"... Stay who you are, not a perfect soldier, but a good man." - Dr. Erskine
Captain America is known as the leader of the Avengers, a group of people with incredible powers and abilities.
In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers was originally a small young man who was too weak to join the army. However, his desire to help his country was strong enough to impress one important person, Dr. Erskine.
Dr. Erskine performs a unique procedure on Steve that changes him into a soldier with amazing strength and speed. However, with this quote, he reminds Steve that what makes him special is not his new abilities, but his courage and passion for helping others.
Kindness and compassion are things that we should all try to show in our lives. They are true superpowers that all people are capable of using.
"I choose to run towards my problems and not away from them." - Thor
This line from Thor, "the mightiest Avenger," is spoken in the film Thor: Ragnarok.
When Thor asks for another character's help, she tells him strongly that she is not interested in fighting or dealing with painful memories from her past. Thor responds to her with this quote.
These words express the idea that being a hero is not about having physical strength or special abilities. Instead, what is important is being brave enough to face challenges and deal with problems directly and without fear.
"Just because something works doesn't mean it can't be improved." - Shuri
Shuri is the younger sister of T'Challa, the Black Panther. She is also a brilliant scientist and one of the most intelligent characters in the MCU.
When showing her brother new equipment she's developed in Black Panther, T'Challa responds by saying the older versions work fine. As a scientist, Shuri rejects this idea and instead believes that improvements can always be made.
Even if things are already "good," if we do not push ourselves to do better, we can never make progress. As an English learner, this quote should be very inspirational!
"He may have been your father ... but he wasn't your daddy." - Yondu
This quote from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 demonstrates an important difference in nuance between two similar words.
Many English learners may think that "father" and "dad" (or "daddy") are the same. But as we'll see below, one includes much more meaning than the other.
Peter Quill, the main character of this film, struggles with his feelings about two important men in his life. One man is his biological father, which means the two share the same blood and are family in the literal sense. This man, however, was gone during most of Peter's life, so they do not have a close relationship.
On the other hand, Yondu is the man who raised Peter and helped him to grow. Although he is not related to Peter by blood, he had a much bigger impact on Peter's life and the two share a much closer bond.
This quote, therefore, shows that "dad" includes a feeling of closeness and familiarity that "father" often does not. It also shows us that it is the experiences we share with others that show us who our true "family" is.
By the way, the same differences mentioned above also exist between "mother" and "mom."
"Vengeance has consumed you ... I'm done letting it consume me." - T'Challa
One of the themes of Captain America: Civil War is the power of revenge to motivate people and also to destroy them.
T'Challa spends the film searching for the person responsible for the death of someone close to him. But when he finds them, he has seen the negative effects revenge, or vengeance, has had on himself and on others around him. As T'Challa says, it has "consumed" them, or covered them completely.
This quote reminds us that negative emotions like vengeance and anger will eventually hurt us and result in even more trouble. In order to live the best lives we can, we need to free ourselves from these unhealthy feelings and replace them with positive ones.
"I can't control their fear, only my own." - Wanda Maximoff
The third Captain America film begins with a tragedy that many in the public blame on the character of Wanda Maximoff. Their anger is mixed with fear of her strange abilities.
After entering a depression, Wanda eventually decides that she can no longer let others' feelings about her control her life.
This quote can apply to all of us. There may always be people who have negative opinions about us. But instead of worrying about things we have no power to change, it would be better to focus on accepting ourselves and trying to be the best people we can be.
"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." - Ho Yinsen
This quote comes from the very first film in the MCU, Iron Man.
Early in the film, Yinsen sacrifices himself in order for Tony Stark to escape a dangerous situation. When he says this line, he inspires Stark to become Iron Man, perhaps the biggest hero in the MCU.
This simple, powerful quote tells us that life is a gift that should be treated with care. No one lives forever, so we all have limited time to live the most positive life we can for ourselves and for others.
"If you're nothing without the suit, then you don't deserve it." - Tony Stark
In the first Spider-Man film of the MCU, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker desperately wants to become a hero like his mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man. Tony gives Peter a high-tech suit to help him.
But when Peter begins to rely on this suit too much, Tony decides to take it away. Peter begs Tony to change his mind, saying he is nothing without it. Tony then responds with this quote.
Similar to the earlier quote from Captain America, this expresses the idea that our choices and actions are what make us who we are. Fancy items, money and status can help us, but they cannot be a replacement for who we truly are inside.
In other words, before we can be trusted with valuable things, we must first be the kind of people who deserve to have them.
"What is grief if not love persevering?" - Vision
Instead of a film, this quote comes from WandaVision, a television series connected to the MCU which can be watched on the Disney+ streaming service.
"Persevere" is a verb that means to continue doing something even though it is very difficult and there is little chance of success.
Wanda, whom we mentioned earlier, experiences many difficulties throughout the MCU. One of the biggest relates to a character named Vision, to whom she has a very close relationship.
As Wanda deals with her grief, or extreme sadness because of loss or tragedy, Vision encourages her with these words.
It can be easy to give up when we face difficult situations, but grief is a sign that we are trying to move past our sadness and continue living as best we can. It also expresses that our love for the people close to us can remain and continue on even if those people are gone.
"With great power comes great responsibility." - Uncle Ben
This is perhaps the most famous quote in all of Marvel's history. Although it is not spoken in the MCU, it is closely connected to Spider-Man, who does appear in the films.
When Peter Parker first receives his amazing abilities, he uses them in a selfish way. However, this selfishness results in the death of Uncle Ben, the most important person in Peter's life.
Starting from this moment, Peter accepts that having his special power comes with a price: he must use it to protect and help the people he can.
The choices we make can have very big effects — and the more power we have, the bigger the effects can be. Therefore, we must always be careful to act with wisdom and with compassion for the people our actions influence.
