A nice little one-off today, featuring an unlikely team of Avengers. When word of a prison break goes out, the Wasp (whose development into an amazing leader is a joy to behold) sends a team of Captain America, She-Hulk, and Scarlet Witch out to investigate. It's a superhero tale on a slightly higher metaphorical plane, as each character encounters a problem that in some ways reflects a dilemma they are having in their personal lives. Cap even acknowledges it on the sly at the very end, telling the Wasp that the Wizard "gave us all a pretty good challenge...a welcome challenge, I daresay." The most blatant example is the She-Hulk's trap, an unending series of bare white rooms. She walks out of one and into another. This is indicative of her frustration over her living situation, the rooms as the apartments she's seen over and over again. Not until she breaks the pattern does she figure her way out of the trap. The Scarlet Witch in particular comes out the other side feeling less helpless about the Vision's injuries, and more like her old self. So, through superheroics, superheroes confront the effect that trauma is having on them. This is why I call it a story on a higher metaphorical plane - it's almost as if the universe (or, say, the writer) is giving these characters tailor-made situations that help them to reinforce themselves against the challenges they face.
Which, I guess, is what it actually is, but then why do we feel the need to worry about the psychologies of these characters, to such an extent that we contrive scenarios like these to fix their mental health? I think it's because we believe in them.
To be continued.
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