(photo courtesy of marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com)
While in an earlier post I commented that Captain America: Civil War, along with Batman vs. Superman, means that the
golden age of superhero films are coming to an end, I am actually looking
forward to it for various reasons. I
have read some great reviews so far about the emotional resonance in this film
which will be welcome since films in the marvel cinematic universe are mostly
superficial in their conception. The main reason I am interested in this film
is the schism between Captain America and Iron Man. It has finally come after
being hinted at since the first Avengers film in 2012. Also what I have come to
realize over the course of the many films released in the marvel cinematic
universe is that I have become a supporter of Iron Man/Tony Stark and have come
to loathe Captain America/Steve Rogers. Iron Man does represent big business,
progressive and innovative forces whereas the Captain represents the petty
bourgeois moral standpoint and the highest form of American idealism. This
moral and idealistic standpoint can also be seen as a reactionary or
conservative element that is stagnant because it denies the material forces at
work or it can be seen as progressive as many people fail to strive towards the
ideal. The primary difference between
the 2 is that Stark knows how to put his money where his mouth is and the
captain can only offer grand rhetoric about nobility and freedom. Steve can try and motivate people but he can’t
really get things going. He can’t build anything because all he has is
physicality or brawn.
Well the basic plot of the film is that a rift between the
Avengers will occur because of the Sokovia accords drafted by the U.N which is
dominated by the U.S.A. The team led by
Captain America doesn’t support superhero registration and government control of
their actions whereas Team Iron Man is pro registration and believe that the
heroes should be kept in check. Why I support Team Iron Man is that in the
world we live most ordinary people like myself would be calling for some
government oversight. Without oversight it means that superheroes could
challenge the jurisdiction of any country with impunity. If a man like Steve
Rogers feels like he is above the law then what’s stopping him from doing
questionable acts. Tony Stark realized that when he created Ultron albeit with
the best intentions. Stark was originally the one who flaunted his individualism
but with Ultron he realized that there are limits. He rightfully acknowledges
his failure especially as he is chiefly responsible for creating and managing
the Avengers team. He finances a large part of the Avengers operation. He was the first one that started questioning
the authority of SHIELD before it collapsed in The Winter Soldier. Check the first Avengers film. Just like in the
civil war comic book storyline Stark wants to assume more control of an
operation that he is largely responsible for. In order to do that he will need
the support of the government. Most capitalists seeking to control a particular
sphere will turn to the government. He is more of a boss of the Avengers than
Captain America because he is more responsible for the operations of the
Avengers outfit that emerged following the collapse of SHIELD. Captain America
is just a man who flaunts his legacy as a super soldier with the stars and
stripes suit. He is outdated. He has no means to make things happen especially
in terms of building operations. He can train the new Avengers but when it
really matters can he make things happen especially in terms of operations. He
is no more than a petty bourgeois/middle class worker or a skilled fighter in
the superhero ranks. It’s clear then
that in Civil War there is a
leadership struggle between the big capitalist and the petty bourgeois/middle
class individual. In a capitalist society there is only one winner. Captain
America is not a revolutionary and so he won’t be prepared to overturn the
status quo like Bane did in TDKR. He
couldn’t because that would make him an outright villain.
Now I understand that
there must be a villain involved and that Cap cares a lot for his friend the
winter soldier but it still does not change the fact that in the real world
individuals like superheroes would be regulated. If Batman did not have the
tacit approval of the people of Gotham city and the police force then he could
not act the way he does. Batman is strong
but he’s not that powerful because he still relies on the state to imprison the
criminals. The only way someone like Cap could truly flout the law is if he had
Superman or Hulk like power. In such a case that would be understandable.
Someone with Superman or hulk like power could not be really controlled unless
by very extreme means such as Nuclear power. In The Age of Ultron it was revealed that Stark and Bruce Banner
designed the veronica system to keep the Hulk in check but with a superman it
would be more difficult. I am just saying that very extreme measures would have
to be employed for individuals with tremendous power. Captain America is strong
for a human being on steroids or a special serum but he has not been a very
effective superhero in most of the big films related to the Avengers. He played a very minor role in the defeat of
Loki and was relegated to saving civilians and laying out the tactics. He was
only slightly above Hawkeye and Black Widow because of the steroids/or super
soldier serum and his shield. In the
battle against Ultron he also played a minor role. All Cap has is talk in the
big moments. A lot of talk. For instance when the city was floating in The Age of Ultron he wanted a solution
that didn’t involve blowing up the rock. Blowing up the rock was the same as an
escape plan in his mind. He had no bearing on what was going on in terms of
solving the problem but he was very demanding in terms of having Iron man find
a miraculous solution. That is when I had enough of him. If it wasn’t for Nick Fury providing some real
assistance then Captain America would look like a major buffoon. A man truly
out of touch.
Even before Civil War
we have seen internal conflict before in Iron
Man; the film that launched the marvel cinematic universe in grand style.
The main reason Iron Man started flouting regulation was due to the events that
happened in that film as a result of Obadiah Stane’s treachery. Previously, Stark
was prepared to accept government supervision especially as the US military was
his biggest client. He went in a new direction but was then thwarted again with
the creation of Ultron. He clearly reached another limit. With the avengers
team Stark became involved with a social movement that went against his new
found individualism but he responded to it with his own finances however after
Ultron he is now back in the fold. No individual can survive without the
government in their own country. The government for all its flaws represents
the collective in society which is bigger than any individual or corporation.
Stark finally realizes that. Cap can’t
seem to fathom it because of his idealism and Hydra’s infiltration of SHIELD.
What can he do but run and hide and fight through a couple situations. If Cap was able to build something concrete
apart from just talk then he would have more reason to take the position that
he does.
Cap can only challenge the system with ideals but ideals are
never enough. His approach worked in The
Winter Soldier because the system operated without limits. In the real
world the best governments have various checks and balances no matter how
imperfect. The Russos and their team of
writers must be blamed because the Hydra plan just made government look too
callous. It’s not like World War 2 where you could blame the attack on the
Japanese. Who would the Americans have blamed with such an attack from Project
Insight? Conspiracy theorists say that the government was responsible for 9/11
in order to go to war and the creative team behind Captain America seem to be
in line with that strand of thought. This is why in Civil War Cap is wary of state control because the message seems to
be that it is inherently evil or destructive.
The creative team behind Captain America give the impression that most
of the major battles are fought from within society which is why there is a
culmination of cap’s trilogy with Civil
War. This would also explain why Cap has some very ineffective villains
outside of government. The Red Skull and
Hydra will forever haunt Cap. He seems to be embracing the Red Skull’s
philosophy by breaking out on his own so that he can pursue his own agenda.
Even if his friend was controlled by the state and made to assassinate people,
he is still accountable. Someone has to answer for his crimes. By doing what he
does in supporting his friend who is a criminal then Cap is basically acting in
a way that people will fear when superheroes are under no control or
supervision. He answers to no one but the American ideal. The Avengers: Infinity Wars will be a much more effective film if
the heroes fight alongside the various national governments. It will make the
fight against Thanos much more believable than to think that it’s only a fight
for the superheroes.
What is this American ideal that Cap clings to so
stubbornly? Well it would be simple to say that Cap has a lot of national
pride. He went to war for his country so that people could be free. What people
I don’t know because the Soviets played a greater role than the Americans in
defeating Nazi Germany. The impression given in the Captain America storyline
is that it was a noble war effort. Was hydra responsible for the conspiracy
theories surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbour and what would Captain America
have done if he found out? Would he still want to be Captain America? America
had an independence war (1775-83) that gave them independence from Britain but
slavery still existed in the South. The blacks were an oppressed class when
Captain America was around during WW2 yet he was willing to embrace the white
American ideal. Who was he really fighting for and are his efforts any greater
than Lincoln’s? Does the American ideal have to do with small government so
that the individual can thrive and be free? If so then why do the individuals
depend on the state to implement checks and balances? Was there ever a time
when the state was not crucial in a big way? Is the idea of small government a
myth particularly when the collective grows? How does Cap account for the
civilians that he wants to be free? He thinks that only by saving them then
everything is fine. Not so. Can Cap put systems in place whereby the Avengers
don’t come across as just another arm of the US military? Can Cap create
anything of use that will make him truly able to implement his idealistic
vision regarding regulation? In the end Cap cannot answer those questions
because he does not have the means to build anything. All he has is rhetoric.
Iron Man on the other hand was able to go his own route
because he had the means to do so. He reinvented himself after the mini
collapse of his company. He contributed to building the Avengers with his own
resources although he created Ultron. He has played a more significant role in
the major events involving the Avengers and he knows how to accept change. In
the beginning he was dependent on the state and now it’s no different. Cap is
fighting to attain the perfect good in society but he doesn’t realize that
corrupt and criminal elements always surface and so you have to live with them
in some uneasy alliance to a lesser or greater degree. If Cap is fighting for
the cleanest government and for people to be free then he has a lot more work
to do. How will Cap tackle income inequality, crime in the inner cities, the
need for welfare amongst the poor? What can he really build that will make him
completely different from the government?
Seeing that cap is not revolutionary then what is his
political objective? He is challenging sinister forces but sinister forces
always emerge in the long run. If he was revolutionary then he would have to do
some drastic things and he would have to be clear about what he is fighting to
change in society apart from the Sokovia accords. He would have to offer a
radical alternative but can he really do it apart from saving his friend Bucky.
It all goes back to what he’s really fighting for. If he’s just fighting for
his friend then what kind of hero is he really? One weakness of marvel so far
is that the Avengers mainly fight amongst themselves or create their own
problems particularly in The Age of
Ultron. Whether Cap likes it or not the Avengers have created a new type of
order that must come with its own rules or way of doing things. The
understanding that I have gotten from the MCU is that The Avengers have
basically replaced SHIELD. They are an arm of the US government whether they
like it or not. Everything they do reflects on America’s interests and when
they have to wage war with Thanos in Infinity
Wars the Avengers fight will be more effective on screen if they fight
alongside the many national governments throughout the world, especially the US
government. Cap going rogue is therefore counterproductive for the real battles
to come and this is why I side with Iron Man who realized that the real fight
will come from outer space in the form of Thanos. If the fight against Thanos
is for the superheroes alone then it will be a very superficial encounter indeed.
Having national governments standby and watch the superheroes do their thing is
not very realistic. It will be better if the superheroes are the spearhead in
attack against the forces of Thanos. The battles on the ground will inevitably
be fought by real world, ordinary soldiers.
Well I am just saying that I side with Iron Man because his
position conforms to the real world. Captain America’s idealism is not very
appealing to me because I am not sure that Captain America knows what sort of
ideal he represents. Even before Civil War he comes across as a very
impractical individual that is out of touch with reality. The only ideal he
seems to represent is 1930s and 40s America. He just can’t seem to get with the
program. If you believe in the collective you have to side with government whether
you like it or not. You can try and change it but every group has to conform to
certain social standards which assume a government structure. If Cap decides to
violate international authority what’s stopping him from doing questionable
things.
#TeamIronMan
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