Domenika Marzione (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
domarzione) wrote2016-01-30 05:58 pm
domarzione) wrote2016-01-30 05:58 pm
Entry tags:
Captain America: Civil War speculative meta
So there is a plot point in the comics Civil War storyline that I am pretty darned sure they are using in the movie, but... a thought problem investigation of how to do it best: easiest, traditional, or maximum impact:
The Death of Captain America. I’m willing to bet a shiny wooden nickel on Steve dying in the movie, to be resurrected during Infinity Wars but with either Bucky or Sam filling in as Cap in the interim. And that maybe this image is in preparation for this one.
In the comics, Steve is murdered while doing a perp walk after surrendering at the end of the Civil War, shot to death before hundreds of live witnesses and millions on TV. He is shot by a sniper (Crossbones, although Sam initially thinks Bucky did it), throwing himself in front of bullets that would have otherwise fatally hit his guards -- he dies a hero, even in handcuffs, in the arms of his longtime love, Sharon Carter.
But that’s just what everyone saw. What actually happened is this: Sharon, under mind control, delivered the fatal wounds up close (or ‘fatal’ because Steve was undeaded later on). Steve didn’t die from Crossbones’s bullets, he died from Sharon’s. And she quickly remembers this, along with realizing (a) she’s still controlled by Doctor Faustus and (b) Steve knew and forgave her before he died, which does nothing for her mental health -- especially because she’s pregnant with Steve’s child at the time.
So now let’s look at the movie version of Steve’s death, assuming it still comes on the perp-walk after the fighting is over and after one last argument with Tony.
Easiest
The simplest way to do things is to just have Brock Rumlow shoot Steve on the steps, as he does, and have those be the bullets that kill him. They are presumably not going the Doctor Faustus route in the movies -- it would require far too much setup and I heard he was being used in Agents of SHIELD and that all but eliminates him from the movies. Brock is around, Brock is angry, Brock is capable and a lot scarier in the MCU than the loopy lucha libre he is in the comics. Brock is Steve's murderer, everyone grieves, Bucky goes hellbent for Tony, we move on to either BuckyCap or FalconCap, Steve returns from Valhalla in time for Infinity Wars to end.
Traditional
It's not that hard to follow the comics and have Sharon, under some influence other than Faustus, shoot Steve. During the Civil War in the comics, Sharon doesn't actually choose Steve's side --or Tony's -- she chooses her own. Sharon is work-first and Steve respects that, even if he doesn't like it sometimes, which is why they are on-again/off-again. Steve and Sharon love each other, but Captain America and Agent 13 are occasionally at odds and that's usually where the problems arise. Steve isn't angry at Sharon during the Civil War, although he makes it clear that he doesn't think much of her choice to remain at SHIELD and be part of the effort to take down unregistered superheroes. Sharon, for her part, makes it clear she doesn't think much of Steve's choice to foment insurrection and cause mass collateral damage. But they also have these conversations (a) when she's bailing him out of trouble and (b) when they run off to have a quickie, so... Bottom line, Sharon is at Steve's side when he dies because she's with SHIELD in the arresting party and Steve's not mad about it.
How do you turn this into the MCU version without the Sharon/Steve backstory? All you have to do is start Sharon/Steve, really, which they have done and will continue to do. Sharon is at Steve's side at various points in the bits of the movie we've seen. And then you co-opt Sam's decision to register and move it up on the timeline. In the comics, Sam registers after Steve's death so he can be present at the official funeral, so that Steve has a friend at the end. He takes a little crap for the choice at the unofficial wake, but everyone understands. Give that side-switching to Sharon before Steve's surrender, but respect her history and have her do it because she feels its necessary, even if that necessary is because Steve asked her to. There's a way to look at this production still and have Sharon doing what Natasha can't, not as Steve and Sam's ally. That preserves her agency and puts her armed at Steve's side during the perp walk. The only thing that they absolutely cannot do is have Sharon be HYDRA of her own free will -- she shoot Steve because she can't control her actions, not because she is secretly evil.
Maximum Impact
I'm a big fan of Steve/Sharon in the comics, but getting them to a similar point in the movies would require too much work in an already overstuffed film. So for compactness-in-storytelling reasons, it makes sense to cede Sharon's role in Steve's death to someone with a more established relationship. Someone Steve has long trusted and respected and admired and, maybe, even loved a little in a platonic way because he might be emotionally constipated, but that just means it can't come out easily, not that it's not there. Someone he has been through hell with, someone he has fought alongside, someone who has seen him at his most vulnerable and someone he, in turn, has seen at their most vulnerable -- and it's the latter that matters more because it's a greater concession because they have had to fight like hell to get where they are and vulnerability is not something they've ever allowed themselves. Someone who likes Steve as a person, respects Captain America as a warrior, and still doesn't choose to follow him into the breach because they don't think it's a winnable war and it will come with a lot of collateral damage. Someone who chooses to stay with SHIELD even if it means friends become enemies.
Natasha kills Steve.
Natasha is on Tony's side in the comics and in the movie, although she's not doing it because it's Tony. I've previously written some fic on why she might make this choice [justifying to Steve | justifying to Clint] and the pragmatism angle fits Natasha in the MCU as it did in the comics. She sees the big picture and understands that a moral stand will do nothing in the end and she's used to sublimating what she personally thinks is right for what is necessary. She knows Tony is right, no matter how much she dislikes it.
Also, she has a history of being under mind control, or at least of not being in control of herself, and the impact of it happening again would be tremendous even if it didn't come with the double-tap of her using her skills to murder a friend. There is no Doctor Faustus, but we don't know anything of what they're doing with Baron Nemo, who is the secret Big Bad in this movie, and giving him means to control Natasha is hardly out of the realm of the possible.
And even if they turned her 'murder' of Steve into the ultimate vehicle of his resurrection -- we will skip the batshittery of how Steve was brought back in the comics -- it won't help her any more than it helped Sharon.
(also available at: ao3 | tumblr)
The Death of Captain America. I’m willing to bet a shiny wooden nickel on Steve dying in the movie, to be resurrected during Infinity Wars but with either Bucky or Sam filling in as Cap in the interim. And that maybe this image is in preparation for this one.
In the comics, Steve is murdered while doing a perp walk after surrendering at the end of the Civil War, shot to death before hundreds of live witnesses and millions on TV. He is shot by a sniper (Crossbones, although Sam initially thinks Bucky did it), throwing himself in front of bullets that would have otherwise fatally hit his guards -- he dies a hero, even in handcuffs, in the arms of his longtime love, Sharon Carter.
But that’s just what everyone saw. What actually happened is this: Sharon, under mind control, delivered the fatal wounds up close (or ‘fatal’ because Steve was undeaded later on). Steve didn’t die from Crossbones’s bullets, he died from Sharon’s. And she quickly remembers this, along with realizing (a) she’s still controlled by Doctor Faustus and (b) Steve knew and forgave her before he died, which does nothing for her mental health -- especially because she’s pregnant with Steve’s child at the time.
So now let’s look at the movie version of Steve’s death, assuming it still comes on the perp-walk after the fighting is over and after one last argument with Tony.
Easiest
The simplest way to do things is to just have Brock Rumlow shoot Steve on the steps, as he does, and have those be the bullets that kill him. They are presumably not going the Doctor Faustus route in the movies -- it would require far too much setup and I heard he was being used in Agents of SHIELD and that all but eliminates him from the movies. Brock is around, Brock is angry, Brock is capable and a lot scarier in the MCU than the loopy lucha libre he is in the comics. Brock is Steve's murderer, everyone grieves, Bucky goes hellbent for Tony, we move on to either BuckyCap or FalconCap, Steve returns from Valhalla in time for Infinity Wars to end.
Traditional
It's not that hard to follow the comics and have Sharon, under some influence other than Faustus, shoot Steve. During the Civil War in the comics, Sharon doesn't actually choose Steve's side --or Tony's -- she chooses her own. Sharon is work-first and Steve respects that, even if he doesn't like it sometimes, which is why they are on-again/off-again. Steve and Sharon love each other, but Captain America and Agent 13 are occasionally at odds and that's usually where the problems arise. Steve isn't angry at Sharon during the Civil War, although he makes it clear that he doesn't think much of her choice to remain at SHIELD and be part of the effort to take down unregistered superheroes. Sharon, for her part, makes it clear she doesn't think much of Steve's choice to foment insurrection and cause mass collateral damage. But they also have these conversations (a) when she's bailing him out of trouble and (b) when they run off to have a quickie, so... Bottom line, Sharon is at Steve's side when he dies because she's with SHIELD in the arresting party and Steve's not mad about it.
How do you turn this into the MCU version without the Sharon/Steve backstory? All you have to do is start Sharon/Steve, really, which they have done and will continue to do. Sharon is at Steve's side at various points in the bits of the movie we've seen. And then you co-opt Sam's decision to register and move it up on the timeline. In the comics, Sam registers after Steve's death so he can be present at the official funeral, so that Steve has a friend at the end. He takes a little crap for the choice at the unofficial wake, but everyone understands. Give that side-switching to Sharon before Steve's surrender, but respect her history and have her do it because she feels its necessary, even if that necessary is because Steve asked her to. There's a way to look at this production still and have Sharon doing what Natasha can't, not as Steve and Sam's ally. That preserves her agency and puts her armed at Steve's side during the perp walk. The only thing that they absolutely cannot do is have Sharon be HYDRA of her own free will -- she shoot Steve because she can't control her actions, not because she is secretly evil.
Maximum Impact
I'm a big fan of Steve/Sharon in the comics, but getting them to a similar point in the movies would require too much work in an already overstuffed film. So for compactness-in-storytelling reasons, it makes sense to cede Sharon's role in Steve's death to someone with a more established relationship. Someone Steve has long trusted and respected and admired and, maybe, even loved a little in a platonic way because he might be emotionally constipated, but that just means it can't come out easily, not that it's not there. Someone he has been through hell with, someone he has fought alongside, someone who has seen him at his most vulnerable and someone he, in turn, has seen at their most vulnerable -- and it's the latter that matters more because it's a greater concession because they have had to fight like hell to get where they are and vulnerability is not something they've ever allowed themselves. Someone who likes Steve as a person, respects Captain America as a warrior, and still doesn't choose to follow him into the breach because they don't think it's a winnable war and it will come with a lot of collateral damage. Someone who chooses to stay with SHIELD even if it means friends become enemies.
Natasha kills Steve.
Natasha is on Tony's side in the comics and in the movie, although she's not doing it because it's Tony. I've previously written some fic on why she might make this choice [justifying to Steve | justifying to Clint] and the pragmatism angle fits Natasha in the MCU as it did in the comics. She sees the big picture and understands that a moral stand will do nothing in the end and she's used to sublimating what she personally thinks is right for what is necessary. She knows Tony is right, no matter how much she dislikes it.
Also, she has a history of being under mind control, or at least of not being in control of herself, and the impact of it happening again would be tremendous even if it didn't come with the double-tap of her using her skills to murder a friend. There is no Doctor Faustus, but we don't know anything of what they're doing with Baron Nemo, who is the secret Big Bad in this movie, and giving him means to control Natasha is hardly out of the realm of the possible.
And even if they turned her 'murder' of Steve into the ultimate vehicle of his resurrection -- we will skip the batshittery of how Steve was brought back in the comics -- it won't help her any more than it helped Sharon.
(also available at: ao3 | tumblr)