Dear Friends,
Not long ago, another priest and I watched an action-packed superhero movie at the movie theater; nothing too profound, we just wanted to relax. We saw the movie ‘Thunderbolts*.’ While there were numerous action scenes, the movie was far from what I expected [spoiler alert]. The central themes were guilt, loneliness, and mental illness.
Yelena Belova, sister of the famed Black Widow, is in a group of ‘super’ mercenaries hired by the CIA, who trick the mercenaries into trying to eliminate each other. Discovering this, they decide to work together. In the process, they find another superhero with tremendous powers, Bob, who suffers from severe depression and anxiety. His wounded psyche coupled with great powers create an emotional black hole that absorbs all those who encounter him into various dimensions of his suffering. Bob becomes the ‘villain’ they are called to combat.
In a key moment when Yelena wants to walk away from everything, she admits to her estranged father that she feels both guilty for all the violence of her past and terribly alone. The other members of their rag-tag team have similar struggles, such as John Walker’s failed marriage.
These suffering superheroes seek forgiveness, peace, and connection. They seek salvation.
Let’s consider three aspects about this movie: the topic, what they got right, and what they missed.
First, it was courageous of Marvel to address issues such as guilt, loneliness, and mental health in a major motion picture. These are major problems in the United States that need discussing: the National Center for Health Statistics recently reported that depression among adolescents and adults has increased 60% in the last decade. Additionally, in May of 2023, the US Surgeon General “called loneliness a public health epidemic,” an observation backed by a 2024 American Psychiatric Association study that found “30% of adults say they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week over the past year.”
Second, our heroes get the answer to such issues right – at least to some degree. Through Bob’s mysterious power the Thunderbolts enter his interior world and, by their love and friendship, pull him out of his depression – redemption Marvel style. It is true that you need to face your fears, forgive others and yourself, and do so with the help of your friends. The CDC reports that “[social] connection is key to well-being and overall life satisfaction.”
Third – and most important – what our heroes missed is a savior who can heal spiritually and emotionally. They missed Jesus Christ. As the Compendium for the Social Doctrine of the Church (38) states,
“The salvation offered in its fullness to men in Jesus Christ … is salvation for all people and of the whole person: it is universal and integral salvation. It concerns the human person in all his dimensions: personal and social, spiritual and corporeal, historical and transcendent.”
Psychology has its place. Friendship has its place. But forgiveness, healing, and purpose comes most fully from Jesus Christ.
‘Thunderbolts*’ can serve as a metaphor for Christ. Just as they entered mysteriously into Bob’s broken interior world to help him, so Christ entered ours. He came to humanity through the Incarnation, and through grace he enters our interior world to redeem and to heal.
Our suffering superheroes and society are seeking salvation – let’s introduce them to Jesus Christ.
Your Friend in Christ,
Fr. John Bullock, LC
Author of the RC Essay, A Heart Like Jesus: A Regnum Christi Essay on Contemplating and Imitating Jesus
