My first article was about Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which I mentioned my high hopes for Captain America: Civil War. I wanted to wait a week to give people the chance to see it, before I jumped in and wrote about how much I loved it. This movie went above and beyond my expectations and oh my gosh, I just can’t say enough about it, but I’m going to try.
To begin, this movie is jam-packed with superheroes, but at it’s heart it is a Captain America movie. Civil War is built on loyalty, friendship, family and the power of belief. These characteristics are central to Steve Rogers’ character, because of that they play a key role in the development of the story and affect the other heroes involved in one of the movie’s conflicts.
There are two major conflicts: the Sokovia Accords and the Bucky controversy, which is all orchestrated by Zemo as payback for Sokovia. These conflicts spark in fighting between the Avengers due to each superheroes individual beliefs and loyalties.
Due to the casualties and damages the Avengers have caused, the Sokovia Accords demand superheroes register and are under the rule of the government. Tony Stark is automatically on board with signing the Accords, which I don’t fault him for, because he has dealt with so much backlash from the Avengers’ actions. Steve is whole-heartedly against signing, because he feels the Accords take away his right to choose. Rhodey, Natasha, and Vision side with Tony and sign the Accords, while Wanda and Sam don’t, because they share Steve’s point of view.
The second conflict arises when the signing of the Accords at a United Nation’s summit is bombed. The bombing is blamed on the Winter Soldier, which sets a lot of things in motion. First, it serves as the motivation for T’Challa, the Black Panther, to go after Bucky Barnes, because his father died in the bombing. Second, this is the first time the Accords are being put into effect, and the ones that signed cannot do anything without the government’s consent. Finally, Steve has to find Bucky, before anyone else does, which would make him and Sam criminals, because it goes against the Accords.
I call this the Bucky controversy, because so much of the Civil War conflict is a result of Steve’s loyalty to Bucky, who is the closest thing to family he has. Steve constantly fights to protect Bucky, even if it puts him against his friends on the Avengers, because he believes Bucky is innocent. Tony does not share his belief, which leads to the face-off at the airport, where friendship and loyalty are put to the test.
Tony has to bring in Bucky, Steve, and Sam for breaking the Accords, but Steve will not give Bucky up and he will not come without a fight; because he has to go stop the guy that has actually orchestrated this conflict, but no one is going to listen to him now, because talking is just overrated. After Steve refuses to go, Tony introduces Spider-Man, who is phenomenal! Tony, who just wants to keep the Avengers together, pleads with Steve to come with them and turn Bucky over, but he won’t.
Que the fantastic fight scene, which was my favorite scene. This scene did so much for the movie, and it literally showed that each superhero was willing to fight for what they believed in. Even Spider-Man, who was not a part of the Accords, fought on team Iron Man and talks to Cap about how he is dangerous, because he believes what he’s doing is right. Those on team Cap know why he is fighting and they continue to fight, so that Steve and Bucky can go after Zemo. His team knows that losing means going to jail, but they do it, because they believe in what they are fighting for.
The power of belief is integral to the success of Civil War. Each superhero had to believe in what they were fighting for in order to go against their friends in a fight. Clint and Natasha, who are like family, fight against each other at the airport, because each of them believes something different. But at some point during the fight, Natasha’s beliefs change, because she is able to confront Steve and Bucky before they can get away, and she choses to let them go. Her loyalty to Steve and their friendship overpowers whatever belief she had in signing the Accords.
All of this leads up to Zemo revealing himself in Siberia, where Tony comes to Steve and Bucky as an ally. That quickly changes when Tony finds out that Bucky was the one that killed his parents. Tony attacks Bucky and Steve defends him, causing the two leaders of the Avengers to fight one another. This was what Zemo wanted all along, and he tells Black Panther that he wanted them to tear each other apart, which they do. The fight comes to an end when Steve breaks Tony’s arc reactor and Steve gives up his shield in order to leave with Bucky. Zemo found Steve’s loyalty to Bucky to be his weakness and Tony’s family was his by using those against them, he was able to divide the Avengers.
From the actions sequences to the symbolism to the superheroes themselves, Captain America: Civil War was the perfect conclusion to the Captain America trilogy. Each superhero was phenomenal, especially Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man and Black Panther, all of whom nearly out-shined Captain America.
The conflict was actually built on something and it was personal. The personalness was what made choosing a side so hard and what made the ending so heartbreaking. By incorporating the conflicting beliefs, testing loyalty and pinning friendship against family, Civil War created a conflict that actually meant something.
I don't think anything else could sum up the heart of the movie better than Steve Rogers himself when he wrote to Tony: "I know you were only doing what you believe in, and that’s all any of us can do, it’s all any of us should."
For gosh sakes, can Bucky just eat his plums in peace?
