Leadership, assembled : A narrative analysis of the construction of leadership in relation to democracy in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame

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Leadership, assembled.

A narrative analysis of the construction of

leadership in relation to democracy in Avengers:

Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Master thesis, 15 hp

Media and Communication Studies

Supervisor: Ernesto Abalo Sustainable communication Spring 2021 Examiner: Leon Barkho Evelin Nyberg

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JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY

School of Education and Communication Box 1026, SE-551 11 Jönköping, Sweden +46 (0)36 101000

Master thesis, 15 credits

Media and Communication Science with Specialisation in Sustainable Communication

Term: Spring 2021

ABSTRACT

Writer: Evelin Nyberg

Title: Leadership, assembled. Subtitle:

Language:

A narrative analysis of the construction of leadership in relation to democracy in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

English

Pages: 50

Superhero film is currently a popular form of entertainment, which during recent years has become political in its content. While research has previously shown that the superhero narrative carries messages of ideology and social issues, little is known of how the film genre communicates regarding leadership. Through examining the narratives in Avengers:

Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, this study aims to explore how leadership is

constructed in relation to democracy in a democratic context by using the United States as an example. The study utilises theorisations of democracy as well as representation theory, supplemented by three concepts borrowed from the leadership theory trait theory. The narrative analysis and the narrative plot points are used as method with a model of analysis to retrieve the empirical evidence.

The study’s results show that the villain, while having a societal motivation which can be considered democratic, mostly represented nondemocratic traits. The superheroes mostly show democratic leadership, but they are not able to solve the conflict with the villain democratically. This suggests that the leadership constructed in a democratic context still contains some limitations, which could be connected to how nondemocratic actions are justified in some situations even in the democratic context.

Keywords: Leadership, Democracy, Film, Superheroes, The United States, Popular culture, Democratic culture

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1. Introduction

Superhero stories are some of the United States’ most profitable and beloved types of

narratives (Spencer, 2017). The superheroes are portrayed as leading in defeating the villains, but little is still known about how that leadership portrays democracy. At the same time, superhero leadership has become a metaphor used when analysing populistic leadership. For example, Schneiker (2020, p. 857) presents the concept of the nondemocratic populist as a superhero who is the saviour in times of crisis. Also, the superhero has generated a quite popular discussion regarding the ideologies they represent and their disregard for democratic institutions (see Bainbridge, 2017; Maruo-Schröder, 2019; Phillips, 2010), but how the superhero’s actions represent leadership related to democracy, especially in the most crucial moments of a conflict, have not been explored.

Recently, the plot of superhero films has become more political, complicating the perceptions of good and evil. For example, Captain America: Civil War (Russo & Russo, 2016) explores how the superheroes disagree over governmental control over superpowers. In this narrative, both sides of the conflict make solid arguments for their sake and neither of the opposing sides are portrayed as completely right. Furthermore, in the film Avengers: Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018) Marvel Studios made the villain Thanos the main character by giving him the traditional narrative of a hero, exploring the villain as a leader with motivations and powers beyond just being evil. Most of the globally successful superhero films are produced in the United States at the same time as the country is considered a leading democratic nation. Thereby, it is interesting to investigate how fictional superpowerful leaders created in this democratic context communicate democracy.

Films can communicate messages regarding leadership and democracy, while this is not their main purpose. This is what Matthew Pustz (2012, p. 3) calls “casual learning”. While films are mainly entertainment, they can teach the audience how to interpret the real world by giving context to real complex issues in a fictional format (Pustz, 2012, p. 4). This ability of popular film becomes especially important when considering their portrayals in relation to democracy, which is related to the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. In particular, the sixteenth goal mentions freedom, protection from violence and corruption, as well as accountable leadership as part of sustainability (General Assembly, 2015, p. 25-26), which could be considered as characteristics of democracy (Gastil, 1994; Tilly, 2007). But there is a lack of knowledge on how leadership with regards to these characteristics are

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communicated in popular film such as the superhero genre. So, the superhero narrative, while produced as entertainment, must be considered as constructing meaning in culture and

therefore could help or hinder the achievement of social sustainability.

The superhero narrative is mainly produced and spread from the United States, so the country’s ambitions to also spread democratic values internationally are interesting to consider in relation to the narratives. The political leadership of the United States state their aim to uphold international norms, and to oppose those who work against the goal of a secure and stable world (U.S. Department of State & U.S. Agency for International Development, 2018, p. 23). Also, they want to lead and unite the free world around their cultural values to uphold liberty, empower their allies, and counter threats and opponents (U.S. Department of State & U.S. Agency for International Development, 2018, p. 15). At the same time, the country maintain several military bases in nondemocratic regions with the argument of spreading democracy, while in fact the United States need to cooperate with the

nondemocratic regimes to ensure their access to these bases (Vine, 2017). Furthermore, the United States has actively supported the overthrowing of democratically elected governments, for example in 1953 the United States participated in the coup resulting in the reinstatement of the monarchy in Iran (Merica & Hanna, 2013). The United States status as promoter of democratic values and upholder of international norms has been further criticised. The country presents itself as an exceptional country with a divine purpose to spread democracy, which has been used to justify nondemocratic actions internationally (Chomsky, 2016). While the United States presents themselves as leading promoters of democracy

internationally, Marvel Studios’s president states that Marvel believes “the Avengers are global heroes, not just U.S. heroes” (Marvel Entertainment, 2015, 0:39-0:43). This creates an interesting relationship where the superheroes in Marvel’s stories are considered as protecting the society of earth, while still being based mainly in the United States. At the same time, the United States aim to spread their values internationally and uphold international norms. So, both the United States and Marvel’s superheroes are promoted as global actors working to maintain the global society.

The next chapter will present the aim and research questions, then some further background will be given on superheroes’ relation to culture and on the study objects. Then follows the research review, presentation of theory and method, the analysis, and lastly the discussion.

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2. Aim and research questions

The superhero film genre is a popular form of entertainment, at the same time it can communicate complex issues such as democracy to the audience. In superhero film the superhero is usually portrayed as leading in defeating the threat against society, but little is known of how that leadership is representative of democracy. This is especially interesting when considering that democratic aspects are part of the goals of sustainable development and that superhero narratives mostly originate from the United States, a country which is mainly considered democratic. This study aims to explore how the narratives in popular superhero film construct leadership in a democratic context through the characters. The analysis covers the narratives of two of the most popular superhero films from the United States, Avengers:

Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and the aim will be fulfilled by answering the following

questions:

- How are the superheroes and villains’ actions in the films’ crucial moments representative of democracy?

- What motivates the choice of democratic or nondemocratic leadership by the superheroes and villains?

The study will connect concepts of democracy and leadership theory to understand how leadership is represented in the narratives. The United States will be used to exemplify how the results connect to reality. This will contribute with knowledge on how superheroes represent democracy through considering them as leaders. Furthermore, it will give understanding as to how leadership is perceived in a democratic context.

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3. Background

The first section will present some connections between the superhero and the United States’ culture. Second, some background on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the MCU, and the Avengers will be presented.

3.1 The culture and the superhero

John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett have for a long time argued for the importance of the selfless hero who steps in to defeat evil when the institutions fail in the culture of the United States. In their book The Myth of the American Superhero (2002) they connect the president’s executive power in the United States to the superhero. For example, they argue that the actions of some appreciated presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln have been amplified and turned into superhero traits like selflessness and breaking rules for what is right (Lawrence & Jewett, 2002, p. 132).

The interconnection between the superheroes and Western culture is also visible by looking at the September 11 terror attacks. Images of the events in the media coverage were so extensive internationally that it caused the entire Western society to feel as though they were victims of the event (Davo, 2012, p. 240). This way the significant events in the United States were appropriated on to the Western culture, making the tragedy in the United States into an attack on all their allies. Connecting reality with the fictional world of superheroes, during the film

The Avengers (Whedon, 2012) the superheroes fight against Loki as he attacks New York, in

later films these events are referenced as the Attack on New York. As Loki is not from earth and he controls the minds of humans, he is considered as attacking earth and humanity. Still, the United States is centred which shows how the appropriation of the United States’ culture on the entire world works also within the fictional superhero narrative. Because the United States spread their culture so broadly it is necessary to also consider what kind of leadership the country is promoting in relation to democracy.

3.2 The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the Avengers

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All their films are connected to each other through being part of the same fictional universe called the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU. The MCU incorporate parts of the real world, as many films takes place on earth, however the fictional reality also involves fictional features such as superpowers and intergalactic communities. Since the first film in the MCU was released thirteen years ago they have produced over twenty-three films and several television shows, with many more scheduled. The two latest films Avengers: Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018) and Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019) are the culmination of the preceding films.

The Avengers is one of the superhero teams featured in Marvel Comics, examples of others are the X-men and the Fantastic Four. The Avengers have consisted of several different superheroes over the years, but in the MCU the original team was Black Widow, Bruce Banner, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor (character descriptions are found in

Appendix 1). Although, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame feature several

superheroes in addition to the original Avengers and they all fight against the villain Thanos. The narratives of the two films draw inspiration from the comics book storyline The Infinity

Gauntlet from 1991, where Thanos wants to wipe out half of all living things by using the

infinity stones, six stones controlling different aspects of the fictional universe granting the user immense power (Paul, 2017).

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4. Research review

The study of how superhero narratives communicate social issues and reproduce social structures is not novel. The rise in popularity of the superhero narrative, especially after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, have also raised the interest in the connections to ideology, imagination of justice, and the political leadership in the United States. The results of this study will connect to these previous results by further analysing how democracy is represented by the superheroes and villains as leaders. Following sections will present the existing results of how superheroes maintain ideologies and construct justice, and the differences in character between superheroes and villains.

4.1 Entertaining ideologies

Superhero narratives have previously been analysed regarding their ideological and political content, mainly linking them to the United States’ society and the United States’ policies (Dittmer, 2007; Muñoz-González, 2017; Maruo-Schröder, 2019). There is an agreement that the superhero narratives can influence perceptions of society and shape worldviews,

especially since the superhero narratives are very successful with a broader audience. Dittmer (2007) focuses on the source material of the superhero films, the comic books. He analyses the shaping of geopolitical worldviews through comic books with superhero

narratives and considers the effect of the seriality of these narratives. The results show that the superhero embodies ideals of the United States, and those ideals stay the same because the seriality of the narrative does not allow for too much character development (Dittmer, 2007, p. 258). Meanwhile, the villain is ever-changing and represents the contemporary villain of the United States, for example Nazis and Communists (Dittmer, 2007, p. 258). Dittmer (2007, p. 264) concludes that while the narratives are supposed to show alterative societies, they are created within the context of the real world which leads them to legitimise the status quo. Another study exploring the preservation of the societal status quo in superhero narratives is Muñoz-González’s (2017) study on Iron Man and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The focus of the study is to reveal the connection to contemporary real world political issues carried by the values represented in a United States production (Muñoz-González, 2017). The study analyses the narratives of the two films as well as the characters’ objectives

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(Muñoz-González, 2017, p. 69). The results show that the narratives use previous foreign antagonists of the United States to represent the evil characters. For example, in Captain America: The

Winter Soldier the superhero endorsing organisation SHIELD is infiltrated by HYDRA, an

organisation deriving from Nazi Germany, and to beat HYDRA the United States’ value of freedom is pitted against order (Muñoz-González, 2017, p. 72). Another way in which the narratives exhibit and favours the United States’ values is through the indication that by saving the United States the superhero saves the world (Muñoz-González, 2017, p. 73). Finally, there is a binarity to how the conflicts are constructed, where every other option than keeping the status quo, which is the goal of the superhero, will cause society to move away from democracy (Muñoz-González, 2017, p. 76).

Maruo-Schröder (2019) argues that the superhero narratives reflect and influence ideas of justice, mostly by putting safety and order opposite civil liberties. She concludes that the superheroes tend to ignore democratic institutions, which is legitimised by their

unquestionable sense of justice (Maruo-Schröder, 2019, p. 14). It is the perceived limitation of time in a crisis which justifies the state of exception for leaders, so the superheroes do not have time to solve the crisis through diplomacy (Maruo-Schröder, 2019, p. 14).

These studies show that there are connections between socio-political norms and the superhero narrative. The superhero narratives are usually told from a perspective which reinforces ideas valued in the United States. And the critique of the United States’ society is not delivered in a complex way, but simply ends up stating that the superhero’s success equals the salvation of the United States, and therefore also the world.

4.2 Construction of justice and good and evil

Superhero narratives have been an object of study for a while in relation to criminology, law, and justice. In these studies, the main focus has been on how the superheroes achieve safety for the people and how that reflects ideas of justice and good and evil in real life (Bainbridge, 2017; Phillips, 2010; Sharp, 2012). These studies show how tightly connected perceptions in real life are with how superhero narratives tell the story of justice.

By comparing how justice is served in superhero narratives and how real people imagine justice, Sharp (2012) points out some connections. The way in which superheroes achieve justice through punishment of the villain “actively draw upon the retributive desires of public

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imagination” (Sharp, 2012, p. 368). The analysis also show that the public imagination of the law holds two ideas, one of procedural societal justice and one of individual retributive justice, and the retributive justice is constructed as the imperative one (Sharp, 2012, p. 371). This shows that the public imagination can both hold ideas of structures on a societal level and an individual level, but the representation in superhero narratives mostly draw upon the individual level.

Bainbridge (2017) analysed the difference in the meaning of the prefix “super” concerning the hero and the villain in relation concepts such as justice and state of exception, by using

Marvel films as his study objects. He concludes that the superhero embodies the critique of failures of the state, at the same time confirming the belief that a group of elites should have the power to make executive decisions which effect the entire society (Bainbridge, 2017, p. 385). The villains’ function is seemingly to only justify the actions of the superhero

(Bainbridge, 2017, p. 386). However, he also argued that the definition of good and evil in the superhero narratives became a matter of perspective, as both sides justified their actions by the belief that they were doing the right thing (Bainbridge, 2017, p. 379).

Phillips (2010) investigates the justice of the superhero in relation to cultural messaging on good and evil through studying the Batman film The Dark Knight. The analysis shows how the law enforcement failed to get control over the villain, leading to the justification of the superheroes’ illegal methods to maintain social order (Phillips, 2010, p. 39). The film sends messages about what a hero is in a time of crisis and it influences ideas of what behaviour is tolerable from leaders to achieve safety as well as reinforcing retributive ideas (Phillips, 2010, p. 40). Phillips concludes her article with agreeing with a statement from the comedian and political commentator Bill Maher that no one should believe that electing a superhero as leader will solve society’s problems (Phillips, 2010, p. 40).

What is clear by looking at these different studies is that the superhero is the one considered to know best, and they are presumed to act thereafter, which justifies them breaking the law. As so much trust is put into the superhero, and so much mistrust in the villain, the examples of their leadership should be further explored. Especially when considering the superhero narrative’s impact on the public imagination.

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As showed by the previous research, the superhero narratives are criticised for their portrayal of the democratic institutions as failing, the society’s reliance on the single superhero to defeat threats, and the support of the United States’ political ideology. The characters are essential parts of the narratives and therefore they are also criticised as being a problematic embodiment of nondemocratic portrayals. However, there are also arguments that there are substantial differences in how the superhero and the villain are portrayed.

For example, Yogerst (2017) argues, with support of existing definitions of superheroes, that superheroes are moral role models and should not be labelled as nationalistic fascists.

Through his discussion he shows that even if the private identities of superheroes are

sometimes known, the superhero still maintains their private identity and treats the superhero identity as a work title (Yogerst, 2017, p. 12). The private identity also keeps the character grounded and they understand the repercussions of their actions (Yogerst, 2017, p. 15). Meanwhile, the villains usually only maintain one identity and is seemingly not concerned with the effects their actions have on others (Yogerst, 2017, p. 16). In addition, the superhero usually only uses their powers when it is necessary, while the villain tries to impose their will on the people (Yogerst, 2017, p. 17). In conclusion, the results show that while the superhero exhibit selflessness and responsibility, while the villain is forceful and selfish (Yogerst, 2017).

Yogerst (2017) points out some different traits of the superhero and villain in his article. Yet, he does not consider that some traits might be portrayed as influential to character’s success while other traits might just be portrayed for backstory, which would make them less imperative for the narrative. However, the article suggests that the superhero and villain are portrayed with different types of leadership.

4.4 The contribution of this study

Previous studies have shown that the superhero narrative is supportive of maintaining society as it is (Dittmer, 2007; Muñoz-González, 2017; Maruo-Schröder, 2019). This study will investigate which ideas about leadership in relation to democracy are entertained in a democratic context through considering the characters in the superhero narrative as leaders. As previously shown, the superhero narrative communicates cultural ideas on democracy and justice, often through defying democratic institutions (Bainbridge, 2017; Phillips, 2010;

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Sharp, 2012). Yet, little is known if the leadership of the superhero characters in the narrative represents the same defiance towards democracy, a gap which this study aims to fill.

Yogerst (2017) argues that the differences between the characters in the superhero narrative need to be considered as he claims that the superhero is democratic while the villain is not. This study adds to the discussion by considering both the superhero and the villain as leaders to explore their differences and similarities to understand how leadership is constructed in a democratic context.

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5. Theory

To understand how democratic leadership is constructed in the superhero narratives of

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame the theory of democracy will first be defined.

This section will also mention populistic leadership as it has become a popular leadership style in democracies. Moreover, as there is no established model of how to understand

fictional leadership, the study will borrow concepts from trait theory, a leadership theory used to explain traits of real leaders. Trait theory argues that a leader consists of certain

characteristics which separates them from non-leaders (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 21). The

concepts which are borrowed from trait theory are: traits, type of power, and motivation. And to see how these concepts are represented in the narratives, the study will utilise

representation theory.

5.1 Democracy

Democracy can be simultaneously or separately regarded as civic activity, a form of government, a regime, or a form of society (Rosanvallon, 2011, p. 187). Similarly, the political scientist and sociologist Charles Tilly (2007, pp. 7-9) states that democracy can be defined in four overall ways: constitutional, procedural, process-oriented, and substantive. The constitutional, procedural, and process-oriented definitions are all concerned with institutions, elections, and law, which are not to be focused upon here. The substantive definition, however, concerns people’s life conditions and the promoted politics in a society (Tilly, 2007, p. 7). Haack (2011, p. 23) describes substantive democracy as being about constructing a society in which civil liberties and equality is promoted. So, substantive democracy is more about the creation of a society which enhances certain values than being about the institutions.

Rosanvallon (2011, p. 186) notes the need for paying more attention to the substantive democracy, as it is about how society should be constructed for democracy to prosper. Consequently, there is also a need to see how society is currently constructed to see how it should be altered in the future. Exploring how democracy is currently represented could give indications to how society in a democratic context is currently constructed, by looking at how the aspects of substantive democracy are represented by the leadership of characters.

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security, fairness, social equality, public deliberation, and peaceful conflict resolution (Tilly, 2007, p. 7). Other aspects connected to substantive democracy are justice, human

development, and participation (Haack, 2011, p. 23).

Although, Tilly (2007, pp. 7-8) critiques the substantive definition as it does not deal with possible compromises between the different aspects, meaning that some aspects of substantive democracy can be achieved at the cost of other aspects. This becomes especially interesting when considering populistic leadership, which has become a popular leadership style in democracies as well as a concept compared with the superhero character and narrative. The populist leader positions themselves as one of the people fighting against the elite, and often claims to fight for democracy while counteracting it (McDonnell, 2017, p. 27). Also, the populist leaders present themselves as the only ones capable of saving the people from crisis (Schneiker, 2020, p. 862), which could justify them fighting for some democratic aspects by sacrificing other aspects.

As the substantive definition of democracy is about how a society is constructed do make democratic values prosper by promoting these values. It becomes the interesting definition to use when exploring how democracy is represented by the leadership of superheroes and villains, since it offers aspects which should be promoted in a democratic society. It is the different aspects of the substantive definition of democracy that will be used when analysing and discussing the empirical evidence. But, to enable the analysis of how leadership is constructed in relation to this definition of democracy the study will utilise representation theory.

5.2 Representation theory

Representation theory will be used as the overall theory to understand how the leadership is constructed in the narratives, relating it to democracy. According to Hall’s (2013, p. 11) definition of the constructionist approach to representation theory, meaning is constructed through how a concept is referenced in culture. It is not the thing or concept itself which creates meaning but the representational systems and signs which are used to interpret it (Hall, 2013, p. 11). This means that the way democracy is represented by the leadership of the characters in the narratives can reveal the meaning of leadership in the democratic context.

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Therefore, representation theory can be used to see how the superheroes and villains construct leadership in a democratic context.

Many forms of representations have been repeated for such a long time in a culture that it is considered a natural phenomenon rather than a social construction (Hall, 2013, p. 7). So, repetitive images of leadership have created the social construction of leadership which is taken for granted and therefore needs to be explored. A particularly effective way of

reinforcing social constructions in narratives is by not denying other possible constructions, but by simply representing them in an unfavourable way (Ryan & Lenos, 2012, p. 180). In this case, the narratives of study are produced in the United States, meaning that actions critical of the United States’ international leadership could be embodied by the defeated villain to enforce the United States’ construction of leadership.

To understand which actions of the superheroes and villains can be considered as

representations of leadership, the study will borrow concepts from trait theory. While trait theory is a leadership theory usually focused on explaining real leaders, the concepts of what constitutes a leader could be applied when analysing representation of leadership.

5.2.1 Traits, power, and motivation

In this study, the superheroes and villains are considered as leaders in a democratic context, consequently they should be analysed based on what leaders consist of to gather the adequate empirical evidence. Therefore, the study will borrow three concepts from trait theory.

According to trait theory, leaders consist of personality traits (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 22), types of leadership power, and leadership motivation (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28-29), among other things. However, this analysis focuses on democracy, and not on the personality of the characters, which is why democratic leadership traits will substitute the original personality traits.

The study will use Gastil’s (1994) traits of democratic leadership to determine the democratic leadership traits. These leadership traits are based on democratic aspects, such as those discussed above, and focus on promoting democratic actions (Gastil, 1994, para. 13). His traits are mainly focused on three areas: distributing responsibility, empowering the group, and solving conflicts through deliberation (Gastil, 1994, para. 20). And he argues that

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therefore his democratic leadership traits are appropriate for this study as it focuses on the actions of the superheroes and villains.

The second part of leadership which will be analysed is leadership power, a concept directly borrowed from trait theory. As presented by Zehndorfer (2021, p. 28) there are five different types of power that a leader can have: coercive, expert, legitimate, referent, and reward. These powers are what leaders use to achieve their will. Considering which power the character’s actions represent in relation to democracy in the crucial moments of the narratives will

indicate which power types are associated with success and failure of the superheroes, as well as when it is motivated to use a certain power type.

Lastly, the analysis will cover the leadership motivation of the characters, which is also a concept borrowed from trait theory. There are two main types of power motivation: self-serving or societal, and if leaders have a high determination in their motivation, they are usually more successful in their mission (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28). Leaders who prioritise societal interests are generally preferred over leaders who put their personal interest first (Rosanvallon, 2011, p. 185), which is also linked to how democratic leaders should have the collective interest in mind (Gastil, 1994, para. 30). The motivation together with the

democratic traits and the power, all concepts borrowed from trait theory, will form the basis of the model of analysis (presented in 5.1.2 Model of analysis).

Since the traits, power, and motivation can be combined in different ways in different characters they are especially interesting to consider together with substantive democracy, where compromises between different aspects of democracy is apparently possible. This would entail that a character who has for example societal motivation, could use coercive power to achieve their will, which would compromise democracy as it does not offer

individual freedom and lead to the assumption that some traits of democracy are considered as non-negotiable, while others are not.

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6. Method and material

Narrative analysis will be used as the method to analyse the leadership in the superhero films. The study will also use the narrative plot points to determine the most crucial actions for the outcome of the plot. To retrieve the empirical evidence an analysis model based on the theoretical concepts will be applied to the narrative plot points. This evidence will then be further analysed regarding how democracy is represented. Below, the narrative analysis, including the narrative plot points and the model of analysis, is presented. Afterwards, the narrative plot points of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which constitutes the material of the study, will be presented. And lastly, the limitations and applicability of the study will be reflected upon.

6.1 Narrative analysis

To understand how leadership in relation to democracy is represented in Avengers: Infinity

War and Avengers: Endgame the narrative analysis will be used as method. Narratives are a

connected chain of events (Abrams et al., 2010, p. 194), which represent messages about real issues (Bignell, 2002, p. 196) as well as construct ideas in society (Hyvärinen, 2008, p. 12). The narratives chosen for this study represent conflicts between superheroes and villains, which will therefore also construct ideas of how these conflicts should be handled by those involved.

The analysis of narratives makes it is possible to see which values are celebrated or

challenged in a society (Hansen & Machin, 2019, p. 152). Since the narratives of study are heroic narratives, the superheroes will be able to reveal the shared norms and values of leadership in the democratic context, while the villains will reveal the perceived challenges and opposition of those values (Ryan & Lenos, 2012, p. 121). Therefore, it will be possible to see which type of leadership is celebrated in the democratic context by looking at the traits, power and motivation associated with the superheroes and what kind leadership is criticised or discarded by analysing the villains.

The analysis will focus mostly on the sequences with the most importance to the overall outcome of the films. There are certain points in the narrative where the conflict between the characters causes the narrative to change its course towards a different outcome, so called plot

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points (Field, 2006, p. 45). As the plot points are the crucial moments of the films, analysing them will reveal which actions are represented as causing the overall success or failure of the characters’ leadership. These plot points are identified by using the paradigm of the

screenplay narrative designed by Syd Field.

6.1.1 Narrative plot points

The narrative plot points will be used as the method to determine the crucial moments of the films. According to Syd Field’s (2006, p. 44) paradigm, all narratives are divided into three acts: the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution. The first act ends with the first plot point which is where the central conflict in the narrative is defined, usually this is represented by a major obstacle for the main character (Field, 2006, p. 189). The midpoint is an event in the middle of the narrative which causes the main character to change, this event usually adds a new dimension to the character (Field, 2006, p. 207). The second act is about conflict and ends with the second plot point which turns the story around (Field, 2006, p. 72). The third act solves the story, focusing on if the characters achieve their goal or not (Field, 2006, p. 57). To identify these plot points in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the films have been watched to see which events in the narrative have the most impact on the outcome of the film considering Field’s paradigm. In Avengers: Infinity War the plot points have been identified focusing on the main character Thanos’s narrative and which points in the narrative causes his actions to change to achieve his goal of eliminating half of all life. In Avengers:

Endgame the focus is on the goal of the superheroes to bring the eliminated people back and

ultimately defeat Thanos, and the plot points have been identified as the events which changes the direction of their collective narrative.

6.1.2 Model of analysis

A model of analysis has been designed to retrieve the empirical evidence of the study. It identifies how the concepts borrowed from trait theory – traits, power, and motivation – are represented by the characters’ actions and dialogue in the narratives, as well as categorising the actions as successful or unsuccessful. Below, the model is presented and further

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Democratic leadership Nondemocratic leadership Leadership power Leadership motivation Successful character(s) How are democratic leadership traits represented by the successful character(s)? How are nondemocratic leadership traits represented by the successful character(s)? What type of leadership power is represented by the successful character(s)? And how? What type of leadership motivation is represented by the successful character(s)? And how? Unsuccessful character(s) How are democratic leadership traits represented by the unsuccessful character(s)? How are nondemocratic leadership traits represented by the unsuccessful character(s)? What type of leadership power is represented by the unsuccessful character(s)? And how? What type of leadership motivation is represented by the unsuccessful character(s)? And how?

Model of analysis for the study.

The actions and dialogue of the superheroes and villains in the narrative plot points will be analysed to first determine which character is successful in achieving their will in the plot point and which character is unsuccessful. This will reveal if the actions in the plot point are represented by the narrative as favourable to the superhero or the villain. It will also reveal if for example democratic traits are portrayed as sufficient in the safekeeping of society, or if the character must resort to nondemocratic actions to succeed.

The democratic leadership traits will be identified as the traits presented by Gastil (1994), but the aspects of substantive democracy will also be considered. Actions deviating from or opposing the traits or aspects will be considered nondemocratic.

The types of leadership power which the characters can represent are coercive, expert, legitimate, referent, and reward. Coercive power is mainly about the ability to punish

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(Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28), and in this study it will also be considered as coercive power when a character forcefully achieves their will. Expert power means having much knowledge (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28), which in this case also will include having information or knowledge other characters want. Legitimate power comes with a formal or hierarchal

position (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28), in this study legitimate power will include having a formal position in the cinematic universe which comes with powers and duties, though not simply being a superhero. Referent power is the power of having respect from others (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28), which will include other characters trusting the character to act. Lastly, reward power is the power to reward others (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28), this study will also consider the ability to help as reward power.

Furthermore, the characters can either represent societal or self-serving motivation. Because superhero narratives mainly revolve around the idea that the superhero should save the entire world, this study will consider it self-serving if the character is only motivated by what is best for themselves or their closest friends and family. Societal motivation is about acting

according to what benefit others or the entire society (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28). In this study societal motivation will be considered when the character’s actions are motivated by the greater good of society, regardless of the implications on the self or the closest friends and family.

The results of the analysis will then be categorised based on themes found in the empirical evidence. These themes constitute the headlines in the chapter presenting the results of the analysis.

6.2 Material

The material consists of the characters’ actions and dialogue in the narrative plot points from

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The sequences containing the plot points of

the two films constitutes of approximately 20 minutes of the two films total time. But while the identified plot points will be the focus of the analysis, the narratives are still connected chains of events (Abrams et al., 2010, p. 194) and therefore previous or succeeding sequences which influences the plot points can be included in the analysis.

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most popular superhero films in the United States and the world, according to grosses (Box Office Mojo, n.d.), making them influential both globally and in the United States’ culture. They also contain several different superheroes and villains who can give a fuller

representation of leadership than if the narrative only has one superhero and one villain. In

Avengers: Infinity War the main character is the villain Thanos and therefore the narrative

focuses on him, while in Avengers: Endgame the main characters are the superheroes and so the narrative focuses on them. This enables these two narratives to provide material regarding the successful and unsuccessful leadership of both the superheroes and villains. Consequently, conclusions can be drawn on how the superhero films communicate regarding leadership. Based on the narrative plot points, the material will mainly consist of the sequences presented below.

The first plot point of Avengers: Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018, 00:39:50-00:41:38) is when the followers of Thanos fail to retrieve an infinity stone from Vision. Because of this Thanos is forced to become involved with retrieving the stones, causing confrontation between him and the superheroes. The midpoint occurs when Thanos forces his daughter Gamora to reveal the destination of another infinity stone (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:08:18- 01:10:52). In this scene he brings pain to his beloved daughter to be able to continue with his mission, a change in character from the care and respect he has previously shown her. In the second plot point Thanos sacrifices Gamora to get an infinity stone (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:24:27-01:30:17), this is the final narrative turn before he faces the other superheroes and a dark moment for the character as he loses his daughter. The solution of the story occurs when Thanos has all the infinity stones but must fight Thor before he achieves his goal of

eliminating half of the population in the universe (Russo & Russo, 2018, 02:10:08-02:11:09). In Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:33:57-00:36:37) the first plot point occurs when Captain America, Black Widow, and Antman visits Iron Man to present the idea of going back in time to collect the now destroyed infinity stones to bring the eliminated people back, an idea which Iron Man dismisses. This scene shows the conflict between those who have moved on from Thanos’s elimination and those who have not, which causes an obstacle as the superheroes do not immediately reunite. The midpoint is when Bruce Banner is the first who successfully secures an infinity stone in the past (Russo & Russo, 2019,

01:23:40-01:26:25). Before this plot point the superheroes have struggled with completing their task but afterwards, they are all successful. In the second plot point the superheroes have returned to present time and have just successfully brought the eliminated people back when Thanos

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arrives and bombs the headquarters which injures and separates the superheroes (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:01:23-02:03:00). This is a dark moment for the superheroes as they are divided and injured at the same time as their villain has returned. The solution comes after a long battle against Thanos resulting in him possessing all the infinity stones again, when Iron Man steals them and uses them to eliminate Thanos and his allies (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:29:18-02:30:30). This completes the superheroes’ task of bringing everybody back and saving them from Thanos.

In these plot points the model of analysis will be applied to identify the traits, powers, and motivations represented in the narrative by the superheroes and villains. This will then be analysed through representation of democracy to see how the leadership is constructed in the films.

6.3 Limitations and applicability of analysis

The results of this study can be accused of being limited to the culture in the United States and how they construct leadership since the films originate from there, which would make the results inapplicable in other contexts. However, by considering democracy as a theory and not just the United States’ democracy, the results become more general and can theoretically encompass the overall democratic context. Also, while superhero narratives are connected to the culture in the United States they are successfully spread globally, which can be proven by their high world-wide grosses (Box Office Mojo, n.d.). The global success of the superhero narrative does not immediately entail that conclusions can be drawn by this study on how other cultures construct leadership, but it indicates the interest of the superhero narrative in other cultures. So, the theoretical points made here on the construction of leadership in film, with support of empirical evidence, could be interesting to further explore in other cultures as well.

Also, the focus on the plot points can be questioned as it reduces the number of sequences which are covered by the study, which could entail different results if other sequences in the films were analysed. This is a reasonable concern. However, as most films follow the same narrative structure which is based on plot points changing the course of the narrative to move the story forward (Field, 2006, p. 50), it is possible to beforehand determine which events has the most impact on the outcome of overall story being told. Therefore, these events also

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contain the characters’ actions which are the most crucial for their overall success or failure. Consequently, the characters’ actions in other points of the story, which potentially could change the narrative, have not been chosen by the producers of the film to cause any significant impact, making those actions less interesting for this analysis.

To make sure the analysis is focused on leadership the study borrows concepts from trait theory. As this study connects leadership theory with representation theory and film studies in a fairly novel way, there are no established methods on how to explore cinematic leadership and retrieve the necessary empirical evidence, which could jeopardise the results. Therefore, the model of analysis is largely based on a theory which conceptualises leadership and utilises representation theory to link the concepts of leadership and democracy to its fictional

counterparts.

Lastly, one can consider the criticism of trait theory and argue that because who becomes a leader is dependent on other aspects such as situation (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 22), the narrative analysis misses certain important aspects of the construction of leadership. For example, a semiotic approach could include aspects of gender, ethnicity, and class in relation to

leadership, aspects which fall outside of the scope of this analysis. Nevertheless, a semiotic approach would not encompass the narratives’ causal effects such the consequences of the characters’ actions, for example if they are successful or not in achieving their goal.

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7. Analysis

The overall focus of the analysis is on exploring how leadership is represented in a

democratic context in the narratives of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The results are presented according to themes found in the representation of leadership by the superheroes and the villains. Under Peace with our allies the superheroes’ ability to handle conflict within the group is discussed, then Superheroes do not negotiate with villains will present how conflicts between the superheroes and the villains are handled. Under The

nondemocratic villain, the representation of the villain is in focus. The greater good discussed

the motivations of the characters, then The successful superhero majority presents the results related to how the superheroes act as a group. To ease the understanding of the analysis, character descriptions can be found in Appendix 1: Character background.

7.1 Peace with our allies

Most of the conflicts in Avengers: Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018) were between

superheroes and villains. However, in Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019) the villain was not present for a large part of the story, so some conflicts in the film took place among the superheroes and their allies. Two plot points in Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019), the first plot point and the midpoint, involved conflicts either among the superheroes or between the superheroes and an ally.

In the first plot point of Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:33:57-00:36:37) Captain America, Black Widow, and Antman want Iron Man to help them to figure out time travel so they can collect the infinity stones from the past and bring the eliminated people back. Through how the superheroes approach each other they exhibit several democratic traits. For example, Iron Man greets his old friends and listens to their idea, then he explains the scientific reasons to why time travel will not work (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:34:22-00:34:31). While Captain America, Black Widow, and Antman listen to Iron Man’s expertise they also argue in different ways for why they should try time travel, logically by mentioning that Antman survived something similar to how they plan to execute time travel (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:34:31), and emotionally by saying that the infinity stones could be retrieved and used to bring everyone they lost back (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:34:51-00:34:56). They

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all take time to listen to each other before they present counterarguments, clearly wanting to solve this conflict peacefully through deliberation.

The plot point ends with Captain America saying that time travel could be their second chance of saving everyone, Iron Man responds: “I got my second chance right here, Cap. Can’t roll the dice on it.” (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:36:25-00:36:30), referring to his daughter whose life he cannot risk. This exemplifies their different motivations in this plot point. While Captain America, Black Widow, and Antman want to try to bring everybody who were

eliminated back, a societal motivation, Iron Man focuses on his family, a self-serving motivation since he ignores the superhero mission to save society. Still, both sides show respect towards the other, by listening and accepting their disagreement, this respect could be considered as referent power. Also, Iron Man, being the expert on the science of time travel, holds expert power. Importantly, neither side is coercive towards the other, which is mostly demonstrated through how the sequence ends with them accepting their difference of opinion. Iron Man is also granted individual control as he can opt out of helping the others.

Throughout the plot point, they all remain friendly towards each other, exemplified through Iron Man inviting the others to dinner despite their disagreement (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:36:15-00:36:20).

Another sequence which shows conflict between the superheroes and their allies is the midpoint of Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019, 01:23:40-01:26:25) where Bruce Banner tries to retrieve one of the infinity stones from the Ancient One in the past. Like the first plot point of Avengers: Endgame, the midpoint features deliberation through listening to the other’s opinion, as Bruce Banner tries to convince the Ancient One to give him the infinity stone. However, there are a few differences to the behaviour in the different plot points. While the characters in the first plot point accept the difference of opinion and move on, Bruce Banner continues the discussion until he is successful. The Ancient One does not want to give the stone away because that would make the people in her reality vulnerable to evil, but Bruce Banner counters that if she gives him the stone he could travel back in time again to return it (Russo & Russo, 2019, 01:23:51-01:24:43). When this does not convince the Ancient One, since it is her duty to protect the stone as the Sorcerer Supreme, Bruce Banner brings up how the present-day Sorcerer Supreme willingly gave the stone to the villain Thanos which finally convinces her to concede (Russo & Russo, 2019, 01:24:59-01:26:04). So, as Bruce Banner’s mission is about to fail, he resorts to using slight coercive power as he

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brings up the Ancient One’s successor’s action to retrieve the stone which also could be considered as Bruce Banner not accepting the difference in opinion.

The forcefulness of Bruce Banner is amplified when considering the characters’ initial meeting when the Ancient One refuses to give him the stone and he answers: “Sorry, but I wasn’t asking” (Russo & Russo, 2019, 01:08:57-01:08:59). Later in the same conversation he states: “I need that stone… and I don’t have time to debate it” (Russo & Russo, 2019,

01:09:02-01:09:05). Though, at this point in the narrative Bruce Banner must retrieve the infinity stone or the entire plan of saving the universe would fail, which makes his situation more desperate, while the superheroes in the first plot point could still ask someone else for help. This desperation could be used as justification for his nondemocratic action.

In these plot points the characters exhibit deliberation, listening to other opinions, and

maintaining good relationships, all of which are traits of democratic leadership (Gastil, 1994, paras. 30-38). Also, the superheroes accept that Iron Man does not want to risk his family to help them, showing the individual’s right to control their own life, another democratic trait (Tilly, 2007, p. 7). However, the successful superhero in the midpoint, Bruce Banner, also exhibit actions opposing democratic traits of leadership, which are amplified by him being coercive. This corresponds to the criticism of the substantive definition of democracy (Tilly, 2007, pp. 7-8) because there is a compromise between the aspects of democracy. While Bruce Banner is working for the collective interest, as he wants to bring all the eliminated people back while also saving those in the Ancient One’s reality, he achieves his goal through acting nondemocratically. This would indicate that the collective interest is the non-negotiable trait of leadership in a democracy, however this will not always be the case as seen later in the analysis.

So, when the conflict is between allies, democratic solutions are shown to be quite successful. In these sequences the foundation of the peaceful conflict solution is mutual respect, listening to each other, and maintaining a good relationship. However, the analysis also show that the superheroes can sometimes resort to nondemocratic behaviour to win if there is no other apparent solution. Notably, the superheroes act differently to solve the conflict depending on if it were with an ally or an enemy.

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As previously shown, superheroes’ leadership is represented as quite democratic when dealing with allies, however when they are opposing the villain their leadership is a bit different. The treatment of opposing leaders and their followers by the superheroes is

demonstrated in the solution of Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019). In this plot point Thanos has once again managed to retrieve all the infinity stones, despite the superheroes efforts to keep them from him, and is ready to use them to eliminate all life when Iron Man fights him (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:29:18-02:30:30). Thanos, believing he has all the infinity stones, snaps his fingers to eliminate everyone with the words: “I am inevitable.” (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:29:56-02:30:01). However, Iron Man has stolen the infinity stones and uses them to eliminate Thanos and all his allies (Russo & Russo, 2019,

02:30:06-02:30:30).

This is the final showdown between the superheroes and Thanos after a long battle, where many of the superheroes have been involved in violent fights with the villain, in the end the narrative is solved through one superhero and one villain. Iron Man attacks Thanos and takes the stones from him, which could be considered nondemocratic, since he does not solve the conflict peacefully. But there is another aspect, or consequence, of this plot point which is interesting from a democratic perspective. When Iron Man retrieves the stones and uses them, he chooses to eliminate Thanos and everyone who is fighting alongside Thanos. This means that in his fight against Thanos, Iron Man uses his powers to punish everyone who is

associated with him. Consequently, he does not consider the allies’ reasons for following Thanos, which could be that they believed he would bring the end to universal issues. This could be interpreted as Iron Man ignoring the concerns regarding overpopulation and starvation, which Thanos uses to motivate his actions (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:47:06-01:47:29), as he eliminates the ability to listen to these opinions and deliberate with them to find a solution, which should be considered nondemocratic. Also, it shows no protection from punishment towards the people on Thanos’s side, as they are equally punished for following Thanos.

While this is only one sequence of the superheroes showing nondemocratic traits, it cannot be overlooked. According to the substantive definition, democracy entails working towards individual freedom and equity (Tilly, 2007, p. 7), and in a democracy people’s opinions should be listened to so the conflict can be solved through deliberation (Gastil, 1994, paras. 29-38). In this plot point the other opinions are ignored, and the people opposing the

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to form their own opinions, neither does it give them a just verdict of their crimes. This constructs the leadership as granted the power to punish not only opposing leaders, but also their followers because all those following a villain is villainous by association. This also is different from Thanos’s goal in Avengers: Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:47:18-01:47:22) when he wants to eliminate half of the universe, but “random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike”. While they both force their will on the universe, Thanos does not only eliminate those who oppose him, unlike Iron Man.

Considering other plot points, such as the first plot point of Avengers: Infinity War when Wanda Maximoff and Vision have been attacked by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, the superheroes are also seen as using violence to achieve their goal (Russo & Russo, 2018, 00:39:50-00:41:30). As does Thor in the solution of Avengers: Infinity War when he is seeking revenge for the violence against his people caused by Thanos (Russo & Russo, 2018, 02:10:08-02:11:09). While it is mainly the villains who incite the violence, the superheroes do not aim to use democratic actions such as deliberation to solve the conflict, which could be excused as part of the superhero film genre.

The analysis thereby reveal that the superheroes have the capacity to solve conflicts both peacefully and violently, but the peaceful solutions are never used when fighting the villain. This constructs the leadership as somewhat democratic, but that the democratic leadership is insufficient if a nondemocratic villain is to be defeated.

7.3 The nondemocratic villain

The villains almost exclusively represent coercive power, meaning that they punish or force their will (Zehndorfer, 2021, p. 28), which could be considered nondemocratic as it violates the individual freedom, an aspect of substantive democracy (Tilly, 2007, p. 7). However, the villainous leader Thanos’s motivation is mainly societal because he believes that his plan will increase human welfare, which will be further discussed under the next section. In Avengers:

Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019) life is shown after Thanos completed his plan and the

universe is not prospering as he predicted. As he is also the villain, and he is defeated in the end, Thanos actions of trying to achieve human welfare by force are represented as ultimately unsuccessful. Still, it is interesting to consider how he is represented as a leader, since the villain represents the perceived threats towards society (Ryan & Lenos, 2012, p. 121) and

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Thanos’s leadership would then construct the threatening type of leadership in a democratic context.

In the second plot point of Avengers: Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:24:27-01:30:17) Thanos chooses to sacrifice his daughter Gamora to be able to retrieve one of the infinity stones and achieve his goal. When he does this, he states that he has once ignored his destiny of eliminating half of the universe, by saving Gamora when she was a child, and cannot do it again (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:28:51-01:29:02). Previously, he also stated that he is the only one who knows how to bring order to the universe, and the only one willing to do whatever it takes to achieve order (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:07:15-01:07:22). And, in the events leading up to the solution of Avengers: Endgame he is about to be killed by Wanda Maximoff so he orders his followers to rain fire on the battlefield, even though it will also harm his own troops (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:24:06-02:24:19). These different sequences in the narratives show that he considers himself the sole person who can save the universe, and his followers cannot accomplish the task without him.

This representation of the leader as the single person responsible for saving the people has some similarities to populist leaders in democratic contexts. The populist leader also presents themselves as the only one capable to save society from crisis (Schneiker, 2020, p. 862), as Thanos shows when Gamora says that he cannot know if his plan to eliminate half of all living things to bring prosperity will work and he answers: “I’m the only one who knows that. At least, I’m the only one with the will to act on it.” (Russo & Russo, 2018,

01:07:15-01:07:22). In this way, Thanos represents a leader who considers himself to be irreplaceable, since he believes he is the only one who can save the universe, which is the opposite of the democratic trait of considering oneself replaceable (Gastil, 1994, para. 28).

Thanos also presents himself as only responsible for success, while according to him any form of failure is because of someone else. In the midpoint of Avengers: Infinity War he tells Gamora: “You’re strong. Me. You’re generous. Me. But I never taught you to lie. That’s why you’re so bad at it.” (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:09:43-01:10:01). Here he takes the credit for what he believes are his daughter Gamora’s greatest qualities, but he will not take

responsibility for her negative qualities. He is also reluctant to accept that him completing his goal of eliminating half of all living things did not lead to the prosperity he predicted. In

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eliminated because: “…as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be.” (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:08:39-02:08:47). This way Thanos takes credit for success while not acknowledging his own failure or

potential mistakes, further relating him to populistic leadership. According to Schneiker (2020, p. 866) the populist leader takes full credit for their team’s success, while dismissing any questions or critique. In these narratives Thanos repetitively takes credit for success but blames any failure on others, as seen in the examples above. His claims his motivation is to save the universe and uses this motivation to justify his nondemocratic actions, which he labels as “a small price to pay for salvation” (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:06:57-01:07:00). However, towards the end of Avengers: Endgame his motivation is more self-serving. Throughout this narrative the Thanos from the past learns that the superheroes are trying to reverse his elimination, which he was later killed for, leading him to attack the superheroes and ultimately be defeated. When he attacks the superheroes in the second plot point of

Avengers: Endgame, he wants to preserve his previous actions no matter the opinions of the

people of the universe. He also comes up with a new plan to eliminate all life in the universe and create “a grateful universe” (Russo & Russo, 2019, 02:08:53-02:09:26). Now, he is no longer serving society, but is more motivated by defeating his opposition and fulfilling his own will. Therefore, he is shown ignoring the opinions of those who are fighting him, forcing his will upon others, and violently fighting for his cause, and these are actions considered as nondemocratic according to Tilly (2007, p. 7) and Gastil (1994, paras. 30-38).

The villain represents perceived threats to society (Ryan & Lenos, 2012, p. 121) so the threatening leadership constructed in these narratives is a leader having a strong sense of how society should be saved but considers themselves the only one able to achieve that. The threatening leader also ignores criticism and questioning and fails to take responsibility of failures and mistakes. McDonnell’s (2017, p. 27) definition of populistic leadership, claiming to fight for democracy while opposing it, is applicable here as Thanos has democratic societal motivation but also exhibits coercive power and nondemocratic leadership traits. While superheroes also exhibit nondemocratic traits such as violent conflict solution, their nondemocratic traits are not as consistent as Thanos’s. But, to further understand the

leadership of the villain and the superheroes it is necessary to consider what they are fighting for.

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7.4 The greater good

Both the villain and the superheroes have a version of the greater good they fight for, meaning that both sides show societal motivations for their actions. However, the motivations are not consistent. For example, Thanos’s motivation shifts from a societal motivation towards a more self-serving motivation, as discussed above, and while the superheroes also exhibit societal motivation in the narratives this is not always the case.

One example of self-serving motivation from the superheroes is in the solution of Avengers:

Infinity War (Russo & Russo, 2018, 02:10:08-02:11:09). Here Thanos has retrieved all the

infinity stones and is ready to eliminate half of all life when Thor attacks him with his new weapon Stormbreaker. The reason for Thor’s attack and subsequent attempt to kill Thanos is revenge, as the film began with Thanos killing half of Thor’s people including his brother and his best friend (Russo & Russo, 2018, 00:00:25-00:10:16). In the solution Thor says: “I told you… you’d die for that” (Russo & Russo, 2018, 02:10:35- 02:10:40) concluding that his main reason for making the weapon Stormbreaker was to punish Thanos for the pain he brought on Thor. This makes Thor’s motivation self-serving as he is not mainly trying to save the universe but to revenge the death of his friends. This can also be considered as not

representing the collective interest and punishing personal enemies, which deviates from democratic leadership (Gastil, 1994, para. 30; Tilly, 2007, p. 15).

The self-serving motivation is usually in focus when the superheroes’ friends and family could be or have been endangered. There are a few more examples of this from the plot points, first in the midpoint of Avengers: Infinity War when Gamora reveals where one of the infinity stones is because she wants Thanos to stop torturing her sister Nebula (Russo & Russo, 2018, 01:08:18- 01:10:52). She chooses to protect her sister through giving Thanos what he wants, which she knows could have devastating consequences on the universe as she is aware of his plan. Therefore, Gamora exhibits self-serving motivation in this plot point, leading to her being unsuccessful in keeping the infinity stones away from Thanos.

Additionally, in the first plot point of Avengers: Endgame (Russo & Russo, 2019, 00:33:57-00:36:37) Iron Man does not want to help his friends as he cannot risk the safety of his family. In this case, Iron Man puts the well-being of his loved ones ahead of bringing the eliminated people back, ignoring the superhero’s societal responsibility and therefore giving him a self-serving motivation.

Leadership, assembled : A narrative analysis of the construction of leadership in relation to democracy in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame