Do more people like Captain America or Iron Man?

With Captain America: Civil War coming out, the thing that everyone has been talking about is Captain America vs. Iron Man.  And not surprisingly, my brother and I are on total opposite sides of the argument.  So I thought it would be fun to share our discussion with all of you and see whose side you are on!  His arguments are in favor of Iron Man and are in red.  Mine are for Captain America in blue.

*I will admit that my brother, Thomas, is much more versed in Marvel than I am.  So odds are that he may have had the better argument.  But I want to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Who do you think is the better superhero?

Iron Man. Hands down. We can break this down into multiple different categories, but Iron Man wins basically all of them. Strength? Sure Captain America is strong (due in full to glorified steroids), but Iron Man is robot strong. Cap can lift weights staggeringly heavy compared to a normal human, but Iron Man is limited just based on the technology. (http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Strength_Scale). Movement? Cap may be quicker on his feet, but how often do we see Iron Man run anywhere? He can fly, which gives him access to an entire 3rd dimension Cap can only access a few feet upwards by jumping. Iron Man can fly as fast as an airplane, while Cap can run a little bit faster than a normal person. Weaponry? Iron Man has a plethora of weapons, both lethal and non-lethal, that can handle infantry and armored units alike. Captain America has… a frisbee. Sidekick? Iron Man has War Machine, which is basically Iron Man but with huge freaking guns too. He also has J.A.R.V.I.S/Vision, an infinitely intelligent AI. Cap has an assassin (the Winter Soldier, who likely murdered Tony’s parents) and Falcon, a guy who can fly with jetpack wings.

Okay, so basically you’ve admitted that all of IronMan’s “superpowers” rely on technology.  That might be innovative and intelligent, sure, but it’s not being a true superhero.  Captain America, however he gained them, has legit powers.  You take the suit off of IronMan and you have literally nothing.  Captain America himself is powerful.  He has ridiculous strength and speed.  Cap can’t fly, but you know what?  He could if he just put on the Iron Man suit!  Because Cap’s power is inherent to his nature, it’s much more reliable and controllable than any technology.  And his “frisbee” is an indestructible shield that has come in handy numerous times.  And powers aside, there’s one important thing that goes into being a superhero that you forgot – and that’s the ability to be a leader, have a strong moral compass, come up with good strategy, and be someone that America can look up to.  Cap excels in this area and Iron Man just doesn’t.

Yes all of Iron Man’s “super powers” come from technology. So what? All of Captain America’s powers come from steroids! The only difference is Iron Man can take the suit off and Cap is beefed up 24/7. Also, the shield? Come on. Is it the Crusades? Are we fighting with swords and shields? No. The Iron Man suit has been proven to be bulletproof. All it would take is one henchman to get a shot off on Cap and it’s game over old man. 

I feel like we’re having the argument between Cap and Iron Man on the helicarrier in The Avengers. 

It’s hard to find a time in the MCU Iron Man doesn’t make the team play. Iron Man 1 he’s willing to blow himself up on the roof to kill War Monger, Iron Man 2, using the suit is literally killing him but he keeps going because he knows he’s needed, and at the end of The Avengers he carries a nuke into outer space to save NYC… At what point is Iron Man not a textbook hero? 

I’m not saying Iron Man is not a hero, just that Captain America is a better hero.  There are certainly some ways in which Iron Man is not the “textbook hero.”  He does a number of self-serving things and often makes errors in judgement that Captain America would not – for example, getting drunk at a party while wearing his suit.  Or, oh say… attempting to create Ultron??  Although he may not mean to he is often the cause of a lot of conflict, even if he is sometimes the resolution to it.  

Steve Rogers vs. Tony Stark

So super powers aside, let’s just look at Steve Rogers vs. Tony Stark.  Tony is a jerk.  He’s just not a likeable person.  He’s an obnoxious playboy who has been corrupted by money.  Whereas Steve Rogers is a humble, virtuous, caring man.  It’s his personality that inspires people to follow him.  They want Steve to be a leader based just on his personality and charisma.  Even Stan Lee prefers Steve Rogers – saying that “he’s the best pure-heart person in the world.” (http://www.latinospost.com/articles/74224/20150930/tony-stark-vs-steve-rogers-stan-lee-talks-captain-america.htm)  I’ll take someone pure of heart over a genius asshole any day.

I reiterate, “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” That sounds like someone I’d want to hang out with. Beginning of Iron Man, Tony was a jerk. Sure. That’s the point! It’s called a character arc. He goes from only caring about women and money at the start of the first movie, to trying to switch Stark Industries to a non-weapons-producing organization. He learns to appreciate Pepper, see the big picture about his legacy producing weapons. I mean the whole reason he wants to build Ultron is to shield the world! He has no desire to monetize it. Sure it didn’t work, but the point is he tried. The old Tony would have marketed it and sold it to the highest bidder. Steve is a goody two shoes from the get go. He has no arc. He goes from a skinny all American kid to a roided out all American soldier. Just flat-lines on “will never do anything bad or have any interesting character developments.” Tony is constantly trying to make amends for producing all the weapons he’s made and profited from. Steve is just perpetually boring. 

Tony is still a jerk and still has problems even if he’s improved – he’s not the type of person most people would want to follow into battle.  Just because you’d like to hang out with him doesn’t mean that he’s a good person – that says a lot more about you anyway!  Steve has a character arc too.  It’s about how good he is and the sacrifices he’s willing to make just to insure that good is upheld.  If you think Steve is just boring and a “goody-two shoes,” what do you expect Civil War to be like?  I think we’re going to see huge character development for him in this movie, as he struggles to figure out how to do what’s right even when it means going against the government and/or his friends.

The Registration Act

Speaking of which, let’s talk about that struggle – the registration act.  This requires superheroes to register with the government so they can be monitored.  IronMan is in favor of the registration act, Captain America is against it.  Cap has the right idea here.  Why would the superheroes want to be regulated by the government?  He’s seen how corrupt and awful the government can be.  Plus it seems like there are so many variables that would go into something like that.  What constitutes needing to be registered?  There are so many people with varying powers and abilities.  Plus people like Tony Stark and Ant-Man just get their powers from technology, so it seems like anyone could be a superhero if they had the suit.  And how do you require people to register if you don’t even know who they are?  All that would end up happening is the good guys will consent to register and all the villains they’re actually worried about will sneak around it.  It’s like the animagi in Harry Potter – people like McGonagall were actually registered, but there were tons of unregistered ones and they (Peter Pettigrew, Rita Skeeter) were the ones causing the problems anyway.  I don’t see a good reason for the government to require registration unless they have ulterior motives.

Oh excuse me that I think partying with a billionaire is more fun than playing pinochle with a 90 year old. The problem with Steve’s arc is that he wanted to be a soldier, he’s been a soldier, he’s never stopped being a soldier. Every movie so far (both his stand-alones and the two “Avengers” movies) all he does is follow orders. In “Winter Soldier” he begins to question authority but he still just goes along with whatever someone else tells him. I’m hoping that in “Civil War” they’ll finally explore him not being not a mindless drone incapable of free thought. 

It’s not about registering so they can be monitored. It’s about not being able to act with impunity. Whether those powers are biological or technological, there needs to be accountability. We don’t know what the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s version of the Superhero Registration Act will be. But is it really that bad that a group of people who are literally walking WMD’s have some responsibility? New York, DC, Wakanda, Sokovia… Hundreds if not thousands of civilians died. Sure the Avengers prevented a larger disaster, but you don’t blow up a building to stop a kidnapper. With government registration, heroes can get proper training, possibly preventing further loss of life. I mean think about gun control laws. Just because bad guys will get and use guns, does that mean we shouldn’t make anyone go through the proper channels?

Realistically, how many crimes have the Avengers committed? Every movie they are all committing multiple felonies. You can’t just run around New York City smashing buildings and shooting aliens. People need to be held responsible. That isn’t to say they should be arrested every time they fight a bad guy, but there has to be some middle ground between that and doing whatever they want.

You’re excused.  Also that’s exactly what I’m saying – Steve is bound to get a huge character arc in this upcoming film.  You say “Every movie so far all he does is follow orders.”  But that’s exactly what he won’t be doing in Civil War.  So I think we’ll see a very interesting struggle for him.

It’s true that we don’t know yet exactly how the registration act will play out in this new film.  But think about what you’re saying here.  Yes, sometimes our heroes have to do things that may not play by “the rules” but it’s for the greater good.  So all the villains would just take over and the superheroes couldn’t stop them.  I don’t disagree that training could be useful, but with powers that are so varied how would you even go about doing that?  Is there anyone that could even provide that type of training?  Also the Avengers would be a pretty boring movie if they weren’t allowed to run around New York City smashing buildings and shooting aliens.

Also, I know that many of the big superheroes are well known, but I’m sure there are still many people with powers who would prefer anonymity and for good reason.  Superheroes and people with powers easily become a target.  They may want to hide who they are to protect themselves, or their families.  The government is forcing them to out themselves.  Look at Mike Peterson on Agents of Shield and how many times his son was kidnapped and used to control him and his actions.  They should at least have a choice of whether or not they want to register.

In Conclusion:

Teams are totally unfair. Team Iron Man: Iron Man with guns, guy who has an infinity stone in his head making him essentially a God, an African King who has a suit made out of vibranium, Spider-Man (at least at one point, we know he flip flops in the comics), and Scarlett Johansson (unpowered). Team Cap: Sharon Carter & Hawkeye, both no powers. Bucky who just has a bionic arm (compared to a bionic everything for Iron Man and War Machine), guy who can fly (compared to 2 guys who can fly and have armor and a ton of weaponry), and guy who can make himself tiny. That seems pretty unfair. 

*Spoiler Alert* The comics wrap up with a dead Captain America, and Tony being named Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. So there’s that. 

This is Captain America’s film.  It’s named after him, so I have a hard time believing that he’s going to look bad in it.  He may not have the weapons and “all-powerful” people that Iron Man has, but he has more intangible things on his side, like fighting for what’s right and passionate people.

*Spoiler Alert* In the comics Captain America surrenders in order to save lives.  He may be dead but it’s pretty much established that he was the one in the right and Tony Stark was the villain of this story.

Are you looking forward to this film?  Whose side are you on?