Tony Stark, we all know him. He’s almost as famous in this universe as he is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, he was what put the entire Marvel train on the tracks.
But what if I told you that this staple in the cinematic history book would actually be a better character if he were portrayed as a bad guy?
With Captain America: Civil War on the horizon, it’s looking particularly likely that Cap and Iron Man are going to be squaring up and showing both of their respective “dark sides”. In the original comic story line – The Superhero Registration Act, it creates this divide between characters, where Iron Man (with his government connections) believes that super-humans should be made to register themselves and have their identity’s made public to continue crime fighting. Captain America takes the opposite view with his WWII beliefs; he thinks that everyone should be free.
In a film with Captain America in the title it is looking as if the side of freedom is the one in which the audience will be supporting. Meaning that for the first time, we are very likely to see Tony Stark as a bad guy – and here’s why it works:
Risk (Age of Ultron Spoilers Below)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has often been ridiculed for its lack of actual consequence. The first film in Phase 2 to have a character death that you even vaguely cared about was only earlier this year with Age of Ultron where Quicksilver dies, and even then you didn’t really get time to even like Quicksilver before he sacrificed himself – because most of the character development got cut. Even then, people are already asking, “I wonder how he is going to come back to life?” It’s gotten a bit out of hand.
Iron Man is Marvel’s baby – as the first Iron Man film put them on the map. But getting that one character that started it all and turning him into the enemy? Now that’s ballsy. People may finally see that marvel are taking risks and not just taking the easy road by killing characters and bringing them back to life within a few minutes of the movie.
What’s even better about making Tony Stark the bad guy? It actually makes sense…
It’s In Line With The Source Material
Iron Man has always been a character that has held himself accountable for his own actions. That was the whole reason for him becoming Iron Man in the first place. Protect the people who were misusing his weapons, because he realized that he felt bad about selling his weapons to terrorists.
Civil War doesn’t change his morals; it solidifies them. Showing us that he thinks that super-humans should register with the government so that they can be accountable for their actions. However, in a film based around Captain America, the idea of freedom will be emphasized on being more important than accountability. This means that Iron Man is the perfect villain. Just like all good villains, there is some amount of reliability. You can understand why they are doing what they are doing, but can also see why you think they’re wrong.
And finally…
A Clean Slate
Let’s be honest guys, as a trilogy, Iron Man has been a bit of a let down. Don’t get me wrong – the first Iron Man was amazing, and still one of the best (if not the best) films in the MCU. Iron Man 2, and 3, however, are not great movies, and in fact they let the first film down and make you care about Iron Man less as a character. When you look at Captain America, that is a character who’s first film was pretty good, second film was great, and the third film is looking like it will be amazing.
Iron man has fallen out of favor in recent years and I think that Captain America has possibly taken up that favorite character mantle. Making Iron Man the enemy gives him a fresh start to be a new style of character, a breath of fresh air that I think is well needed for that character.
Am I wrong? Am I right? Let me know in the comments below!
Also I’m interested… Which “goodie” do you think would be a good “baddie” in the MCU?