Justice League Social Anxiety Archives

Justice League

Social Anxiety is not something that would typically come to mind when thinking of DC’s Justice League. But unfortunately, social anxiety can get anyone.

The Justice League (DC) is a group of enhanced and skillful warriors who protect the Earth from evil. In theory, the individuals who make up the Justice League are said to be stronger than even The Avengers (that’ll always be an unresolved debate though). With physical strength and power like that of Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman, it’s hard to disagree with that argument. Throw in the speed of Flash, the technological masterpiece of Cyborg, and the mind, skill, and resourcefulness of Batman, the Justice League are more than formidable.

When someone says Justice League, it’s hard not to think of the three core/founding members: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. They will always be the face of The League, so it’s appropriate to use them as the examples in this article. Specifically, the one scene in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice which involves the three founding Justice League members provoking social anxiety.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) does not care if you’re The Dark Knight, The Man of Steel, or the Princess of the Amazons. It doesn’t believe in justice, because SAD in itself is unjust. Click here to see why.

The Social Anxiety Scene affecting Justice League’s Batman, Superman, & Wonder Woman

Left to right: Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). While attending Luthor’s party, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne discussing Gotham and Metropolis’ respective heroes. Lex Luthor interrupts.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016

Upper class parties with important people, media outlets, and photographers in attendance can be tricky for people with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). While hosting that kind of party, Lex Luthor had a large list of A-listers come by. One of these A-listers is Bruce Wayne (Batman), known as the prince of Gotham. And where there are A-listers, there will always be media. So welcome to the party Clark Kent (Superman), journalist from the Daily Planet. And hey, since we’re at it, let’s see if Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) would want to swing by for a drink. Although not completely clear how she got invited into Luthor’s party, it’s probable she snuck in or stole someone’s identity for the evening. Either way, she was in attendance.

Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) attends Lex Luthor’s party. She is waiting for her opportunity to follow Bruce Wayne and take his data transfer device.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016

Now normally, Bruce Wayne would shy away from the public spotlight. But he attended Luthor’s party as a cover while searching for evidence. He believed that Luthor possessed, or knew the location of, some kryptonite. This caught the attention of Clark Kent. Using his super hearing abilities, he found out that Bruce was not there in support of Luthor’s philanthropic events, but rather on a mission. Clark then decides to do his job and investigate. But before he could do anything, he urgently left the party to save some people from a burning building. And Diana was there, as we found out later, to search for a photograph that Luthor had in his possession. All three of these heroes were at the party for their own personal missions.

Attending a party causes Social Anxiety

At this one party hosted by Lex Luthor, the three founding members of the Justice League were there. They attended not because they wanted to socialize with the upper class, but because they were working. Now imagine you have social anxiety disorder and you were completely uncomfortable socializing with rich, uppity, white-collar folks who you’ve never met before. While trying to blend in and socialize, there is a high risk of developing the awful red face signs of SAD. Enduring bright red facial blushing, profuse sweating, trembling hands, and a pounding heart rate is absolutely devastating in front of people. All eyes around you now zoom in on your face. Even worse, someone is bound to make a comment and call attention to it. If they do, the red and sweaty face becomes even more read and sweaty. It’s really an awful position to be in.

Now let’s say that you are smart enough to know that your face will turn red and sweat while socializing with these people. As an alternative, you’ll stay to the side of the room, take out your phone, and pretend you are busy. This unfortunately, would not be enough to stop red face from occurring. There is something called anticipation. Simply, this is your mind being on overdrive and expecting people to approach you. This anticipation leads to anxiety, which then triggers red face. So you see, you don’t need to socialize with anyone at the party to get the red face of Social Anxiety Disorder. Your presence there is all it takes.

Batman will get Social Anxiety

Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) just planted his data transfer device into Luthor’s network servers. He gets caught by Luthor’s assistant and quickly explains to her that he was looking for the bathroom.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016

So if Batman had SAD (which we know he doesn’t… click here to see why), he would not have been able to keep a low profile while at Luthor’s party. Remember, he needed to go down a flight of stairs, enter a computer room (sort of), and insert a device to replicate data off of Luthor’s servers. He even got caught by one of Luthor’s assistants and needed to lie to avoid suspicion (the old “looking for the bathroom” excuse). If he had SAD, his mission would have been more difficult to focus on because his anxiety would have kicked in hard. Instead of focusing on the evidence he needs, his mind would be occupied by thinking of ways to avoid the red face of SAD. He wouldn’t have even been able to lie to Luthor’s assistant without turning bright red (liar liar face is on fire…SAD people always reveal their lies when their face turns into a tomato).

Superman will get Social Anxiety

Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) speaking to Bruce Wayne while at Lex Luthor’s party.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016

While trying to figure out exactly what Bruce Wayne was doing at Luthor’s party, Clark Kent uses his cover as a journalist to ask Wayne what his thoughts are on The Batman. Despite Wayne’s attempts to dismiss the question, Kent persists and continues to dig, even saying that Batman is a masked vigilante who thinks he is above the law. Prior to this conversation, it seemed that Kent suspected Wayne is Batman and wanted to press him a bit. This could lead to a confrontation in a very public place. If Kent had SAD, he would not have even bothered grilling Wayne. Not at the party at least. The anxiety of social confrontations at a party would easily trigger red face, which is a huge sign of weakness. This isn’t something Superman would want to show Batman.

Wonder Woman will get Social Anxiety

Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) keeping tabs on Bruce Wayne while at Lex Luthor’s party. She is looking back at him so she could follow and eventually take the data transfer device which he plants into Luthor’s network.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016

Keeping her eye on the prize and maintaining a low profile at Luthor’s party, we barely even realized Diana Prince was there. The macho egos of Batman and Superman kind of took control of that scene. Diana inconspicuously stole the device which Bruce Wayne inserted into Luthor’s network systems. We find out later that she was looking for a photograph that was in Luthor’s possession. After the device had completed the data transfer from the network, Wayne went down to collect it. He realized it was taken and saw Diana looking right at him. It’s as if she wanted him to know that she took it. He started approaching her, but she walked away and left the party before he could catch up.

Although we didn’t see her socialize with anyone at the party, Diana would still have triggered a severe SAD moment. Doing something wrong in a public place can lead to public confrontation. The fear and anxiety of being caught could trigger SAD’s red face. If Wayne shouted in front of everybody to stop Diana or publicly labelled her as a thief, we would have seen her face turn bright red and sweat drip off her forehead. She would have been so uncomfortable and embarrassed. Thankfully for her though, her powers allow her to be quicker than the mortal Bruce Wayne. As a result, she got away from him without a hitch.

The mind is the most powerful weapon in the world. So powerful, in fact, that it can even make the dominantly powerful Wonder Woman develop social anxiety. You’ll know if she has it if you see her blush and sweat for no real reason.

Princess of the Amazon’s

As the princess of Themyscira, Diana Prince (better known as Wonder Woman) is considered to be one of the most dominant heroes in all the DC Universe. In fact, she is so strong that her strength actually rivals that of Superman’s, falling only slightly short to that of the Man of Steel. Growing up on a magical island, Themyscira, Diana was raised with the most love and support you could ask for. Here she trained with her Amazonian sisters, honing her skills for the inevitable day she would go into combat.

Magical Islands will keep you safe from SAD

As interesting a life that Diana has, what impact would social anxiety disorder (SAD) have on her story? Unless you live on a magical island like Themyscira, Social Anxiety can come for you. You should know something about it.

The Social Anxiety Scene that Wonder Woman would need to endure

Wonder Woman (2017)

Scene: Diana enters a male dominant military room as the only female present, catching the eyes of all inside. She then re-enters the same room again to publicly translate a German scientist’s notebook before harshly and publicly criticizing a British General in front of other high-ranking military and political officials, including (unbeknownst to her) Ares, the God of War.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Drawing attention to herself by being the only woman in the room, walking into a room with seated people, and by criticizing an authoritative figure in front of others causing all eyes to be on her

If Wonder Woman had social anxiety disorder (SAD), Steve Trevor would have lived

Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) standing in a room filled with seated people. This is a social anxiety event — Diana (Wonder Woman), played by Gal Gadot enters the meeting room filled with politicians and military commanders. She is the only woman walking around in a room filled with seated authoritative figures.
Warner Bros. Wonder Woman, 2017.

What happened to Wonder Woman during this Social Anxiety scene

Walking into a room as the only woman there causing all eyes to be on her

With a room full of high-ranking British military commanders and politicians, Diana enters as the only woman there. She was immediately noticed by the man speaking at the podium, Sir Patrick. Unbeknownst to her, Sir Patrick is really Ares, the God of War, in disguise. Sir Patrick was noticeably distracted by Diana, which led to everyone else in the room turning and looking at her. While the room was distracted by the fact that a woman is now in the room, Sir Patrick was distracted because he knew that the woman was Diana of Themyscira. He knew that she is an Amazon warrior.

Berating an authoritative figure in front of a room full of people

A few scenes later when Diana returned to the room with Steve, she recognized the languages in a notebook belonging to the German scientist, Dr. Maru. She decoded the languages in the book in front of the entire room and presented the information about a new type of hydrogen bomb being made by the Germans. In an effort to stop this bomb manufacturing, Steve Trevor requested to go to Germany on a mission. A British General quickly denied him and forbid Steve from going. This frustrated Diana as she unleashed a verbal assault on the General in front of the entire room. And again, all eyes were on her.

Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) berates a military general. Social Anxiety can occur here. — Diana (Wonder Woman) played by Gal Gadot scolding the military general for cowering behind his desk while he sends his soldiers out to die. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) unsuccessfully tries to hold her back.
Warner Bros. Wonder Woman, 2017

This scene leads to Diana’s victory and Steve’s demise

Before Diana and Steve exited the room, Sir Patrick publicly sided with the General and encouraged ending the war through an armistice. Later, however, he actually helped Steve and Diana go to Germany with the condition that he will run and monitor their mission from his office. He even gave them the money they need to survive there. By keeping tabs on Diana, Sir Patrick (Ares) would be able to watch her every move and guide her to where he wants her to go. Eventually this would lead to the battle between Ares and Wonder Woman at the German airfield in which Wonder Woman defeats him. Steve Trevor, however, was not so lucky as he carried out a suicide mission by flying a plane full of bombs away from the population and blowing them all up midair.

If Wonder Woman had Social Anxiety Disorder… Steve Trevor would have lived

SAD stops you from walking into a room full of seated people

If Wonder Woman had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), she would never have entered the room filled with all those people, especially knowing she would be the only woman there. SAD would overtake her with the fear of being judged by everyone else and being humiliated by their judgements. And even if she did somehow overcome the anxiety to walk into that room, she would not have ever scolded the British General.

Symptoms of Social Anxiety disorder all over Wonder Woman’s face

Berating a person, particularly an authoritative figure, in such a public manner would cause massive attention and judgement. Knowing that all eyes would be on her, Diana would develop the Red Face of SAD. She would blush bright red, sweat profusely, have a rapidly thumping heart rate, and would develop trembling hands and fingers. And just when you think it can’t get any worse, it can! If someone points out her red, sweaty face, this would worsen the symptoms and she would blush and sweat more. There is no situation more uncomfortable than that. Diana would rather not enter the room at all and spare this traumatic event from ever occurring.

Steve Trevor would have lived

If Diana doesn’t enter the room, Ares would not have noticed her. Therefore, he wouldn’t have helped her and Steve get to Germany. He wouldn’t have been monitoring their progress throughout their mission leading to their fight at the airfield. So, if Diana is not busy fighting Ares she would have been available to dispose the bombs herself, rather than having Steve carry out a suicide mission to rid of the explosives. Remember, these hydrogen bombs would not have had any effect on Diana (as we saw earlier in the movie) and thus she would have had way more options of discarding them than a regular human would like Steve Trevor. There is a very high likelihood that Steve Trevor would have lived if Diana had SAD.