomes the hero he only thought he was, before.

* ''Film/IronMan1'' deconstructs the [[Creator/AynRand Randian]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Objectivist]] hero with Tony Stark. He is an EccentricMillionaire who is also physically fit and handsome enough to successfully seduce a reporter that was trying to slander him for his shady practices, the kind of Übermensch that Rand always wrote as the ideal. When he discovers that his work is being used in a manner that conflicts with his interests (his tech falling into the hands of terrorists) he creates a revolutionary new product (his iconic suit) and fights them off himself. Much like in the case of Hank Reardon in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', the government sees this amazing new tech and tries taking it for themselves under the guise of a Utilitarian agenda and they are portrayed bad for doing so (in later movies revealing the same senator that tried to rule against him being a member of HYDRA). Every villain he has faced has either tried to kill him out of jealousy for his success or tries to take what belongs to him for themselves. He butts heads with Captain America because their philosophies (Steve Rogers believing in altruism and self-sacrifice) are in direct conflict with one another. In the belief that he alone knows what is best for the world, he ends up creating Ultron, and rather than admitting that what he did was wrong, he doubles down and finishes creating Vision with complete certainty that what he is doing is right. The {{Deconstruction}} part comes later in Phase 3, when he sees where his EnlightenedSelfInterest gets him after Sokovia's destruction at the hands of his creation Ultron and the lives lost afterwards cause him crippling guilt, eventually turning ''in-favor'' of government oversight. [[spoiler:Even his death in ''Endgame'' -- sacrificing his own life to save everybody else -- fits Rand's ideas of altruism, a concept canonized as the least Objectivist thing you could ever do.]]

* ''Film/IronMan1'' deconstructs the [[Creator/AynRand Randian]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Objectivist]] hero with Tony Stark. He is an EccentricMillionaire who is also physically fit and handsome enough to successfully seduce a reporter that was trying to slander him for his shady practices, the kind of Übermensch that Rand always wrote as the ideal. When he discovers that his work is being used in a manner that conflicts with his interests (his tech falling into the hands of terrorists) he creates a revolutionary new product (his iconic suit) and fights them off himself. Much like in the case of Hank Reardon in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', the government sees this amazing new tech and tries taking it for themselves under the guise of a Utilitarian agenda and they are portrayed bad for doing so (in later movies revealing the same judge that tried to rule against him being a member of HYDRA). Every villain he has faced has either tried to kill him out of jealousy for his success or tries to take what belongs to him for themselves. He butts heads with Captain America because their philosophies (Steve Rogers believing in Nationalism, altruism and self-sacrifice) are in direct conflict with one another. In the belief that he alone knows what is best for the world, he ends up creating Ultron, and rather than admitting that what he did was wrong, he doubles down and finishes creating Vision with complete certainty that what he is doing is right. The {{Deconstruction}} part comes later in Phase 3, when he sees where his EnlightenedSelfInterest gets him after Sokovia's destruction at the hands of his creation Ultron and the lives lost afterwards cause him crippling guilt, eventually turning ''in-favor'' of government oversight. [[spoiler:Even his death in ''Endgame'' -- sacrificing his own life to save everybody else -- fits Rand's ideas of altruism, a concept canonized as the least Objectivist thing you could ever do.]]

** Walker also deconstructs the LegacyCharacter. While he greatly admires the hero whose shoes he is trying to fill, a combination of his self-doubt, being seen as an InadequateInheritor by those close to the original, the pressure of the public attention his new role has brought, being a product of a different, more cynical time than his predecessor, an already troubled mental state and, last but not least, not having some of Steve Rogers' best qualities such as his compassion, humility and restraint, sends him into a dangerous spiral that culminates in him [[spoiler:brutally killing someone in broad daylight, tarnishing the uniform and symbol of the hero whose persona he had assumed]].

** John Walker deconstructs the AscendedFanboy. Walker is almost as big a Captain America fan as Phil Coulson, and is thrilled to be holding the title, even if he admits in private that they're very big shoes to fill. But while Walker understands the stats and the legend of Captain America, he clearly has no clue as to who Steve Rogers was as a person. As such, he comes across as a KnowNothingKnowItAll, and believes himself worthy of the title due to his service record, training and hero-worshipping, not by any merit of his character.

* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'': John Walker deconstructs the AscendedFanboy. Walker is almost as big a Captain America fan as Phil Coulson, and is thrilled to be holding the title, even if he admits in private that they're very big shoes to fill. But while Walker understands the stats and the legend of Captain America, he clearly has no clue as to who Steve Rogers was as a person. As such, he comes across as a KnowNothingKnowItAll, and believes himself worthy of the title due to his service record, training and hero-worshipping, not by any merit of his character.

** Since the end of season two, his character arc deconstructs StuffedInTheFridge after [[spoiler:Agent 33's death]]. Given that he manipulated her into becoming his loyal aide and lover, his revenge for her is really more about him feeling self righteous about going after his former teammates who he betrayed in the first place.

* Later in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' Peter Quill becomes a HeartbrokenBadass after [[spoiler:Thanos kills Gamora to obtain the Soul Stone]] but his grief and anger only causes him to lash out at the worst possible time and thus setting off the chain of events that [[spoiler:allows Thanos to win]]. Thor also is a deconstruction of this trope for the same reason. He was {{forced to watch}} Thanos kill [[spoiler: his brother, his best friend, and half of the surviving Asgardians]] in the beginning of the film, and also lost both his mother and father not long before that. His need for revenge against Thanos most likely was what clouded his judgment enough to prevent him from realizing that [[spoiler: he would need to kill Thanos nearly instantly to stop him from using the Infinity Gauntlet. This ends up having very tragic results, for Thor and the rest of the universe.]]

* Erik Stevens or Killmonger in ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' is an examination into what happens if a {{Blaxploitation}} hero in a movie with a black majority cast was the villain. Killmonger embodies every negative stereotype about black culture, from growing up in a ghetto neighborhood with politically radical elements such as the Black Panthers to helping the US government destabilize the world as a spec-ops soldier. Killmonger in a regular Blaxploitation film would be a hero whereas here he is a bloodthirsty and ruthless murderer who wants to cause a world-wide race war solely because he is a ''very'' AngryBlackMan.