A common interpretation of the superhero genre is that its appeal is based in being a modern-day equivalent of the legends of ancient mythology. Both are fantasies which use outlandish elements to connect to human ideas of justice, or the lack thereof. Obviously, there's an aspect of wish fulfillment. Who hasn't wanted to run faster than everyone else, be stronger, or fly? There are the religious overtones. The hope that someone will descend from the sky, or appear out of nowhere to save us from the evils of the world, wipe away all tears, and make everything okay. Others see the popularity of the entire genre as a reaction to the September 11 attacks and its aftermath. Skyscrapers fall and buildings are destroyed, but the lines between good and bad are more clearly defined. And the fiction of it all presents a force the audience can get behind without all of the contradiction and controversy evident in the realities the world faces in the here and now.
With Captain America: Civil War, the 13th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directors Joe and Anthony Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely turn the story inward by intentionally deciding to deconstruct the very idea of The Avengers, and in doing so confronts some very real-world ideas about the use of force, whether moral authority flows from popular will, restraints on a duty to act when others won’t or can’t, and the unintended consequences which come from even the violence done for the best possible reasons. The politics of nations with great power and great responsibility is a great metaphor for superheroes that don’t respect sovereign borders when doing what they think is necessary, and sometimes causing collateral damage while doing it.
But moreover, even while tackling some heavy themes, this movie is fun, not afraid to be silly, and succeeds in ways Batman v Superman failed, even though the basics of the plots for both films are pretty damn similar. The tension at the heart of the film is personal and built upon what we know from eight years of movies, and how it keeps expanding to encompass more and more (i.e., hello Spider-Man and Black Panther) while deepening these characters’ scars and expounding on their frailties. And seeing them divide, like a dysfunctional family where both sides have their points, is an instance where all of the time devoted to this venture of serialized-storytelling pays off.
Captain America: Civil War takes the prime elements of its story (i.e., hero versus hero, government mandated oversight, etc.) from a crossover event in Marvel Comics from about a decade ago. The comic book version of Civil War was in many ways a reaction to the Patriot Act and the policies of the Bush Administration, with the ideas about civil liberty which the public continue to grapple with.
In its original form, Civil War begins with a national tragedy occurring after a group of heroes screw up on national television, leading to hundreds of deaths, including an entire school full of children. In the wake of that tragedy, pressure builds to place controls on all of the heroes within the Marvel Universe. The United States government passes the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), which requires all of the heroes to register with the government as “living weapons of mass destruction.” It also allows state and federal authorities to conscript them to coordinate law enforcement needs. Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, supports the system in order to prevent future tragedies and get some control over the process, while Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, sees the entire matter as a gross violation of civil liberties and leads a revolt against it.
Comic books, and Marvel Comics in particular, have never been afraid of touching on the social and political issues of the day, and the idea of registration has been at the heart of major stories. For example, the story of the X-Men is one of prejudice and discrimination against a class of people because of who and what they are, with the Mutant Registration Act usually portrayed as the first step in government-sanctioned discrimination and genocide. Because, in the end, regulations and oversight are only as good as the people and institutions doing the overseeing.
We live in a world where members of the United Nations will dither in a committee while mass killings occur on live television, or protect unconscionable behavior by individuals and nation states because of trade deals and strategic positions. Having the imprimatur of being sanctioned by a governmental body doesn’t automatically make something right or good, and the lack of approval doesn’t exactly make something bad either.
On the other hand, if we are to have registration and waiting periods for handguns and assault rifles, shouldn't there be safeguards to protect the public from a billionaire flying around in a metal arsenal or a woman that can alter reality and invade other people's minds? If those fantastical elements were possibilities in our own reality, how would any of this be substantially different than calls for gun control? And taken to the larger context, how can anyone rationalize a private army of people who are capable of killing everyone in a 30-mile radius, with no oversight or regulation?
We trust Captain America because he’s Captain America. Steve Rogers is a good and decent man who fought Nazis and has sacrificed almost everything for the greater good. He is the moral center of the Marvel Universe and the audience trusts his character implicitly. But if we take Cap’s argument out to its conclusion, what would prevent any private actor from having their own policing power or foreign policy? What if Halliburton, Academi, Lockheed Martin, or any private contractor decided to use their resources to invade a country where they felt a “wrong” was occurring? Or sent their security forces out into the streets of New York to supplement the NYPD without consent? Other than not having highly-advanced technology or superpowers, how would it be any different than what Stark Industries and the Avengers do?
Taken to a global scale, Captain America’s position has similarities to the dynamics of United States foreign policy. Our position as a global superpower with great power has opened up the argument that we also have a great responsibility to be "The World's Policeman," even in times where international law and sovereign borders might get in the way. When people were being hacked to death with machetes in Rwanda, or killed and raped in Darfur, there were no Avengers to assemble. There were only countries with politicians who lamented the tragedy of it all while watching it happen, and not doing a damn thing to stop it.
But even in the cases where there are good reasons to intervene, even when the use of force has arguably been used for a demonstrable good, there always seems to be unintended consequences.
From Alex Abad-Santos at Vox:
Mark Millar, who eventually wrote the main Civil War crossover series for Marvel, … began coming up with his original storyline for Civil War in 2004, smack dab in the middle of George W. Bush's presidency. The country was still reeling from 9/11, was three years into the Patriot Act, had just invaded Iraq, and was knee-deep in the war in Afghanistan. Millar, who's Scottish and self-identifies as a left-wing European, was thinking about all these things when he plotted the story … What he wanted to express in the Civil War comic — and people are allowed to agree or disagree on whether he made a compelling enough argument — was that he didn't trust the way George W. Bush's administration handled power when it came to the war in Iraq.
Even though Millar would have politically agreed with Iron Man, he would have joined Captain America's side.
"There's no way I'm working for the government, because the next thing I know I'm on a plane to Iraq and I'm going to be invading Syria on behalf of the American government, so no thank you," Millar said.
In adapting the story for Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios has made significant changes while also simplifying many aspects to fit the narrative within the MCU.
After the events of Age of Ultron, as well as the other numerous incidents involving strange phenomena, billions in property destruction, and civilian casualties, public sentiment has turned against the Avengers. Secretary of State Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) informs the Avengers their time of being a private organization with no oversight is coming to an end one way or the other. More than a hundred of the world’s governments will agree to the Sokovia Accords, which places the Avengers and other enhanced individuals under the control of the United Nations. Things become all too personal when Bucky (Sebastian Stan), a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, becomes a central figure in a worldwide manhunt, with the Accords limiting how far Captain America and others can go in dealing with the situation.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), going through his own personal drama and still drowning in guilt for creating Ultron, takes the position of going along to get along by agreeing to put the Avengers in check. After basically telling the United States Senate to screw off when they demanded he turn over the Iron Man armor in Iron Man 2, Stark has endured multiple incidents where his actions and his technology have come back to bite him and the public in the ass.
At the same time, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is apprehensive to accept the dictates of another governmental organization, since the previous holder of the mandate for oversight in protecting the world—S.H.I.E.L.D—was in fact infiltrated and controlled at the highest levels by a Nazi death cult (i.e., Hydra). Even before that bit of information came to light, the track record for the officially sanctioned authorities wasn’t that great, since Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) had no problem with the idea of hovering murder gunships being pointed at the heads of every man, woman, and child on the planet. And if left to the powers that be, New York City would be a radioactive crater. So Cap’s distrust of authority has a basis in his experiences.
As the Avengers divide, the sides form out of loyalties, grudges, and reactions to ill treatment.
Both Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) stand with Captain America out of mutual respect and trust. Rhodey (Don Cheadle) has trust in the authority of the government and comes to the defense of Tony Stark because of their friendship. Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) argues it will be better to agree to the Accords, and have “one hand on the wheel,” than have no control whatsoever. The Vision (Paul Bettany) agrees with Stark and posits the increase in world-ending incidents has been commensurate with the increasing number of super-powered individuals since Tony Stark created the Iron Man armor, and theorizes the villains are a reaction to the “challenge” the group invites by their existence. Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) has intense feelings of guilt for the civilian casualties the Avengers encounter. But she’s also treated as an object by authorities, and to some degree even by Stark, rather than a person who should be able to make her own choices.
Then there are the new recruits. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) brings his Ant-Man skills to Cap’s team out of fanboy love and Hank Pym’s warnings about the Stark family. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is on a mission of vengeance, and supports the Accords after being at the center of a brutal attack which affects the future of Wakanda. Boseman’s version of Prince T’Challa has an intense regal authority that’s tempered with a wisdom beyond his years. And finally, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) joins the fight after being personally recruited by Stark, who also flirts with Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) during his visit to their Queens apartment. Holland’s iteration of Peter Parker is an adolescent teenager full of energy, and star-struck to be in the presence of the Avengers.
All of this should be a mess with so many characters to be served, and so many divergent threads that are happening at different locations around the world, but the Russos’ direction somehow makes it all work in a fun way which balances serious and funny. Their previous experience being directors and producers on Community and Arrested Development seems to serve them well here in connecting multiple plots into the central narrative, often times with great comic timing. Because the character’s motivations are understandable and flow from their actions and experiences, with everyone getting a chance to shine in their own distinct way. This is especially true during the action sequences, with the battle between Team Cap and Team Iron Man at the Leipzig/Halle Airport probably being the closest any movie has gotten to the pure joy and inventiveness of a comic book battle. Those 15 minutes are among the finest Marvel Studios has yet put to film.
And then there’s the villain of the piece. There has been much written about Marvel’s villain problem, and during the first act of Civil War I kept wondering why Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) had been wedged into the film in what seemed to be an added-on and tangential way. But when it all becomes clear, Zemo arguably becomes a much more interesting creature than the usual “I want to rule zee world!” type, as well as one of the most sympathetic villains in any superhero movie.
From Michael Cavna at the Washington Post:
“We wanted the movie to raise questions — political questions,” Joe Russo says. “They’re unanswerable questions. We certainly don’t want to provide any answers in the movie. And Cap and Tony — you could absolutely say that they represent different political points of view [on] … the question of security vs. individual freedom.”
“Which is unresolvable,” interjects Anthony Russo, from behind thin-rimmed eyeglasses.
Beyond this point, I'm going to get a little spoilery. So, if you haven't seen the movie yet and don't want to be spoiled, reading beyond this sentence is probably not a good idea.
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The Raft: In its comic book form, The Raft is a supervillain prison located near Rikers Island, New York. The film version makes it a new high-tech Gitmo, run by the United States Navy, that rises out of the middle of the ocean. There doesn’t seem to be anything close to due process happening there, since once Team Cap is captured, Scarlett Witch is bound like an animal.
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The Biggest Change: The comic book version of Civil War ended with Steve Rogers deciding to surrender in order to avoid any further casualties, and then being killed shortly thereafter. This film changes that up entirely, with Cap overcoming Tony, rescuing his friends and allies, and bringing most of the Avengers to Wakanda to live as fugitives under the protection of T’Challa. I was genuinely surprised Steve Rogers survived at the end of the movie, since it had long been rumored the character might fall in Civil War. However, the screenwriters of Civil War claim Cap’s death was never even considered, since they didn’t want him to be a martyr whose side would be seen as definitively “right.” The Avengers presence in Wakanda will probably be expanded on in the Black Panther film coming in 2018, with Ryan Coogler (Creed) directing. Also, Martin Freeman’s Everett K. Ross is a major ally of Black Panther in the comic book, so expect to see him pop up again.
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Xhosa: The language spoken between Prince T’Challa and King T’Chaka (John Kani) is a real African language named Xhosa. It’s a Bantu language with click consonants. And since Kani speaks it, he taught Chadwick Boseman how to speak it for their scenes in the film. Although Xhosa is most predominant in Southern Africa, Wakanda is usually depicted in Marvel Comics as being located somewhere near Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
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Thor And Hulk: The only two Avengers not present in Civil War are Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). There are good thematic reasons for leaving them out, since both characters would probably tip the scales to one side or the other in a fight. But beyond just that, next year’s Thor: Ragnarok will feature Thor and Hulk teaming up, and is rumored to be a pivotal moment in the overall Infinity War storyline. Whether this means an appearance from Thanos (Josh Brolin), or whether he’s a primary antagonist of the story, is not yet known.
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No, You Move: In the original comic book crossover, one of the most memorable moments occurs when Captain America convinces Spider-Man to switch sides. He does it by reciting a quote by Mark Twain about being true to your convictions. It has since become a defining moment for the modern iteration of Captain America. However, in the film, the words are instead put in the mouth of Sharon Carter, who recites them in honor of her Aunt Peggy (Hayley Atwell). It steels Steve Rogers’ resolve to resist the Accords.
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Similarities To Batman V Superman: The plots for both movies are surprisingly similar. In both films, a third party manipulates events to cause outrage over collateral damage and pushes two superheroes, one a billionaire with toys and a battlesuit and the other an iconic symbol of American values, into a confrontation. Although, the biggest difference between Civil War and Batman v Superman is the Marvel characters are recognizable and exhibit their defining qualities, where Batman and Superman were contorted into forced grim iterations, which in many fans’ eyes lost the charm of the DC Universe, and forgot about being fun while doing it.
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Collateral Damage: If anything, the MCU version of Zemo is the argument that the collateral damage of bombed wedding parties and hospitals creates more terrorists taken to a supervillain extreme. The Avengers did what they did with the best of intentions, but he’s the unintended consequences of their actions. This version of Zemo only shares the manipulative qualities of his comic book counterpart, since the 616 version of Zemo was “Baron Zemo,” had a purple balaclava glued to his head with “Adhesive X,” was a master swordsman, and dressed in probably one of the worst outfits in the entire Marvel Universe. However, this version of Zemo achieves a victory his comic book version never got close to: dividing the Avengers. In fact, it can be argued this is a movie where the villain more or less wins in the end. And since Zemo is still alive at the end of Civil War, it sets up possibilities for the future.
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The Bluth Stair Car: For fans of Arrested Development, there is an Easter Egg. During the airport fight, the Bluth Stair Car is visible at certain points.
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The Cover: During the final fight between Iron Man and Captain America, after Tony destroys Bucky’s metal arm, Steve rushes to protect him. He raises his shield and blocks Tony’s repulsors as a dazzling shower of light is reflected. The shot mimics the cover of Civil War #7. Also, the sequence at the airport of Scott Lang riding one of Hawkeye’s arrows to get to Iron Man is inspired by the cover of Avengers #223. Since Civil War’s release, some of the more scientific minded have actually worked out the math and physics of Ant-Man riding an arrow to figure out the g-forces involved. To put it succinctly, it would be a very rough ride.
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A Creature Of Ego: This film lays bare many of the flaws of Tony Stark. Going back to the original Iron Man, the character is one who is consumed with satiating his own guilty feelings, which he either tries to deflect with sarcasm and witty banter, or building more and more pieces of armor and tech to protect people. But that can only go so far, since he defines every situation through how it makes him feel and plays into his own insecurities. The problem that creates is evidenced by now being estranged from Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his inability to deal with his emotions. Tony doesn’t support the Accords because he thinks it’s right. He supports the Accords because one of the victims of Ultron corners him in a hallway and makes him feel guilty. And in the end, Tony becomes almost a homicidal maniac once the truth about Bucky and his parents is revealed. Is his reaction understandable? Absolutely, if I had just watched my parents being brutally murdered while their killer stood next to me, I would want to rip Bucky apart too. But it plays right into Zemo’s plans, while also exacerbating the scars in Tony’s psyche.
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Favorite Moment: I loved every second of the airport fight, but the banter between Sam and Bucky were the biggest laugh moments for the audience I saw the movie with. The smiles and “bro nods” both Sam and Bucky give Cap after he kisses Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) had people giggling their heads off.
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Enter Spider-Man: Spider-Man’s inclusion in Civil War only occurred after a deal between Sony and Marvel Studios allowed the character’s use within the MCU films. That had the effect of scuttling all of Sony’s Spider-Man plans involving Andrew Garfield, especially after the disappointing reception and performance of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The deal occurred after Civil War was in production. And while Spider-Man was a central character in the comic book iteration of Civil War, the intro of Spider-Man in the movie does feel wedged in at points, since the movie’s plot stops to go to Queens. However, this new version forgoes the origin story, with Uncle Ben’s death only being alluded to, instead of being made explicit. The Spider-Man costume is a creation of Stark Industries, and Peter Parker’s story will continue in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Kevin Feige: The biggest challenge of course was finding a Spider-Man. Our angle on the character was to make him younger because in our favorite comics, he is young. He is not graduating, he is just starting high school. He is young. That’s what makes him interesting as a superhero, particularly in the MCU. It’s what makes him so different than all the other heroes. So we really wanted him to be an amazing counterpoint to the other Avengers, which of course is what he was and why he pops so much when he was introduced in the comics in the early ’60s.
His presence in Civil War was meant to be the counterpoint. The other heroes have a lot of history together. They have a lot of angst, they have a lot of geopolitical issues that they’re dealing with, and it’s heavy. This kid basically feels like he hit the jackpot. The most famous man in the world, Tony Stark, asks him to go to Germany and participate with the Avengers and he loves every minute of it. That’s fun. That’s who Spider-Man is, and we can and will do much more of this in Spider-Man: Homecoming. You saw it in the comics; he constantly talks. In Civil War he goes up against Falcon and at one point Falcon says, “I don’t know if you’ve been in a fight before, but there’s usually not this much talking.” That’s Spider-Man to us. That’s what we love. Tom Holland, God bless him, is that in real life. This amazing young English actor who was brought over here, got into our audition process and suddenly found himself in a room, doing a scene with Robert Downey. I swear it, the exact dynamic that we wanted between Peter Parker and Tony Stark, we had between Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr.