#this came out much longer than i anticipated
TW: violence and suicide mentions
Spoiler Warning for Captain America Civil War
How to fix a Superhero movie.
First and foremost, make sure it’s about said superhero and not someone else.
I’ve said from the announcement that Cap 3 was titled “Civil War” that I was irritated. With every casting announcement, I got a little more disheartened. There’s just not time for a proper story when you have that many people involved.
But the absolute last person whose story should be cut for time is the main character. Honestly, thinking about it, Steve didn’t really make any impressions on me during this film. I know that he was there and I know he argued against the Accords and raised some really good points, and had that fight with Iron Man in Siberia, but other than that…I don’t really remember him.
That’s not good.
But I need to make this organized. (Somewhat anyway)
First things first: They should have had two separate movies. Captain America 3 and Civil War (or Avengers: Civil War). They needed to have more on-screen time to develop the Accords, why they were being put in place, how they were being put in place, and what they all entailed.
As it stands, they came out of nowhere for me and didn’t make a lot of sense given the context of the fights and destruction and especially within the scale. What I mean by that is that the destruction caused by the Avengers was monumentally less than the destruction that would have been caused had the Avengers not been there.
New York would have been nuked off the map if the Avengers hadn’t been there and Tony hadn’t flown the missile into space. So obliterating an entire city/state was acceptable damage, but the damage caused by the aliens attacking and the Avengers trying to stop them is not.
D.C. had a massive amount of structural damage, but again, compared to the millions of people those hellicarriers were planning on killing, it seems like a better trade off.
Sokovia. This one is 100% Tony’s fault and he deserves some sort of blame for this. He was the one arrogant enough to think that he knows best for the entire world. That’s an argument that holds some weight. But again, should the Avengers have just sat out and let Ultron destroy millions?
Lagos…It was a terrible tragedy and awful and the Avengers should have been shown to stay and help. I mean, Steve said he was running into the building but we don’t actually see it? Still, they tried to minimize the damage and they successfully stopped Crossbones from releasing a biological weapon.
All of these instances, while sad and terrible, are the unfortunate consequences of war. Besides the fact, if these are the only instances in four years, seems like a pretty good average to me?
Besides all of that, the Avengers up until this point have always worked directly under and with SHIELD. So…maybe Lagos was the only true example of the Avengers running around and doing whatever they wanted. But still, a lot less destruction that any other movie. (I’m not saying it’s justified, but these arguments Ross made were half-hearted at best and completely illogical at worst.)
You know what would have made this argument hold more weight? Is if we, the audience, had been able to see public reaction. All we got is Ross saying that some people call them vigilantes. But how many and who? When did that start? Is it a small group or a large majority? Are the people of the world/the US getting into debates over twitter about this? Has it been brought up on major networks? We have no idea. All we can go off of is Ross’s word and to be honest, I don’t trust that guy at all.
(Side note: they could have used this entire plot and allowed it to be bullshit it was by having Ross as the one behind the scenes pulling all these strings because he’s still pissed off that Brue got from him. But to use it as a full-blown plot without developing it to the extent they needed to for it to make sense, makes it really difficult to follow along.)
Okay, so the movies they should have made before I get too far down the rabbit hole (Don’t worry, I’m going to be writing something about the fact that this movie felt like Tony’s movie more than anyone else’s and that is incredibly frustrating as a person who went to see Captain America, but that’s for a later time.)
Movie #1: Captain America: Out of Time or some other cleverly titled thing like Winter’s Children
This movie is all about Steve’s recovery and trying to find Bucky because that is the most important thing to him right now.
I typed out this incredibly long and detailed post about the movie that this should have been, but it was like 3k and I don’t think anyone would have wanted to read all that. So I deleted it to make it shorter. (I can put it up if anyone wants to read it.)
Basically, this movie would revolve around Zemo and the other Winter Soldiers. The plot that had so much potential but nothing really came of it, as the main antagonists. Crossbones would be a distraction and a way to show how almost desperate Steve’s become trying to find Bucky, or at least some sort of word from him that he’s okay and not recaptured. Unfortunately Crossbones escapes so his efforts are to no avail, except for the taunts Rumlow throws at Steve with his knowledge of Bucky.
You could have Rhodey clearly concerned by this behavior because it’s a slippery slope from capturing the bad guys to revenge and he knows what the public’s been saying lately. (Also, side-note, Rhodey wasn’t even in Lagos…so this would be a perfect way to say that there were some council meetings he went to with Tony. Sprinkling in Civil War and showing that Steve doesn’t have time to care about politics.)
It’s while at Peggy’s funeral where the bombing takes place at another location and Steve has to get there because he knows Bucky wouldn’t have done this. And that it’s got to be a way for them to try and force Bucky out of hiding. So everything happens the way it does, including both T’Chaka and T’Challa’s introductions (and T’Chaka’s death), as well as bringing Sharon back, but not to give that awful Eulogy that felt creepy and really disrespectful to Peggy.
The group fights to get to Bucky as quickly as they can and they would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for the guy who likes cats! Darn you T’Challa! (Just kidding, I love you.) But then they’re taking to the facility and Bucky is triggered and they all need to get out of this tight spot.
Bucky comes to and tells them of Zemo’s plan to use the other Winter Soldiers for the destruction of the Avengers. Sharon arrives to give them back their confiscated stuff and tells them that the Authorities are on the lookout for them because they want to bring the Winter Soldier in. Steve refuses to allow that and him and Bucky have a long overdue talk about Bucky’s guilt and Steve trying to tell him that it wasn’t his fault and that he didn’t chooseto do those things; HYDRA did when they forced him to be their weapon. Bucky doesn’t look convinced but also knows how stubborn Steve is so he drops it for now.
Steve, Sam, Natasha, and Bucky all sneak away to the airport to try and borrow a plane—cut to a cute moment when Sam asks since when does Captain America think about stealing a plane? Since Nazi Germany, Bucky and Natasha both answer—and they’re on their way. Of course they thank Sharon and she promises to give them updates when she can, but she doesn’t want to risk her job. Steve understands and they leave on good terms, with the door open in the future for this romance if it plays out that way. But remember, Peggy’s funeral was like two days ago…so not the time for romance to start. Especially one with her niece.
They get to Siberia and are instantly attacked by the Winter Soldiers. They are going to lose this fight because they’re not as powerful as they think they are. Bucky’s terrified because all Zemo has to do is say the magic words and he’d be fighting against Steve again. It’s terrible and frightening and Steve’s telling Bucky to get out of here because his safety is more important than Steve’s own. They’re able to lock down two of them and Steve tells Sam and Natasha to get out because this isn’t their fight but they refuse because they’re in this with them, they made their choices.
Bucky sneaks away and runs into T’Challa talking with Zemo and watching T’Challa defend Bucky and capture Zemo. They have a strange stand-off when T’Challa asks him where he is going. Isn’t the fight behind you? So Bucky and T’Challa return and help Steve and Company finish the fight. Of course, not before the self-destruct codes in the Winter Soldier’s brains are activated. Bucky can only watch helplessly as they basically kill themselves right in front of them. They didn’t complete their mission; this is the fail-safe in place.
Shaken, Bucky tries to run away again because there’s no telling what could happen in the future but Steve tells him that he’s safer with people he trusts. Now that they know the codes are still there, they can work on finding ways to get them out. Starting with finding that red book that Zemo just smiles about when they ask him about it.
Cut to the mid-credit scene where a masked-man grabs it from a cache inside an old abandoned facility. The camera pans up to see Crossbones. This entire movie would have the sprinklings of conflict and the beginning of the Accords, but maybe subtly so not to detract from the movie and also showing how much time it actually took for them to get into place.
Movie #2: Marvel: Civil War
Even if they’d changed nothing about the movie, just renaming it already makes it a better movie. No one goes in expecting a Cap movie; they expect an ensemble one.
The opening scene of this movie would be Tony and Rhodey in meetings with Ross discussing the Accords.
Rhodey: You know we have to tell Cap about this.
Tony: We need to see how this plays out first. There’s no guarantee that this will happen.
Rhodey doesn’t look convinced, but lets it go.
The rest of the movie takes place 18 months (or so) later. The Avengers are still trying to fight, but Wanda’s been sitting out a lot because there’s been so many articles and news reports written about her and whether someone with her magnitude of power should be allowed to even fight. What happens if something goes wrong? They’re scattered all over her desk when Steve comes in to check on her.
This is when Ross arrives to drop the bombshell on them that the Accords are happening and they all need to get on board. Steve argues that they should have been given much more time than three days to determine things and Ross looks at Tony who’d been at every meeting, who decided not to tell them anything. Probably because he’s feeling the guilt that that woman heaped on him for killing her son.
Tony and Steve get into an argument on why Tony thought the rest of them needed to be kept in the dark and Tony tells him that he did what needed to be done to protect them as much as he could. If he hadn’t, if they’d fought, they would have pushed it through that much quicker without any of the things that Tony fought for.
Steve gets a message on his phone and he leaves, saying that he’ll think about it and is sarcastic about the fact that he’ll let him know within three business days. The rest of the group continues their discussions and you can see the way they are all leaning.
Steve meets up with Bucky who’d been on his own again, but keeping in touch with Steve and a fair bit of help from T’Challa, while doing his own research into removing the code-words from his head and trying to track down the notebook. There’s a conversation where Bucky tells him that he has to do this alone, he has to try and do this alone and Steve’s like but you don’t have to. He tells Bucky that he doesn’t need to punish himself anymore. They’re interrupted by an angry Crossbones who fights but is ultimately captured by Sharon Carter’s team. They had received a tip on the whereabouts of the Winter Soldier and had to come. She takes Crossbones into custody while the rest of her group takes Steve and Bucky.
Of course, they end up meeting up with Tony, Natasha, and Rhodey who’ve been at the UN trying to be the public face of the Accords. Tony and Steve have a conversation very similar to the one that they have in Civil War when Tony tries to get Steve to sign the Accords. He almost agrees until Tony mentions Wanda’s imprisonment.
Tony tries to smooth things over with the UN and Ross while Natasha and Steve had a conversation about how it’ll be easier to steer with one hand on the wheel. Steve replies with, “But we have no guarantee we’ll even be allowed to drive.”
Sam arrives to get him and Bucky out of there with his wings, and his little friend. Scott is there and scurries up to CAPTAIN AMERICA and tells him of the plan and how they were all here to get him out. They can’t imprison CAPTAIN AMERICA. (Sorry, Scott’s love for Cap was hilarious.)
Cap and Bucky narrowly escape, but Tony and Company are right on their heels. Tony recruits T’Challa whose father had publically supported the Accords before he died—It’s why T’Challa feels so torn in this movie. He needs to live up to his father’s legacy and be the ruler for his people, but he can’t help but feel a little guilty for going after Steve when he himself doesn’t fully agree with the Accords. They have to come up with a plan and little Peter Parker tries to get involved and Tony sends him away because he’s a literal child.
They have their showdown in the Airport and Steve and Bucky have a more important mission: they have to get that red book. Steve’s friends decide to take the fall for Steve so they could escape and they do, with the help of Natasha who doesn’t agree with the way things are playing out.
Steve and Bucky escape to where they believe the red book is hiding while Tony tries to clean up this mess that’s been made. Natasha throws some serious shade at him and how he’s the one that needs to be held accountable for his actions and not Steve. Steve’s just doing what he thinks is right, and he’s always done that and stood by those choices. You’re hiding behind the UN and shifting the blame. If that’s all you’re going to do, why even bother being here? This is where we can have the emotional breakdown for Tony about losing Pepper and not knowing how to stop and he’s just trying to protect everyone. And Natasha can say to him, You need to stop trying to make decisions for everyone else. Or something along those lines before storming out.
Cut to the Avengers in lock-up that’s interspersed with Steve and Bucky’s hunt and Sam saying that Cap will get us out here. You know that he will.
Steve and Bucky discover the Red Book and are faced with Sharon, who’s refusing to let them through. Turns out, Crossbones had been able to read the whole thing and learned the trick of hypnosis and triggers and was able to use that on Sharon while on the car-ride to prison. She shoots Steve and instantly comes back to herself and doesn’t know what to do.
Steve knows he’s dying because this isn’t like the last time where they were near a medical facility, but he doesn’t say anything to Sharon. He tells her to go and find some sort of helicopter and she’d take him to a hospital. Steve has his goodbyes with Bucky and passes him the SHIELD and tells him to run because he won’t be able to protect him. So Bucky runs off with Steve’s shield, the red book, and his grief, while Sharon comes back to take Steve.
Steve tells Sharon to take him where Ross is.
Ross comes into the prison and taunts the other Avengers with the news that Steve’s turning himself in for their freedom; he even goes so far as to force Ross to publically announce it, write in a contract, and send it to Tony. Steve has refused to come out of the helicopter until his friends had been able to board their own, private one and get out of this place. After they leave, Steve stumbles out bloody and dying and gets the final word in with Ross.
Two potential endings here:
1. Steve dying and Tony saying that all this wasn’t worth it. He was just trying to protect them all
2. Steve not dying and staying in lock-up and asking Tony if all this was worth it.
All this sets up for the new Avengers that are under Bucky’s command now.
****
Okay, that one came out pretty long too. And one day I’m going to write both of those stories/screenplays because I stand by them and would like to see them fleshed out more.
All that being said, I’m not sure if Marvel even had much interest in this movie apart from including a ton of characters. So the brief list of things I would change (and how) from Captain America: Civil War:
- Steve needs to be the main character –> So instead of pitting him against Tony, maybe use Natasha who we’ve seen him have a relationship with and we can see that they both still love each other and it’s killing them both to be on opposite sides. I know the comics have Tony vs. Steve, but it only works because Tony and Steve are actually close in the comics. MCU Tony and Steve barely have any semblance of a relationship.
- Sharon and Steve’s kiss the day after Peggy’s funeral. The timing was awful and it was awkward and then we never hear about her or from her again. –> Use Sharon for the bad-ass Agent you keep telling me she is without showing me. Show her risking her job to help Steve because it’s right and that’s what her Aunt Peggy would do. Have Steve and Sharon connect on a way that’s not about Peggy if you’re going to have them be romantic. And finally, if they must kiss, do it towards the end of the film when we’ve seen them together for a while
- Tony’s emotional arc trumping everything else. I will forever be bitter about this. There will be at least two posts about this in the future –> His pain should never have been at the center of Steve’s movie. It was his emotional responses that drove this movie, yet we’re told that Steve’s the one acting irrationally. If you’re going the emotional route for Tony then at the very least call him on it
- Making sure Steve was at the center and making sure we know what he’s thinking and feeling –> I honestly have no idea what Steve really thought during this entire movie because his opinion and thoughts were basically nonexistent
- Giving Bucky some form of closure—another thing I’m going to have to write about –> Don’t lock him away/freeze him away until the time comes for him to be important to the plot again. All it’s done is make it clear that Bucky will not be able to be developed. And if you must do this, then you needed to give him more screen time before it happened to see how much he’s really struggling. And a hug with Steve wouldn’t have been amiss, or you know, an actual conversation
- Not allowing Tony to be a hypocrite who gets to walk away completely unscathed –> The only negative thing that happened to Tony was Rhodey getting injured. Rhodey’s injury wasn’t even about Rhodey. It was about Tony. Let that sink in for a minute. Ultron and Sokovia were Tony’s fault and he turned that around on the Avengers because ???, he recruits a literal child to fight in this potentially deadly war without telling him of the real dangers nor ratting him out to Ross and the Accords people like he was supposed to, seems angry that Clint is mad at him for getting him locked up and tells the entire group of people watching about Clint’s secret family, decides that he needs to go behind Ross to help Steve since the government’s not going to help, and finally turns on Steve/Bucky when he finds out the truth about his parents and tries to murder them both. But what happens to him? He gets to go back and lead the Avengers, work with Ross, see Rhodey’s fine, and get Steve’s apologies, even though Steve didn’t really do anything? It’s bullshit and has not real emotional depth
- Adding more time/develop to the Accords so they make sense –> As it stands, they’re nonsensical at best. Here are some posts about that. X X X
Basically, at the heart, it was a badly developed story with too many moving parts with no one knowing exactly where to put them.
