Captain America vs. 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.

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.

 

The Registration Act

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: