(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on examiner.com) “The Avengers” (affiliate link) is all about power. It starts with Iron Man installing a new, clean burning power source and lighting up the Stark building in the middle of New York City. The Tesseract, a source of unlimited power that humans don’t understand yet, is stolen by Loki to open a worm hole for an invading alien force that will take over the universe starting with Earth.

Ostensibly, S.H.I.E.L.D. was holding the Tesseract to figure out how to harness the power within it. Instead, they were developing weapons using the power source. The Hulk is a creature infused with the power of rage, and Thor’s ability to manipulate lightning is on prominent display. With the focus on power, it was difficult not to wonder how much power it took to lift the aircraft carrier out of the water and make it fly.

If one of the most popular movies in 2012 America is looking at power as an integral part of a conflict, maybe we should look at the same problem ourselves. Director Joss Whedon may have just been using the energy form of power to reflect the power to rule, but Whedon is known a clever and creative script writer. There may be subtext commentary that the masses aren’t usually looking for.

As we continue to be dependent on forms of power that are not sustainable and that create environmental and health problems, we need to look at more than our own Avengers to help solve the problem. We need to become our own Avengers. Whether fossil fuels and dirty power sources make you want to hulk out, you’re an incredible inventor who can help create a clean source of power, you want to harness the power of the elements, or you just feel that it is your patriotic duty to protect the U.S. from foreign dependency on oil, it is time to assemble for the Earth.