WARNING: Spoilers for Captain America: Civil War
I finally got the chance to watch "Captain America: Civil War" this past week. Going in, I was skeptical about whether I would fully enjoy the movie, considering I was hazy on the details of the last two movies. Fortunately, I was wrong. CA:CW is a surprisingly good stand-alone movie with minimal understanding of its two prequels. Think of it like a darker and grittier "Avengers" that explores the far-reaching socio-politico consequences of the different phenomena in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the movie, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers go head-to-head as their ideals of justice and responsibilities clash. Since the formation of the Avengers, the group has protected the Earth a countless number of times. However, each time, they leave a city demolished with numerous casualties. CA:CW did a great job of showing how this could realistically be solved. Stark is all for checks and limitations on the Avengers while Steve Rodgers believes that the Avengers should remain a neutral party in all types of political agendas, which proves difficult if they are to be supervised by a panel. Throw in a dead childhood best friend coming back to life after being brainwashed by Nazis, and you have an action-packed adventure. All of this culminating with Steve Rodgers giving up his title of Captain America and leaving behind his shield.
In an interview with Empire, the Russo brothers commented this:
“Dropping the shield is a rejection of the Captain America identity and a choice to embrace the Steve Rogers identity,” Anthony says.
"[Steve is now a] full-blown insurgent," Joe adds. "The most interesting thing you can do... is to take him from a patriot in the first film to an insurgent in the third movie.
According to Joe Russo, one of the directors of the movie, Steve starts the trilogy as a patriot and ends the trilogy as an accomplice to an internationally wanted criminal. In the last scene, after his fight with Tony, after hauling an armless Bucky over his shoulder, he drops the shield in front of Stark.
It's important to recognize what Steve is protecting by giving up his shield. It's more than just choosing to protect his best friend, Bucky. When Steve gave up his shield, it was an active choice to protect himself, Steve the person, and give up the Captain America that was created in the 21st century. He chose to protect, to preserve his past, Bucky being physical evidence of the connection to his past.
Ever since the first movie, Captain America has shown to be overwhelmed by the modern world, living a half-life that is inextricable from his old life. And while it's amusing to think about how Steve might be having trouble integrating into modern society, it's easy to forget how traumatic it must be to wake up to a new world having every facet of the past taken from you. It's been shown that Steve's beliefs don't always align with SHIELD or, as a matter of fact, most government institutions. Especially since the WSC ordered a nuke on NYC.
So when in the face of ideals he couldn't support again, Steve leaves behind the thing that symbolizes Captain America: his shield. His shield is the most visible, enduring and most recognizable part of that persona. It represents glory and the prestige of the role he was given. And although he can bear the burden of this legacy, as we get closer to the end of the trilogy, Steve begins to realize the shield and his role, no longer represents his ideals but someone else's. So what does he do? Steve makes the decision to leave it behind.
Leaving behind the shield meant more than just leaving behind his weapon, he left behind a lot of things. His role as a leader in a ragtag team that felt like family, but not his family, and not the sense of family that came with Bucky; the identity he was forced to adopt after leaving the ice, an identify 70 years in the making while he wasn't there; the expectations the world placed on him to based on that identity, and most importantly, he's leaving behind being forced to follow orders and carry out missions that represent institutions that he doesn't trust, and has been losing trust in since he left the ice.
When he left his shield in Siberia, he left behind the identity of Captain America that he didn't create. The 21st century Captain America. He chose to be Steve, someone who stands up for that he thinks in right, who isn't controlled by large institutions, who trusts individuals and who sticks up for the little guy. He's reclaiming his past and choosing Bucky was the first step.
Alright guys, that's all for this week, I'm all in my Steve and Bucky feels and you guys get to suffer with me.
