Captain America: Civil War (2016)
The Civil War run of Marvel is something of a beloved fixture in comics history. I won’t say it’s the first of its kind, since I don’t know that for certain, but I do know that it tackled the concept of superheroes as a whole in a unique way: should heroes have to register? Should heroes stop being extrajudicial and ungoverned? These questions seem simple to us now, as we’ve dealt with countless pieces of media that ask these very same questions, but before they were asking those questions, Marvel dared to do it.
For the MCU, the concept of the Civil War kind of gets flipped on its head, in a big way. Captain America, the poster boy for government power, actually wants to be separated from the politics and red tape of government oversight. He spent the second movie of his trilogy seeing just how corruptible the system truly is and lost all of his faith in the structure that built him. Meanwhile, Tony wants someone to keep them in check, someone who will keep them honest. This is because, for his entire trilogy and beyond, he’s been seeing the ground-level impact of his and everyone else’s actions. He created half of his own villains, and the Avengers’ brand of heroics isn’t exactly pedestrian safe.
This conflict comes to a head when Bucky, the Winter Soldier, seemingly bombs a meeting of governments that are together to sign the Sokovia Accords, a legislation that will turn the Avengers into a government agency of sorts. Cap knows Bucky didn’t do it, and he was against the Accords to begin with. As such, he goes on the run with those that agreed with him or otherwise were equally hurt by the Accords, like Wanda. Meanwhile, Tony is tasked with trying to bring them all in by the powers that be.
This back and forth is all playing over top of a seemingly clandestine subterfuge that’s being formulated by one Helmut Zemo, whose reasons remain a mystery for most of the plot. He seems to be deeply interested in the Winter Soldier project, but for what means? His story runs under the main story, as he tries to get closer to Bucky for his own nefarious needs.
The character work done here is something that stands above. Every character falls onto one side or the other of the war, and their reasonings and logic make perfect sense because of how their own stories played out. Cap, Bucky, and Sam are always going to be together, because they understand and trust each other to make the right calls. Wanda joins Cap because the Accords look at her as some sort of weapon, and Clint helps her out as a favor to Cap. Ant-Man is brought into the fray by Sam because of their encounter in Ant-Man, and thus, he gets their side of the story.
Meanwhile, you have the dynamic between Tony and Rhodey, who likewise trust each other. T’Challa joins them because his father was murdered, seemingly by the Winter Soldier. Natasha is with Tony because she believes the Accords are another facet to her going legit. Spider-Man joins the MCU on Tony’s side because he’s recruited by Tony in the first place. Vision believes that the mere existence of the Avengers invites challengers, and thus things the Accords will help them in the same way that Tony believes they will.
None of these delineations seems contrived. After all, even the few you could argue would go one way or the other have reasons that you understand. Clint probably wouldn’t mind the Accords, especially since he’s functionally retired by this point, but he owes Cap, and that matters to him enough to pick his side. Meanwhile, Scott might not disagree with Accords, but he also knows that the law isn’t always the moral right, and he believes in Cap. On Tony’s side, Spidey might agree with Cap if given the chance, but he isn’t given the chance, as Tony is the one driving the narrative that Peter gets. It all makes sense, and I’ve never understood how some people find it contrived.
The action on display is, of course, phenomenal, but the MCU never fails to deliver there. The writing is all well-crafted, with the conversations and arguments at hand flowing in a natural way. That may seem like the bare minimum to some, but with the ridiculous amounts of threads present, as well as the outlandish nature of comic universes in general, it’s always impressive how grounded and human the Marvel writers make the plots feel. I shouldn’t be able to empathize with a woman who has infinite magical power that can go beyond her control, but I do in every moment of the movie. I don’t know what it’s like to lose your father to political terrorism on a superhero scale, but you feel every bit of T’Challa’s loss.
Of course, part of that is due to the actors killing it. The mainstays are still going strong, but the newcomers of T’Challa and Spidey are both well-cast and powerful. I’ll obviously talk more about them both in the coming days, but it wouldn’t be exaggeration to say that the success of this movie hinged on the new guys bringing their A game, and they did every step of the way. Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther, full stop. He was practically born for the role, and his loss is felt heavily. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does him justice, but I’ll talk about that then. As for Tom Holland, I was immediately sold on him, but his childish sense of wonder and naivete are a nice shot in the arm for this deeply cynical entry into the canon, and Holland goes on to be an absolute force of nature in his own right.
All of the elements would struggle in the hands of less-capable people, but the Russo brothers earned their stripes on The Winter Soldier, and here they prove that they can handle a huge cast of stars with the deft hands of masters. While they’re obviously best known for their Marvel work anymore, their films since they left the Marvel fold have also been great. I adore The Gray Man so much, as it brings that sharp wit and banter that they honed here into the greater action genre at large. Here, they show their merit as ensemble directors, a showing that would pay forward with them helming the greater Infinity War duology to soaring acclaim.
We’ll obviously get there, but for now, Civil War is an important addition to the MCU canon, and it’s great to see how these powers that we’re so used to seeing work in tandem, work when being used against one another instead.
As for me? I agree with Cap. The government is full of people with agendas. Things like that never change.
