MONTHLY MARVEL MUSINGS
What 'Captain America: Civil War' needs to do (and avoid doing) to be great
I don't know if any of you noticed it, but Marvel Studios have been slowly pushing Captain America to be the figurehead of their cinematic-universe. Of course, RDJ's Tony Stark will always be the star, the poster boy - and while he (rightly) didn't dominate 'Avengers Assemble', he had the most screentime (and it's a credit to Whedon's script and direction, as well as the performances of the other actors, that he didn't dominate it). But if you look at the Marketing for 'Age of Ultron', Captain has been promoted to the front of the Poster - and of the Avengers team, his character Poster was the last unveiled. Going on this I had my suspicions that Marvel Studios were moving to put him up front and centre of the MCU, something I was entirely comfortable with as this is his role in the comics. He's not the Icon that Spiderman is, nor does he have the fan devotion of Wolverine or Deadpool - but when it comes to the story-lines that have a big impact on the whole Marvel Comics Universe it is Cap who is usually at the thick of things, giving the moral and steadfast leadership that even superheroes need to look up to. The most recent TV Ad (or TV Spot, to use the American Term), confirms that Captain America is pretty much the leader of the Avengers, and as such is the figurehead to the MCU that he always has been in the comics.
Going in to the movie version of 'Civil War', much has been made of RDJ negotiating a bigger role for himself, of whether Spiderman would feature, and which of the other characters will appear. I myself have done this (on more than one occasion), which makes it easy to wonder if this Captain America film will be about him enough to even bear his name. And when you think about the third entries in other Marvel character's movie series, that is a legitimate concern: think of how 'Spider-Man 3' and 'X-Men: The Last Stand' were let down by bloated, incoherent plots due to the inclusion of too many characters which left too little room to handle the various story arcs effectively. So straight away, each time a new actor or character is announced for this take on 'Civil War' my initial excitement is tempered by concern of the pitfalls that go with having so many characters.
I feel more confident, though, given how Marvel Studios have clearly moved the focus on to Captain America as a leader of heroes, that this is something they can overcome. Yes, it will be fun to see so many Marvel characters in one film, even seeing them take each other on; but there won't be any doubt that it is Cap they're looking to and following as they take a stand against the Superhero Registration Act. But I don't think this is enough - I believe that Marvel Studios needs to take significant steps away from the source material, other than its central premise (and maybe the odd story beat).
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| I don't know who made this image, but it is quite cool.... |
Aside from the obvious rights issues over including certain characters, the 'Civil War' comic arc arguably shouldn't be followed too closely by those making this film. For a start, the portrayal of Cap and Iron Man in the comic are very, very different to those in the film. It goes without saying there's years of history in the comics preceding this story, but it must be said that for the most part neither of these characters come off as particularly likable - both seem happy to throw other heroes' lives away, and - especially in Cap's case - seem to be rooted in their stance due to antagonism and belligerence, rather than ideals that put both of them in their respective positions of conflict.
Fortunately the movie versions of these characters are not quite like that, and hopefully the makers of this film won't let either of them get that way. Although it's easy to see how as, an actor, RDJ can turn up the douchey-ness of Stark - but hopefully not enough to obscure that there is an element of the pro-registration cause which is just: that is, the safety of innocent people. Like the comic story, there will likely be at least one occasion where Stark, in attempts to bring the anti-registration side to heel, will cross a line that makes it seem Cap and his team have the moral higher-ground. It will help with this if the makers are able to make Cap's motives for opposing the Registration Act clearer than the comic; in that version he is ordered by SHIELD to go hunt supers that won't declare themselves to the authorities, and when he refuses he goes on the run. It's as though his motivation is primarily that he was asked to do something he didn't want and threatened with jail for non-compliance, and took great umbridge with the fact!
This brings me to another potential pitfall that needs to be avoided: if they follow the comic too closely, it becomes 'Captain America goes on the run again' - and is that what we want to see after the brilliant 'Winter Soldier'? As good as that film was, it will feel cheap and a little lazy if most of Civil War puts Cap in that situation again. There will need to be an element of this to the story - after all, Cap and the anti-registration team are fugitives form the law - but hopefully it will be handled in such a way that it won't feel like a re-tread of 'The Winter Solder'.
Another key thing that the makers need to address is that it is Captain America who has top billing, this is part of his franchise - and as such needs to feel like it is a logical and satisfying continuation of his story. In terms of Cap's moral and political standing, the idea that people who have risked their lives to protect the innocent being treated as criminals is going to be something to explore Cap's standing in the modern world, just as they did with modern espionage and drone warfare in 'The Winter Soldier'. But then there's the more personal arcs to his character, such as his quest to find, 'rescue' and redeem his friend Bucky. Well, there are certain spoilerific rumours circulating out there (I won't link to them here, they're so spoilery!) that indicate this could have a key part to play in the film - and also to make the schism between Cap and Stark not just a political, but a personal one.
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| When Cap and Iron Man clash, it needs to not only be one of the most memorable and exciting moments of the MCU so far, but also the most heartbreaking. |
And this is very, very important. Because when the two come to blows (which has GOT to happen, no matter how far they diverge from the comic), it'll mean so much more than if it is just over the enactment of a Law. I think this fight is already going to be a hugely charged one for audiences - we've had almost 8 years of movies building up the on-screen relationship between these characters, we've seen them team up and fight alongside each other. When this film is released it will be out just a few weeks after another big-screen clash of major comic heroes, and it is because of the time audiences have spent with Cap and Stark by this point - that crucially they won't have done with Superman and Batman (no matter how good their film is) - that this could potentially be the conflict that has the biggest impact that year. And giving their conflict a personal element will make it even more fraught for audiences.
There are a number of memorable and exciting moments in the Civil War comic that I think would be great to see on screen (given that it's almost certain Spidey will be appearing in it, there's one particular exchange I really, really hope makes it in there). But having said that I think the makers of this film version shouldn't stick too much to the plot of the comic at all; for example, much has been made of the un-masking of Spiderman - to be honest they needn't include anything like that at all. If they can keep Captain America central in the midst of such a big ensemble of characters; make his and Stark's motivations clear and - crucially - relatable; and above all keep Cap's personal story developing, then I am confident this film will not only be the pivotal MCU event all the fans want it to be, but it will be a worthy sequel to 'The Winter Solder' and continuation of Captain America's story.
That's it for this month - more Marvel Musings in April, when I'll delve in to the Daredevil series!
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