We know that Captain America and Iron Man are going to be going head to head in ‘Captain America: Civil War‘ and now the reasons why are starting to surface.
In the comics, the ‘Civil War’ story line had these two at odds over the registration act which meant that all super heroes had to register their secret identities with the government and be on the S.H.I.E.L.D. payroll, be outlaws, or retire. These two Avengers leaders didn’t exactly see eye to eye with privacy issues of the heroes at stake which pitted them against one another. It seems that parts of the film will end up mirroring the story arc.
The films have already been leading up to Captain America not being happy with the secret keeping nature of S.H.I.E.L.D. with his interactions, while Iron Man has been increasingly concerned about control. ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron‘ is going to cement his need to keep the world safe both from the fallout from the alien invasion and by looking to be the creator of Ultron in an effort to make an automated peace keeping force for the world.
Is this pro and anti government control be the wedge between the two? Partially. However, one of the lesser obvious reasons will actually be jealousy.
According to Robert Downey Jr:
“… [Tony] Stark grew up under the shadow of this very close father son/relationship that Howard [Stark] had with Steve [Rogers, Captain America] so I’m sure that it’s driven by some unconscious motives. At the same time, they’re two vastly different generations of moral psychology. And arguably, Cap’s is more righteous. But I think Tony is a realist. So that’s always a fun dynamic to play.”
Of course, there are two sides to this coin and Chris Evans weighed on on how Steve Rogers feels about what is coming:
“This is why I think the next movie is going to be so effective – Civil War – because there’s a flip-flop in the way we approach things. Tony’s always been a trailblazer. He’s always been his own man and he bucks authority. He dances to the beat of his own drum. Cap comes from a world or order, and organization, and hierarchy, and structure. And I think after Cap 2 when SHIELD kind of fell that Cap kind of realized that you can’t necessarily trust the people around you – or you can’t trust the system. I think he now is kind of starting to follow his own heart, and do his own thing, and as a result there becomes this kind of flip-flop in perspective.”
It will be fun to see the two kind of switch roles while still retaining their key personalities. As the ‘Captain America’ films have had such a large impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’m really wondering how this will lead into the next set of ‘Avengers’ films as well as all of the new heroes being introduced.
Marvel head Kevin Feige brought up how they initially made the announcement and also talks a little bit about what we can expect going forward without giving away too much in the way of spoilers.
“I showed the scene of the two of them chopping wood together during our announcement. It’s one of my favorite scenes – because I thought it did represent the undercurrent of their disagreements to come. So a lot of the groundwork is being laid here. There’s a great moment at the end of this movie [Avengers: Age of Ultron] that we won’t spoil, but it involves the notion of them realizing that the only way through all this is together. And I love that. It’s one of my favorite moments in the film. And I do think that if it wasn’t for Tony then maybe none of this would have happened. And if it wasn’t for Tony then the day may not have been saved. But his intentions were good, and I think we carry that through in future films in a way that makes it very balanced in terms of who you might agree with in arguments to come.”
This same kind of mental role has been playing out in the Marvel 616 comic universe for a few years now. It has had some great breakthroughs for our heroes but has also set them at such polar opposite ends of the spectrum that it looked as if their current friendship might not be able to be saved. With Feige’s comments and what we’ve seen so far, I suspect that the cinematic Tony and Steve will be on the same course as their comic counterparts and only by sacrificing himself to take down Thanos will Tony redeem himself in Steve’s eyes and also get Robert Downey Jr. out of having to portray Tony Stark in any future movies down the line.
However those who are concerned about Downey Jr’s commitments in the Marvel Universe coming to an end in the near future shouldn’t immediately worry as he will be not completely be out of the picture as the actor assures:
“Sure, anything could be. But they haven’t written me out of the schedule yet.”
Only time will tell.
We do know that he’s been itching to leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe though I’m pretty sure they are going to have him caught up in them at least through the next 2-part Avengers film. It would be kind of fitting that if they have to have Downey Jr. go that he ends up saving the world from the same kind of alien threat that we saw him suffering from in ‘Iron Man 3.’
What are your thoughts on the upcoming ‘Captain America: Civil War’? Do you think this is a giant case of sibling jealousy as the true core of their problems or will we be seeing the two truly being so set on opposite sides of a problem that they just can’t find a way to make their different views work together? Share your thoughts below True Believers!
‘Captain America: Civil War’ hits theaters on May 6, 2016.
Source: IGN