The Avengers Is An Allegory For 9/11- An Insane Fan Theory

A completely insane one.

The end of Avengers wasn’t subtle at all. We all saw the 9/11 imagery, with the wall of the pictures of the dead and missing, the firefighters around a destroyed, smouldering building, and the constant news coverage.

But The Avengers goes into more depth than that, of course, let’s start at the beginning.

So first off, we have the Chitauri, a powerful group that only operates in an unknown universe, and has access to supplies and troops, and Loki, the god that wants power at the expense of other’s freedom. They strike a deal; the Tesseract for an army to conquer Earth. Of course the Chitauri are the Taliban, and Loki is Al-Qaeda. I haven’t worked out the exact translation of the Tesseract, but the Chitauri’s supplies translates well- The Taliban were Al-Qaeda’s protectors and suppliers for many years. We then shift to the secret base, where Loki makes his first appearance on Earth. He appears through the portal, takes the Tesseract, and brainwash a few people in the  process. Sounds similar to this. The portal to Earth is similar to an embassy, the portal to the U.S. Al-Qaeda has also been known to kidnap people, usually Afghan teenagers (source) to fight for them, but never a U.S. national (of course, within the timeline. I do recall an American soldier turning to Al-Qaeda, but that was way after these events). Seeing these threats arise, Nick Fury (Head of the CIA or FBI. S.H.I.E.L.D of course, is the CIA or FBI), assembles a team of superheroes. Who does he assemble?

• Captain America- someone with extreme, reawakened patriotism, but is way out of touch with the current era (Representing the patriotism, often blind, experienced by the American people after 9/11. A possible single person representation is George W. Bush, extreme patriot, All-American man, out of touch, stupid)
• Iron Man- a self made hero, with billions of dollars, and his own industry to help him (Representing the private sector of America. In government, Dick Cheney, Halliburton [remember that Stark Industries starts rebuilding Manhattan at the end of the movie])
• The Hulk- one of the first superheroes, mad as hell at first, but went into hiding, only to return when the crisis arose (America’s uncontrollable rage and power during diplomatic issues. Could beDonald Rumsfeld, was involved in government during Nixon and Ford, returned to the private sector, then returned to government in 2001. Initially wanted to look for Iraqi connections to 9/11)

Meanwhile, Loki is planning to steal Iridium, to stabalize the Tesseract. He appears briefly to a crowd in Berlin, announcing his intentions (to take away freedom from the people, one of the main cliche’s that is said to justify things [we need to do this for your safety! terrorists hate us, they hate freedom, they hate America!])before being captured by the Avengers (Bin Laden’s CNN appearance). While in transport, they are rudely interrupted by Thor, a god with infinite strength and power, but serious judgement problems (possibly Russia or England, he is foreign, with power to rival the U.S, occasionaly stands in their way, but fights on their side). Captain America and Iron Man face confrontation with Thor, before they realize that they have similar goals, and join up on the Helicarrier. After being interrogated, it is discovered that Loki has a plan to unleash the Hulk, and is succesful, when the Helicarrier is attacked. The Avengers are split, mainly because of the attack, but also because they have discovered that they have been lied to. S.H.I.E.L.D doesn’t want the Tesseract for the extreme power it holds, but because it can be used to produce weapons to fight extra-terrestial opponents (Iraq’s unfindable WMD’s, and allegations that the U.S. isn’t in Iraq for the freedom and security of the people, but for the oil instead. ). The Avengers are motivated by the death of Coulson to keep fighting as a team, and rally in defence of New York.

The Chitauri enter New York through a portal constructed on the sneakiest place that is around us, but no one would notice, Stark Industry Tower (pre 9/11 airport security, many people used it everyday, but no one thought how to exploit it to bring weapons aboard). The army comes in on flying things (duh) with pretty shoddy weaponry (boxcutters, and yes, those staff guns things the Chitauri had were pretty shoddy, they didn’t kill anyone). The Avengers fight hard, and all looks hopeless, so the government tries sending in a nuke to destory Manhattan (possibly alluding to conspiracy theories that the government had a hand in 9/11). Iron Man sacrifices himself (more allusion to the conspiracy theories- Loose Changes alleges that corporations were also in on the conspiracy, sacrificing their buildings and documents for the good of the government) by taking the nuke and throwing it into space, destroying the Chitauri base. While Iron Man is falling back to Earth, Black Widow is working to close the portal, so they army can’t get in again. All hope looks lost for Iron Man, but he is saved at the end (fear of economic collapse for the U.S. after 9/11). The Avengers have saved the day, and all is good again. The media storm happens the next day (the obvious allusions to 9/11 as mention in the first sentences), with Stan Lee denying the event (more conspiracy theories), people thanking and worshipping the Avengers (the continous support the FDNY, NYPD, and NY Paramedics recieve after 9/11) and news teams questioning political motivations (more media circus stuff). In the end, Nick Fury is explaining to his higher ups what is happening with the Avengers, while the Avengers are taking Loki back to his world so that he can be tried (Saddam Hussein was tried and killed in his own country, and Osama was killed in Pakistan without recieving a trial in the country that had charges against him). Fury guarantees the constant support of the Avengers (they’re here at all times, aren’t they?), and the movie then cuts to the Chitauri guy talking to his master (future terrorist plans without the worldwide face of terrorism). Then the shwarma restaurant (I don’t know what this represents).

In the end, you are left wondering if the Avengers did more harm than good. They did destroy Manhattan, return the Tesseract to the government, who they know will build WMD’s with,

Loose Ends

• Loki’s capture and interrogation- of course, Osama bin Laden was never captured pre-9/11 and was never interrogated. I don’t know if this is true, but different Al-Qaeda operatives may have been captured and given away hints to 9/11. Could be refering to known facts about 9/11 before hand, or even giving a nod to conspiracy theorists who believe that America had full knowledge of 9/11.
• Agent Coulson- Coulson is a big factor in the movie. His “death” (in quotations because there’s some rumours that it didn’t actually happen) inspires the Avengers to continue fighting. Let’s assume it was fake (possible because Nick Fury bloodies the Captain America cards he had in his locker). This means that Coulson might have been the American Spirit. He could’ve faked his death to rally the people around his cause (I don’t know his real life counterpart myself) so that they’ll fight for him, and never forget him. Coulson also exemplifies the American Spirit by not giving up until he absolutely has to.
• The Tesseract- I already said that I don’t know what this was. However, it’s powerful enough that both sides want it, and are willing to go to war over it. Perhaps it represents the control of the people? (America wants it because it is their people, The Taliban wants it because it is their goal to destory that culture and implement theirs).
• Other Avengers:

• Black Widow- What does she do? I think she’s useless in the movie anyways, but what does she represent? She is a master assassin, smart lady, who is involved in many operations (opening scene of her in Russia). She could definately be the CIA, as she is extensively trained in spying, interrogating, and assassination. Could be the TSA, as she does keep the Hulk’s whereabouts under control, and shuts the airport security portal.
• Hawkeye- He’s a double agent, that turns to the side of good, but doesn’t have much use. I’m thinking he represents some ideology that works against America, but not when America is in danger.
• Eric Selvig- Super smart scientist double agent. Unknown who he represents, and he is key to the plot

• Other Avengers movies- There is a tie in to all these movies, and I’m going to find them. I haven’t watched all of the previous movies, so it’s probably a good idea to get a start on that.

 

Thanks for reading my batshit crazy ideas. If you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments section!