When it comes to mental illness and it's explorations in comics, there are two paths we can go down.
One is the darker paths, the struggles of the supervillain which ultimately leads to
an exploration of what mental illness can do when it is left to run rampant when it
is unrecognized, untreated and when you admit defeat to illness.
The path of the superhero is a bit brighter but often still bleak.
It allows us to examine not the moments of surrender when it comes to our exploration
of mental illness but the moments of struggle, of battle.
In some cases our heroes win out and for some heroes their battle seems to be continuously
on going.
Today we are going to take a look at the some of these heroes as we count down our top 10
Marvel superheroes with mental illness.
Marvel is a comic book company who has been known for the complexity of their characters,
which often gives them an intense sense of realness in a world otherwise fraught with
fiction such as alien invasions and magic.
What are some of your favourite heroes in the Marvelverse and what do you like about
them?
What do they struggle with that you find relatable?
Let us know in the comments below.
But before you do, let's get counting.
Captain Ultra
Phobias are not explicitly considered a mental illness or mental disorder.
We are all human, we all have fears and often our fears are good, they help us to survive,
almost a byproduct of self-preservation.
However these phobias can cause your to have an anxiety disorder if they are severe like
with Captain Ultra.
A superhero who literally cannot perform is he is exposed to flames and I'm not talking,
giant terrifying flames either.
When we first see him in the comics, he faints at the sight of someone lighting a cigarette.
A phobia that severe requires treatment.
Captain Ultra wisely does seek treatment and with the help of Doc Samson another hero who
also happens to be a psychologist with a PHD in psychology, is cured of his fear of fire.
She-Hulk
Addiction is a dangerous illness.
It can consume you and cause you to change your perception of yourself.
You got from being a well rounded person with many interests to an addict, seeking out one
thing and one thing only.
Addiction can take over your life and cause you to become alienated from others, lose
your friends and family.
When you love something so much as you do when you are experiencing addiction, there
is nothing you won't give up.
For She-Hulk that addiction comes in the form of her powers.
She won't give them up for anyone.
In fact She-Hulk becomes so addicted to her powers that she also has an identity crisis.
Wrestling with the perception of herself.
She once made a pros and cons style list when it came to her, Jennifer Walter, the lawyer
vs. her superpowered She-Hulk self.
Ultimately she has come to terms with the fact that She-Hulk is just a part of who she,
almost surrendering to her addiction, unable to separate her own identity from it.
Unfortunately for Jen this continues to lead her to wrestle with the way others see her.
When she starts a romance with Thor she ponders if he just wants to be with her because of
She-Hulk or if he really loves her?
Obviously she still has some work to do.
Daredevil
One of the best iterations of depression I have yet to see in the comics comes to us
from Matt Murdock.
Depression is an illness that can make you feel as though just breathing is exhausting,
just existing feels laborious.
It is an illness that Matt has dealt with almost his whole life and unsurprisingly so.
This is a character who has lost multiple loves.
Both Karen Page and Elektra being murdered by his nemesis Bullseye.
He also lost everything when Kingpin went after him, his home, his reputation, and the
secret of his true identity.
Still they keep his depression grounded in reality in the comics and show that Matt refuses
to give in to it working very hard every time he feels trapped in his illness which he likens
to a demon to rise about it.
Jessica Jones
After having her mind controlled by the Purple Man, aka Kilgrave, Jessica suffers from severe
post traumatic stress disorder.
In the series Alias, we see her character struggling to deal with what happened to her.
Jessica has been so severely traumatized by the actions she was forced into that she feels
as though she lost a part of herself.
The lines between her own feelings and choices and what Kilgrave had her do become blurred
to her.
And she feels as though she is constantly questioning her own decisions as a result.
Is this something I actually want to do for myself?
Did Kilgrave make me do that or did I actually want to do that?
She disappears within her trauma.
For survivors of sexual assault especially this is commonplace, losing yourself in your
trauma.
You question everything as though your trauma is actually the thing in control of your life.
This reflection of trauma and PTSD is beautifully articulated through Jessica in Alias when
she explains, "In my mind I can't tell the difference between what he made me do or say
and what I do or say on my own.
The only reason I know I wasn't in love with him is that I say to myself: How could I be?
I hate him.
That's it.
That's what my sanity is holding onto: 'How could I be?'"
Wolverine
In order to understand Wolverine's battle with mental illness you need to start at the
beginning.
His origins is enough to mess anyone up about one hundred times over.
We could make a list of top 10 tragic Wolverine origins stories.
From the killing of his dog by his half brother, to eventually the death of almost his entire
family right as his mutation kicked in, to the death of his childhood love by his own
hands, and the death of almost every other woman he's ever truly loved... he has a really
messed up past.
One that would give anyone PTSD, which is what he most likely suffers from.
Like Logan, people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder often withdraw from others,
feeling as though they are alone in the world and often turn to substance abuse to numb
their pain, like Logan with alcohol.
Hank Pym
A brilliant man who simply let his own insecurities manifest themselves in willful ways, creating
multiple personas, Hank suffers from bipolar disorder and dissociative identity disorder.
Most recently in the comics, he has been working towards healing and redemption for himself,
choosing to reconcile with his problems and even self-diagnosing him as bipolar.
This is an important first step for anyone who is suffering and is particularly important
for Hank whose illness when it ran rampant made him into an almost villain as Yellowjacket.
And was not even something he could understand at the time.
He expressed remorse for his actions but would continue to let his illness get the best of
him while unable to recognize what was causing this change within him.
Recognizing that you have a problem and addressing it's source is one of my most meaningful steps
you can take when it comes to overcoming your illness.
Scarlet Witch
Wanda's issues stem from an interpretation by Brain Michael Bendis on how powers this
strong could affect someone like her.
He was the writer behind the Disassembled storyline where we really first saw a glimpse
into Scarlet Witch's seemingly fragile mental state.
Scarlet Witch experiences a psychotic break based around a seemingly insignificant comment.
But this is also in the face of everything she has experienced.
Whatever origins story you choose for Wanda and her brother, they always seem to have
grown up poor, hungry and usually cold.
This manifested in Wanda in terms of her seeking love and approval from others and in looking
for someone to take care of her emotionally and help her to feel worthy of love.
She continues to pursue this in the comics and while she has never been diagnosed with
any specific, it has been shown that her lack of self-worth has often led her to being overprotective
of others, worried that she'll make a mistake and cause them harm.
It has also led to her being depressed as we find out when we discover that Wanda is
on antidepressants.
The sad thing is while Wanda works to get her better, her story illustrates the lack
of responsibility on anyone else's part to help.
The people around her more seem to blame and condemn her then help her towards rehabilitation.
A wary lesson for those who suffer from mental illness.
Surround yourself with those who support your journey to get better, not enable you to the
point that you become even worse.
Moon Knight
Marc Spectre is a good example of what can happen when one compartmentalizes their feelings
as a result of a traumatic experience.
He suffers from a rare but real disorder called dissociative identity disorder or as many
people call it, multiple personality disorder.
He found out a trusted family friend was a serial killer, has served in the military
and has also been a mercenary.
In summary, he's seen a lot of shit.
Marc deals with his fears and trauma by hiding in alternate personas.
He has a slew of them in fact and even goes so far to live in them long term.
He has also been seen adopting fellow superheroes personas and calling on them in times of need
when he feel inadequate, weak or afraid of what faces him.
Eventually Marc is forced to reconcile with the fact that Khonshu may even be a delusion,
something he has created to mask his problems and help him avoid dealing with the reality
of his mental illness.
Deadpool
Wade Wilson often acknowledges his own mental instability in the comics.
He is a man who suffers from a slew of different issues.
He has often been presented as suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
He's experience psychotic breaks, PTSD, depression and addiction.
He's basically Marvel's main post-boy for superhero mental illness.
The part where this kind of goes sideways for us the audience is that Deadpool is almost
a characterization of mental illness.
Making him not a great spokesperson for his issues but a great example of how hard it
is to deal with your illness when you can't seem to see it.
And it is this inability to reconcile with his problems that probably makes him lean
more toward the anti-hero than outright hero.
If you want to explore the long list of Wade's mental health issues more check out Foolkiller
issue 4, which shows him visiting Greg Salinger for a therapy session.
Sentry
Another hero who embodies the struggle between light and dark, much like Wade Wilson but
more serious.
Robert Reynolds is both the Sentry and the Void, the Void is like an alternate dark persona
or Reynolds.
A villain who is capable of destroying Asgard single-handedly and tearing Ares, God of War
apart.
The Void became a personality of Robert immediately after he transformed and accidentally destroyed
the lab he'd broken into and everything in it.
Not wanting to face this dark part of him it created a split in Robert and his alternate
dark persona, the Void.
This form of dissociative identity disorder stands to represent exactly the importance
of therapy in regards to helping you reconcile with your darker side and not letting it consume
you.
The Sentry is the epitome of a hero who wrestles with fully accepting himself and forgiving
himself and as such this makes him one of the most tragic and also the most real.
Thank you so much for watching, nerd squad.
I hope you found this list as enlightening to hear as I found it enlightening to write.
Mental illness remains a huge issue not just for our favourite Marvel heroes in the comics
but for many real-life readers of comics ever day.
But it is a battle we can win if we stay informed and keep assessing ourselves and listening
to those around us who might be suffering.
And remember there is always a way to win the day.
Excelsior!
Are there any Marvel super heroes who you feel struggle with mental illness and who
we should have included?
How have comics helped you through trying times or helped you personally deal with real
world issues?
Let us know in the comments below.
And while you are on your way down there, remember to spread the word about these issues
but sharing and liking this video.
And remember to subscribe and ring that bell so you can stay up to date with our nerd content.
This is top 10 nerd, and my name is Amanda McKnight, reminding you to keep the conversation
going strong in regards to mental illness and as always you stay nerdy, YouTube.