Avengers/MCU Oneshots

Character Analysis: Maximoff Twins (Age of Ultron) Edition

I'm not gonna hate on our babies, don't worry. Just... sort of call them stupid? You'll understand when you read. So I've been thinking a lot about what we know about the Maximoff twins. Basically, I came to this realization.

They were 10 when the bombs dropped. They watched their parents die in front of their faces, and then they were trapped. And it's not like the building stayed semi-sturdy. There's literally a picture of the building shown of the bombing in the movie when Maria Hill is talking to Stevie Boy about the twins. It was a nearly completely collapsed mess. So they would have taken a good fall, along with whatever floor they had been on. And with the rumble falling, being trapped under a bed and not being able to eat or drink or breathe easily for two days straight because of of rubble and a BOMB SHELL THAT IS THREE FEET IN FRONT OF THEIR LITTLE BABY FACES, that was obviously traumatic.

But, obviously, they're TEN. And they want an explanation for who did this, right? Wouldn't you? And there's literally a NAME on the shell in front of them. So, with ten year old logic, OBVIOUSLY, whoever's name was on it had to have done it. (No offense intended to any ten years olds whom may be reading this. Y'all are awesome.)

Ten year olds still tend to see the world in black and white. Good and evil. Just starting to understand that there's a gray area. (Speaking from personal experience as someone who has been ten and knows ten year olds.) And again, in the mind of a ten year old, whoever killed their parents was a bad guy, and Stark was the name on the bomb, so he must be the bad guy. And in the stories, the good guys kill the bad guys, don't they? This literally happens in Marvel itself several times. So a ten year old would think that whoever wants to kill the bad guy is the good guy. And then none of the adults around them object. In fact, they agree.

And they are raising themselves. It's not like they have an adult telling them right from wrong and explaining gray areas. THEY ARE STILL THINKING LIKE TEN, MAYBE TWELVE YEAR OLDS WHEN IT COMES TO DEDUCTIVE REASONING, even if they are emotionally mature. No one's been there to show or teach them.

So, if Tony Stark is the bad guy, then he needs to be dead. They need to beat him! And when someone offers to help them do just that AND stop the war in their country?! They'd be all for it! Seems like they'd be the heroes, right?

And it's not like they KNEW HYDRA and Ultron were evil. They both wanted Tony Stark dead. They both posed as wanting to save the world. At their very oldest canon age, they're 19 in AoU. At their youngest, 15. As a 15 year old myself... that's not very old. And I know that if I hadn't been thought about a gray area, I'd still be seeing things mostly in black and white. I'd still vaguely understand that there is a gray area, but that would be the bad things that the "good guys" have to do to make the world better. I'm smart, and pretty mature, but there's still a decent chance that I, even now, would make a stupid decision.

Anyway, my point is, the twins never knew that they were the villains until it was almost too late. And they probably didn't have the deductive reasoning skills for them to understand that there is a vast gray area, and not just a small one.

THAT'S what would have made them easy targets for HYDRA and Ultron. Ultron asking about the bombings from their perspective would have helped him gauge their understanding of what happened.

Basically, I'm saying that the twins, while clever and emotionally mature, were likely less mature than average when it comes to deductive reasoning because of the trauma they experienced at a young age. And maybe the Avengers realized this, and that's why they forgave them so quickly.

Also, it would would make sense even going into Civil War, as it would explain why Wanda is so utterly taken aback by the sheer amount of gray area there is with the feud.

Now, I could be totally wrong and completely over-thinking it. I'll admit to that. It is the middle of the night. But you know, this is where my late night thoughts took me, so I thought that I'd share. You may disagree and that's fine. Share what you think drove the twins to side with HYDRA and Ultron in the comments below!

I'll do more of these character analysis-es? if y'all want them.