Marvel Archives - Red Face Cinema

Impact of Social Anxiety on Each Avenger

Social Anxiety is not an Avengers level threat to the world by any means, but it can be a problem to each Avenger on a more individual level. Read below to see which Avengers would be most impacted by social anxiety.

After Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe for 5 years in Avengers Infinity War, it’s plausible to think that many people around the world could have developed social anxiety. We’ve seen it during the Covid-19 pandemic where people just weren’t around for a while. So the same concept applies that if half the people are snapped away from the world, it’s doubtful that social norms would continue. Socially, people wouldn’t be the same, which could easily lead to social anxiety.

Avengers Impacted by Social Anxiety

Before we rank which Avengers would be most impacted, you should assemble your thoughts about what social anxiety really is. In short, a suit of armor, a mystical hammer, or vibranium shield doesn’t make you immune to it.

*One last thing: below is the social ranking by percent for each Avenger. So the Avenger who is most social is going to be impacted the most by social anxiety. The more social a person is, the more they will be impacted by social anxiety.

Have a look at the graph below. It is the ranking of each of the original six Avengers of how much they’d be impacted by social anxiety. Two parts of their lives are taken into account: Work Life and Social Life. Continue reading and decide if you agree with this ranking.

Each of the original six Avengers ranked against the impact of social anxiety. The Avenger who is most sociable will be impacted the most. The Avenger who is least sociable will be impacted the least.

Iron Man

Work Life

CEO of Stark Industries: Tony Stark kept busy as the head of the company which his father built. As the juggernaut of the weapons industry, Stark maintained a high profile of attending social events, like the Jericho missile demonstration in Afghanistan or the Stark Expo appearances he’d make in front of thousands of people. He kept up with press conferences, board meetings, product demonstrations, and even became a “must see” attraction on Capitol Hill. His work life was heavily reliant on his social personality.

The social necessity for Tony Starks work life is maxed out at 100%. If he developed social anxiety, the impact to his work would be completely devastating.

Social Life

The “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” Tony Stark’s Iron Man is the most socially outgoing Avenger in the MCU. Stark attends tons of parties, takes home seemingly any woman he wants, and is a guest speaker for large organizations, like MIT. Tony Stark even raced his Stark Enterprises race car in Monaco in front of thousands on live tv just because he felt like it. There is no shortage of attention that he doesn’t want and there is no social event that he wouldn’t attend.

The social necessity for Tony Starks social life is maxed out at 100%. If he developed social anxiety, the impact to his character would be devastating. His identity would be changed completely.

Thor

Work Life

Thor’s work life is revolved around two things: (1) protecting the 9 realms from destruction while also protecting Asgard and (2) being in a position of leadership and power. To protect Asgard and the 9 realms means to fight battles against big, powerful aliens. Truthfully, not to many sociable moments we’ve seen during this phase of his work.

On the other hand, to be a leader and have a position of power is a completely different story. As the son of Odin, Thor has the responsibilities of being nothing less than a leader.

He was the center of attention as he bowed in ceremony in front of his father to receive the throne and become king (Thor, 2011).

He was the leader who publicly brought calm to a worried Asgard community of parents when Asgardian children were taken in Love and Thunder (Thor: Love and Thunder, 2022).

Thor publicly scolded and assaulted Loki before undisguising him in Ragnarok (Thor Ragnarok, 2017).

During Avengers Infinity War (2018) we saw Thor meet and persuade the Guardians of the Galaxy (or at least two of them) to join him on a voyage to Nidavellir. Then we saw him maintain this new friendship throughout the beginning scenes of Thor Love and Thunder(2022).

And in 2022’s Love and Thunder, Thor even had a center stage conversation with the mighty Zeus in front of thousands in attendance. Yea there are plenty of sociable moments in being the son of Odin.

Thor’s work life is approximately 75% social, particularly as a leader of Asgard. Developing social anxiety would have a 75% effect on him by limiting his ability to be a good leader.

Social Life

Again, we can break down Thor’s social life into two parts: (1) parties and (2) women. Let’s not forget that Thor believes that after a battle, the victory should be celebrated. This is a lesson he learned from his father in Thor 2 (Thor: The Dark World, 2013). We saw him party-it-up in Thor 2 and in Avengers Age of Ultron. In fact, in Age of Ultron(2015) he brought his own liquor from Asgard, which “is not meant for mortal men”, which he then served to Stan Lee. The God of Thunder came ready to P-A-R-T-Y!

Some of Thor’s biggest social moments however come from women.

The most obvious being when he met and maintained a relationship with Jane Foster in Thor 1, 2, and 4.

Then as he played it cool when realizing that Lady Sif was romantically interested in him in Thor 2 (courtesy of Odin).

Lastly a much more subtle moment to bring up, but definitely one that is anxiety provoking, is one in which random women flirt and touch Thor. We saw this from the woman in the train in Thor: The Dark World (2013). Those moments happen frequently to the God of Thunder and it can lead to some interesting sociable moments.

Thor’s social life is approximately 75% sociable. A big part of it comes from his relationship with Jane. Developing social anxiety would have a 75% affect on him by limiting his ability to start and maintain relationships. This will create that inner void we saw in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Captain America

Work Life

What if Captain America had Social Anxiety? Well, lets just say, things wouldn’t be the same.

Standing up to your boss or any authoritative figure is never easy. But no one does it better than Steve Rogers. His work life is basically being a super hero working for Shield (and then working for no one after Shield went down).

In the first Captain America movie, Cap violated orders to stand down from any rescue attempt to save the captured American soldiers in Germany (Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011).

In the second Captain America movie, he confronted Nick Fury, essentially calling him a liar, after learning of his “compartmentalized” agenda. He later then disagreed, told him he was wrong, and then turned around and walked away from him when Fury showed him the Heli-carriers for Project Insight (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014).

Then in Avengers Infinity War (2018), Cap told Secretary Ross that if he tries to stop him, he’ll fight him too. Basically telling the Secretary General to move out of his way or he’ll take him down.

The social confidence that Cap displays to consistently stand up to and against authority figures is impressive! That is not an easy thing to do.

Captain America’s work life is approximately 60% social. Social anxiety would affect his work life by 60% by inhibiting his ability to stand up to authority figures.

Social Life

Cap doesn’t have much of a social life. Yes, he celebrated the rescue of all those soldiers with his team at a bar in the first Captain America movie. He also celebrated again with the Avengers in Age of Ultron after retrieving Loki’s scepter. But aside from that, nothing really major…except for one thing: Agent Peggy Carter.

Steve Rogers had some hugely social moments with her in Captain America The First Avenger. There was flirting, kissing, strategizing, consoling, and there even was the pocket watch that had Peggy’s picture in it. He would carry that around everywhere, even as he was planning with his team on the battle field. He’d open it up in front of them, not caring who saw him or what they might say.

He visited her in Captain America The Winter Solder (2014) and then buried her in Captain America Civil War (2016). Then he finally went back in time and spent the rest of his days with her as we saw in Avengers End Game (2019). She was his driving force for so long. And he finally got to fill that social void when he returned to her in End Game.

Steve Rogers being pulled towards the woman for a kiss.
Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011

And just like Thor, Cap was also a magnet for women. We saw the office secretary in the first Captain America make a romantically blatant move towards him.

Peggy Carter was the first woman to greet Cap after he took the serum. His shirt was off and he looked ripped! She actually put her hand on his abdomen as he was recovering from the procedure. This is a sociable moment (Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011).

We also saw Sharon Carter flirt and kiss Cap in Captain America Civil War. Even going as far as breaking orders and returning his shield from the US government (Captain America: Civil War, 2016).

Natasha Romanoff even got some romantic action from Cap, albeit, it was for a far different reason (see below) in Captain America The Winter Soldier (2014).

Lastly, it’s important to note that throughout Captain America: The Winter Solder (2014), Natasha Romanoff kept trying to find Steve Rogers a date. He wasn’t against the idea, as he was interested in that idea too. He even asked his (spy) neighbor Sharon out. Steve wants to connect with someone and fill the social void that we saw Thor experience in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Captain America’s social life is approximately 75% social. Similar to Thor, the relationship built with Peggy is exactly the social void he needed to fill. If he developed social anxiety, it would affect his social life by 75% because he wouldn’t be able to fill that social void. He would stay unhappy, craving love and connection.

Black Widow

Work Life

Natasha Romanoff is really Agent Romanoff of Shield. She is a spy and is consistently undercover. Natasha is smart, witty, and sociable. She worked undercover in Stark Industries as a legal assistant, she extracted information from Loki using a high degree of social intelligence in the first Avengers movie, and went undercover as a board committee member while stopping Alexander Pierce in Captain America The Winter Soldier (2014). Agent Romanoff even cleverly kissed Captain America on an escalator inside a shopping mall to avoid being caught by Hydra. She needs social interactions to pull off her work as a Shield agent.

Black Widows work life is approximately 75% social. If she developed social anxiety, then 75% of her work would be affected by limiting her ability to extract information from people and socially blend in during missions. Her job as a Shield spy allows her to extract information from people, while blending in to their social environment.

Social Life

Black Widow does actually have a decent social life. She may not be the most outgoing and adventurous character, but she does dabble. Romanoff has a great relationship with Barton’s family, as we saw in Avengers Age of Ultron (2015). Barton’s kid refers to her as “Auntie Nat.” She has also pursued a relationship with Bruce Banner, while opening up about her past, again like we saw in Age of Ultron. She was not afraid to open up and even shed tears in Avengers End Game when her and Cap were talking about family, shortly before Ant Man showed up. And we learned that she has a family life with her sister, mom, and dad in the Black Widow movie (2021). Natasha Romanoff may be a super spy and assassin, but she does have some legitimate social aspects to her life.

Black Widows social life is approximately 60%. If she developed social anxiety, 60% of her social life would be affected by having weakened relationships with those around her. She is social in her private life, but still misses a connection (like with Bruce), which is why her rating isn’t higher than 60%.

Hawkeye

Work Life

Clint Barton is an assassin. Similar to Black Widow, except he uses a bow and arrow as opposed to guns. We haven’t seen Barton in action as a Shield agent much (non-avengers work). But from what we did see, he isn’t in very many social environments as a Shield agent. We saw him in the first Thor movie (2011), but he was alone in an elevated position readying his arrow to fly. We saw him again at the beginning of the 2012 Avengers movie when the tesseract was “misbehaving” and he was in an elevated position again watching like a hawk. So non-avenger work life does not really involve many social interactions.

But after what we have seen in the Disney+ show, Hawkeye (2021), we’ve learned that Barton can in fact be quite sociable on the job. He attended a fancy Christmas party with Kate Bishop while undercover and even did some acting in a New York City park to acquire the Ronin suit. He has shown that he has experience in undercover missions like that, and so we are left to believe he has similar work as Black Widow.

Hawkeye’s work life is approximately 50% social. If he developed social anxiety, 50% of his work life would be affected by inhibiting his ability to blend in during missions. Since we didn’t get to see as much about his work life as we did Black Widow, he work life social rating is lower than hers.

Social Life

However, Clint Barton has a family consisting of a wife and three kids. He plays ball with them and teaches them how to shoot an arrow. Barton takes them to Broadway shows, NYC restaurants, does Christmas activities with them, and is an overall good father. So from a non-work perspective, Hawkeye is legit sociable. The only thing that would count against him is the completely isolated location of his house. I still don’t know where it is, but it was setup that way by Nick Fury. Barton wants to stay off the books and he definitely did.

Hawkeye’s social life is approximately 75% social. If he developed social anxiety, 75% of his social life would be affected, not by weakened relationships with family. But rather anxiety at these very public places he takes them too (Broadway, restaurants, etc). He has shown that he is quite social in his private life, but because of the extreme isolated location of his house, his social rating is not higher than 75%.

Hulk

Work Life

As the big green giant, Hulk has actually developed into a personality. We saw this in Thor Ragnarok, where he developed a friendship with Valkyrie and Thor. He was actually pretty funny.

As Dr. Banner, Bruce has tried to keep to himself to avoid the risk of turning into Hulk. He made legitimate efforts to avoid being around anyone for quite some time. That is until Natasha Romanoff found him in India and recruited him in the first Avengers movie (The Avengers, 2012).

And then as we saw in Avengers End Game, Hulk and Banner combined to form one person, giving him the best of both worlds. He is strong, intelligent, and sociable (Avengers: End Game, 2019).

Hulk’s work life is approximately 50% social, depending on the time in which he is being rated and whether he is the combination of brains and brawns or just brains. Social anxiety would affect 50% of his work life.

Social Life

Natasha Romanoff is the only real reason why Hulk (Bruce Banner) has any significant social life. During the Avengers Tower party in Age of Ultron, he has a flirtatious interaction with Romanoff. Then again he has another one with her while at Barton’s home. Lastly, Romanoff and Banner finally kiss after Banner rescues her from Ultron. And lets not forget, Hulk actually gets a “lullaby” from Romanoff whenever the Avengers need him to calm down. So from a social standpoint, Natasha is the catalyst for his social life (Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015).

Hulk’s social life is approximately 40% social. If he developed social anxiety, 50% of his social life would be affected by inhibiting his ability to appropriately interact with Natasha. If his story and Natasha’s story continued together, then his social rating would be much higher. But it essentially cut out after Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Let me know if you agree with this list.

Three Social Anxiety Scenes in Black Panther

Social Anxiety is the true villain in the MCU, as we see in the super awesome Black Panther movie. Klaue is cool and Killmonger is even cooler. But Social Anxiety, that’s not cool.

It is one of the highest grossing super hero movies of all time, over $1.3B box office. In other words, Black Panther is a real money maker. And throw in the fact that the Black Panther character (Chadwick Boseman’s, T’Challa) played critical roles Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: EndGame, and this character just continues to climb up the ranks of popularity. Super awesome, really cool, and well deserving of its praise, Black Panther is on a whole different level of hero.

But does being a super cool, totally awesome super hero make you immune to social anxiety? Well, I guess it depends on your powers. But with Black Panther, yo this dude has some serious power. He’s got enhanced speed, strength, agility, and even healing. Social anxiety is a psychological issue (mental). Black Panther’s power is derived from a mystical, spiritual herb, so it’s possible that the healing includes psychological. We may never know.

But either way, lets look at three scene from the Black Panther movie (2018) which could trigger social anxiety in someone.

Before you continue, click here to learn a thing or two about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Unless of course you possess the power of the Black Panther, then you don’t really need to worry about it. 🙂

Three Social Anxiety Scenes in Black Panther

T’Challa at Korean Casino
Nakia speaking to woman outside casino
Okoye publicly challenges views of Killmonger

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) at Korean casino and being social. This is a social anxiety trigger. — T’Challa who is Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman) in a popular Korean casino speaking with CIA Agent Everett Ross (played by Martin Freeman). Being in a social environment like this can cause anticipation (feeling nervous that you have to socialize) which will lead to Social Anxiety’s worst symptom, Red Face.
Black Panther, 2018

Movie: Black Panther (2018)

Scene: T’Challa conversing with agent Ross at popular Korean casino

Anxiety Provoking Event: Socializing in a popular casino while on a secret mission

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): Just being in a populated social event, like a casino, nightclub, party, social gathering, etc. can lead to the nerve-racking feeling of anticipation (click here to see a detailed look at anticipation from Thor: Love and Thunder). It’s like feeling super nervous that someone will approach you and converse with you in front of other people. That super nervous feeling of anticipation can be so strong that you can start to blush and sweat without speaking a word.

Socializing at the casino

T’Challa’s mission is to capture one of the villains in the movie, Ulysses Klaue. It is a secret mission and he must maintain low profile while there. As if that isn’t anxiety-provoking enough, maintaining a strong social skillset to blend in is critical. That is where the biggest problem would be.

If T’Challa had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), it would be exhaustingly difficult for him to be in that populated casino and maintain strong social dialogue with people. Being there would easily cause the awful Red Face, which is like everyone’s pet peeve and worst nightmare. Bright red facial blushing, profuse sweating, trembling hands, pounding heart, plus other dreadful things.

Worst part is, Red Face does not always wait for you to socialize. Just the anticipation that you need to socialize can cause it. So whether T’Challa is socializing with CIA Agent Ross, a casino guest, a waiter, or no one at all, Red Face can still find him.

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Okoye watch Nakia persuade Korean woman into allowing them to enter casino. This is social anxiety provoking and can cause Red Face. — Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong’o) convinces the Korean woman to allow her, T’Challa (the Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman) and Okoye (played by Danai Gurira) to enter the casino. While persuading, she is being observed and watched by both T’Challa and Okeye, which is a social anxiety trigger.
Black Panther, 2018

Movie: Black Panther (2018)

Scene: Nakia convincing the Korean woman to allow her into the Korean nightclub

Anxiety Provoking Event: Nakia is being watched and observed by T’Challa and Okoye as she is using social skills to persuade the woman, while speaking to her in Korean.

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): People with SAD do not like being watched and observed in a social setting or performance setting. There is already enough anxiety on them to begin with that the whole “being observed” thing makes them feel like they are being critiqued and scrutinized. They will feel like the people watching are gossiping to each other about them. The person being observed will convince themself that they are about to be confronted and scolded for a poor social performance. It is a messed up feeling.

Nakia’s social Skills

While speaking in Korean, Nakia needs to convince the woman to allow her, T’Challa (Black Panther), and Okoye into the casino. The woman is hesitant at first and requires some extra convincing. But Nakia is up to the challenge as he is able to overcome the woman’s rebuttal and eventually allow them to pass.

Nice work Nakia! Girl got skills, bro!

The scary part about this whole thing is that Nakia is being watched and observed by her friends T’Challa (who we later find out understands Korean too) and Okoye. If she wasn’t so comfortable with them and if she had SAD, Nakia would not have liked being watched. It would have actually ruined her social performance. She would have developed Red Face, sweating and blushing all over the place. The Korean woman would have suspected something was wrong and denied them entry. The whole plan could have been ruined if Nakia had Social Anxiety Disorder.

Okoye (played by Danai Gurira) speaks up against authority figure, which is a social anxiety trigger. Black Panther, 2018. — Okoye (played by Danai Gurira) speaks up against Killmonger’s views during Killmonger’s first administration meeting with Wakanda’s leaders. This is a huge social anxiety trigger.
Black Panther, 2018

Movie: Black Panther (2018)

Scene: Okoye challenging the views of the new king, Killmonger

Anxiety Provoking Event: Publicly speaking and challenging an authority figure in front of everyone

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): Authority figures can be intimidating for anyone. They can be annoying as hell to deal with, especially if you disagree with them. But for people with SAD, authority figures (even the nice ones) are always seen as scary. People with Social Anxiety Disorder will not challenge authority figures very much. Too much anxiety. Especially in front of other people.

Okoye Challenges Killmonger.

Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan) holds meeting with Wakanda’s leaders. During this meeting, Okoye speaks against his views of arming and fighting the world, which is a social anxiety trigger.
Black Panther, 2018

First let me say that Michael B Jordan’s character, Erik Killmonger, is bad-ass bro. He is one of the best villains in the MCU (next to Thanos). His tenacity, rage, and determination set him apart from everyone else. It’s also why he is an intimidating authority figure as the king of Wakanda.

Okoye challenges Killmonger’s views when she tells him that Wakanda survives by fighting only when necessary. She stands up for her culture and country, while so many other country leaders are looking on. We all know Okoye is one of the MCUs best fighters, but dam, this woman is brave standing up to Killmonger.

The problem here of course is that people with Social Anxiety Disorder would be way too uncomfortable speaking up against authority, especially in front of so many other leaders. It’s like when your stubborn d-bag boss holds a meeting in the conference room and tells everyone that they need to stay late. Uh-uh! You can’t tolerate that, but you don’t want to challenge him. You know it will put a spotlight on you and you’ll start to blush and sweat (Red Face). That is the ultimate sign of weakness and everyone there will call you out on it, especially the awful boss.

Okoye has shown that she definitely does not have Social Anxiety Disorder and backs down from no one.

Three Social Anxiety Moments from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Ever think that a hulk could get Social Anxiety? What about She-Hulk. Yep, it’s true. Even a Hulk/She Hulk can fall to social anxiety

Ever think that a hulk could get Social Anxiety? What about She-Hulk. Yep, it’s true. Even a Hulk or She-Hulk can fall to social anxiety

She’s intelligent, she’s charming, and she is 7 feet tall with impenetrable green skin and the strength of the actual Hulk. Jen Walters is She Hulk. And she is the best dam attorney in California.

It takes a lot to balance out life of a busy attorney and super hero. For Jen, she went through what all hero’s go through: the struggle to find oneself.

I know – it’s kinda cliché, ain’t it? All hero’s go through the same thing and it can be a bit tedious after a while. But it is absolutely necessary to understand the character, and there is no better way to understand than seeing their struggles early on in their hero-hood.

Well you can watch She – Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney +. But for now, check out the three social anxiety scenes from Jen Walters below. Before you do, make sure you know a thing or two about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). It’ll make more sense before you continue.

Hulk Smash!

She-Hulk also Smash!

She-Hulk Social Anxiety Moment 1

She Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) closing argument, which can lead to social anxiety. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Episode 1) — Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany is about to stand up and give her closing argument inside a court room filled with people.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Episode 1)

Show: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Episode 1 – A Normal Amount of Rage

Scene: Jen Walters is giving her closing argument in court

Anxiety Provoking Event: Standing and speaking in a court room while everyone’s eyes (and ears) are on Jen.

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): People who suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder typically develop major anxiety symptoms when walking into a room filled with seated people. All eyes are on you as the only person standing. It’s the same concept for Jen standing in a room filled with seated people while trying to convince a jury of her case.

Trial Lawyer equals social strength

Jennifer Walters, aka She Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany is giving her closing argument at the end of Episode 1. Being observed by so many people inside courtroom is a social anxiety trigger.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Episode 1)

Yes it’s true. Being a trial lawyer is a big no-no for someone who suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Standing and speaking in front of a person of authority (like a judge) and a group of people who’ll decide the fate of your case is not easy for anyone. But SAD sufferers have it worse since anxiety symptoms would take control. I’m not just talking increased heart rate, but more about the awful Red Face of SAD.

For Jen Walters (aka She-Hulk), this is part of her normal job, which she clearly does well. But if she had SAD, She-Hulk would develop really bad social anxiety symptoms just from doing a simple closing argument. It would lead to bright red facial blushing, profuse sweating, and stiffened/rigid body posture. People would stare and make comments, which would only make the SAD symptoms worse. Jen would blush brighter and sweat even more.

She-Hulk Social Anxiety Moment 2

She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany, makes a dating profile. Her profile includes a photo of herself uploaded to the dating app. Social apps, like dating apps, can typically be triggers for people with Social Anxiety Disorder. This is especially true if a photo of yourself is uploaded to the app.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Episode 4)

Show: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Episode 4 – Is This Not Real Magic?

Scene: Jen Walters makes a dating profile.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Putting a photo of herself in a dating app.

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): People who suffer from SAD would have a problem posting their photo online, particularly social sites, like dating apps. Making a LinkedIn profil with your photo is a struggle in of itself, so a dating app would be that much worse. It leaves the door open for judgement by other people, especially people who know you (like work colleagues). That’s not to say that SAD people wouldn’t ever put their photo on a dating app, but they would be really reserved about doing that.

Dating Apps make life easy

Jen Walters, aka She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany has made a dating profile and included pictures of herself. This is a social anxiety triggers as thoughts about what others are thinking of you, your profile, your photo, and overall actions to make a profile go through the mind.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Episode 4)

Look, I get it. Jen wants to find someone, settle down, and build a long term relationship. She made that very clear throughout the course of the She-Hulk series (maybe a little too clear). So, living in the 21st century, Jen did exactly what so many other people in the world do. She went online, signed up with a dating app, posted her photo, and started dating.

But what if She-Hulk had some major social anxiety issues. After all, she is a big, green hulk. That kind of attention drawn to her everywhere she goes can be annoying to deal with. If she had social anxiety disorder, Jen would not have made the decision so easily to sign up with a dating app and post her photo. There are too many people out there who would judge her, which leads to even more anxiety.

And not to mention… what if people she knew found out? Like people from her job, family, or friends? What would they think of her? What would they say about her?

These are the questions that would go through Jens mind. Again, she could still decide to post her photo on a dating app, but their would have been a lot of back & forth debate in her mind about it.

She-Hulk Social Anxiety Moment 3

She Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) can get social anxiety while on stage giving speech to audience. — She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) standing front and center stage, standing out like a sore thumb, while giving a speech in front of a live audience. Her speech is different and sentimental from the previous speakers, which makes her stand out even more. This can lead to major social anxiety while on the stage.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Episode 8)

Show: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Episode 8 – Ribbit and Rip it

Scene: She-Hulk gives wins award for Female Lawyer of the Year and gives her speech on stage.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Standing as the largest, most dominating figure in the center of the stage, surrounded by all the other winners. Then giving a response that is completely different than previous responses and does not answer the question being asked. She-Hulk gives a sentimental response speech about thanking her parents when all others respond to the question about “what it’s like to be a female lawyer.”

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): SAD people already have a brain chemistry that causes physical symptoms, like Red Face, muscle stiffness, trembling hands, etc. So what happens when you bring emotional reactions into the mix? Things in the brain chemistry get more complicated, which increases risk of developing symptoms. As a result, in the public eye, people with SAD don’t want to elicit emotional reactions, especially on an already nervous stage.

Winning an award is always a good thing, right?

It’s super awesome to win an award. All your hard work is being recognized and there is a huge sense of accomplishment. And in Jens case, it’s an award for Female Lawyer of the Year. Which is a big deal. It’s not just a participation trophy, like rec-league soccer (still proud of myself for that btw).

The problem for Jen if she were to have SAD is not that she would be on stage talking. No, that is more performance anxiety than social anxiety. The real problem is her comparison to all the other women on that stage as she stands in the middle. That makes for easy target and easy judgement against her by other people watching. This can cause huge social anxiety as her mind would be racing about what people are thinking and what they will say about her.

The other real problem is how she started her speech (she didn’t finish because she got cut off by intelligencia). After the first two lawyers gave a short, empowering response to the question being asked, She-Hulk decided to give a sentimental response. In other words, her speech stands out from the crowd, which opens up the door for more scrutiny and judgement against her. Not to mention, her response elicits emotion as she thanked her parents. Emotional brain chemistry adds chaos to the already chaotic brain chemistry of social anxiety symptoms. It just makes it worse.

Be Thanos and Conquer Social Anxiety Disorder

The strength of Thanos’ mind is the perfect weapon in resolving Social Anxiety Disorder. The path to getting it that strong goes through CBT.

Imagine Thanos had Social Anxiety Disorder. Can’t see it, huh? Neither could we. His mind is way to strong for such (not so) miniscule things.

One of the most compelling characters in motion picture history, Thanos has left his mark on people across the world (it’s more like the universe actually). This guy is the most determined man that has ever existed. No joke! He does what needs to be done in order to accomplish goals. No matter how absurd that goal is.

“With all six stones I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist. I call that, mercy”
Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Now I know what you’re thinking: “Bro, this guy wiped out half the universe. Why the eff would anyone want to be Thanos!?”

Completely agree you with you on that. Thanos did remove half of all life from existence. He is the ultimate villain! But what I’m suggesting is not to follow in his footsteps, collect the infinity stones, and snap away all those lives. Rather what I’m suggesting is to develop the strength of mind that Thanos has.

“The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Thanos’ Mind

Think about it. How many times have we seen people in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) try to stop Thanos from carrying out his plan to wipe away trillions of lives? We saw Argardians try to stop him when he boarded their ship. We saw the Guardians of the Galaxy try to stop him on Knowhere and again on Titan. Ironman, Spiderman, and Dr. Strange travelled to Titan and failed. Then we saw the war breakout in Wakanda. Not to mention all the other wars we didn’t see like when he destroyed Xandar for the power stone, destroyed Gamora’s planet before he took her, and destroyed countless other planets while searching for the stones in years prior.

Yo even his own people on Titan tried, (and actually succeeded), in stopping him before their planet became extinct from the consequences of overpopulation. They exiled him out into outer space only for him to return later on after they were all destroyed. This was his turning point. He saw what happened to his home world, developed his mind & body into a brilliant weapon, took control of an army, and became The Mad Titan. This is when he started his search for the Infinity Stones.

Gamora (Thanos’ adopted daughter) on planet Vormir with Thanos, shortly before he sacrifices her to collect the soul stone.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

The point is that after he set his goals on “saving” other worlds across the universe from the same fate as Titan, his mind was stronger than ever. No one could convince him that what he was doing was wrong. Not the Avengers, not the Guardians of the Galaxy, not even his own adopted daughters Gamora and Nebula. In fact, he sacrificed his favorite daughter Gamora to acquire one of the stones. He was invincibly convinced because his mind was warped into this belief. No matter what anyone said or did, they were wrong and Thanos was right. He would keep going and nothing could stop him.

That is how you can solve so many of your problems, including the dreaded Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD); the cause of Red Face.

CBT – the Thanos Mind Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder

So how can such a strong, warped mind manage SAD. Well, in reality, developing an inconceivably stubborn mind like Thanos may not be realistic. For him, it had to do with his upbringing on Titan which contributed to his mental strength. But for the rest of us, the best way to develop that “Thanos mind” is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is like the gold standard for treating Social Anxiety Disorder. We just need to be strong enough to start it, and even stronger, to stick with it.

So your next question should be, what in the name of blue cheese is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Thanos talking to Dr. Strange on Titan, shortly before stating “the hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
Avengers: Infinity War (2018

CBT is a a type of therapy which helps you recognize faulty thinking and helps you better understand where the problems are coming from in your mind. There are volumes of evidence showing that CBT is effective in resolving and preventing relapses of mental/behavioral health disorders, like SAD.

Check this out: the American Psychological Association (APA) describes one of the strategies of CBT as “Facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them.” That is significant for SAD sufferers because in order to conquer your fears, such as being in a social situation, your mind has to be strong. Really strong! Like Thanos strong!

In other words, someone with SAD would have to face their fears in a social setting, knowing that they are going to develop the humiliating and embarrassing Red Face. If you know what I’m talking about, then you’ll know how extraordinarily difficult it is to go through this. It is a type of trauma for someone with SAD to experience and your mind will need to be strong enough to endure.

Although this could be difficult, a CBT therapist would work with you to make sure that you are ready before entering into the triggering social situation. But when the time comes, be aware that it will be difficult. That is why you need a Thanos mind.

The good news is that once you start throwing yourself into those scary social situations, eventually you will develop a sense of immunity and desensitization. Things will get easier. You won’t develop Red Face so easily anymore and you’ll feel more comfortable. At that point, you’ll be so happy that you did it. It will be worth it.

If you have Social Anxiety Disorder, than all you need to do now is make the decision to start CBT.

“The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Major Social Anxiety Scene in Thor Love and Thunder

It’s the anticipation of being in a social situation that would really be devastating to Thor. Not the actual social event itself.

Developing social anxiety is not something Thor would expect, but even being the god of (love) and thunder cannot protect against SAD.

One of the most intriguing questions about Thor is what would he be doing after the events of Avengers: End Game. When he fought Thanos, he was completely out of shape and made a complete mess of himself. He then gave up the thrown of Asgard and jumped on a ship with the Guardians of the Galaxy. So now what will he do? Keep fighting of course! That is what he has been doing his whole life. So why stop now, right?!

Thor: Love and Thunder was probably the funniest movie that the MCU has put out thus far. Chris Hemsworth really transformed the Thor character into a hero with the best sense of humor. His comedic brilliance, combined with Taika Waititi’s Korg really made this movie more than just action and CGI. Then throw in guest appearances like Matt Damon reprising his screenplay actor role and the movie really outperforms in any other comedy the MCU has shown.

Thor, God, Thunder, Hammer, Axe, and Social Anxiety

Being Thor comes with a ton of really cool benefits. Lightening flows through your veins, access to mystical weapons, super strength, flight, space travel, and healing abilities are just some bonuses of being the god of thunder. But the one thing it doesn’t save you from is Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). No amount of lightening can prevent SAD and the awful Red Face. So whether you are a god or just a regular human, it would be a good idea to be aware of this major SAD scene below.

Social Anxiety Scene: Anticipation

Left to Right: Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). The three are watching Zeus’ introductory performance at Omnipotence City. Thor stalls as Jane and Valkyrie continue to pressure him to interrupt Zeus and ask for his help.
Thor Love and Thunder, 2022

Movie: Thor: Love and Thunder, 2022

Scene: Thor and friends at Omnipotence City watching Zeus’ performance

Anxiety Provoking Event: Thor is seated with his friends waiting to take center stage to publicly interrupt his hero Zeus, while thousands are looking on.

One of the biggest and most terrifying triggers for someone with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is anticipation of a social event. Particularly an event which will cause all eyes to be on you. In Thor: Love and Thunder, we witnessed a major scene of anticipation when Thor and company visited Omnipotence City. This is a magical, floating city which is home to the gods of the universe, including Thor’s childhood hero, Zeus.

Thor and friends were on a mission to recruit some of the mightiest gods in the universe to form a “god army” to eliminate Gorr, the god butcher. They were in attendance at a magical coliseum-like building when Zeus (the god in charge) started the show. Thor was very excited to see his hero in real life. As he was looking on like an excited child, Jane and Valkyrie tried to egg Thor on to interrupt Zeus and ask him for his help. But the god of Thunder kept stalling as he was in awe of Zeus’ performance. He replied to Val and Jane that he could not interrupt Zeus at this time because his introduction performances are legendary. He told them that he’ll have to wait for the right time.

Left-to-Right: Korg (Taika Waititi), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) watching Thor on the center stage in front of thousands of gods in Omnipotence City. Thor: Love and Thunder, 2022

While performing his introductory show and making an impassioned speech about orgy’s (so weird), Zeus calls out Thor for speaking while he was speaking. He instructs Thor to come to the center of the stage and speak his mind in front of everyone. So, Thor did as he was told to do and made a public plea for help in front of the gods of the universe. This eventually led to a battle between Thor and friends vs Zeus and his weird security guard things.

The Social Anxiety Anticipation Event

Thor knew he had to address Zeus (his hero) in front of the hundreds/thousands of other gods in attendance. Valkyrie, Jane, and Korg were all with him and were pressuring him to start already. Thor decided to keep stalling until the time was right. He kept making excuses about the importance of letting Zeus finish his show and how much he has admired him since childhood. But as Zeus kept performing and speaking, Jane and Val kept putting more and more pressure on Thor to interrupt him and ask already. The anticipation of a major social event, like interrupting Zeus, taking center stage, and publicly speaking out for help, is a major trigger for SAD sufferers.

Zeus (Russell Crowe) addresses the gods of the universe on the grandest stage in Omnipotence City. In the crowd are Thor, Jane, Valkyrie, and Korg watching on.
Thor: Love and Thunder, 2022

If Thor had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), then the whole time he was sitting and waiting for this majorly public social event he would need to do would be devastating to him. This social event which would cause so much anxiety is composed of four (4) parts:

Interrupting an authority figure
Being in the lime light by taking the center state and having all eyes on Thor
Speaking in front of everyone and to the authority figure
Being watched by his friends (Val and Korg), and more frightening, the woman he loves: Jane

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) standing in front of Zeus and thousands of gods in attendance at Omnipotence City. Zeus just “flicked” Thor’s clothes off, leaving him completely naked in front of the crowd.
Thor: Love and Thunder, 2022

Symptoms of the Social Anxiety Anticipation Event

While sitting and waiting for “the right time” to interrupt Zeus, Thor would be feeling super anxious. He would have butterflies in his stomach, he would be sweating profusely, and would even be blushing in anticipation of what would be happening in the next few moments. His heart would be beating out of his chest a thousand times per minute and would even feel lightheaded and nauseous. His hands would be sweating and noticeably trembling. And since he was sitting next to the woman he loves, Jane, Thor would be making considerable effort to hide his symptoms from her. His mind would be racing with a million thoughts on how he can buffer his symptoms or prevent Jane from noticing them.

So ultimately, Thor would develop the dreaded Red Face symptoms without even being put in a social situation. It’s the anticipation of being in a social situation that would really be devastating to Thor.

Three Social Anxiety Scenes from Dr. Strange

As the confident, arrogant, and master of the mystic arts, Dr. Strange would need his powers to defeat an enemy he couldn’t see coming: Social Anxiety Disorder

For Dr. Strange to have Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), it actually wouldn’t be so bad for him. He has magical abilities that seem to stretch the imagination beyond the point of fairy tales and wizardry. Strange could use a spell to hide facial blushing and profuse sweating or he can simply open a quick portal and leave. Either way, he’d be alright.

In the Multiverse of Madness, we learn a lot about Dr. Strange and the MCU in general. We saw him fight a one-eyed monster using magical hands which can lift a spear to the single eye. Then we learn that there is such a thing as physically travelling to different universes (multiversal travel). We even learned that you can Dream Walk to different universes simply by using the Dark Hold. So yea, it’s a crazy world they live in.

But as absurd a world the MCU is and regardless of which universe you live in, Social Anxiety Disorder does not discriminate. It’ll attack aliens, androids, or even wizards (thanks Falcon and the Winter Solder). Meaning, Dr. Strange could still be vulnerable to the dreaded Red Face of Social Anxiety Disorder. Let’s look at three scenes from Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness that could cause SAD.

Three Scenes from Dr. Strange that cause Social Anxiety

Scene 1: The Indirect Blame

Dr. Strange and Dr. West attend Christine’s wedding. West starts a conversation with Strange in which he shows how displeased he is with Strange’s decision to allow Thanos to take the Time Stone. This indirect and passive-aggressive sense of blame is felt by Strange throughout the conversation.
Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022.

Setting: While seated at Christine’s wedding, Dr. Strange has a conversation with Dr. Nic West.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Dr. West indirectly places blame on Dr. Strange for the 5 year-long blip, during which his brother died and West never got to see again.

At the beginning of the movie, Dr. Strange is seated at Christine’s wedding when Dr. West (former colleague from the first Dr. Strange movie) sparks a conversation. He tells Strange that during the blip his brother died and he couldn’t say goodbye to him because he was blipped out of existence. West was saddened by the death of his brother, but his death isn’t what keeps him up at night. Instead, he is most distraught about whether the blip even had to happen. West asked Strange if there was any other way it could have happened.

Dr. Strange was honest and upfront with his answer when he replied that there was no other way. West then indirectly and passive-aggressively blamed the blip on Dr. Strange by mockingly stating that “only the great Dr. Strange could have made that call.” He was essentially pointing his blame finger at Strange for causing trillions to be removed from existence for five years. And although Strange was rightly justified for making that decision against Thanos, West didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted Strange to know that he held him responsible.

Being blamed is a Social Anxiety trigger

If Dr. Strange had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), the blame from Dr. West would have been a huge trigger for the cause of Red Face (the most prominent symptom of SAD). Being blamed and finger pointing can trigger the mind to be on the defensive, especially if the results of the blame were catastrophic (liking blipping out for five years). SAD sufferer’s always feel like they need to be prepared to defend themselves in social situations anyway, but being blamed really pushes the anxiety levels high. And since SAD sufferer’s care about what other people think of them, the social anxiety would be even worse. West blames Strange and thinks negatively of him for that reason. This could be a huge Red Face trigger all while Christine’s wedding is happening.

Scene 2: “Are you happy?”

While at her wedding, Dr. Strange and Christine catch up with each other. During their conversation, Christine asks Strange if he is happy. Strange replies that he is indeed happy but, as we find out later in the movie, he is in love with her. So clearly, he isn’t as happy as he leads us to believe.
Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022

Setting:– While at Christine’s wedding, Dr. Strange speaks to Christine and she asks him if he is happy.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Dr. Strange tells the woman he loves that he is happy while attending her wedding to another man.

It’s no secret that love will make you do crazy things. What really sucks about love though is learning to let go while masking your true feelings. Dr. Strange had to tell Christine that he is happy for her and that he wished things worked out for them years ago. She then responded by asking him if he is happy. And for a bunch of different reasons, Strange lied and replied “yes.”

Telling someone you love that you are happy while at their wedding to someone else is not an easy thing to do. But it’s especially difficult for someone with Social Anxiety Disorder. Two things happen here:

Dr. Strange lies to avoid an awkward conversation
Dr. Strange wants to confess his love to Christine but can’t

SAD sufferer’s have a very difficult time lying because of the fear of being caught. Lying is a huge trigger for developing Red Face (both bright red blushing and profuse sweating will be so obvious) and someone with social anxiety disorder will avoid it at all costs. Red Face is just a huge red flag that someone is lying, and even worse, embarrassed by the lie.

Social Anxiety is all about Brain Chemistry

The brain chemistry of a man in love is absurdly difficult to comprehend. Men will do and say things that are completely out of character. In one part of the brain, Strange is feeling the warm, crazy, and totally nuts feeling of love. In another part, his chemistry is telling him to confess his feelings to her. And in a third part, his brain molecules are telling him not to confess his love. The combination of these molecular reactions causes stress and anxiety, and in the presence of the woman you love, you experience the effects of Social Anxiety. In other words, an unwelcome Red Face symptom will appear.

Scene 3: “I love you in every universe”

After stopping Wanda and saving the day, Dr. Strange returns from Dream Walking and is back in an alternate universe with an alternate Christine. He confesses that he loves her in every universe.
Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022

Setting:– After Dr. Strange saves America Chavez from Scarlett Witch, he is back in a different universe with an alternate Christine waiting for Chavez to return him home. As he’s waiting, he has a heart-to-heart conversation with the Christine.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Confessing his love to Christine.

If there is anything we have learned about love in the presence of social anxiety, it’s that those two things don’t mesh well. Telling someone who you hold on the highest romantic pedestal that you love them triggers the fear of rejection, and worse, humiliation. It’s always a tricky thing to tell someone that you love them, but to say in the profoundly “I love you in every universe” sense will carry quite a bit of extra weight.

At the moments leading up to and after his confession, Dr. Strange would be thinking about the consequences. “She probably doesn’t love me back” or “she is going to let me down easy” are some things he will think about. “What if she laughs at me or tells someone about my confession” is another thought for SAD sufferers. These thoughts of rejection stresses the mind and causes anxiety in any normal person, but even more so in an SAD person. And since the anxiety is caused by Christine’s presence, it is considered to be social anxiety.

Thoughts alone are bad enough

The worst part is that just these thoughts alone can trigger Dr. Strange being swallowed in the humiliation of Red Face. Christine doesn’t even need to say or do anything. The thoughts alone can cause Red Face right in front of her. And when her eyes shift direction from Strange’s eyes to his forehead and she sees the sweat formation, it’s all over for him. Her notice of his red, sweaty face will make Strange more red and sweaty. It’s really uncomfortable.

Four scenes in Morbius that would trigger Social Anxiety Disorder

Dr. Mobius is one of the most brilliant people in the world. But even his brilliance cannot protect him from Social Anxiety Disorder.

Dr. Michael Morbius suffers from a rare, life-shortening blood disorder. Being physically incapable of walking properly, he is limited in a lot of things in life. Want to be a professional athlete? That’s not happening. Or maybe an astronaut? He definitely has the intellect, but still nope. How about a scuba diver? Well, he doesn’t “have very good sea legs” as he Morbius eloquently stated in the movie. The point is that Dr. Morbius is physically incapable of doing so many things. But where he lacks physically, he excels intellectually. His identity comes more from his brilliance than his handicap.

In fact, his intellect is so outstanding, he managed to cure his physical incapability’s while creating the minor side effect of becoming a blood-sucking vampire.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) does not stereotype. Whether you’re human or vampire, SAD can find you and make you blush. It will make you feel the uncomfortable experience of Red Face. So unless you are nocturnal and no one notices your red face, it’s best to learn a thing or two about SAD here.

The Four Mobius Social Anxiety Scenes

Scene 1: Dr. Morbius removes his shirt in front of Martine (Dr. Bancroft) while on the containership

Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) removes his shirt to allow Dr. Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona), who is his romantic interest, to prep his body for the treatment procedure.
Morbius, 2022

Anxiety Provoking Event: Revealing his sickly, pale body to his romantic interest

With the goal of curing himself, Dr. Morbius and his colleague Dr. Martine Bancroft, embarked on a container ship over international waters (13 miles off the coast of Long Island). It is here that they planned to do a highly risky experiment with Morbius as the test subject. This experiment eventually resulted in the death of several men (mercenaries) on board, but it also gave rise to a new super hero.

To conduct the experiment, he needed to be prepped by Dr. Bancroft. He removed his shirt so she could inject the serum into his body and also monitor his vitals remotely. A shirtless Dr. Morbius turns out to be a very sick, vein populated, pale colored, and thinly shaped body. In other words, he doesn’t look very attractive.

Dr. Michael Morbius about to receive a serum inoculation into his spine. Dr. Martine Bancroft administers the injection.
Morbius, 2022

If Morbius had SAD

If Dr. Morbius had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), there would be no chance in hell he’d allow his romantic/love interest, Dr. Bancroft, to see him shirtless. Even if he were very sick, he would feel way too uncomfortable showing her his sickly body. He would be afraid of her judgement against him, even if she doesn’t say anything. Morbius would constantly be wondering what she thinks of him and so many scenarios of what her thoughts are would be racing through his mind. With the anxiety of her judgement looming, he will develop the humiliating Red Face symptoms right in front of her. It’s game over after that.

Although Red Face (bright red facial blushing and profuse sweating) is most obvious on the face, Morbius’ body will also sweat from embarrassment. As Dr. Bancroft is attaching leads to his body, she will feel the sweat on her gloves as they become moist. She’ll then look at his face and see the embarrassment of blushing. In this case he can hide behind the excuse of being nervous before his big procedure, so he may get away with that for now.

Scene 2: Coffee shop conversation with Morbius and Martine

Martine puts her hands on Morbius as she tries to console him for killing those mercenaries on the container ship.
Morbius, 2022

Anxiety Provoking Event: Martine consoles Morbius by placing her hands over his.

This may seem incredibly subtle and not something that can trigger anxiety, but let’s not forget the background of the story. Morbius has been working with Martine for a long time. He clearly has strong feelings for her as we learn later in the movie. When a man doesn’t know what his crush thinks of him, that triggers some thought projections and possible anxiety. When his crush puts her hands on his, the wheels of the mind start spinning even more.

Now add Social Anxiety Disorder to that scenario, and Morbius’ mind would be on overdrive. His brain chemistry would be overreactive and a million thoughts would cross his mind about “why her hands are on mine.” If he had SAD, eventually Red Face would strike, and he would have to casually remove his hands from hers to avoid her feeling his hand sweat. Then he’d need to make his way to the restroom to wash his face in cold water to cool down the heat and sweat on his face. In other words, he’d need to wash away the embarrassment.

Scene 3: Interrogation by the FBI

Agent Simon Stroud (Tyrese Gibson) of the FBI interrogates Dr. Morbius in an FBI interrogation room.
Morbius, 2022

Anxiety Provoking Event: FBI agents try to get Morbius to reveal his secret and confess to crimes he doesn’t fully understand yet (like killing nurse Sutton)

People with SAD are really worried about being observed and judged. Well, no one is more observant of you than law enforcement, especially during an interrogation. They look for physical and psychological clues from you while paying attention to every little thing you do and say. Make no mistake, law enforcement is there to meticulously observe and judge you.

Morbius has a secret about himself that he doesn’t want law enforcement to know. He also does not want to confess to killing nurse Sutton because he simply can’t remember doing it (we find out later that he didn’t kill her). He needs time to figure all this out, yet he is stuck in an interrogation room with the FBI.

If Morbius had SAD

With the amount of observing and judging going on by the FBI, Morbius would no doubt be sweating and blushing. This is especially true if he lies to them. Lying alters brain chemistry and with SAD, brain chemistry is already so erratic causing extreme anxiety and eventually Red Face. So the combination of being observed, being judged, and lying would 100% equal the recipe of SAD symptoms. In addition to Red Face, Morbius would develop trembling hands, thumpingly fast heart rate, stiff muscles causing rigid body posture, and some lightheadedness. And all of this would happen in front of the interrogating FBI agents. Their first thoughts…”oh he’s definitely guilty.”

Scene 4: Dr. Morbius attends the Nobel Prize ceremony

Dr. Morbius (Jared Leto) approaching the podium to (surprisingly) decline the Nobel Prize. Although we don’t actually see his “rejection speech”, it is referenced in a later scene.
Morbius, 2022

Anxiety Provoking Event: The aftermath of declining the Nobel Prize in front of an auditorium full of people.

Stick with me on this one… Speaking in front of a live audience is not social anxiety. Instead this is a different kind of anxiety called performance anxiety. A lot of people get performance anxiety before a big presentation. It’s that feeling in your gut, “butterflies”, that cause a person to feel really nervous. Although it’s nerve racking, it doesn’t normally cause Red Face symptoms because the context of the anxiety is different. And to get through performance anxiety, all you need to do is what everyone else does. Go up to the podium, accept the award, and leave. If you stick to that plan, you will be fine.

For Dr. Morbius however, that plan didn’t happen. Although we actually didn’t see the scene in the movie where he made a speech to decline the acceptance of the Nobel prize, a newspaper reference was made afterwards that he did indeed do that. The completely unexpected decline of a Nobel prize would send shockwaves around the world. If Morbius had Social Anxiety Disorder, he would draw massive attention to himself. People want to interview him, speak with him, observe him, etc. These are all social anxiety triggers that could lead to SAD symptoms, including Red Face. So although the actual speech in front of a live audience is not the catalyst for SAD symptoms, it’s the aftermath of that speech which is. To avoid the aftermath SAD symptoms of this speech, Morbius would have just chosen to accept the award and move on.

What if Hawkeye had Social Anxiety Disorder

If Hawkeye had Social Anxiety Disorder, that really incredible final battle at Rockefeller Plaza between him, Kate Bishop, and The Tracksuits would never have happened.

Hawkeye: An Original Avenger

If Hawkeye had Social Anxiety Disorder, that really incredible final battle at Rockefeller Plaza between him, Kate Bishop, and The Tracksuits would never have happened.

For an Avenger like Hawkeye to have Social Anxiety Disorder, we would miss out on some really cool action scenes. Although using a bow & arrow is badass, being Hawkeye means using strategy to find his targets and complete his mission. Even if that strategy requires him to be more social. Yikes!

Hawkeye about to let an arrow fly against The Tracksuits in Episode 3 of “Hawkeye”, 2021

Choose your weapon! Who wouldn’t want to master the bow & arrow after watching Hawkeye on Disney+. The storyline tied into Barton’s run as Ronin from Avengers Endgame, while bringing closure Black Widow’s death.

The introduction of two new heroes (three if you count Yelena) Kate Bishop and Maya Lopez, creates excitement for the future of MCU movies, particularly the next “Avengers” type of movie. And of course, seeing the familiar face of one of the six original Avengers is always capturing as it brings interest and, dare I say, nostalgia to MCU fans. Not to mention, Hawkeye on Disney+ debuted a Broadway show about The Avengers’ battle of New York from 2012. Not sure why they named the show “Rogers” when it was all six Avengers battling Loki and the Chitauri. Seems like a bit a favoritism there, huh? The point is Hawkeye is a really cool show giving us tons to look forward to into the MCU timeline.

Things to know about Social Anxiety Disorder before continuing

Before we get into the whole “what if” thing, let’s make sure you know what Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is. Click here to learn a thing or two about how annoying SAD really is and why it can wreak havoc on people, including superstar Avenger, Hawkeye.

If you’re going to remember anything about what SAD can do to you, just remember the two worst things it can cause the Red Face:

Bright red facial blushing

Heavy, profuse sweating

Both of which are so extremely embarrassing, especially in front of a lot of people. And if someone notices you blushing and sweating and calls attention to it in front of others, you’ll just end up blushing even redder and sweating even heavier. It’s so uncomfortable, ugh!!!!

The Social Anxiety Scene that would never have happened

Clint Barton and Kate Bishop arrive at the holiday party at Eleanor Bishop’s high rise luxury NYC apartment.
Hawkeye, Marvel Studios 2021

Show: Hawkeye (Disney+, 2021)

Scene: Episode 6, Eleanor Bishop’s Christmas Party in her skyrise luxury NYC apartment

Anxiety Provoking Event: Hawkeye attending a formal holiday party with many people whom he doesn’t know and likely to be “judgmental, uppity, upper-class snobs.

If Hawkeye had SAD, that incredible final battle at Rockefeller Plaza between him, Kate Bishop, and The Tracksuits would never have happened.

In the final episode of Hawkeye on Disney+, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop find out that Kate’s mother, Eleanor, has been doing business with the mob’s Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. Anticipating that Kingpin was going to instruct his boys, The Tracksuits, to target Eleanor for betraying him, Barton and Bishop go to her rescue. They identified the event in which The Tracksuits would attempt to eliminate her is at her annual holiday Christmas party at her luxury NYC skyrise apartment. And like all superheroes, they were spot on.

Barton and Bishop arrive at the Christmas party, and like always, Barton does what he has been trained to do: assess for potential threats. Right across the street from the holiday party is one of the leaders of The Tracksuits, Kazi, looking through the scope of his sniper rifle. His original target is Kate’s mom, Eleanor, but he quickly adds Clint Barton to his target list once he notices him looking out the window. Luckily, Barton notices the sniper scope’s laser red dot and manages to evade being shot.

Hawkeye and Kate fighting off The Tracksuits at the ice skating rink in Rockefeller Plaza.
Hawkeye, Marvel Studios, 2021

After some insane fighting scenes and a death-defying fall onto the magnificently large Rockefeller Christmas tree, Clint Barton ends up landing on the famous ice-skating rink (thanks to the sharp archery skills of Kate Bishop freeing Clint from the tree). It’s here that Clint and Kate finally got on the same page and became the team we’ve been waiting for. They just balled out with trick arrows on the ice-skating rink under the beautiful lights of Rockefeller Plaza. With the super cool arrows (including shrinking arrows…thanks Scott), it was awesome to watch the Tracksuits get beaten and embarrassed. That is a scene worth re-watching over and over again.

If Hawkeye had Social Anxiety Disorder

If Barton had (SAD), he would never have gone to Eleanor’s Christmas party, especially one filled with judgmental, upper-class snobs. Someone with Social Anxiety Disorder does not like being at large social gatherings, like parties. The amount of people there, most of which he doesn’t know creates a feeling of anxiousness. The fear of saying or doing something that might cause you to be judged negatively by others takes control. Fear eventually turns into anticipation, which gets so bad, that it causes the dreaded bright red blushing and profuse sweating. In other words, Clint wouldn’t need to say or do anything at the party. He would just start turning into a sweaty tomato for no real reason. For this reason, Clint Barton would not have attended the Christmas party.

With Barton’s absence at the Christmas party, Kazi (Tracksuit leader) would not have seen him. Therefore his only (and original) target would have been Eleanor Bishop. That means Kazi would have shot Eleanor with his sniper rifle and went home. He and the Tracksuits would not have pursued Clint inside the apartment building, where he fought them off. There would not have been any scene on the ice-skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza. So we wouldn’t have seen Hawkeye and Kate finally work together using a bunch of cool trick arrows. That amazing scene wouldn’t have happened, and we would have all been the unfortunate ones not to see watch it.

The Effects of Social Anxiety Disorder on the final spell in Spiderman No Way Home

SAD amplifies the effects of Dr. Strange’s spell on Peter Parker, making it difficult to fill the void of losing MJ’s love and Ned’s friendship.

Spiderman’s Latest Go

In Spiderman No Way Home, we see an insanely powerful spell from Dr. Strange which would be severely amplified if Spidey had Social Anxiety Disorder.

There aren’t too many solo superhero movies that can generate the level of enthusiasm and emotion as Spidey films. The latest installment of Spiderman had some of the most eventful and surprising scenes ever seen in the MCU.

Dealing with the effects of having his identity revealed by Mysterio, Peter Parker went through a whirlwind of sequences. He experienced trauma, sadness, shock, and eventually loneliness in this rollercoaster ride of a movie. The surprise appearance of characters from past years reprised by the original actors made this film even more exciting. Then throw in some familiar fan favorites, like Dr. Strange and Wong, and even introduce a new hero, Daredevil, and the bar becomes that much higher. Perfectly designed and highly rated, Spiderman: No Way Home has entered the MCU as an instant classic. It’s right up there with Avengers Infinity War, Avengers End Game, and Captain America Civil War.

Background

In an attempt to stave off villains from other universe’s, we see an amazing sacrifice made by Peter Parker. One of the last scenes that occurred in this latest Spiderman thriller was when Parker asked Dr. Strange to perform a spell which would cause everyone in the world to forget that Peter Parker was Spiderman. In fact, the spell would cause everyone in the world to forget that Peter even existed. That’s like the most awful thing ever.

Dr. Strange recognizes that the multiverse is open, allowing villains from other universe’s to enter. He and Spiderman agree that the spell to make everyone forget Peter Parker is the only way to prevent multiverse villains from entering their world.
Spiderman: No Way Home, 2021

Although this was a super gutsy sacrifice that Parker would make, he would be left with no friends (goodbye Ned, Flash, and Happy), no girlfriend (so long MJ), and no family (no one left there anyway). Losing your entire social life in one fell swoop is an absolute devastation to anyone and everyone. As human beings, we are all social creatures by nature and we want to be seen, to be heard, and to be loved. Without his best friend and “guy in the chair”, Peter loses the closest thing he has to a brother. Removing the woman that he loves, MJ, from his life, Peter will feel a heartbreaking emptiness inside that cannot be easily filled. Not to mention, his classmates, his teachers, and the deli owner from Queens (Mr. Delmar) will all forget him. It’s going to be a tough go for Parker moving forward.

The effect of Social Anxiety Disorder with the final spell in Spiderman No Way Home

If Peter Parker had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), then his request to have everyone forget him could be considered bittersweet (to a degree at least). Someone with SAD does not feel comfortable being known and seen by everyone. Being famous leads to being watched and observed by everyone, everywhere you go. People taking photo’s and video’s of you while you’re just trying to go to class or walk down the street isn’t a pleasant feeling for someone with SAD. So to have everyone forget the identity of Spiderman as Peter Parker would be a great relief. It would have been a relief anyway because Peter’s life became quite hectic once his identity was revealed. But in the context of social anxiety, this was a huge help for him.

The 2 Downsides of the spell with Social Anxiety Disorder

Downside #1

The first major downside to Dr. Strange’s spell is that Peter loses his love, MJ. The final spell performed by Dr. Strange which caused everyone to forget Peter Parker exists causes an emptiness and void left behind by MJ as she was removed from his life. Losing someone special is always very difficult and heartbreaking. It creates a void inside your heart that needs to be filled. The heart craves love and when you lose it (like Parker lost MJ), you want to eventually replace it relieve the pain of emptiness inside.

Peter Parker isolating himself in a feeling of grief and loneliness after losing his aunt May. Aunt May was his only family.
Spiderman: No Way Home, 2021

Someone with SAD has an incredibly difficult time meeting someone new and, even more so, dating. If Peter Parker had SAD, he would have a very difficult time meeting another woman. SAD sufferers have trouble meeting new people, particularly in a romantic sense. The feeling of anxiety and fear of embarrassing oneself becomes too difficult to handle and they just end up avoiding the idea entirely. It would take a lot of time for Peter to fill the hole in his heart that was left behind by losing MJ. Not only because he wouldn’t be ready to move on from her for a long time, but also because Social Anxiety Disorder would prevent him from meeting/dating another woman. That is not an easy thing to live with.

Downside #2

The second downside to the spell performed by Dr. Strange is to have everyone forget that Peter Parker even existed. This would be pushing it, even for someone with Social Anxiety Disorder. Although people with SAD prefer to be seen less, they don’t want to be completely unnoticed by their friends and family. As I mentioned above, humans are social creatures and want to have closeness with some people. Parker loses that closeness, thus creating a bigger emptiness for him. And since SAD makes it very difficult to meet new people/new friends, Peter would be living with that emptiness for longer than he should. That is what makes SAD so awful for people. It takes away the basic human nature of being social and interacting with others.

Peter, MJ, and Ned inside the New York Sanctum speaking to Dr. Strange.
Spiderman: No Way Home, 2021

The point

In Spiderman No Way Home, Social Anxiety Disorder will just amplify the effects of Dr. Strange’s spell on Peter Parker. It makes it so much more difficult to fill the void of being loved which is craved so often by the heart. Additionally, since SAD makes it hard to meet and interact with new people, you end up feeling lonely for a much longer time than if you didn’t have SAD. Thankfully Peter Parker doesn’t have SAD, but if he did then he’d have to endure the difficulties of extended loneliness.

Eternals star most affected by Social Anxiety

If Eternals’ star Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) had Social Anxiety Disorder, that incredibly hilarious Bollywood dance scene would never have happened.

Kumail Nanjiani having social anxiety would rob us of the Bollywood dance scene in The Eternals. Eternals star Kumail Nanjani, Kingo, is so funny in The Eternals movie, that it’d be hard to imagine he has social anxiety. Especially, since his comical scenes are in a highly sociable environment. But if he did, there is no way in eternity that he would be as fun to watch.

Kingo, the funniest Eternal

Being a race of immortal beings, the Eternals are certainly a unique brand of hero introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Possessing superhuman powers is nothing new to the MCU but being alive for centuries and serving a celestial being is something we haven’t seen before. The Eternals are a unique story living from one ancient society to another protecting humans from their deviant counterparts. By avoiding any interference with human conflicts, these heroes are selective only to the purpose in which they were created; that is to serve the celestial, Arishem.

Living limitlessly throughout time, you can imagine that things can get a bit boring. To prevent that from happening, each Eternal went their separate ways to live their lives. Sersi, for example, became an elementary school teacher in England, while the science wizard, Phastos, became a father to a little boy in America. Out of all the Eternals however, the one who would have been most impacted by Social Anxiety Disorder is the Bollywood star, Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani). Sersi would have been the second most affected because being a schoolteacher with SAD is really difficult.

Eternally SAD…yikes!

**Although living as an Eternal would be super awesome, living as an Eternal with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) would be far from super awesome. It would be eternally awful to live with social anxiety.

Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo as a Movie Star in Bollywood

What does it take to be a movie star in Bollywood? Well, I don’t know because I’m not a movie star in Bollywood, or anywhere else for that matter. But I can imagine that it would be like the movie stars we see in Hollywood. Being on set with other actors, making red carpet appearances for movie premieres, and hanging out with talk show hosts in front of a nationally televised audience all seem to fit the bill of a movie star.

Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) and his valet, Karun, arrive at the home of Gilgamesh and Thena. Marvel Studios’ The Eternals, 2021

When we first saw Kingo as a Bollywood star, he was filming a dance scene with other men and women surrounding him. There were dancers, movie producers, cast and crew, and of course his personal valet, Karun all watching the seen unfold. The cameras were on him, his steps, his facial reactions, and his body language. Everything he was doing was being watched.

What if Kumail Nanjiani had Social Anxiety

If Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo) had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), he would not have been able to film a scene like that. The fear of being watched and negatively judged is too overwhelming. Kingo’s mind would have immediately jumped to the harsh criticism that people must be thinking about, leading to the dreaded Red Face symptoms of SAD. His face would have turned bright red in blush, sweat would be dripping off his face, his hands would tremble, and his heart rate would be off the charts. To make matters worse, people would have noticed and pointed out his red, sweaty face, making him blush and sweat even more. It’s really a tortuously uncomfortable feeling and therefore, Kingo would have avoided it altogether and just not filmed the dance scene.

Kumail Nanjiani Bollywood dance scene in Eternals. This is social anxiety event. — Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) filming the Bollywood dance scene. A whole lot of eyes are on him watching his every dance move.
Marvel Studios’ The Eternals, 2021

The Inner Talks of Social Anxiety Disorder

It’s important to remember that people who suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder become extremely self-conscious. They are frequently thinking about ways to prevent themselves from embarrassing themselves. There are a lot of factors that contribute to putting together a successful dance routine. That means that there are a lot of ways to look stupid and embarrass yourself. Instead of thinking about nailing the dance perfectly, someone with SAD would be thinking about ways to avoid embarrassment.

“don’t look stupid”
“your smile is not that nice, so stop smiling”
“the guy dancing next to me is better than me… I suck compared to him…I suck compared to everyone”
“the pretty girl next to me doesn’t seem impressed by me…I’m such an f-up”

Being hypercritical about yourself is a well-known effect of Social Anxiety Disorder and really messes with your confidence, especially when around attractive people. Kingo could not perform an entire dance scene with so many on-lookers watching his every move. Even if he could hide the negative self-talk that goes on in his mind, he cannot hide the SAD symptoms. He could not hide the red face.

Avengers Impacted by Social Anxiety

Iron Man

Work Life

Social Life

Thor

Work Life

Social Life

Captain America

Work Life

Social Life

Black Widow

Work Life

Social Life

Hawkeye

Work Life

Social Life

Hulk

Work Life

Social Life

Three Social Anxiety Scenes in Black Panther

Black Panther Social Anxiety scene 1

Socializing at the casino

Black Panther Social Anxiety scene 2

Nakia’s social Skills

Black Panther Social Anxiety scene 3

Okoye Challenges Killmonger.

She-Hulk Social Anxiety Moment 1

Trial Lawyer equals social strength

She-Hulk Social Anxiety Moment 2

Dating Apps make life easy

She-Hulk Social Anxiety Moment 3

Winning an award is always a good thing, right?

Thanos’ Mind

CBT – the Thanos Mind Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder

Thor, God, Thunder, Hammer, Axe, and Social Anxiety

Social Anxiety Scene: Anticipation

The Social Anxiety Anticipation Event

Symptoms of the Social Anxiety Anticipation Event

Three Scenes from Dr. Strange that cause Social Anxiety

Scene 1: The Indirect Blame

Being blamed is a Social Anxiety trigger

Scene 2: “Are you happy?”

Social Anxiety is all about Brain Chemistry

Scene 3: “I love you in every universe”

Thoughts alone are bad enough

Social Anxiety Disorder

The Four Mobius Social Anxiety Scenes

Scene 1: Dr. Morbius removes his shirt in front of Martine (Dr. Bancroft) while on the containership

If Morbius had SAD

Scene 2: Coffee shop conversation with Morbius and Martine

Scene 3: Interrogation by the FBI

If Morbius had SAD

Scene 4: Dr. Morbius attends the Nobel Prize ceremony

Hawkeye: An Original Avenger

Things to know about Social Anxiety Disorder before continuing

The Social Anxiety Scene that would never have happened

If Hawkeye had SAD, that incredible final battle at Rockefeller Plaza between him, Kate Bishop, and The Tracksuits would never have happened.

If Hawkeye had Social Anxiety Disorder

Spiderman’s Latest Go

Background

The effect of Social Anxiety Disorder with the final spell in Spiderman No Way Home

The 2 Downsides of the spell with Social Anxiety Disorder

Downside #1

Downside #2

The point

Kingo, the funniest Eternal

Eternally SAD…yikes!

Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo as a Movie Star in Bollywood

What if Kumail Nanjiani had Social Anxiety

The Inner Talks of Social Anxiety Disorder