They also limited their study to Marvel and DC characters depicted in major films, rather than including storylines from spinoff TV series. So Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch was not included since much of her traumatic backstory appeared in the series WandaVision. Furthermore, “We omitted gathering more characters from comic books in both Marvel and DC universes, due to their inconsistency in character development,” the authors wrote. “Comic book storylines often feature alternative plot lines, character arcs, and multiverse outcomes. The storytelling makes comic book characters highly inconsistent and challenging to score.”
With great power…
Sony Pictures
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is a hero.
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures
The murder of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben was a defining traumatic moment in his childhood.
Sony Pictures
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is a hero.
Sony Pictures
The murder of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben was a defining traumatic moment in his childhood.
Sony Pictures
Marvel Studios
Black Widow joined the Avengers to wipe out the red in her ledger.
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios
Black Widow scored the highest in terms of childhood trauma and still chose to be a hero.
Marvel Studios
Black Widow joined the Avengers to wipe out the red in her ledger.
Marvel Studios
Black Widow scored the highest in terms of childhood trauma and still chose to be a hero.
Marvel Studios
They ended up watching 33 films, with a total runtime of 77 hours and 5 minutes. They chose 19 male characters, eight female characters, and one gender-fluid character (Loki) as “subjects” for their study, applying the ACE questionnaire to their childhoods as portrayed in the films.
The results: “We found no statistically significant differences between heroes and villains, Marvel and DC characters, or men and women and ACE scores,” said Jackson. “This means that characters who were portrayed as having difficult childhoods were not more likely to be villains. This study somewhat refutes the idea that villains are a product of their experiences. Based on the films we watched, people chose to be heroes and that was what made the difference—not their experiences.”
Notably, Black Widow had the highest ACE score (eight) and yet still became an Avenger, though the authors acknowledge that the character did some bad things before then and famously wanted to wipe out the “red” in her ledger. She “represents resilience of characters who have experienced trauma,” the authors wrote, as well as demonstrating that “socio-ecological resilience, including access to social relationships and supportive communities, can play a mitigating role in the effect of ACEs.” The Joker, by contrast, scored a six and “wreaked havoc across Gotham City.”
