By Ben “Zombie” Bedgood

Captain America: Civil War is right around the corner. The conflict between these two heroes has caused quite a bit of debate as to Team Iron Man or Team Captain America: a debate and rivalry that even the ComicsOnline crew hasn’t been spared from.

Before I explain why I support Team Iron Man, I want to lay a few things out. Captain America: Civil War is not out yet and the full extent of the story and plot are not yet known. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has differed from the comic story lines a bit. This is my current standpoint and is subject to change once I have seen the movie and have all of the details. As you read on, I will ask one thing of you: please read my statements in full and don’t rage quit. If, when you are done, you want to email me some nastygram or comment on here, feel free!

With all of that out of the way: Yes, I support Tony and Team Iron Man. I supported the ideals of the Registration Act in the comics and, from what I have seen in the trailers, I still support Tony.

So let’s look at the trailer. It shows the Avengers being presented the collateral damage they have caused worldwide to date. It shows Tony stating that he is supporting something called the Sokovia Accords. We can assume that they are named after the battle of Sokovia, from Age of Ultron. The idea of the the Accords in the movie seems to be similar to the Registration Act in the Civil War comics.

The world is afraid of super-powered beings and the potential for damage they can cause. In the same trailer we see Tony state “We need to be put in check.” We also see Captain America state “I’m sorry, Tony. I see a situation going south, I can’t ignore it.” These two lines make up the foundation of why I support Tony/Iron Man in the upcoming movie.

In Iron Man we saw downtown L.A. leveled in a fight between Iron Man and Stane. There were at least tens of thousands of dollars worth of property damage and most likely more than a few civilian injuries. In Thor we saw “A small town leveled in a grudge match” to quote Nick Fury. In Avengers the amount of damage and loss of life in the City of New York is incalculable. In Winter Soldier we saw massive damage, civilian injury and loss of life throughout the whole movie. Then we come to Age of Ultron, and we all saw the damage done to Sokovia.

Throughout all of the movies there has been incident after incident of massive damage. These were done by heroes trying to save the day without care or thought to the damage their actions cause to the property and populations of these cities. This collateral damage is part of why I agree that heroes need to be put in check.

I also look at the Avengers and other heroes as the highest form of law enforcement in the world. In the U.S. we have checks and balances between different levels of law enforcement. The FBI cannot just walk into a local jurisdiction and take over a robbery. Sure, they can offer assistance, but the local police need to either allow them in or ask for their help. Why can’t we ask the same of what is effectively the highest form of law enforcement around?

If the Sokovia Accords state that our heroes cannot just show up to a disaster and help out but that they need to be invited in, then I support it. I don’t think it would say that our heroes can’t offer help and wait for it to be accepted, or even wait nearby to be permitted in. To tell super-powered individuals they need to be invited in to deal with a situation is not too much to ask, I believe. It is the same standard we have for the UN, the WHO, NATO and many others.

Now when Captain America states “I’m sorry, Tony. I see a situation going south, I can’t ignore it,” that tells me that from Captain’s standpoint he does not have respect for local governments, local law enforcement, or local military. In turn, he holds himself above everyone else. This mentality and ideal is not okay, especially for one of “Earth’s mightiest heroes.” Look at it this way: If this was a group of people who were not “superheroes,” and who felt they knew better, and were fighting against the authority of the land, they would be seen as a terrorist group or cell. Unfortunately, due to his words and actions, this is how I see Captain in the upcoming movie.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I will be the first to state that history is written by the victors. However, if this movie follows the same basic plot of the comic, Tony and his team will come out as the winners, but not without great cost. The other argument I have heard is that Tony was responsible for creating Ultron so he is the one who has caused more widespread damage than any other. This fact would obviously make him a hypocrite and I don’t disagree at all; however, someone being a hypocrite doesn’t make the words they speak or ideals they support any less true. Would you disagree with a drunk who has gotten sober and says “Alcohol can ruin lives”? Or a formerly incarcerated criminal who says “Robbing people is wrong and hurts the innocent”? I don’t think you would. I know I wouldn’t.

Even accepting Tony “the hypocrite” as the spokesperson for the Sokovia Accords, I stand by the ideals of it. Some may say I am supporting tyranny over freedom in this. However, if supporting tyranny means that super-powered individuals are being held to a standard and held accountable, then yes I do. I support freedom, but not at the cost of other people’s lives or happiness. If my home or work place were leveled in a super fight, I could be homeless without the means to support myself. I would be left with no means to correct it, no authority to appeal to, and all of it at the hands of a bunch of “Heroes” who aren’t accountable to anyone or anything. That only equates to freedom for a super-powered person, not for those they claim to protect.

Now that I have spoken my piece (and I hope you read my viewpoints objectively), you are free to send me all the hate mail you want. As long as you are not vulgar or personally derogatory, I promise you I will read it and may even respond. Feel free to send it here: [email protected].

If you want to hear the other side of this argument, one of my fellow ComicsOnline writers has written a rebuttal article for #TeamCaptainAmerica. You should be able to find it here: Team Cap