Last Thursday, a group of friends and I went to see “Captain America: Civil War.” We were completely jazzed! The theater was as full and you could see the excitement on each and every face. After the forty minutes of movies trailers, the only good one being X-Men Apocalypse, the lights dimmed and for a split second everyone was quiet. Then one man shouted “TEAM CAP!” His cheer was followed by several others, “Go Cap!” and “Yes! Team Captain America!” I was thrown off. I am a Marvel fan, but I don’t normally cheer at movies nor have I even heard people cheer at one.
My friend, two seats away shouts “Team Iron Man,” and I followed his lead. We were met with a few boos and a guy diagonally in front of me gave a strange look and I heard the kid behind me say, “Seriously? Team Iron Man? What an idiot.” Why on Earth would people be so trite and why on Earth is Captain America perfect in the eyes of most Americans?
The answer: He is designed to meet our dreams of “The American Way.”
He is handsome, strong, a soldier, bleeds red, white and blue, fought in WWI, and says things like, “There is only one God, and he doesn’t dress like that.” Basically, he is a good-ole-boy in spandex carrying a shield. He was a part of “The Greatest Generation.” He is jacked and fights evil with a perceived good nature and pure heart. Who wouldn’t like a guy like that? Me. I can see right through it all and see the man who is severely struggling with PTSD, not knowing who he is, and not even knowing his own purpose. All he knows how to do is fight and win at any cost. He is dangerous, psychologically damaged, co-dependent on his best friend Bucky, and willing to do anything and everything to get the bad guy.
So what happens, the UN decides to put a leash on the Avengers, a great idea but shouldn’t be carried out by the UN. But what does Cap say? “No” of course because he is the American rebel who, like Miley Cyrus, can’t be tamed. Throughout the movie, Cap goes outside the law, gets his friends put into prison, turns his back on his country, which he is named after, and openly admits to doing so. All for what? One guy. His freedom. And the ability to fight whoever he wants whenever he wants. Dang, how selfish.
In every Avengers and Marvel movie, there are unseen casualties, the innocent people who just happen to get in the way of the Avengers. Many people die, so we get the stories of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff and Helmut Zemo – people who have been hurt by the Avengers or a member of the Avengers, by simply being around them during a fight, Iron Man is not innocent in this. But even when being faced with the people he has hurt Captain America goes on like they don’t exist. Even Tony Stark, a billionaire, playboy philanthropist stopped and apologized, and even though he feels guilty, he is giving back to the world! What is Cap doing, oh he is spending his time pouting, whining and fighting his friends, all because he can’t punch whoever he wants whenever he wants, perceived “freedom.”
Note that neither side is perfect. They are two sides of the same coin. But look at their actions, look at their emotions. Iron Man is capable of sorrow, remorse, empathy and giving back. Captain America is selfish, arrogant, vain and blindly suffering from PTSD, all the while being addicted to War. I don’t know about you but if I had to choose between the morals of Iron Man or Captain America I am going with Iron Man on this one.
