#supervillain civil wars

[spearhafoc]

The Apex Society #25 Page 13.

[imthefailedartist]

I'm re-watching CA: Civil War and the government got a lot of nerve.

I don't remember not a damn thing that happened in these movies. I feel like I should be VERY concerned by that.

Wait, I thought this was after Winter Soldier? Speaking of Bucky, is the show canceled? Will I not get more of Bucky flirting with Sara(h)? That's really the only reason I've kept watching these movies after Endgame.

Wait?! Bucky killed King T'Chaka?

I thought Daniel Brühl was a part of Hydra.

Vision is sexy as fuck.

To be fair, everybody in Sokovia and the rest of the world would be dead if Ultron wasn't stopped. But also if Tony hadn't made Ultron in the first place. . . But also, if the government hadn't made Cap and all those other superfreaks, none of this would be happening.

And nobody talk to me about the Mutants or X-Men. I don't give a fuck. I hate them.

Superheroes need supervillains. Otherwise, what do you need superheroes for?

Damn why did they kill Pietro. He was so hot. This movie could use him.

Was they gone have Cap fuck his step niece? Ew. What man wrote this. Also, a blonde. Ugh. At least use paltino.

The craziest part of this "Civil Warc. Is that the solution is that the countries need their own superheroes. But of course, American imperialism wouldn't allow that. So, of course, they are going to send Americans to fight because that way, they can spy and infitrate and weave they xenophobic ass fingers in others' way of life to try and homogenize the world.

I forget T'Challa is in this. I'm crying.

Oh, I got my answer, burnt up Frank Grillo does comeback into play. Was he supposed to be a bigger character?

How invincible is Cap? I assume it had limits. Take his head off he's dead dead. Drown him, he's dead, but he comes back no matter how long after you pull him out the water. Maybe it's like Stefan in the safe on The Vampire Diaries drown and drown and drown and drown again.

Maybe he's invincible to decapitation so long as the parts are close enough together, they'll reattach.

Aunt May should've smashed Tony.

Not enough people hand things to Tony in this movie. It's my favorite quirk.

They just kissed. Eh-yuckh!

They keep showing ads for Jersey Mike's and now I want one.

Tom Holland is my favorite non-animated Spider-man. His movies finally get the tone right.

Wanda, girl I get it, I too, would fuck the computer man. I know Vision can Google new ways to make you see the fifty states and make you see em at the same time.

They fought in that tunnel for thirty miles, and Warhammer shows up at the last minute like he's stopping something?

Paul Rudd is a handsome man. Even more than Cap in this movie.

Cap looks like generic white man #5 in this. He needs the beard.

Hawkeye and Black Widow on opposite teams?

I need more Sam and Bucky banter.

I hate the black hand on the silver arm.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

One of the many, many reasons why I hate Civil War and will always point to it as the beginning of the MCU totally falling off a cliff.

i’ve been laughing at this for the past five minutes

[asha-mage]

🌶️

The MCU's Spiderman is not a poor execution of Peter Parker's character concept. He's not even poor execution of Miles Morales's character concept.

He is a poor execution of Terry McGinnis's character concept.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales both have so many fundamental pieces to their characters that are just missing for the MCU's Spiderman. Familiar names are floating around him- Aunt May, Mary Jane, Ganke Lee- but the fundamental ideas that make up Peter or Miles arcs just are not there. Themes like Miles's family expectations, Peter's constant money struggles, and the balancing act of doing good vs trying to live your own life are all absent. Even the idea of power and responsibility isn't properly introduced until the THIRD MOVIE when that really should been the central theme from the beginning.

Rather the MCU Spiderman has way more parallels with Terry McGinnis. Both are young hot shot teenagers who end up being taken under the wing of established and experienced hero who is on their way out. Both have complex relationships with their mentor which in a lot of ways serves as the driving force of their character arcs. Both gain high tech suits which enable their heroism. Both are viewed (or at least supposed to be viewed in MCU Peter's case) as heirs to the legacy of this hero.

It falls apart when you get into how they are different. While Uncle Ben is implied to have existed and be dead by the time MCU Peter is introduced in Civil War it's never actually confirmed and never properly comes up. Meanwhile the death of Terry's father is essentially the inciting incident of Batman Beyond: it's what motivates and drives Terry and the murder and it's fallout are the main focus of the first two episodes of Batman Beyond.

What's more MCU Peter's relationship to Tony is grounded in the fact that Tony just shows up one day and essentially taps him to join the Avengers. Bruce by contrast initially tosses Terry out on his ear, and when Terry turns up seeking justice for his father Bruce can't offer him anything but 'go ask the cops for help', and when that goes exactly as poorly as Terry said it would, Terry breaks into the manor steals the Batsuit and goes to stop Powers himself. Terry has active agency in his own choice to be a hero, which helps define his relationship with Bruce and to heroism. While MCU Peter was doing his own superheroics prior to Tony showing up in Civil War (not that he ever does much of that in future movies) his relationship to Tony is defined by Peter's dependence on him and his quest for Tony(/the Avengers)'s approval. And because they don't even bother name drop Uncle Ben or flashback to him, we're left with the impression that the main thing driving MCU Peter is that quest for approval. His motivations are never more complexly explored, and we don't even really see him just running around Queens stopping muggings or car crashes or anything that hints he enjoys or feels the need to actually help people.

And I think that gets into the final and most important difference between the two. Gotham not only needs Batman, it visibly and obviously and terribly needs Batman. Batman Beyond leans into this because decades without a Batman have left Gotham a cyperbunk dystopian hellscape. The city needs someone to stand up to the darkness, to be a symbol of hope, to be aspirational. Terry taking up that mantel means fighting supervillains, yes- but mostly it means doing what the original Batman did. Solving murders, stopping muggings, rescuing people from burning buildings or fighting off street gangs like the Jokerz.

But even in the earliest MCU movies, New York only needs superheroes when the current world ending threat shows up. Otherwise the city is all bright shinny clean streets filled with haplessly content citizens. This is the only reason that Vision's position of 'Our very strength invites challenge' in Civil War makes any sense- because the only purpose of these Superheroes is usually to fight a threat they where somehow responsible for creating. And this problem hits 'friendly neighborhood Spiderman' the hardest because he only has a responsibility to use his great power to solve problems, if their are problems in need of solving. Most of Peter Parker's (and Miles Morales's, Gwen Stacy's, or any other Spiderperson's) day is not fighting alien armies or netherworld gods. It's stopping break ins, rescuing people from car crashes, or dealing with other small scale local threats, that none the less benefit from someone with his abilities to make them better. Either New York in the MCU is an ideal utopian city where the police have everything handled apparently (which ha!) or Peter is apparently not interested in stopping bad things from happening. He spends so much of the first movie basically begging Tony to give him superhero things to do, not realizing that he could go outside and find people that need help on his own.

In conclusion MCU Peter Parker isn't 'regular Peter Parker but not an underdog', or even 'Miles Morales but white'. He's 'Terry McGinnis but without any agency in his own heroism'.

[eugenedebs1920]

You know!? It ticks me off this perception that Donald Trump, J.D. (Jerkin Dicks)Vance, even Musk, is somehow manly. I mean, Trump and Ol Jerkin D wear more makeup than my wife! You can’t say that’s all just for television. Musk looks like if Smeagal had only kept the ring for 250 years as opposed to 500. His Prrreeeccciooouussss. None of those guys project masculinity. It’s the varsity cricket team and their weird gangly friend.

Does anyone remember when Trump tried to act like he knew how to use a shovel 🤣🤣🤣 That sh*t cracked me up!! Like ‘MFer, where have you seen someone attempt to shovel like that!?’

Then J. Dick Vance projects uncertainty in his sexual identity. It cool if your gay, but don’t fight being gay so much that you are viscous to women and marginalize those who’ve figured out who they are and are not overcompensating for it. it’s coo Jerkin D! We’ll still hate you either way.

I’m pretty sure Musk is a supervillain. But like if Dollar General had a comic book action figure series.. He’d be the main villain in that. Corneal Creepy McBillions, somethin like that.

These guys definitely got picked on in grade school and vowed to get revenge by making everyone else miserable. Thanks bullies! 😑

Speaking of. If you haven’t constantly put people down, talk sh*t on people, (I realize the irony as I’m sh*t talking these f*cks but, physically I don’t think any of them could take me, but power wise, what they could have done to me!! They’d ruin my world..) pinpoint and pick on a vulnerable individual or group, pretty much, if you get hard by making people laugh at or join in on teasing or bullying someone, that itself reeks of insecurity. It shows the flaws in yourself, you’re hiding by putting those flaws onto others before someone sees them in you. Trump is the master of that! If he accuses someone of something, he’s definitely guilty of it.

It doesn’t make you any less of a man to be kind. It’s isn’t a feminine to treat women with respect. It doesn’t make you macho to be a prick. Being racist and ostracizing immigrants doesn’t protrude masculine traits.

You know what women find sexy. Confidence. Knowing who you are, what your values are, compassion, knowing the difference between proper and improper, and sticking to those principles regardless what others would say or entice you to do. Being a good person, because that the good thing to do, proud of oneself, but knowing there’s always room to grow and learn.

I certainly don’t see what’s would constitute being attractive when you are borderline in a cult, infatuate with a 80 year old politician who bankrupted casinos, been accused by 23 women and adjudicated for sexual assault, shameless grifter, hateful, cruel, racist, bully f*ck. It’s just, sorry to say it, weird.

I have a heart and care for people, I build houses for a living. I believe in equality and the rights for EVERYONE, I can rebuild an engine. I think women are people (who knew!?) and should be in control of their own destiny, I am pro 2nd amendment and love to go shooting.

I’ve been in bar brawls, climbed mountains, go hunting, chop wood, ride atv’s, snowboard, go 4wheelin, camping, have a big beard, drink beer, and I think everyone is entitled to dignity, despite their sexual preference, race, religion, gender, what their hair looks like, whatever. Why? Because it’s basic human respect.

The last 2 times America actually won a war it was Democratic (BIG D 😉) administrations. The only 2 presidential administrations to not add to the deficit in the last, nearly 60 years, were both big D Democratic administrations. Democrats passed the Civil Rights Act, all the racist Dixiecrats jumped ship and became Republican. Democrats nominated and elected the first African American president. We have TWICE nominated a woman at the top of the ticket.

While Republicans are whining about having to wear a mask LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DID, Democrats passed legislation to address the problem of unemployment, of vaccinations, of shipping logistics, while they were at it passed a HUGE infrastructure package, invested billions in green energy (our future) and ensured national security by manufacturing the technology materials needed to be the best in the world. Simultaneously creating a ton of well paying, respectable middle class jobs.

The right is too busy talking about Jewish space lasers, and checking out Hunter Biden’s junk, and keeping weed illegal, and worrying about bathrooms and sh*t.

How is that manly at all?! Acting like a bunch of whiny immature kids! They even whine when they win!! It’s stupid! It’s a waste of time, money and energy. Just grow up and do the job you’re elected to do!

So yea… I would say the right isn’t the vision of manhood they pretend they are. It’s overgrown children, spoiled to the core, acting out because they want it their way 😤

What shows manliness is doing your job, and doing it to the best of your ability. Being a kindhearted person and willing to help someone in need. Being true to yourself, and in turn others. Being knowledgeable yet willing to learn. Being brave, but admitting when you’re scared.

[elbiotipo]

Thinking about superheroes as a Usamerican thing.

You see, the thing about the United States during the 20th century is that it didn't experience major unrest. I know what you're going to say, and yes, there was PLENTY of unrest. But overall, the structure of the state was never compromised. There was never a coup, there was never a civil war, there was never a foreign invasion. War? It did happen, but in distant shores. You could live (and indeed, many did live) a comfortable life for decades without any kind of major political struggle reaching you. Many classic superhero stories have them showing up somewhere before or during WWII, just when the US was reaching the zenith of its global power.

And that's why a superhero in the United States has it easy. Just fight crime, and the ocassional supervillain, or alien invaders. Truth, Justice, and the (Us)american way. After all, you are convinced that you are fighting for democracy and liberty, who wouldn't want to do that? Okay, but what about civil rights and such? Oh, no need to get into politics, just do a speech about how kindness is the way, without getting into specifics. Most famous people do (many famous people did). It's easy. The government of the US will change parties, things will change, but at the end, you have decades of prosperity ahead, without really needing to pick a side, just punch bad guys.

What if Superman had landed in Santa Rosa, Territorio Nacional de La Pampa, Argentina instead? Say, somewhere in the 30s. During the Década Infame, coming of age during Perón's rise to power. What would an Argentine Superman do? Would he support Perón against the "Revolución Libertadora" coup? What would he do when the military's Gloster Meteors fly over Plaza de Mayo and bomb civilians? What would have he done as the military couped civilian governments and repressed protests? What would have he had done as the country split over ideological lines? When the dictators kidnapped and dissapeared people from the street and stole their children? When the struggle between popular movements and the interests of the oligarchs was very, very open? Would just a bland statement would suffice?

What if, instead, he had landed in Jinan, Shandong, China, again, somewhere during the 30s. As the Japanese were invading. This isn't like the US, where they could participate in World War II from far away. The enemies are at the gates. And after that, there is a civil war between communists and nationalists. There are sides to pick. There are big changes to come, there is a new China, there is a revolution, there is a Cold War, there is an industrialization that will change the lives of millions, there is struggle, against enemies abroad, and revolutions inside.

For that matter, China has the largest population in the world during this era. Others like India aren't that far behind. As it often happens with superhero settings, soon other superheroes and villains will appear and do the whole justice league thing. Now, why are they all in the US? Even assuming the US is the core of superpowers, with all the aliens landing and mad science going on... don't you think that there would be more of them in the Third World, just out of sheer demographics. Isn't the USSR, Japan, and other countries doing also its mad science experiments? Who are their superheroes?

And what side do all those "super-people" take? Because it can't just be Truth, Justice and the American way. They don't even call themselves American... unless they were, indeed, born in Latin America. Why does Capitán América has to carry the US flag, anyways?

Where am I going with this? Don't know, just something to think. It's kinda strange that none of these super-people have REALLY to take a side beyond a vague 'good vs. evil' right? I bet at least some of them has some kind of political opinion. And the means to enact it on the world.

[artbyblastweave]

So, something I heard pointed out: Both Marvel and DC, ESPECIALLY the latter love the idea of "legacy heroes". Superheroic identities that are passed on from one person to another, like the many different Robins, Flashes, Spider-Men, ETC. But I think there's a notable lack of superVILLAIN legacies. Am I just looking in the wrong places or is that a real trend and, if so, why, do you think?

Legacy Villains are definitely a thing, albeit to a lesser degree than Legacy Heroes.. At DC there have been at least three Clayfaces and two Captain Boomerangs. At Marvel there have been at least two Beetles, two Electros, at least one would-be successor to Doctor Octopus in the form of Lady Octopus, a slew of goblins (hob or otherwise) Bullseye and Lady Bullseye, three Razor Fists, multiple Titanium men. Actually, according to TvTropes almost every Spider-Man villain you'd recognize has gotten an understudy at least once. This isn't exhaustive by any means but I'm not transcribing everyone I dug up on the TVtropes page for Legacy Character when I can just link the fucking thing. So it's pretty common, but it doesn't hit the same in the popular consciousness- you didn't have it as part of your internal map of the dynamic- because these villains don't headline. At least, they don't do this with the ones who headline. There isn't some critical mass of people who are superfans enough of Max Dillon or Mac Gargan for it to be parade-worthy when they swap them out for some new guy. When they killed Captain America during Civil War, that got in the news. The real life, dead-tree newspaper ran articles about that, because apparently nobody told them how death works in comic books. But do you think any newspaper ran an article when they killed Hobgoblin? I don't even know if they actually killed Hobgoblin or not, I'm just assuming that they must have killed at least one because TvTropes lists about. five or six hobgoblins

[txttletale]

I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how could someone like you, who otherwise has such based opinions, be a fan of Stalin? How do you reckon with his crimes? Especially when Trotskyism is right there for you to follow instead?

i'm not a 'fan' of stalin--i don't consider myself a 'fan' of any historical person. i would not even consider myself a 'fan' of people whom i admire, who have seriously influenced my thinking with their theory (e.g. lenin). and for much the same reason i am not a 'fan' of stalin i feel no need to reckon with 'his' crimes--he was just one person. stalin neither 'perpertrated the purges' nor 'starved ukraine' nor 'industrialized the USSR' nor 'defeated nazism'. he would have had to be a very busy man to execute all those folks and eat all that grain and mine all that coal and kill all those fascists on his own!

i think inasmuch as stalin personally influenced policy in the USSR, he mostly did so for the worse (e.g., encouraging a lot of the social reaction of the 30s in regards to LGBT and women's rights and national minorities, standing by lysenko long after it became clear that his theories were bullshit) -- where he did so for the better, it was usually because he recognised the value of adopting the positions of someone who was a better and more capable theorist. so i don't care for the lionization of the man that goes on in some circles.

however, i'm not interested in condemning him as some cartoonish supervillain either. if you have gotten the impression that i am a 'fan' of stalin, it is likely because i refuse to repeat anticommunist propaganda about how he killed One Gazillion People, because i sharply shut down anybody i see trying to propagate the fascist double genocide myth, because i think that the positive achievements of the USSR in the 1930s and 1940s--improving the lives of millions, performing one of the fastest industrializations in history, defeating German fascism--are impressive and laudable and refusing to learn from them because of a fear of 'stalinism' (something which i don't think meaningfully exists or ever did) is misguided and counterproductive, and because i think that the failures of that period are better understood as the results of the legacy of russian chauvinism and of the strain on soviet political systems caused by the civil war and wwii rather than the liberal conception of history where stalin, god-emperor of russia, unilaterally decided to Be Evil because he was a Sicko

as for why i'm not a trotskyist, i've covered that here. i simply don't think that any of trotsky's critiques were useful to anybody except the US empire, i think most of trotsky's theoretical positions are wrong, and i've had nothing but deeply deeply negative interactions with trotskyist organizations in the real world.

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - Christmas Reading List

Happy Christmas Eve, friends! I know it’s a time that can be stressful and I personally love to have a bunch of fic to read when I need an escape. So here’s what’s on my reading list this year. Enjoy!! 

tis the damn season by Areiton 

It’s a hot sweaty summer day, and Tony is naked next to you, when you realize you can never keep this. 

If the Fates Allow by BladeoftheNebula

“I saw him, Rhodey,” Tony blurted out miserably. “I saw him.”

“Oh wow, how was it?”

“Awful,” Tony moaned. “He has a beard now. A lush lumberjack beard, and muscles for days.”

Rhodey made a sympathetic noise. “Yeah man, I saw it last time I was home. It is pretty luscious.”

Tony Stark left Iron Valley, determined never to return - but it seemed fate had other ideas.

When his father passes away and leaves him the family toy factory, Tony must go home and face up to his responsibilities and the man who broke his heart.

take me home for christmas by parkrstark 

"He's gonna have to meet my dad. And--and, I can't be his boyfriend. He has to come as a friend." God forbid Howard knew he was bisexual.

"But he's okay with that. He said that was fine."

Tony scoffed. "Doesn't mean he should be. He's not my dirty secret. I don't want to hide him."

Or, the one where Tony and Steve meet each other's parents for the first time. Sarah and Joseph support them unconditionally, but Howard...he's a different story.

A Doggone Catastrophe by janonny

According to all the stereotypes, feathers and fur will fly when several different shifters have to work and live together. But the truth was that the animal instincts were easy to navigate. For Steve and Tony, dealing with their very human feelings was the hard part.

-

People liked to stereotype dogs and cats as hating each other’s scents, but Steve had never found any truth in that. Cats smelled like cats. Except for Tony. Tony smelled sweet, like the heat of a kitchen that had baking bread, like every delicious spice that warmed the tongue. His scent was best when mixed in with coffee, with oil and metal, when tinged with happiness.

America Isn't Chicken by Dr_Amuly 

After a Civil War, death, rebirth, a takeover by Osborn, brain deletion, and the fall of Asgard, Steve and Tony might just be starting to get back on solid ground with one another. Things aren't perfect, not yet, but they can be in the same room as each other without resorting to violence, and they've even managed to share a smile or two.

Seems like the perfect time, then, for Tony to try and fuck it all up with a stupid game of gay chicken.

Meanwhile, as if he didn't have enough to worry about, Tony realizes some kind of supervillainous trouble is brewing when increasingly advanced armors start popping up all over Manhattan, looking strangely reminiscent of his tech. On the other side of the world, Steve gets news that Zola is on the move in Russia, with some sort of nefarious plan at work.

Which will ruin them first? Will it be this unknown armored villain who is after Tony's tech? Or will it be Zola unleashing his mysterious plan on the world? Or will Steve and Tony prove to be their own worst enemies, destroying the tentative truce they managed to forge with their own stubbornness?

santa, won't you bring me the one i really need by quiddd 

Although Tony typically makes it a point to avoid anything that could be reasonably classified as Pepper-approved self-betterment, he will be making an exception this year in the form of a list of New Year’s Resolutions. —Well, not so much a list, exactly, it’s more like one very loud, very obvious, very critical proposition. He’s gonna write it down, put it on his calendar, say it to Jesus, and do whatever the fuck normal people do to make these things happen. In fact, even though they’re only halfway through December, it’s already emblazoned in his mind in big, flashing neon letters: STOP SLEEPING WITH EX-HUSBAND.

This is possibly an inappropriate thought to have while said ex-husband is pushing him up against his apartment door and trying to get his hand down Tony’s pants, but Tony has admittedly never excelled at being appropriate.

Frosty the Snowman by Captain_Panda

What's the meaning of Christmas? What is it, really?

Could it be the toys on Christmas day?

Or the friends we made along the way?

Are its joys discovered in a pile of snow?

Or those things that cannot be tied with a bow?

If it's not at the bottom of a glass of eggnog:

Then the meaning of Christmas must reside in a dog.

(AKA: The Christmas story where Steve Rogers adopts a dog, makes some new friends, and discovers that being a Scrooge is impossible with Tony Stark around.)

Ship to Shore by msermesth 

The Avengers beat Thanos. Everyone is safe.

(If you don’t count those five days they thought Natasha was dead.)

All that’s left is to return the stones, a feat that Tony is sure will end his new friends-with-benefits relationship with Steve.

someday by Areiton

Someday.

When Howard is gone.

When Steve doesn’t have the future of baseball hanging like a specter over him.

When the future they’ve dreamt of is the life they’re living.

“What if someday never comes? What if you don’t want it, then?”

Steve’s thumb traces over his lower lip, and presses his mouth shut. Silences his questions so gently it makes tears sting in his eyes.

[co-mixed]

CIVIL WAR

In a couple years Civil War turns 20. It's an event that almost everyone knows at this point, it's been adapted for the MCU, and it's one of the most iconic Earth-616 events.

A tale of exchanging freedoms for safety, hugely inspired by the aftermath of 9/11. That was almost 20 years ago, yet we keep circling back to the issue of government control. Is it a friend or a foe and if a law is wrong, how do we go about changing it?

When the time came to go through the CW issues of the Fantastic Four, I decided to go back and review the whole event.

And if you're about to move on, because you haven't read it yet (there are gonna be spoilers), or just bookmarking it for another time, I’ll leave you with my final thought right away: it's a very different experience for a teenager and an adult. For someone who is still sampling the real world and someone who's nearly fed up with it.

The idea to register superheroes wasn't new for Earth-616. In a different version, this bill’s been around since Byrne’s FF (unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint the issue but I referenced it in one of the previous FF reviews). What I do distinctly remember is the hearing, the team went to, and how passionately they tried to stall it. 

Even then though, they knew it would come back to bite their backsides. 

The bill reemerges after M-Day and blooms after the tragedy in Stamford when New Warriors trigger a team of villains while shooting their reality show (talk about your ‘00s essence). Supervillain Nitro uses his ultimate and disintegrates 600 townies, a bunch of heroes, and his own crew. 

The public outcry is insane. There is high demand for masked heads on spikes, full transparency, and maybe some ritual sacrifice (just enough to butter everyone up). The sales of red paint and placards skyrocket, and everyone (knowingly or not) quickly picks their side of the argument. 

Remember just a few years ago Genosha happened? Millions of mutants were brutally killed, and all it provoked was more hate toward them. What do they call it now, the good old days?

What's the plan? 

The grand idea is cooked up by the great minds of Tony Stark and Reed Richards (eww). They go as far as to introduce 100 ideas of how to make sure Stamford never happens again. 

The gist of it all is to register all superhumans, send them to training, then license them and release back into the world. Better yet, pack them in teams and send to each one of the 50 states. It’s superhuman police meets mutant registration and unites in a beautiful concept of a police state. 

There are a few concerns with the plan, right off the bat.

Yes, the first one is data safety. Reed and Tony are smart for sure but for each of them, there is an equally inventive hero or a villain. There are no unbreakable/unhackable data storages. There probably never will be, so all the personal information heroes share will eventually be up for grabs. They guarantee that everything will be locked and hidden away in a digital Fort Knox, meaning they are promising something impossible. They’re setting y’all up.

They did cover their asses here though. What’s the best way to prevent villains from doing villainy things? Rehabilitate them, of course. 

Though it does sound impressive on paper, it's in fact more of a suicide squad scenario. The villains don’t go through any sort of therapy and no one is offering them help. They are controlled and forced to do Stark’s and S.H.I.E.L.D’s bidding.

Some 20 years later Daredevil will ponder a more reasonable prison reform while chilling in his cell. But that wasn’t a common conversation in 2006. Back then we were way more into punishing everyone. 

Stark doesn't hesitate to abuse his newfound power when, through his nanobots, he controls Green Goblin and makes him shoot an Atlantean official. 

All part of the grand design. 

And oh, of course, there is 42, the superhuman prison in the Negative Zone. The pride and joy of Reed Richards – a place where he and Tony eagerly send their former friends to take a time out and think long and hard about what they did. See, neither one of them goes for conversation, they jump head-first into policing.  

Kids with superpowers have to go to military school now. That’s the kids who don’t end up as lab rats for an insane doctor. There is always one of those around and they’re somehow always in cahoots with the officials. 

But chances are you, young superhero wannabe, are gonna go through military training (obviously the best kinda training if you want to help people, amiright?) 

Jumping ahead, we get a nasty preview of one such facility. And guess who's in charge of the program? If the name Gyrich is familiar to you, need I say more? 

It ends in tragedy too. Right away.

But enough criticizing. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. 

Instead, let's imagine that everything works out. There are superhuman peacekeepers all across the US. And there are military schools where kids are screamed at by some YesSirThankYouSir. 

Does that make Earth-616 any safer? 

What happens when Sentry flies off the handle and destroys half of New York? Would it help that you know his civil name? 

How about when Daredevil builds his Shadowland and chills there with a bunch of ninjas? Would you sleep better knowing his home address?

The short answer is no.

Then why do they do it? 

My theory is there’s a reason one side includes Reed, Hank, and Tony. They are virtually the same archetype. All extremely privileged people, rich, famous, adored. They are also scientists – they operate in numbers and technologies, in fixing things. They think they know, which allows them to remain on cordial terms with empathy. 

Looking into the future and using logic to solve the world’s greatest mysteries is the way all three of them choose. 

Ok that might really just be Reed but what can I do, I hate the guy. 

Either way, Reed and Stark both did some math and some thinking and figured that if you can't beat them you might as well lead them. That's why they both jumped at the chance to make the world better (Reed event dragged his family along for the ride). 

It feels like halfway through the war though, the whole for Tony turned into an obsession with winning. Winning by all means necessary and realizing that the ends absolutely justified the means. 

As it always happens, heroes on Stark’s side let themselves go way too far. If unmasking Spider-Man felt uncomfortable (we’ll get to Spidey), then building 42 with extremely harsh conditions just to scare everyone into registering was a full-on dictator move. Building a Robo-Thor (Ragnorak) to balance the power scales was simply outrageous. I told you, Reed, Pym, and Stark have serious issues with empathy. 

Then, they created their first victim – Goliath. We could go into a long conversation about the issue of using a Black character as collateral, but we all know what’s what. 

I remember from years ago the image of him lying in a giant grave. And only now it hit me that maybe it had to be him, to emphasize the metaphor of a giant loss. Because even his grave looks like a mass grave and the way he's laid to rest is similar. And this couldn't play out the same way with Stamford victims, because none of that was personal to the heroes.

You’d think one death of their own would stop them or at least force them to pause. But no, just a few people left the cause after that, among them Sue who unfortunately eventually reunites with Reed. 

She did make a hole in his ceiling though. Good job. 

But hey, Reed’s done the math. Can't go wrong with that.

I kept trying to put myself in Tony’s place to understand where he was coming from. And here’s what I figured. 

There was a voice of “conscience” whispering in Stark’s ear – Miriam Sharpe (a parent of one of the Stamford victims. I couldn't not include the worst 'argument' in history that aged worse than anyone could imagine). There was Happy on life support after having been attacked by a supervillain. And decades upon decades of trying to keep it together as a hero and a person. It was easy to dismiss all that after time had erased most of the details from my memory, but that’s exactly what re-reads are for. He truly believed that something should be done so that even heroes could have it a little easier. 

As a self-appointed leader of the superhuman community, Tony felt responsible for all of them and it was necessary for him to fix everything. This is where his ego plays a huge part because he took it personally and let it cloud his judgment. That’s a human thing but that’s also the thing he allows himself but not other heroes. 

You know what? I'm gonna do something wild here. I’m gonna compare the two heads of the police state and make Reed look good. 

He’s not doing it for power or his ego, he actually doesn’t let emotions play a part. We see that clearly when he continues to work with Stark after Sue leaves him. He puts his pain aside and does what he believes is correct (not right, correct). He's also doing it for the future and his kids and while that can be perceived as emotion, he also backs it by his math. 

Meanwhile, Tony sees himself as the savior, takes control of all the capes, and you can actually see him basking in glory when he reports his victory to Miriam. 

Who's fault was Stamford? 

Let's roll back a little, to Stamford and the incident.

A huge part of the conversation revolves around who is responsible for the accident. We have the New Warriors, who poked the bear, and we have Nitro, who was the bear. The people though, they unanimously choose the only surviving New Warrior (Speedball) to be the scapegoat. Nitro is dealt with in private by Wolverine and Atlanteans (he offed Namora), who seem to be the only ones interested in bringing him to justice.

Throughout the Front Line series, Robbie Baldwin (same ole’ Speedball) is trying to come to terms with his being the most hated person in America. His parents turn their back on him, the government is offering him a registration (to which he opposes), and the people hate him and wanna see him hanged. Of course, Robbie does feel responsible, he is too. But Nitro is not a mine he stepped on. He’s a person, who did the actual killing. 

Not at all surprising, that no one sides with Speedball. Not even his lawyer Jen, who’s trying to help for sure, but doesn’t seem to be hearing him. In fact, she’s more of a liaison between him and the authorities and the one vividly on the latter side.  

Robbie succumbs to his guilt. Everyone sees him as a monster and a murderer, so he accepts it.  

Here's the controversial part – I felt sympathy for him both times. He was reckless and untrained, which is the argument Tony Stark and others put on their flag and ran with. That is the idea – to train and register the heroes. 

But for that to happen, Robbie had to be the scapegoat. And the superhero community might have been able to eventually forgive him but everyone else? No way. 

In the process, he gets shot by one of the Stamford parents (they really aren't making themselves look good there) , and by the end, he accepts the deal under one condition – that the shooter gets released as well.  Robbie walks free but where would he go? He ends up becoming Penance (Not Monet-Penance). 

Which is probably not a great idea anyway, since he's beyond messed up at that point. 

This is a tragic bit of the story. 

It seems like nearly everyone hates Speedball, even more than they would Nitro. I mean, Nitro has a strong argument covering his radioactive butt — he’s a villain, what did you expect? A New Warrior is a hero, so he’s held to an impossible standard. 

What can I say, those in power really did find someone to blame just so those in power could maintain their faces and a clean image. One person is always a very acceptable sacrifice for them.

Are you in or are you out?

I promised you we’d get back to Peter Parker. He is absolutely one of the main characters here. Fair to assume this story was essential for him at the time as well (yes, we’re not peeking ahead because we all know his identity can’t stay public forever).

Obviously, in my teens, I was wise and could see right through the trap Tony Stark was setting for Peter. Tying him to the cause by forcing him to be the first hero to unmask, promising him and his family protection, sharing only bits and pieces of truth? He’s practically spelling it out for Pete: “I own your webbed ass!”

Yeah. Times change. It’s so easy to steer an idealist. And that’s who Peter is, that’s who most heroes are. He still believes in the whole responsibility concept, and by saying “This is the responsible thing to do”, you can get him to do nearly anything. Top it with his admiration and infatuation with Stark, and you have a foolproof Spider-catcher. 

Imagine your ideals being dangled before your eyes like that and tell me you won’t follow. 

Here’s the deal. Whenever I ask people (be it regarding the movie or the comics) whether they would’ve registered or not, they almost invariably say no. Most of us are that convinced that our ideals are concrete, that there is no scenario that could shake us up and force us to the other side of the barricades. 

Allow me to call BS.

So many of us really still view this as a fantasy arc: even if has something to do with reality, nothing like that can ever happen. 

But fantasy simply takes reality and pushes it to extremes. Remove the capes, take away the superpowers, and take a closer look. It’s an ongoing leitmotif throughout history. Hell, it even happened in the same universe before (hello, Mutant Registration)!

So while the idea 20 years ago was to choose between safety for the majority and giving up just a portion of your freedom, in reality, most people always choose the latter. 

Because when you are asked to do so, it’s never really a command, it’s a suggestion. And it’s always coated with a reasonable explanation that benefits you. These things are never a one-day operation. They are carefully prepared for us by propaganda and advertising which even work on several levels. If the simple explanation doesn’t work on you, the complex one might. Either way, you’ll be on board.

You get to choose between easy and difficult. And you only know what you will decide when you come face to face with the problem.

That’s why my answer then was “I’d never register” and my answer now is “I have no idea”.

The right side

It’s easier to choose freedom when Cap takes a firm stand for you. He can do no wrong in the eyes of other heroes (I mean, even Punisher refuses to hit him, that kinda cred has to stand for something). But siding with the squeaky-clean Cap is a pretty picture. We don’t get those in life.

Just like Tony, he feels responsible for every hero. I think, for one it’s a vanity thing, and for another, it’s the leader gene.

It never felt to me like Cap was fighting out of sheer stubbornness or even because he believed he was right (like Tony did). He fought because he believed this was the best course of action for the superpowered community. Heroes and villains alike. The old dying to protect your freedom to be wrong narrative.

He is a 616 icon, he has nothing to gain in all this… 

…Which may be why he lost. He’d put up a great fight, but he never offered an alternative course of action. 

If the registration bill had never passed, what was the other option, where was the guarantee that Stamford wouldn’t happen again? Essentially, this is why he gave himself up and stopped the fight. This is WHEN he did so. He saw the battle in New York as a step away from a mass disaster. So he took off his mask and accepted handcuffs. 

Now did he betray everyone who followed him? 

Yes and no. 

Yes, because without him all they had was a ragtag team of heroes. Without Cap’s credibility or his resolve, they were completely lost. 

And No, because if they couldn’t stand up and continue the fight, they may have been fighting not for something but alongside someone. 

Cap giving up is not an example of an underwhelming resolution. It’s just what you do when the ends stop justifying the means. When the body count grows and you see no way out. 

He chooses to stop getting people killed — something I don’t believe Tony would’ve done. 

I remember being so impressed with Cap’s resolve when I was a teen. What I see now is a grand gesture that ultimately changes nothing. Then again, that’s what heroes do, right? 

At the end of the day, they stand before you and invite you to make a choice. He wasn’t doing it for the other heroes, he was doing it for everyone else. Showing that a single person can be responsible and that’s what they should be trusting in. The fact that they managed to destroy a whole block in New York didn’t exactly give Cap’s side any sympathy points. 

I also get why Stature and Nighthawk defected from the cause — they chose personal safety and comfort over constant risk. 

I get why Ben Grimm left for France. Maybe just now but I get it. Not wanting to fight and to even pick a side. He may look like a coward through idealistic glasses (even though he does come back eventually). And he may be naively ignoring the fact that whenever he goes, the registration law might follow. 

But he goes anyway and it’s hard to say he’s wrong. Sometimes you just want to escape because you know it’s gonna get ugly. 

What was the point? 

The resolution of this war doesn’t give you an answer who was right and who was wrong. That’s the point — there is no point. Never is. The main book went out of its way to draw similarities between Civil War and many famous battles throughout history. You are slightly pushed toward sympathizing with Cap’s side and I bet it hits you hard too when that side loses and later he gets shot.

After all is said and done, in a one-shot called Confession Tony Stark admits to Cap’s dead body that the war wasn’t worth it. An answer to something Cap asked him before when he first was arrested. Kinda hypocritical of Tony to not realize that after Goliath's death.

It’s not the end of the story but it’s the end of the war, and I think between the name of the comic arc, the events, and the final words, you can piece together a pretty good conclusion. 

Cherry on top

I’m leaving the arc I found to be most memorable years ago for last. 

It’s Front Line and specifically the arc of Sally Floyd and Ben Urich. They are both journalists, and they are hunting down the same story. The sides might be different, but the sources, the issue, the story — the story is the same. 

By the end, they’re sitting on this goldmine of an article. Something they have the responsibility to share as professionals who claim to value integrity. But they bury it, because their personal experience during this war gets in the way. 

This part of the book really surprised me as a kid. I loved the fact that we took the time off to see how the real people are dealing with a superhero conflict. And we know that Ben isn’t exactly impartial, he has a long history with every New York hero ever and works for everyone’s favorite Daily Mail substitute — Daily Bugle (where JJJ is on cloud 9 because the damn capes finally get to answer for their misdeeds). 

Sally and Ben find out exactly how Stark orchestrated the fallout from Stamford and how at every turn, he steered the narrative in his own chosen direction. 

They bury it. And I don’t know how to feel about that now. It’s a selfish and selfless choice. This could’ve made them legends but this also would’ve destroyed any control the heroes had over their fates. 

What’s it good for

I used to think this was a book about right and wrong, and I used to think the sides were very obvious. But I was idealistic. While I still believe that this was no way to go, and othering anyone is an awful idea, I get to look at this as a selection of personal stories now. And I can easily see myself (or anyone really) in every one of the roles.   

So maybe it’s more about the choices you end up making (I mean, it does continuously ask you whose side are you on). Or maybe, in another decade I will read it again and see an entirely different tale. 

P.S. I tried to make it simple this time by using the Marvel Unlimited reading guide, but you should know that it’s slightly out of order and incomplete. 

[racefortheironthrone]

How was Iron Man thought of by comics readers, before the movie? I've heard different takes, from him being despised to being generally popular.

This is one of those that really changes depending on the era you're talking about. It is true that, overall, Iron Man was not a particularly well-loved or important character before the movie.

Indeed, I would argue he was kind of the bottom of the C-tier. Yes, he was a founding Avenger and he had some solo stories people liked, but he also fucked off out of the Avengers after #16 (because of a weird Stan Lee idea), and wound up leading the West Coast Avengers who were sort of an in-universe joke, very much the also-rans to the Avengers (who weren't particularly that big either). There was likewise a running gag about villains finding it embarassing to lose a fight to "Old Shellhead."

But he wasn't despised, just kind of inessential and overshadowed by more prominent heroes. This would change in 2002 with the creation of the Ultimates and the Ultimate Universe.

Now, I fucking hate Mark Millar's work, but credit where credit is due: he made Tony Stark a main character when he had not been one before, and the movie would not have happened without his inspiration (although I'd argue there was a lot of sifting the pure from the dross on that one).

One of the ironies of the MCU, though, is that it got its liftoff from Iron Man just at the point where the comics had reached Peak Tony and fans really turned against him during Civil War. Mark Millar might have thought that the Pro-Registration side was self-evidently in the right, but no one agreed with him - especially once he started building interdimensional black site prisons for superheroes, recruiting supervillains to work for the government, and creating a murderous Thor clone. Not only did the fans hate him, but pretty much all of his old friends now considered him a traitor - and Marvel pretty much had to kill Tony and replace him with a pre-fash AI backup, then have Tony be the leader of the "good" side in Civil War II, to deal with the backlash.

(Incidentally, I would argue that Hickman's Avengers run did a way better job with Millar's concept than Millar ever could.)

This is why Captain America: Civil War ended up being a second take for the concept, where both sides were depicted as more reasonable in their motivations and actions than in the comics that inspired the movie, and then Infinity War and Endgame recontextualized Tony as a tragic character who ultimately managed to redeem himself with a heroic sacrifice. (Although since then, they really have gone too far with his canonization.)

[gunsandspaceships]

Navigation

Tony Stark’s achievements

(NEW) Tony's real Alter Ego

Tony's self-esteem:

Self-esteem poll

About High Self-esteem and Absurdity

Tony and ambition

(NEW) 616 Tony

Proofs:

(IMPORTANT) Tony is not an extravert (+616 Tony)

Tony is bisexual in the MCU

Tony is a Sub in the MCU

Tony is not an alcoholic in the MCU

Tony's childhood & education:

(NEW) Bravery

(NEW) Inner Child

(NEW) Own Will

(NEW) Facts about his childhood

Doctor Stark

Tony and Rhodey

Billionaire Tony...:

Likes simple things...

Does things like...

(NEW) Doesn't have...

The AoU scenes

He's the guy who...

Doing chores

Can't cook but doesn't have a chef

Despises comfort

Avengers Compound Owner

Tony's masks:

"I'm fine" mask

Infinity War and Endgame examples

SM Homecoming examples

Civil War examples

Age of Ultron examples

Iron Man 3 examples

The Avengers examples

Iron Man 2 examples

Iron Man (2008) examples

Tony's introversion:

Extraversion-Introversion poll

Socially awkward Tony

Absent-minded Tony

Video:

"Our Brave Father" by Next Gen Media

"Unstoppable" (describes Tony perfectly in just 3 mins)

Good boy Tony:

Poll (Tony Stark as an animal)

Why he is a dog

Saint Bernard

Cat person

Miscellaneous:

(NEW) Marksman

(NEW) Happy with kids

Happy doing Science

Tony without a suit or armor

"Playboy" Tony

Tony Stark is a Gryffindor

Captain Morgan

AU idea - pediatrician Tony

FrostIron in What If?

Opinions vs Truth

About Characters in the Multiverse

Perfect Character

"Favorite ship" poll

RDJ and Schubert in The Avengers

RDJ's Best Performance

RDJ’s Oscar snub in 2010

About genre discrimination and art

About “Real movies” and Art again

Why Bucky is not the new Captain America

Priority of Information Sources

Iron Man & Christopher Nolan

War and Peace

About Hypocrisy

X (Easter egg?)

Howard Stark

Boop

And nothing else

Alert

(NEW) Living in a world of superheroes and supervillains (if you're an ordinary person)

"Clint Barton has no superpowers"

(NEW) Tony Stark = Garrus Vakarian

Review of anti-Tony statements:

(NEW) Tony and inappropriate jokes

(NEW) Tony is not a womanizer

About Haters and Lovers

(NEW) For those who missed the villain in IM1

(NEW) Ratification of The Sokovia Accords

War Crimes

(NEW) Recruiting Peter in Civil War: a War Crime?

(NEW) Recruiting Peter in Civil War: Tony blackmailed him?

(NEW) Recruiting Peter in Civil War: Tony wanted Peter to fight battles for him?

Part 7 (Peter's PJ in Homecoming)

Part 6 (Tony vs Rogers & Barnes in Civil War 2)

Part 5 (portal in The Avengers)

Part 4 (Tony saving Steve in The Avengers)

Part 3 (Tony and time travel 2)

Part 2 (Tony and time travel 1)

Part 1 (Tony vs Rogers & Barnes in Civil War 1)

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, round one of the losers bracket

Propaganda:

For Lord Boxman and Professor Venomous:

Canon supervillain power couple <3

Gay peoplrrrr

For the Doctor and the Master:

Immortal genderfluid war criminals <333

So we all know the Master has killed plenty of people, but, despite their reputation, the Doctor has killed a more than average number too. Sure they undid the whole destroying their own planet thing, but that's still something the Doctor did. Also there's apparently a novelization out there where, when they were children, the Doctor killed one of their childhood bullies but then made a deal with Death so that the Master had the memory of it and became Death's champion, which is pretty messed up and murder husbandish. There are plenty more war crimes on the Doctor's hands, and the Master has killed countless people in a variety of creative ways. Also, I'm having trouble finding the quote, but I swear the Master once said something to the lines of "trying to kill the Doctor is just my flirting" or something similar. But I do know Missy (also the Master but female at the time) described their relationship as "older than your civilization and infinitely more complex". They love each other, they're constantly trying to destroy each other, they are the only friends they each have who can even begin to understand everything they've been through; they've known each other since childhood and they've watched (and helped) civilizations rise and fall together. They may not be who you first think of for murder spouses but they really are a beautiful example.

For Heavy and Medic:

Unhinged mercenaries waging unending war

They're so deeply in gay love that gameplay-wise they're one of the most formidable threats in the game when together. This is because gay love is the most powerful force in the world, which allows them to do so much murder. In the comic, Heavy goes berserk and kills the heavy weapons expert of the Team Fortress Classic team after he kills Medic, and Medic escapes death by swindling the devil. He stole the Team Fortress Classic team's souls by surgically extracting them and sewing them into himself, so even though he already sold his soul, the devil doesn't have the majority of his soul because he has 8 more.

[insanityclause]

Zawe Ashton got some firsthand Marvel insight when she signed on to play the villain in The Marvels.

Known for films like Velvet Buzzsaw and Mr. Malcolm's List, the British actress is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn, facing off against Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani. In EW's new cover story on The Marvels, Ashton explains that she had long hoped to work with director Nia DaCosta and jumped at the chance to suit up as a supervillain.

While preparing for the role, Ashton got some advice from another Marvel villain: her fiancé Tom Hiddleston, who's played trickster god Loki since 2011.

"It led to some incredible conversations about his experience being part of this franchise for over a decade," Ashton, 38, tells EW in an interview conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike. "One of the main takeaways from our conversations was: 'What you put into Marvel, you get back.' He said, 'If you go into this with an open heart and a great work ethic and just want to provide an amazing experience for the fans, you'll have an amazing experience on those sets.' He really empowered me in that way."

Ashton says she and Hiddleston often try to keep their work lives separate, but she remembers one particularly fun day when he helped her rehearse a Marvels scene. Afterward, they looked under their kitchen table to see their confused dog, wondering why two terrifying Marvel villains were loudly running lines above him.

Plus, Ashton adds, Hiddleston had some additional pointers for when she got to set.

"He also had some very good practical advice, which was: Make sure you have enough zippers to go to the bathroom in your costume," she says with a laugh. "Which is very good advice, I realize now."

Ashton stars in The Marvels as Dar-Benn, a Kree leader fighting to restore her home after a lengthy civil war. (It's a new, expanded take on the character, who has a minor role in the comics and was originally written as a man.) Ashton trained for weeks, learning to properly wield Dar-Benn's imposing war hammer, and in the film, she clashes with Larson's Captain Marvel, Parris' Monica Rambeau, and Vellani's Ms. Marvel.

"It's this all-female sci-fi extravaganza, with a woman on the other side of the camera," Ashton adds. "I felt very moved, actually, being involved in it. It's not an environment you're often in — a huge-budget movie with all these badass women and Samuel L. Jackson. That just doesn't happen."

The Marvels is in theaters Nov. 10. For more, read EW's full cover story on the film.

[roguestorm]

I made this post a long time ago (don’t remember if it was this blog or an earlier iteration) about Reed Richards and how the fact that I hate Reed Richards really has less to do with Reed Richards and more to do with me.

I can say “Reed is a terrible husband” or “Reed locked people up without trial during Civil War” and I can pull panels to prove my point but like ultimately. Reed being a terrible husband is one interpretation of a range of events that happen over several decades and several writers, and it’s ridiculous to act like “he’s a terrible husband” is somehow fact.

And while “Reed locked people up without trial during Civil War” is fact, almost every big two comic book character has done unforgivable things at the hand of some writer or another and which ones you extend grace to or acknowledge the real-world circumstances of is going to depend a lot on your own biases. I’m biased against Reed because he reminds me of an authority figure/archetype I don’t like, so I’m gonna hold it against him. But if you tell me that Emma Frost was literally a supervillain who manipulated people’s minds, imprisoned them, and had some fucked up racist stories, I’m going to start explaining the real-world circumstances and why you can’t judge the character based off of it, etc. Because I like Emma.

I don’t really think there’s a cure for this or a way around it, and I don’t think that there always needs to be. Me hating Reed Richards doesn’t actually hurt anyone, as long as I’m not in the inboxes of Fantastic Four fans being mean. I think the only thing we can do as fans is remember that we all have our biases and acknowledge that they’re gonna color the way we interact with certain characters.

Sometimes, biases are rooted in larger types of bias, like ableism or misogyny or racism. I used Reed as an example because I think that it illustrates that not all biases are based in larger issues; I’m definitely not being secretly misogynistic in hating the guy. So I think there are more or less harmless ones; some guys you just don’t like. But sometimes you will have a bias that’s motivated by larger structural forces and in that case, you might want to start thinking about how you could overcome or correct that bias.

[indominusavenger]

Looking back at Civil War and Homecoming, I found intriguing parallels at their endings. When Tony arrives back at the Avengers Compound, he looks at the Avengers symbol with what I'd describe as disdain but I think it's mostly regret and pain. Then, fast forward to Homecoming's finale at the Compound and when Peter sees it, his face lights up. He looks hopeful, happy, excited. I find these as interesting comparisons. Here they are side by side for you to see what I'm talking about.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Do you see what I mean? I want to believe these are intentional because we end Civil War on a somber note-the Avengers are divided, Tony comes home defeated after being stranded in Siberia and he found out the truth about his parents' deaths. What's there to believe in anymore of Earth's Mightiest Heroes? And then, we get to Homecoming. At this point, several months have passed and Spider-Man has just taken down his first major supervillain and saved Iron Man's tech. Tony Stark requested Peter's presence at the Compound and this is the first time he gets to see the place. There's a hope of rekindling of sorts with his mentor. So now, we're embracing a more hopeful tone once we see the Avengers symbol again. To me, that's an important contrast.

The resentment, hurt, and defeat we see from Tony's view reflects that lost hope in the Avengers, in a way. From the veteran Avenger who is tired and tried his best to keep the team together, we feel his shame and suffering at the downfall of his best laid plans. Now, moving onto Peter, we regain that hope and enthusiasm in the Avengers because that's how he sees this team of heroes as an outsider. He's a new recruit, a young aspiring superhero that wants to fit into that world and where better than in the Avengers by Iron Man's side? He's the most relatable of the main characters because his perspective matches that of the audience; we see the Avengers with that same hope, reverence, etc. They feel untouchable, other-worldly in a sense. I think it's also supposed to be a hint from Marvel that just because of the current conditions with the Avengers at that time, they would be back together soon and not all hope is lost, hence Infinity War. But at the moment, it's simply a subtle nod to that. Notice how hope keeps coming up as the key word in this post? I conclude that this theme of hope is supposed to reflect the way we as humans work; we may lose hope due to unfortunate circumstances, however, deep inside, that feeling of hope still lingers and stirs within us. That's why it was the last thing in Pandora's Box and I think it serves to remind us that it's always there, no matter what happens. It's so integral to us, even superheroes.