Captain America: Civil War – BIG RANT and many plot spoilers inside (you should save your time and money and not see it now)

[Zanten]

So, as peviously warned, this is going to be a big'un, and as such I've divided it into two posts. The first is a bit of a 'recap' on both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' histories and personalities throughout their prior movie appearances, focusing on details that will come into play during Civil War. The second post will cover Civil War itself, and how all those chickens from previous movies come home to roost.

Keep in mind this isn't intended to be a 'YOU MUST AGREE WITH ME AND LIKE THE MOVIE!' kind of thing, as given your reasons for disliking it, there's nothing here that will actually make you LIKE the direction taken. The reason this ended up so long is it was kind of enjoyable to look back on the prior Marvel films, to see the point we've reached. As I said before, though, I sincerely believe the actions and motivations of both characters are- though hardly ethically flawless or even particularly bright- certainly understandable and consistent, given their prior experiences. I.e. they do stupid things, but it's not out of character when held up against what they've done, and what's been done to them. There are smaller details that can be hashed out as well- motivations of side characters, etc- but this sodding thing is long enough, so if wanted, we can discuss it later on. xP

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So! Let's look at the histories of the two main players in Civil War. Tony Stark, from the very beginning, was unfettered by much of anything; he was rich, brilliant, handsome, and as such pretty much did whatever the heck he wanted. So there was lots of drinking, gambling, random sex, and zero responsibility, as he used his intellect to crank out ingenious weapons to profit the company. That is, until he came face to face with the pain, terror and destruction his actions, and his carelessness, enabled; the things he had created, with whatever intention, were being used to spread fear and misery. This was what spurred him to change his ways, to take responsibility and ultimately become Iron Man.

But he only changed to a degree. Sure, now he was a one-man army rather than a self-centered playboy, but he still HANDLED everything like a self-centered playboy. At the end of the second Iron Man film, SHIELD's assessment led to the judgement 'Iron Man, approved... Tony Stark, not approved.' =P Technically speaking, the only reason the Avengers Initiative was pulled from the mothballs- and Tony brought into it- was because Loki was actively invading, and Fury was out of options. And even then, he got in a pissing contest with Thor in the woods, hacked SHIELD's database within minutes or arriving on the helicarrier, and repeatedly tried to get Banner to 'Hulk Out' which I think everyone would agree is an INCREDIBLY stupid thing to do.

Iron Man 3 showed us more of his temper and willingness to incite violence, when he gives his address to the public in order to dare the Mandarin to come after him in the wake of significant personal loss. It also showed us his carelessness, as despite giving his address to a notorious terrorist, he couldn't be assed to prepare a proper defense, and so promptly gets his house blown to smithereens, and is very nearly killed in the process. Again, SO dumb.

So. Independant streak a mile wide. Careless. Arrogant. Reckless. And, at times, wrathful. But in all these films, either everything turned out all right in the end, or at most Stark was the only one who really suffered from his own mistakes and stupidity.

But then he took things too far. Just because he could, (and despite Banner's initial reluctance,) he created Ultron, (reckless) without consulting anyone BUT Banner, (arrogant) and without even being on hand during the final sodding tests. ("Yeah, Jarvis, you handle it, I gotta party to go to." Careless.) Scarlet Witch used her powers to brain zap him, certainly, but her influence only ever seemed to bring out what was already in each character. Black Widow's deep-rooted fears about her past and sterility, Steve's nostalgia for his old life, Thor's... sequel bait... and of course Hulk's rage unfettered. Even if she loosened the bolts in Tony's brain, what came pouring out of it to create Ultron was all his, and he knew that.

Now think back to the first movie; Tony Stark, upon coming face to face with the suffering caused by his carelessness, radically changes his behavior, going from carefree party-boy to one-man armored army. Ultron, and Sokovia, was essentially the first time since that desert cave where he had to face it all over again. Tony's actions, his carelessness and his big ol' brain, led to a catastrophe just as destructive and bloody as anything Tony's old weapon program had spawned.

So, just like the first Iron Man movie, Tony felt compelled to change, which at the end of the second Avengers movie simply manifests in his decision to 'retire' and try to stop doing Iron Man-y things at all, removing the temptation and restraining his ability to screw things up.

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Now, Steve Rogers. The first film begins with his stubborn attempts to enlist in the army despite repeatedly being turned away. While this might be seen as admirable- he wants to serve his country, contribute to the war effort, etc- I wouldn't say he was doing the right thing, even then. The aptitude tests he failed existed for a reason; not simply to keep him safe from just getting uselessly killed, but also because if he couldn't run fast enough, pick up heavy enough objects, or otherwise perform properly, he would put every man he served with in danger.

Put simply, pre-serum Steve did NOT have what it took, but he was determined to join the army anyway. Why? Because he didn't want to leave the fighting up to other people, even if they were better suited for it. =P He was never able to just let other people 'take care of things,' regardless of how qualified they were, and even his time as a mascot was something he tolerated only because 1) arguably selling war bonds was at least HELPING, and 2) his desire to be in the thick of it clashed with the thought that he should be a good soldier and follow orders.

The movie also demonstrated another key trait to his character; his fierce loyalty to Bucky, and it's hard not to figure out why. Barnes had likewise been loyal to him, from a very young age, and might have even been the only close friend pre-serum Steve had. When post-serum Steve finds out that Bucky, along with other soldiers, has been taken by the enemy, he promptly ignores any orders, any chain of command, enlists some help and air drops into enemy territory, despite having absolutely zero combat experience beyond chasing down one spy. Why? Because they had Bucky. Sure, they also had OTHER guys there, and Steve might well have gone anyway, but... well, he seemed to be 'following orders' by remaining a mascot (even if he saw himself as a performing monkey,) up until Barnes was in danger. At which point he drops everything, and does something reckless and stupid.So he saves Barnes, they and some others form the Howling Commandos, and after many adventures... Barnes is killed, at least seemingly. Not only killed, but in a way where Steve was there, saw him in trouble, and simply couldn't get to him in time to save him. Not being able to defend and protect someone who had meant the world to him, and had his back countless times, would inevitably have had a tremendous impact.

After he wakes up in the present day, he tries to get back into the swing of things, though it's worth noting that even in the Avengers he went so far as to snoop around the Helicarrier to see what they were hiding, rather than just taking everything at face value. And it's also worth noting that, first chance they get, the 'Security Council' Fury answers to decided 'Screw It, We're Gonna Nuke New York' first chance they got, something Steve, or Fury for that matter, never would have agreed to.

Which leads us to The Winter Soldier, the Russo brothers' prior film and- therefore not surprisingly- the biggest source of examples on Steve's behavior. Two major developments happen here. The first is that Steve, after trying to remain a good soldier by following the orders of SHIELD, obeying their instructions, their guiding hand... finds out that Hydra had been spreading through the organization for decades, while the group SUPPOSED to oversee them remained blissfully unaware. It was only by operating outside the law that Steve and Friends were able to prevent a catastrophe that would have seen thousands dead and Hydra emerge as a dominant force, and this success was entirely because Steve didn't put his trust in an authority figure like Fury's friend-turned-betrayer, and instead relied on his own judgement, with the help of his closest allies.

The second, of course, is the return of Barnes as the Winter Soldier. Now, Steve does fight him, but there are only two instance he's really got his 'heart' in it. The first is before he knows who the Winter Soldier actually is, when he's coming to Black Widow's defence. The second is when the trio of helicarriers are seconds away from killing countless people, and he NEEDS to get up to that freaking catwalk. But the moment the 'day is saved,' and the only thing Steve has on the line is his own life? He stops fighting. Drops his shield, refuses to confront his friend, willingly gets pummeled in the face by a VERY strong metal arm because he simply refused to fight Barnes. And this was without ANY real proof or hint that anything was actually left of Barnes' mind, as this was all before Barnes dragged his unconscious body onto the shore. Steve was fully aware that his refusal to fight, to even defend himself, could very well lead to his death and possibly let a dangerous assassin run free. So why didn't he fight? Part 2 shall explain! =P