Avenger Archetype

October 5, 2013 — archetype, avenger, congress

The Avenger character is a masked marvel. Crusades for righteousness and fairness are the territory of this archetype.  Comic book characters and super heroes use the avenger character  to tell stories about balancing the scales of justice .  The obvious shadow attribute the avenger can possess is the willingness to use violence to defend a cause.  Frequently we see the misguided avenger on the loose; That is called the loose cannon because the lack of control is too obvious.  They may be warriors or politicians, but their primary motive is to represent causes for the sake of others.  They are aggressive.

Religious zealots in history  have often convinced others to seek revenge or fight a holy war.  Terrorism and family feuds are examples of avengers gone bad.  When nations or political factions  square off to avenge some perceived wrong this is the archetype in control.  When the Republicans and the Democrats cut off all their noses to spite all their faces they are doing it because they believe they are finding vengeance.  They tell the taxpayers they are fighting for us, but they are isolated in their own cartoon, unaware of the roles they play in our big drama.  They fight because they feel entitled, and because we have allowed them to become so extreme.  Their capes and masks must be recalled.

avenger card