Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Pride.  This movie showcases the effect that pride has on us.  When we choose to “be right” even when the whole world is telling us that we are wrong.  Even when our conscience tells us that we are wrong.  This is pride.  Watching Thanos, it was easy to point out that he was blind.  He was blind to the problems in the world.  In his madness, he came to the conclusion that wiping out half of all people in existence would solve the problem of hunger which the people on his planet died of.  His madness led him to make choices which should make us cringe.  Sacrificing his beloved daughter?  The one who he raised, and who he held close to his heart for power?  As with many previous marvel villains, it is easy to paint the “bad guy” sign on their forehead and ignore their motives.  But Black Panther changed that.  Killmonger was a villain I could understand.  He was a villain I could appreciate.  Thanos follows in a similar vein, albeit on a vastly more destructive level.

I was reminded of the story of the fall of Lucifer.  He was traditionally one of the brightest angels.  He was beautiful and loved deeply by God.  But in his beauty, he fell victim to pride.  To spiritual blindness.  He chose to forget who made him.  He chose to reject his maker because he was so full of himself.  For each one of us, we fall victim to pride each time we sin.  We choose to forget our creator and reject him because we see something we feel is more important.

The reality stone is a good fit for sin.  When the heroes arrive on the planet to acquire one of the stones, Thanos plays a trick on them with the reality stone.  He changes what they see.  When we sin, we are being tricked!  We do not see the fire and blood and death when we choose sin.  We see something pleasant.  What opens our eyes to perceive the truth is our relationship with Christ.  We hear in 1 John:1, “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  As you are faced with a choice, is this going against what Christ taught in the Scriptures?  Does it oppose the Church which he founded?  This is how you can keep a firm grasp on reality in spite of the many illusions we face in this world.

As the movie continues with the gradual acquisition of the stones of power, you can’t help but start to feel hope slipping away.  Are the heroes going to be able to stop him?  Who is going to be victorious in this fight?  Don’t the good guys always win?  The ending of this movie was truly unexpected and stunning.  If this was the end, I would be pleased.  The fact that I knew that another movie was coming after this one somewhat spoiled the shock factor.  But this ending reflects reality just as the good guys winning reflects reality.  At times we win, and at times we lose.  In our spiritual journey towards heaven, it is not a matter of winning every battle against evil.  We must make that our goal yes.  But what truly matters is persistence in our relationship with our Lord.  That we do not give up when the going gets tough.

This persistence is what makes the superhero movies so enjoyable.  We see heroes who lose a battle, but they get back up and keep fighting.  That is motivation that I can stand for.  And the battle that the Avengers faced at the end of the movie ended in a loss for them.  The next movie will have them stand up again.  They are heroes, that is what they do.  We are in the same situation spiritually.  When we give in to temptation and choose sin, we lose the battle.  But the next battle is won when we confess our sins and return to Christ.  We do not win the battle, it is Christ who conquers overwhelming.  The heart that acknowledges guilt and seeks forgiveness is the heart that is open to grace.