Why We Like Maverick From the Top Gun films

Yes, he's reckless. Yes, he breaks the rules and disobeys his superiors. Yes, he's arrogant. Would he last long in the highly structured and stringent Navy in real-life? Most likely not.

But the Top Gun movies to some degree relax the highly structured environment and inner workings of the U.S. Navy. And I think they're better films for it, because without relaxing the highly structured environment of the Navy a little bit, we wouldn't have two great stories.

And why do we like this daring and rebellious fighter pilot so much?

Fans of the Top Gun movies have opinions about who between Maverick and Iceman is the better pilot.
For some, they liked Maverick as a kid and then when they grew up, they liked Iceman more.

To me, Ice appears to be the better pilot until he isn't. He goes by the book, obeys orders, and isn't reckless, until he is just as reckless as Mav during a training exercise in the first movie and gets Goose killed by that sudden bout of recklessness.

Maverick, though rebellious, reckless, and arrogant, is the better pilot to me. He's got great instincts in the air and more importantly, he didn't get Goose killed despite his recklessness.

But don't get me wrong: Ice and Mav are both great pilots. I just favor Maverick more. And I'm an adult.

But one of the reasons we like Maverick so much is we know the arrogance and recklessness is a mask to hide his insecurity. We learn that Mav's dad, a naval fighter pilot himself, died in combat. The reports given to Maverick and his mom say that Duke Mitchell was the reason a combat mission failed. And then, Maverick was denied acceptance into the Naval Academy due to the fact he's Duke Mitchell's son. But later, we learn that the Navy and the U.S. government lied about what Duke Mitchell actually did to save face. So with the Mitchell family name smeared, Maverick flew recklessly in the first movie to try to prove that he was better than his dad. But flying fast is also Mav's way of escaping the pain of his dad's death.

In psychology, there are five primary primary integrity needs:

-The need to exist and survive

-The need to matter

-The need to have agency

-The need to be good

-The need to have mission and purpose in
life

The Navy/U.S. government violated the fourth integrity need for Maverick by lying to him and his mom about Duke Mitchell's actions in combat to save face.

That's why I find Jester's concerns in the first movie about flying alongside Maverick in combat being a liability more unreasonable than reasonable. If the US government and the Navy had simply told the truth about Duke Mitchell's actions, Mav wouldn't have flown that daringly in attempts to prove that he's better than his dad.

It's hard to think more about others and less about yourself when one of your primary integrity needs was wrongfully violated. So I can't exactly blame him for being so daring in the air.

But that's not the only reason we like him so much. Maverick is an underdog. In both films, we see him grow and root for him as he overcomes his weaknesses and inner demons.

But we also recognize that he's so talented as a pilot. We appreciate his skills as a pilot.

In the second movie, we recognize that Mav's rebellious streak isn't self-centered like it was in the first movie. Instead, his rebellious actions stem from concern for his colleagues and students. He disobeys Admiral Cain's orders out of concern for the future of countless Navy pilots who might be replaced by unmanned drones.

And we can sympathize with him because as efficient as technology can be, no unmanned drone can surpass or match the resourcefulness of a human pilot.

He disobeys Cyclone's order to ground him because he realizes that his students need to believe that the mission can be flown. And when he does not accept Cyclone's attitude that some of the students will probably die needlessly during the mission, he does so out of respect for their lives and for their families.

 And though he is still reckless in the air to some degree, it is from his instincts, natural skills, and many years in the cockpit. In fact, Top Gun: Maverick emphasizes the theme of "Don't think, just do" when one is in the cockpit of a fighter jet. Maverick tells Rooster that if you think while in you're in the air as a fighter pilot, you will die. 

But Maverick also shows us what humanity can achieve when we push the envelope.