In a way, this year's "end of an era" epic is a sequel and perhaps a culmination to all of these previous stories and character arcs, most especially Infinity War. But, the aspect of this grandiose "conclusion" of sorts that I wish to focus on is the sense in which it has potential to be the long-awaited follow-up to Civil War, which is at the heart of the "everything is falling apart" quality of over half of the movies in the latter years of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the heart of this conflict are two "brothers in arms" whose tense and ever-evolving relationship has always been a central tie to the whole MCU: Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. The last series of posts has motivated me to, again, spread this out across a series of four posts.
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| Major Spoilers ahead for Captain America: First Avenger, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Avengers. |
So, let's review their story...
- Steve's Story Begins (First Avenger): As Steve story begins, he is a young man who is weak in body, but strong in conviction and with a firmly fixed moral compass. This leads Dr. Abraham Erskine, his "surrogate father" figure, to select him for the super soldier project underway during the Second World War. Erskine gives him his defining lesson the night before the procedure, telling him that the strong man is easily corrupted, while "a weak man knows the value of strength and he knows compassion," but most importantly, whatever happens, Steve is told, "always remain who you are, not a perfect soldier, but a good man." Steve is chosen as one capable of not being corrupted by being made into a "perfect soldier," not only because of his weakness, but even more because he is a good man. The central lesson driving his quest to defeat WWII-era Hydra (an evil organization presently under the leadership of Red Skull, which has attached itself to the Nazi regime, during that time in history) is essentially one of integrity. Steve is called to remain living consistently the deepest truth of who he is, demonstrating fortitude by persevering in the good whatever the obstacles, to remain essentially a good man. This phase of the story concludes when he is presumed dead, after sacrificing himself to crash land a Hydra plane full of explosives, in order to save countless lives. Although, the bookends of the story tell us he was frozen in the ice around the crash site, only to later be thawed out by S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Tony's Change of Heart (Iron Man 1 & 2): A few decades later, the son of the principal technician on the super soldier project that turned Steve into Captain America is all grown. His story begins as essentially the opposite of Steve's. Rather than preserving a seemingly natural goodness, Tony is in great need of making a change. A headline we see early in the movie describes him as a "prodigal son," as we see him living a self-centered lifestyle, careless of any kind of moral or even social standards. A near death experience leaves him severely wounded, only saved by a device implanted in his chest, which prevents shrapnel from entering his heart and taking his life. This becomes an often not very subtle image of Tony being given a "new heart." Meanwhile, the technician (Yensin) who created this device is soon revealed to be a sympathetic figure, also held captive by Tony's abductors, and essentially becomes the "surrogate father" figure. Yensin lays down his life in helping Tony escape and the defining lesson he gives to Tony is even simpler: "Don't waste it." As Tony realizes the gift Yensin has given, he is immediately told "Don't waste it... Don't waste your life, Stark." This prompts him to create the Iron Man persona, which enables him to begin to right some of the wrongs done by his family's years of arms dealing. Meanwhile, his constant upgrading of both his Iron Man suit and his "new heart" allow him to be a tangible image of conversion as an ongoing process. But, we see how one of the few people in his life who genuinely motivates him to want to be a better man is the assistant with whom he is clearly in love, Pepper Potts. When she quite appropriately turns him down after his first significant victory, he is thrust inward once more, immediately turning "Iron Man" from a path to redemption to a vehicle for his own ego. Thus, the sequel opens with Tony in a state of relapse, returning to his utterly self-centered ways. But, this relapse becomes quite illuminative of the process of ongoing conversion, which involves a process of ongoing healing. Behind the scenes, we see that his heart is beginning to die. Before long, S.H.I.E.L.D. enters the picture, in the form of Natasha Romanoff, Agent Phil Coulson (who was around after Tony first returned from captivity) and the director himself, Nick Fury. Having known and worked with Tony's father, Nick helps Tony to explore his "father wound," especially at the prompting of a villain whose roots go back to Tony's father. Of course, Fury has his own motivations, as he is manipulating Stark into experimenting with recreating the raw materials of an Infinity Stone (a fascinating little part of the story), but also to determine whether Tony can be a fitting candidate for the "Avengers Initiative," which proposes to one day unite a team of extraordinary heroes, who can "fight the battles that we can't." Meanwhile, Tony relies heavily on the influence of Pepper and his friend Rhodey, who finally stands up to him and is willing to no longer tolerate his self-destructive behavior, which is also quite dangerous to others. Thus, Tony's process of healing and ongoing conversion is ultimately preparing him to enter into a kind of communion. While he still has much growth ahead of him, his relative readiness is indicated both by him "solving the mystery of his heart" and by the fact that he finally is able to commit and enter a "steady relationship" with Pepper.
- Reluctant Allies (Avengers): Steve and Tony finally meet when Loki arrives from the far reaches of space, seeking the same Infinity Stone, which Red Skull used to make powerful weapons in Steve's story and which Tony was given the task of trying to recreate its raw material in his story. Fury and company recruit them both for the "Avengers Initiative" to combat this threat. The apparent duplicity of S.H.I.E.L.D. challenges Steve's unwavering goodness and faith in the inherent goodness of mankind (despite the pervasiveness of evil), and similarly stirs up Tony's own trust issues deriving from his father. Of course, Loki very effectively plays the role of the tempter and accuser, seeking to exploit all of the natural tension that already exists between these very different individuals. The process of watching these two come to blows and only gradually learning to view one another as genuine allies is a rich image of the messiness that often marks human community. Steve's convictions seem too old-fashioned to some, causing Stark and others to initially not take him very seriously, until they see his genuine leadership and ability to bring the best out of others. Likewise, the sincerity of Tony's ongoing process of conversion begins to become evident, until even Steve sees that he is indeed willing "to make the sacrifice play."
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| Oh yeah, and they get to work with this guy. |
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