Issue #13: Gian's Reflections on Captain America: Civil War (2016)

"One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Every American knows the Pledge of Allegiance, and the history of the pledge, originally written by socialist minister Francis Bellamy in 1892, is quite interesting (including the fact that Bellamy’s daughter objected to the words “under God” being added by President Eisenhower in 1954).
 
Most states require the recitation of the pledge in public schools, but although Americans all know the pledge, it’s easy to forget that it contains the word “indivisible.” Having been written not long after the Civil War, it’s not surprising that Bellamy included the word “indivisible.” That word recalls Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address from 1864 in which he so eloquently stated:
 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

 
Civil wars tear nations, and people, apart. Which brings me not only to Captain America: Civil War (2016, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo) but the very divided American nation. Most Americans were shocked by the attack on the nation’s capital as Congress was in the process of certifying President Biden’s electoral college victory. The attack emerged from an initially peaceful protest by Americans who felt that the 2020 presidential election had been rigged (despite there being no hard evidence to support that claim) and that President Trump was the rightful winner. The attackers hoped to stop Biden from being confirmed as the 45th U.S. President.
 
Civil wars have real costs. Five people died in the capital attack and dozens more were injured. America is, fortunately, not in a civil war, though many of people feared it might come to that. And if you drive around western Pennsylvania, where I teach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, you will still see Trump flags waving proudly from many homes. Americans are not at war, but they are divided, perhaps more so than ever in the country's history since the Civil War.

Just like the Avengers are divided in Civil War. Following the death and destruction of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the United Nations is preparing to pass the Sokovia Accords which will establish a U.N. panel to oversee and control the Avengers. Tony Stark (played superbly as always by Robert Downey Jr.) feels this will assure people that the Avengers only intend to serve the common good. Steve Rogers (played to perfection by Chris Evans) no longer trusts any government, especially after having learned how Hydra infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Stark tries to get Steve to sign the accords, but Steve refuses and the Avengers split up.
 
This leads to a classic superhero battle in Germany with Team Cap fighting against Team Iron Man. It’s a fun battle with a lot of classic Marvel banter spouted by delightful new hero entry Spider-Man (played like a true teenager by Tom Holland). It even includes a terrific moment in which Spidey grabs Cap’s shield, and Cap, despite the fight and the shield swiping, pauses to say:

Captain America: You got heart, kid. Where are you from?

Spider-Man: Queens!

Captain America [with a chuckle]: Brooklyn!

 
If you like superhero battles, you can read all about them in my chapter “Who Is the Greatest Superhero: Using Comics to Explore the Concept of Heroism” in the fabulous book Comic Connections: Analyzing Hero and Identity (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017) edited by the equally fabulous Sandy Eckard. That book also contains a chapter by our third partner in heroism (rather than crime) Alex Romagnoli entitled “The Man with Identities: Utilizing Daredevil as an Artifact for Literary Analysis.”
 
Unfortunately, all the fun banter comes crashing to a halt when James Rhodes/War Machine (played nicely by Don Cheadle) accidentally gets blasted from the sky and nearly killed. Despite the colorful costumes, a civil war is never fun and Rhodes’ near death makes that hit home for every hero at the battle. Cap and his team quickly look to escape, and they only manage to do so because the Black Widow (played wonderfully again by Scarlett Johansson) changes sides.
 
This leads toward the climatic battle that pits Iron Man against Captain America and the Winter Solider/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan who increasingly embodies the role). Sandy always says she skips that final scene because she can’t bear to watch it. And it’s easy to understand why. This is not the fun-filled sparring of the earlier battle. The final fight is bloody and brutal. It has been carefully orchestrated by Helmut Zemo (played icily by Daniel Brühl) in an attempt to reek revenge upon the Avengers whom he blames for the death of his family. Zemo’s family were killed during the battle between the Avengers and Ultron in Sokovia, though as viewers we see that as Ultron’s fault not theirs. Knowing that he can’t possibly beat the Avengers himself, Zemo leads them into a trap where he shows them a secret videotape which he believes will send the heroes into a deadly battle against each other.

The video is extremely painful to watch, surely the darkest scene in the entire MCU. Having caused their car to crash on a deserted road, a brainwashed Winter Solider approaches the burning vehicle and then kills Tony’s parents, Howard (played by John Slattery) and Maria (played by Hope Davis). While we are not forced to watch the actual killing, we do hear Maria gasp “No.” True to Zemo’s wishes, this sends Tony into a blind rage and he attempts to kill Bucky. Steve tries to help Bucky flee, but Tony blocks his escape. This escalates the fight so that we see Cap and Bucky pound Iron Man over and over in a desperate attempt to subdue him.

But as vicious as the fight is, it’s the words the heroes hurl at each other that are the most vicious of all:
 

Steve: “Tony. Tony. It wasn’t him, Tony. Hydra had control of his mind.”

Tony [to Cap]: “Move.” [Tony flies at Bucky avoiding Cap’s attempt to stop him.]

Steve [calling after Tony]: “It wasn’t him.”

[Then, after more hard fighting:]

Steve: “This isn’t gonna change what happened.”

Tony: “I don’t care. He killed my mom.”

[And finally, after having pounded each other nearly senseless:]

Steve: “He’s my friend.”

Tony: “So was I.”

Lying on the ground where Steve has left him beaten, a bloodied Tony hits Steve with one last blow, the harshest of all:

Tony: “That shield doesn’t belong to you. You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield”

Cap looks upward, in a prayer-like moment, then gives a sad shrug of resignation and tosses the shield backward. It lands, now full of scratches, with a hard clang.

 
No one wins in a civil war. That’s the lesson. And we already know it. We learned it the hard way, long ago, with the deaths of so many Americans. And it’s always the same, no matter where a civil war is fought: Everybody loses.
 
So, as we begin 2021, I call on my fellow Americans to set aside their differences and start working together. We don’t need another civil war. We need to be indivisible.