stark-defense-squad

[stark-defense-squad]

My point is not to discuss whether or not Bucky deserves redemption or support, and it is not to blame Bucky for his actions.

My point is about Tony’s actions.

While people blame Tony for not accepting that Bucky’s not in control and is changed, they forget and ignore the fact that in less than 48 hours, Tony himself experienced proof to the opposite.

It does not matter whether or not if Cap told Tony Bucky had changed. Within less than 48 hours, Tony himself personally experienced proof that Bucky was still a dangerous active weapon. Tony’s actions and responses to Bucky are based off of that experience.

I always see Anti-Team Cap and Pro-Tony discuss how Tony attacking Bucky and Steve was justified and made sense, and yes, I totally agree with them, and regardless of the fact that Tony attacked Steve first because Steve was the one who lied and betrayed him, there is one thing that I haven’t seen be discussed much.

And it’s this scene right here:

Look at Tony’s face. Look at the shock and fear.

Bucky had no way of knowing that Tony could have protected himself, and he aimed right at Tony’s head. Look at the proximity of the weapon to Tony’s face. He could’ve blown his mind clear off if Tony wasn’t fast enough.

Tony had absolutely no way of knowing that Bucky “had changed” when literally just what? Days? Hours? Moments? ago, he could’ve died at Bucky’s hands.

That’s all I have to say.

[stark-defense-squad]

Lmao darling, baby, my little love, I fear you do not understand.

I am a poc woman, born, raised, and belonging to a country that the U.S. government considers subhuman barbarians. I do not give a single flying FUCK about some paper written by white, privileged, misogynistic, slaver men circa 300 years ago. Tell you what, this may come as a surprise to you, but no one outside your borders cares about it either 💀.

I’ve seen people, children, murdered for that piece of flea-ridden paper. Tell them about violating rights because of fear and prejudice. Tell them how numbers don’t matter. Tell them why your country’s crap paper is more important than their lives.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, those who support Rogers’ side are U.S. based propaganda-following dumbasses.

Stop using your shitly preserved toilet paper to justify violence against non-U.S. citizens.

Let’s talk Civil War.

(Ik. It’s been years. I’m sorry. I’m stuck in the past.)

Other than the fact that Tony’s side of the Accords is the non-contested accepted correct side in the entire fucking world except the USA (seriously, the entire world is telling you you’re wrong and you still insist otherwise? Maybe y’all’s really do belong on Team Cap), let’s dissect every Team Cap fan’s POV and rebut them.

1. The government should not impose on powered people’s freedoms.

Aside from the fact that this shows a fairly concerning blatant ignorance of the United Nations and all forms of international government, I can name on one hand the number of countries where “freedom” is portrayed as it is in the USA. Do you know what the stance on freedom is in the rest of the world? Your personal freedom ends at the safety of the community. (This is especially interesting during COVID and the vaccine and masking) Your life is your own, do whatever shit you want to do. No one gives a fuck if you want to eat ham or turkey for dinner. But when your “personal freedom” starts putting other’s lives at risk, it’s a fucking problem. It’s not “personal freedom” when you’re marching into a school wearing bombs. It’s not “personal freedom” when you start carrying a machine gun and threatening anyone you think is wrong. That is effectively what most of the Avengers are. They’re walking around with weapons and threatening anyone that doesn’t agree with them. And if you can’t see why that’s problematic, I don’t trust you.

2. The Government should not monitor individuals.

All governments monitor individuals and if you think otherwise, then I’m sorry but what fantasy world are you living in? Governments monitoring individuals is, usually, what leads to them catching terrorists before they blow up your local gas station or school. Governments monitoring individuals is an everyday occurrence in the entire fucking world and for due reason when people start threatening to murder world leaders or hate crime minorities. The Avengers getting monitored by the government is no different than any other civilian but for the crucial factor that the Avengers can and have acted on their threats based on personal disagreements.

3. The Government is corrupt.

This again just shows a blatant ignorance of international law and the United Nations, and, frankly, entitlement. The Accords were never going to give the United States government complete control over the Avengers when the initial problem was that US citizens were parading around with their weapons without any regard to international concerns. Further, even if any government is corrupt the way Hydra infiltrated the US government, the United Nations consists of 193 countries, 117 of them voted for the Accords, all of them would still have a say in what the Avengers do. Tell me, and use your logic please, how it could possibly be easier to corrupt 193 countries, the entire fucking world, than it is to corrupt 6 weaponized individuals all US citizens?

4. General Ross is known as the bad guy and therefore the Accords are bad because he supports them.

Correlation not causation. The Accords were written by at least 117 countries and amended by all 193 of them. Under international law, every country is allowed their representatives of their choosing, but all representatives must be present for something to actually pass. Meaning, yes, the US representative was a corrupt piece of shit, but there’s at least 192 other representatives (some countries choose to have multiple), thus, again, we go back to the argument of, is it easier to corrupt one individual or a whole board?

5. The Avengers would never have been deployed because countries have opposing decisions.

The Avengers were never supposed to be deployed for Earth-level threats anyhow. “So when the world needed them, they could fight the battles we never could” ~ Nick Fury. Key words: when needed, never could. In other words, the Avengers were not supposed to be constantly on missions, only when there was a need for a team of heroes. Further, they were not meant to fight the everyday bad guy, not terrorists or thieves or murderers, the Avengers were made to fight Extinction-level threats. It takes years of training to learn how to correctly, legally, and safely catch the everyday bad guy. None of the Avengers have gone through that training, and them being involved in such missions has canonically resulted in mass casualties. And when it comes to extinction-level threats, darling, not a single human is going to go, “well, I want the planet I’m living in to explode”, therefore, the Avengers will be deployed for those, aka: their correct purpose.

6. Some countries can’t fight their bad guys.

If you cannot see how this is blatant American Imperialism propaganda, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s true, some countries struggle with crime rates, but it is still their right as a country to decide when and how to ask for help rather than have it be imposed on them. Are you also walking around saying “we had to send our military to Afghanistan and blow up their lands, they couldn’t deal with their bad people” or “we had to take over Iraq, Syria, etc”? It’s not the place of the US government to choose how other countries deal with crimes, and it is most certainly not the place of 6 weaponized (white) US citizens to do so either.

7. Some countries are corrupt and choose not to fight their bad guys.

This effectively makes the Avengers political weapons (one of the valid concerns of the Accords), and proves exactly why the Accords are needed. Are the Avengers supposed to assassinate any world leader they deem corrupt? Because that is what it would be, assassinations. How is that not abuse of their powers? How can it be justified in any shape, way, or form? What would make them different than dictators then? “If you don’t agree with me, I’ll assassinate you and replace you with someone who does”.

8. The Superhuman Registration Act is a bad thing in the comics and the Accords are in its place.

True, the Registration Act was a terrible thing, but it comes under very different circumstances in the comics than it does in the MCU, and to ignore the political climate and story of the MCU is downright idiotic. The MCU is an entirely different story and universe than Earth-616. Why are you watching the MCU if you just want the story of the comics? Go read the comics then. This screams either one of two:

A. A lack of cognitive abilities.

B. A child throwing a fit because they didn’t get exactly what they want.

And honestly, neither is a cute look.

Did you also throw a tantrum when they replaced an orientalist racist depiction of a Chinese villain by a white man in Iron Man 3?

9. Captain America is an amazing hero in the comics.

Again, in the comics. Not the MCU. In the comics, Peter Parker’s best friend is Harry Osborn, not Ned Leeds. In the comics, Pepper Potts marries Happy Hogan, not Tony Stark. In the comics, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are Romani-Jewish, not white. In the comics, Alexei Shostakov is Natasha Romanoff’s husband, not father. Catch my drift? The comics are different, and MCU Steve Rogers is not 616 Steve Rogers. To pretend otherwise is boring.

10. Team Cap is hot.

Honestly, the blond blue eyed look isn’t my cup of tea, but I get it. What I don’t understand is why you have to justify all their actions to love them? I adore Tywin Lannister. I’m not walking around justifying him wiping out entire families and ordering the sexual assault and murder of Elia Martell and her children. You can like someone and admit they’ve done some fucked up shit. It’s not that deep. It’s deep when you try to say they’re in the right for the fucked up shit they did.

11. Bucky.

Honestly, Bucky is his own whole complex post and if I get into it here, this post will last for days, so I won’t. I will admit that Tony was in the wrong for some parts of that, but even yet, Rogers was entirely in the wrong for everything he did “for” Bucky, and this whole dilemma could have been prevented if Rogers had for one singular second thought to go about everything the legal way. (I could make another post if I’m encouraged enough)

12. The Avengers are the good guys.

That’s the Doylist explanation. We as outside viewers know that. The Watsonian explanation is entirely different. World governments in the MCU don’t know for sure the Avengers are the good guys. What they know is that the Avengers have been involved in the complete destruction of government buildings, intelligence buildings, an entire country, and more. Do you know what we call people who blow up governmental and intelligence buildings full of innocent civilians here? Terrorists.

13. The Accords.

This isn’t an argument I’ve seen per se, but more of a general misunderstanding I’ve seen on both sides. It doesn’t surprise me though. Civil War shows one single thin file as being the entire Accords, that Rogers flips through quickly and decides is a mistake. There is absolutely no way that is correct for the United Nations. UN documents can be thousands of pages long, they’re written by legal professionals from at least tens of countries, they cover every possible scenario and they’re open to amendments. They’re worked on so long that it takes years for them to be passed. They’re filled with so much legal jargon that one singular flick will result in you understanding nothing. More likely though, Rogers was given a brief introduction and summary. Thus, him immediately deciding he doesn’t like it without even knowing what it is, gives the same energy as a child throwing a tantrum for being forced to try kiwis for the first time.

It is possible that I’ve forgotten some arguments, I’m only human after all, but if you, (respectfully. I will not be answering anyone who throws slurs or hate speech), have any, I don’t mind dissecting them.

Lastly, to wrap up my post, all I have to say is one question. Is it possible that the whole world, that at least 5-6 billion people, are wrong, and Steve Rogers is correct?

[stark-defense-squad]

everyone always focuses on Sokovia and Ultron and Tony's involvement but no one ever thinks about how Bruce was also involved completely because they're both scientists. no one thinks about Wanda purposefully going in and digging in Tony's head, amplifying his PTSD and putting visions of all his friends dead in his head with the intent of making Tony create Ultron

Everyone always focuses on blaming Tony for the bomb that killed Wanda's parents but no one thinks about Tony being so shit faced he couldn't see straight at that time bec he was so deep in self-medicating his trauma that he could not even run his company and that it was Obidiah Stane that was the one in charge of the company and illegally selling the weapons that killed her parents

Everyone focuses on Tony selling weapons in the first movie but no one thinks about how it was Howard Starks company and that Tony was groomed from birth to run it and that he had tried multiple times to make something else of the company but was constantly shut down with guilt tripping until he was kidnapped and he forced the manufacturing to end

Everyone focuses on Tony being "conceited" and "arrogant" and not "caring about anyone but himself" but no one thinks about how every single action he makes in his movies are about protecting the people he loves and cares for. His biggest fear is his friends- not himself- dying. he goes into every battle he's in fully prepared to die and does make the sacrifice play many many times

everyone always focuses on what Tony did wrong, but no one thinks about how much he has grown and how he spends every single waking moment trying to be a better and better man who cares so deeply about everyone and is trying to protect everyone the only way he knows how- and that is with the brain and intellect that had been the only thing about Tony that was ever praised about

[stark-defense-squad]

I really don't understand people who claim that the vision wanda showed tony didn't affect him in any way...AFTER WE SAW HOW THE SAME MIND TRICK AFFECTED BRUCE AND HOW HARD IT FUCKED HIS MIND

like they seriously saw bruce "I'm-always-angry-but-I-can-totally-control-it-and-keep-the-big-guy-inside" banner goes on a rampage because of the same spell she used on tony (and also, even when hulk comes out, he is not just a stupid monster, he UNDERSTANDS where his enemies are and where are his allies and where are the people he should not hurt. he would never attack a city full of innocent people. and yet we see him losing his mind and doesn't recognize either civilians or an ally in tony)

but they decided "uh no she just showed him his fear this is the same if he had a nightmare (imagine how fun it would be in new york if hulk raged like this after every nightmare that bruce had) this is all completely on stark🙄" like ????

we don't blame bruce (rightfully) for what happened in johannesburg, but when it comes to tony he's the only one to blame for "creating the killer-bot". I mean since wanda is responsible for what happened in Johannesburg I think it's fair to hold her at least half responsible for Ultron.

sorry for rant, but this thought has been with me for a long time and I really wanted to express it to someone. and thanks for all these posts, they are one of the few things that help me stay sane in this brain dead fandom istg

You basically said my whole thought process with the whole thing! He’s definitely not the only one at fault for what happened and I stand by it! He took responsibility for it but so should Wanda she played a bigger hand in it to make it evil with the mind stone of course! I totally agree with everything you said I don’t think I need to add anything else.

[stark-defense-squad]

But OP! However would the US based task force invade, destroy, monetize, and take advantage of poorer countries in Africa and Asia while claiming to be their heroes then?!

honestly i don’t care if tumblr is generally anti tony, but when i see them saying “team cap was right” i’m just. my dude, captain america was a fucking dickhead who practically represented the us “democracy” that you all claim to hate. PLEASE MAKE SENSE.

[stark-defense-squad]

Your arguments are literally life saving for me from the Anti Tony Starks out here. I have been using ur evidence supported arguments to just shut down the antis out there, so THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT!!!

Anytime, lovely!

I personally don’t argue much Tony Antis because they tend to be bigots a lot of the time and I just personally am dealing with more than enough of those based on ethnicity alone, but I’m glad I can be of support and service to all the Tony Stans out there!

And, as I always say irl, if you can’t support your argument with true evidence, it’s not an argument, it’s an opinion. So I just make it a point to have evidence always lmao

But anyways, I digress. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LOVELY ASK!! Honestly, it’s moments like these that keep me from going entirely insane 💕

[stark-defense-squad]

I honestly debated not replying to this for so long but I am now because I’m just so confused?

Like ok, and? What? You like him cause he’s hot? What is it? I’m not sorry to break it to you, but every single line that has left Chris Evans’ lips in the MCU has been pro-US propaganda. His entire personality was pro-US propaganda. His appearance was pro-US propaganda. You never elaborate on why you like him but chances are, it is pro-US propaganda.

But even still, that isn’t the point? My post was about Wanda Maximoff constantly committing acts of terrorism and getting away with it because she, apparently, is the only character with Trauma™️. My post wasn’t about Rogers, and I only mentioned him in the one line. You seem to have missed the point of my post.

And yet, I also seem to recall, no, in fact, I’ve checked and I’m certain that I used all the correct tags as always. The people who reblogged me have used the correct tags. Which can only mean that you went on our tags on purpose looking for a fight, considering that your posts are Anti-Tony.

I honestly don’t see where this “conversation” is supposed to be going.

I actually remember reading this on the anti Wanda maximoff tag some time ago,but it really made an impact.the post was talking about how Wanda stans/tony antis shit on tony for trying to kill Bucky(which he wasn't bc he would have destroyed him,we've all seen iron man 2 and 3.if he wanted you dead you'd be dead)but like rabidly support Wanda and her revenge.

When I said I wanted more female representation in the MCU, this was not what I meant.

Honestly, Wanda stans give me a worse headache than cap stans. At least with Cap stans, Ik they’re just falling for that stupid USA propaganda. Other than being fooled by her white woman tears™️, idk wtf is wrong with her stans.

Wanda fully aware chose to join Hydra, a neo-nazi organization, as an adult, just because they were offering her “revenge” on Tony Stark, which makes her a fucking neo-nazi. She consciously decided to use her powers to mind-rape the Avengers. She actively decided to send the Hulk on a rampage to kill innocent civilians. She actively supported Ultron up until she realized she was one of the fucking humans he was going to wipe out, which makes her joining the Avengers a conflict of interest at best and pure self preservation/manipulation at worst. And all of that is just Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Later, she murders POC innocent civilians because she has no control over her powers, then gets upset and throws a fit when Tony says, “hey, maybe you shouldn’t be on life-or-death missions when you can’t control your powers”. Imagine if someone who didn’t know how to use a gun waltzed into the middle of a highly stressful mission in the middle of civilian ground with a machine gun, murdered innocent people, then got upset that they had to face consequences.

Then she throws a fit when someone suggests her microwave boyfriend’s life is less important than millions of innocent civilians, and with Cap’s support, thousands of Wakandans (black Africans) are killed, for nothing might I add considering she did a shit job and Thanos still got a hold of Vision’s stone, and half of the universe is snapped.

And woe is she, so she loses control of her powers, again, and enslaves a whole fucking city. But she didn’t know! So when she finds out that she’s hurting all of them, she throws another fit and forces them to continue playing along with her little fantasy.

And not once has she ever learned from any of her mistakes. Not once has she been humbled. Not once has she been forced to face the consequences of her actions. In fact, for her mistakes, others are punished.

But it’s alright. All of this is alright. She’s grieving and traumatized after all. Right? Because Tony Stark killed her parents with his bomb when she was a child.

Cry me a river. Why doesn’t she try to get revenge on the terrorists that deployed the bombs? Why does she actively choose to be an entitled cunt and put thousands of POC lives at risk? Why does she join a fucking neo-nazi organization?

Imagine going “oh I’m sad, I’ll join the KKK to feel better”.

But Tony is rich and she’s a white woman and she cries on screen.

And that, right there, is their logic I guess.

[stark-defense-squad]

Periodic Reminder That:

• Sylvie is an unnecessary OC created by the authors to get out of delving into Loki’s trauma. They give almost 100% of the narrative sympathy that should’ve been his to her because it’s easier to create a new backstory for someone than try to reconcile the complex one the previous writers/directors made for an existing character. Her existence was unneeded and did nothing but muddy up the plot and detract from aspects of the story that could’ve benefited from being given more time/effort.

• Wanda is a spoiled little entitled brat that murders people when she doesn’t get what she wants, and then gets rewarded for it by the narrative constantly treating her like an innocent child.

• Captain America perfectly represents his namesake, in that he is an entitled asshole with a hero complex, who thinks it’s perfectly righteous to barge across the sovereign borders of other (poorer) countries and inflict his will (“his will” being murdering a bunch of civilians and causing billions of dollars of property damage just so he gets to feel like their saviour) and then act like they’re being ignorant and ungrateful because they have the audacity to want him (and his allies) held accountable after the fact.

[stark-defense-squad]

I actually remember reading this on the anti Wanda maximoff tag some time ago,but it really made an impact.the post was talking about how Wanda stans/tony antis shit on tony for trying to kill Bucky(which he wasn't bc he would have destroyed him,we've all seen iron man 2 and 3.if he wanted you dead you'd be dead)but like rabidly support Wanda and her revenge.

When I said I wanted more female representation in the MCU, this was not what I meant.

Honestly, Wanda stans give me a worse headache than cap stans. At least with Cap stans, Ik they’re just falling for that stupid USA propaganda. Other than being fooled by her white woman tears™️, idk wtf is wrong with her stans.

Wanda fully aware chose to join Hydra, a neo-nazi organization, as an adult, just because they were offering her “revenge” on Tony Stark, which makes her a fucking neo-nazi. She consciously decided to use her powers to mind-rape the Avengers. She actively decided to send the Hulk on a rampage to kill innocent civilians. She actively supported Ultron up until she realized she was one of the fucking humans he was going to wipe out, which makes her joining the Avengers a conflict of interest at best and pure self preservation/manipulation at worst. And all of that is just Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Later, she murders POC innocent civilians because she has no control over her powers, then gets upset and throws a fit when Tony says, “hey, maybe you shouldn’t be on life-or-death missions when you can’t control your powers”. Imagine if someone who didn’t know how to use a gun waltzed into the middle of a highly stressful mission in the middle of civilian ground with a machine gun, murdered innocent people, then got upset that they had to face consequences.

Then she throws a fit when someone suggests her microwave boyfriend’s life is less important than millions of innocent civilians, and with Cap’s support, thousands of Wakandans (black Africans) are killed, for nothing might I add considering she did a shit job and Thanos still got a hold of Vision’s stone, and half of the universe is snapped.

And woe is she, so she loses control of her powers, again, and enslaves a whole fucking city. But she didn’t know! So when she finds out that she’s hurting all of them, she throws another fit and forces them to continue playing along with her little fantasy.

And not once has she ever learned from any of her mistakes. Not once has she been humbled. Not once has she been forced to face the consequences of her actions. In fact, for her mistakes, others are punished.

But it’s alright. All of this is alright. She’s grieving and traumatized after all. Right? Because Tony Stark killed her parents with his bomb when she was a child.

Cry me a river. Why doesn’t she try to get revenge on the terrorists that deployed the bombs? Why does she actively choose to be an entitled cunt and put thousands of POC lives at risk? Why does she join a fucking neo-nazi organization?

Imagine going “oh I’m sad, I’ll join the KKK to feel better”.

But Tony is rich and she’s a white woman and she cries on screen.

And that, right there, is their logic I guess.

[stark-defense-squad]

so i'll definitely get hate for this but why do none of you acknowledge that steve practically gaslighted and belittled tony since they first fucking met

this btw comes from someone who's been gaslighted since i was child, believe me, this shit is really damaging. watching steve looking down on tony is honestly triggering to me when i think about it for too long.

steve hates tony for some goddamn reason in the first avengers, he acts entitled every fucking time tony speaks or breathes. "oooh you're so egotistical, you think you're so fucking good huh", "god tony every time i think you'll understand you just prove me wrong" like tony isn't the one trying to talk to steve to reach a common ground

steve acts like tony is the arrogant guy here which ironically enough it's the complete opposite. everyone in canon and fanon acts like tony is the unreasonable one like steve didn't spit at the face of 100+ countries for not wanting more ppl to die by the avengers without any consequences. yes steve does belittle tony every time they share a scene, and we're supposed to be on steve's side all the time

steve is always right and tony is always wrong that's what they want to convince you

[stark-defense-squad]

Honestly,I just love your blog.You have such good arguments with like reliable evidence and like you actually rationally tell team cap stans why they're wrong, and I just wanted to say that you really made my day ♥

I’m not crying, you’re crying 😭

But on a serious note, thank you so much 🙏🏻 whenever I’m typing a new post myself, I try so hard and put so much effort into fact checking so seeing at least one person appreciate the work just really makes it all worth it. And I’m really glad my posts can bring you some form of joy, that is the goal ultimately ♥️

[stark-defense-squad]

This isn’t actually an ask just something I wondered whether you could put it on your blog. It is the point that people rant on and on about how Tony Stark is some horrible man-whore playboy jerk who doesn’t care about anyone(which he is not!) and I would just like to say that if that was true, why did when he thought that someone as beautiful as Black Widow was propositioning him did he say that he was too busy and had a full schedule. He said no! I know really nice guys who wouldn’t do that!

Oh my god I am so sorry I haven’t replied earlier, I haven’t checked my inbox in a while 😭

But yeah, you’re absolutely correct when you say Tony is misjudged as a playboy and it’s a frankly limited analysis of his character.

Tony’s history of being a playboy in the MCU is just that, a history. Iron Man 1 is the only movie where we see Tony actively in present tense pursue women. All the other movies (with the exception of one drunken kiss in Iron Man 2) show Tony, yes, being a massive flirt, but never going after any woman because he’s in a relationship with Pepper. In fact, even in Civil War when Tony and Pepper are on a break, Tony never pursues anyone else.

So, essentially, Tony has not been with any woman other than Pepper since 2010. The last time we saw him have any romantic relations with another woman was in Iron Man 3, in 2013, but that was a flashback. And the only proof of the contrary is a quippy one liner from Avengers 2012 when he was being cornered by a dick who decided to judge him before meeting him.

It’s not even about Tony just being nice, it’s the fact that Tony does not want to be this playboy persona but he feels he has to be it because that is how the public perceives him. This is why I will forever lament the fact that they deleted the scene in Iron Man 1 when women are throwing themselves at him and he just ends up telling them he’s really uncomfortable with the whole thing but he feels like he has no choice.

All the people who continue to push forth the narrative that Tony is still a massive playboy are taking the story at an extremely superficial level and that’s honestly boring.

[stark-defense-squad]

Let’s talk Civil War.

(Ik. It’s been years. I’m sorry. I’m stuck in the past.)

Other than the fact that Tony’s side of the Accords is the non-contested accepted correct side in the entire fucking world except the USA (seriously, the entire world is telling you you’re wrong and you still insist otherwise? Maybe y’all’s really do belong on Team Cap), let’s dissect every Team Cap fan’s POV and rebut them.

1. The government should not impose on powered people’s freedoms.

Aside from the fact that this shows a fairly concerning blatant ignorance of the United Nations and all forms of international government, I can name on one hand the number of countries where “freedom” is portrayed as it is in the USA. Do you know what the stance on freedom is in the rest of the world? Your personal freedom ends at the safety of the community. (This is especially interesting during COVID and the vaccine and masking) Your life is your own, do whatever shit you want to do. No one gives a fuck if you want to eat ham or turkey for dinner. But when your “personal freedom” starts putting other’s lives at risk, it’s a fucking problem. It’s not “personal freedom” when you’re marching into a school wearing bombs. It’s not “personal freedom” when you start carrying a machine gun and threatening anyone you think is wrong. That is effectively what most of the Avengers are. They’re walking around with weapons and threatening anyone that doesn’t agree with them. And if you can’t see why that’s problematic, I don’t trust you.

2. The Government should not monitor individuals.

All governments monitor individuals and if you think otherwise, then I’m sorry but what fantasy world are you living in? Governments monitoring individuals is, usually, what leads to them catching terrorists before they blow up your local gas station or school. Governments monitoring individuals is an everyday occurrence in the entire fucking world and for due reason when people start threatening to murder world leaders or hate crime minorities. The Avengers getting monitored by the government is no different than any other civilian but for the crucial factor that the Avengers can and have acted on their threats based on personal disagreements.

3. The Government is corrupt.

This again just shows a blatant ignorance of international law and the United Nations, and, frankly, entitlement. The Accords were never going to give the United States government complete control over the Avengers when the initial problem was that US citizens were parading around with their weapons without any regard to international concerns. Further, even if any government is corrupt the way Hydra infiltrated the US government, the United Nations consists of 193 countries, 117 of them voted for the Accords, all of them would still have a say in what the Avengers do. Tell me, and use your logic please, how it could possibly be easier to corrupt 193 countries, the entire fucking world, than it is to corrupt 6 weaponized individuals all US citizens?

4. General Ross is known as the bad guy and therefore the Accords are bad because he supports them.

Correlation not causation. The Accords were written by at least 117 countries and amended by all 193 of them. Under international law, every country is allowed their representatives of their choosing, but all representatives must be present for something to actually pass. Meaning, yes, the US representative was a corrupt piece of shit, but there’s at least 192 other representatives (some countries choose to have multiple), thus, again, we go back to the argument of, is it easier to corrupt one individual or a whole board?

5. The Avengers would never have been deployed because countries have opposing decisions.

The Avengers were never supposed to be deployed for Earth-level threats anyhow. “So when the world needed them, they could fight the battles we never could” ~ Nick Fury. Key words: when needed, never could. In other words, the Avengers were not supposed to be constantly on missions, only when there was a need for a team of heroes. Further, they were not meant to fight the everyday bad guy, not terrorists or thieves or murderers, the Avengers were made to fight Extinction-level threats. It takes years of training to learn how to correctly, legally, and safely catch the everyday bad guy. None of the Avengers have gone through that training, and them being involved in such missions has canonically resulted in mass casualties. And when it comes to extinction-level threats, darling, not a single human is going to go, “well, I want the planet I’m living in to explode”, therefore, the Avengers will be deployed for those, aka: their correct purpose.

6. Some countries can’t fight their bad guys.

If you cannot see how this is blatant American Imperialism propaganda, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s true, some countries struggle with crime rates, but it is still their right as a country to decide when and how to ask for help rather than have it be imposed on them. Are you also walking around saying “we had to send our military to Afghanistan and blow up their lands, they couldn’t deal with their bad people” or “we had to take over Iraq, Syria, etc”? It’s not the place of the US government to choose how other countries deal with crimes, and it is most certainly not the place of 6 weaponized (white) US citizens to do so either.

7. Some countries are corrupt and choose not to fight their bad guys.

This effectively makes the Avengers political weapons (one of the valid concerns of the Accords), and proves exactly why the Accords are needed. Are the Avengers supposed to assassinate any world leader they deem corrupt? Because that is what it would be, assassinations. How is that not abuse of their powers? How can it be justified in any shape, way, or form? What would make them different than dictators then? “If you don’t agree with me, I’ll assassinate you and replace you with someone who does”.

8. The Superhuman Registration Act is a bad thing in the comics and the Accords are in its place.

True, the Registration Act was a terrible thing, but it comes under very different circumstances in the comics than it does in the MCU, and to ignore the political climate and story of the MCU is downright idiotic. The MCU is an entirely different story and universe than Earth-616. Why are you watching the MCU if you just want the story of the comics? Go read the comics then. This screams either one of two:

A. A lack of cognitive abilities.

B. A child throwing a fit because they didn’t get exactly what they want.

And honestly, neither is a cute look.

Did you also throw a tantrum when they replaced an orientalist racist depiction of a Chinese villain by a white man in Iron Man 3?

9. Captain America is an amazing hero in the comics.

Again, in the comics. Not the MCU. In the comics, Peter Parker’s best friend is Harry Osborn, not Ned Leeds. In the comics, Pepper Potts marries Happy Hogan, not Tony Stark. In the comics, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are Romani-Jewish, not white. In the comics, Alexei Shostakov is Natasha Romanoff’s husband, not father. Catch my drift? The comics are different, and MCU Steve Rogers is not 616 Steve Rogers. To pretend otherwise is boring.

10. Team Cap is hot.

Honestly, the blond blue eyed look isn’t my cup of tea, but I get it. What I don’t understand is why you have to justify all their actions to love them? I adore Tywin Lannister. I’m not walking around justifying him wiping out entire families and ordering the sexual assault and murder of Elia Martell and her children. You can like someone and admit they’ve done some fucked up shit. It’s not that deep. It’s deep when you try to say they’re in the right for the fucked up shit they did.

11. Bucky.

Honestly, Bucky is his own whole complex post and if I get into it here, this post will last for days, so I won’t. I will admit that Tony was in the wrong for some parts of that, but even yet, Rogers was entirely in the wrong for everything he did “for” Bucky, and this whole dilemma could have been prevented if Rogers had for one singular second thought to go about everything the legal way. (I could make another post if I’m encouraged enough)

12. The Avengers are the good guys.

That’s the Doylist explanation. We as outside viewers know that. The Watsonian explanation is entirely different. World governments in the MCU don’t know for sure the Avengers are the good guys. What they know is that the Avengers have been involved in the complete destruction of government buildings, intelligence buildings, an entire country, and more. Do you know what we call people who blow up governmental and intelligence buildings full of innocent civilians here? Terrorists.

13. The Accords.

This isn’t an argument I’ve seen per se, but more of a general misunderstanding I’ve seen on both sides. It doesn’t surprise me though. Civil War shows one single thin file as being the entire Accords, that Rogers flips through quickly and decides is a mistake. There is absolutely no way that is correct for the United Nations. UN documents can be thousands of pages long, they’re written by legal professionals from at least tens of countries, they cover every possible scenario and they’re open to amendments. They’re worked on so long that it takes years for them to be passed. They’re filled with so much legal jargon that one singular flick will result in you understanding nothing. More likely though, Rogers was given a brief introduction and summary. Thus, him immediately deciding he doesn’t like it without even knowing what it is, gives the same energy as a child throwing a tantrum for being forced to try kiwis for the first time.

It is possible that I’ve forgotten some arguments, I’m only human after all, but if you, (respectfully. I will not be answering anyone who throws slurs or hate speech), have any, I don’t mind dissecting them.

Lastly, to wrap up my post, all I have to say is one question. Is it possible that the whole world, that at least 5-6 billion people, are wrong, and Steve Rogers is correct?

[stark-defense-squad]

[stark-defense-squad]

the problem with MCU Tony Stark characterisation in fanfic

okay so I love smol, soft, vulnerable Tony Stark as much as the next person, but sometimes I think we forget some super important things when writing him:

literally within an hour of IM1 we see Tony hammering metal with basic tools in a cave which is very physically taxing for someone not used to it

we see Tony Stark miniaturise the arc reactor, something his own dad never figured out, in the space of three months whilst probably battling chest infections, the threat of death and low cognitive function (the fluctuating temperate, irregular meals, sleep cycle and high risk of infection from open heart surgery drastically affects your thought process, genius or not) - with fuck all available

there is the suggestion that Tony + Running isn’t so much of a novel idea in IM1′s ‘Dogfight’ as Rhodey doesn’t bite back and say ‘you don’t jog’ in response to Tony’s flighty responses - that would be the first thing a best friend would point out to their fellow bullshitter

he and Happy practise MMA against one another (IM2) and Happy isn’t someone to go gentle - Tony isn’t one to want Happy to pull his punches so Tony is proficient in some form of close combat when fully cognisant - we see Happy’s skills when he finally (!) punches one trained fighter as Tash knocks off everyone else. if Happy can do that, Tony certainly can - and even better now he’s a full Avenger (we ignore Civil War, okay)

he literally takes a sledgehammer to his own home and re-discovers and element once again previously hidden to his own dad - a man heralded and lauded as The Genius - so he’s very proactive and willing to move shit around to figure something out

we also see the strength needed in the synthesising of this element - his arms are literally b u l g i n g  with muscle mass, so this gives us the nod that Tony does work out to keep himself fit

in IM3 he literally has nothing? he makes his OWN weapons again from store-avaliable items and takes down literally a whole compound under his own steam (reminiscent of IM1 building of the suit with a box of scraps) so he isn’t exactly ‘useless’ when given the correct tools

despite that bullshit scene where he suddenly ‘forgets’ that magazines aren’t universal for all, we know Tony handles guns - he does it when he’s escaped the bed in the basement, when facing the Mandarin etc and he’s confident enough to use them correctly (deliberately missing Trevor but close enough to make him shit himself) so this crap about him suddenly being unable to shoot a light from that distance is again, bullshit

he literally drags the iron man suit through the snow - whilst it’s (MK42) is about 240 pounds on, it’s gonna be a lot heavier with all the hydraulics and electrics powered down. it takes core strength to make it and drag it, guys, so he’s pretty well built for a civvie

in avengers he spends just as much time moving - you need insane core strength to maintain a flying position, metal suit or not, and you need to be physically fit to fly it too if you think of how often it would have glitched and malfunctioned with hits before it rebooted. just because he’s in a metal suit it doesn’t mean it’s effortless and JARVIS does it for him - it’s like riding a horse. the movements are subtle but you’re using so many fucking muscles and so much energy

in AOU he literally fucking JUMPS FROM THE BALCONY ONTO A BOT floating in mid air like, that’s super gutsy for a civvie who has no official ‘spy’/army training or no backup Green Machine but by this point nothing surprises us about this fuckwit tbh (it gets me every time when I see him do that)

he gets thrown into walls so often with enough force to knock out a normal person like, i’m surprised he, Rhodey and Bruce don’t have constant concussion tbh - in IM3 with a missile blast/ in AOU against the wall after Ultron and down to the floor from a great height

he’s super fucking gutsy and takes massive risks for someone with no healing factor or special skills - in IM3 when he faces off against the Mandarin with nothing/jumps off a balcony on the rig and slides down the bending metal before jumping into fucking mid-air relying only on his suits to save him/facing off against Loki and then being thrown out of a window despite not knowing what would happen at all and knowing that his suit wasn’t quite ready/relying only on his mobile gauntlet to save his whole fucking face when Bucky (poor soul) tries to shoot him (unintentionally it isn’t Bucky okay) in the middle of his freak-out (and these are all without the whole suit, only bits and pieces, so don't say he’s a little wallflower he has as many balls as the rest of them in combat)

have you seen him in a three piece suit??? his figure is fine af from all this shit 

he literally survived a blast to the fucking chest with a bomb, survived palladium poisoning, thought his way out of countless shit, is a certified genius, a massive polyglot, has several doctorates and isn’t the soft, smol, vulnerable little chicken so much fanfiction makes him out to be

I love reading those smol, cutesy fics from time to time too - because lbr MCU!Tony IS small in stature because Robert is, bless his platform shoes - but please remember Tony is actually meant to be a badass physically fit (wiry or lithe, depending on comics or movieverse) superhero - he may not be great at hand-to-hand combat like Cap or twenty feet tall like Thor but he can certainly hold his own fgs.  

[stark-defense-squad]

I find that playboy line funny bc like... aren't tony and pepper the only mcu couple that has been in a long term committed relationship? and beyond the thing with maya (which happened in a flashback), tony hasn't had any other love interests? that line would have been relevant, what, in the first 20 minutes of iron man 1? (not trying to bring up discourse or hate or anything, I just find it interesting lol)

That playboy line follows him like a shadow when it’s not even an accurate reflection of who he is, it’s one of those things when it gets stuck in the default setting of people’s mind that Tony Stark is a ‘playboy’, and it takes them effort to remember that he is not. The fact is that he’s been everything BUT a playboy in the last ten years, and seriously you can’t name one more committed, loyal and romantic man in mcu than Tony Stark, but some people would simply let that vague idea of who he is stay, based on a quippy one liner from a movie that was seven years ago (also ignoring the context of that one liner), than to let themselves see and realise that a character has changed and developed …. It’s sadly poetic he had said it himself in a deleted scene of Iron Man, when he was confessing to the two girls he was with in Dubai that he was actually not entirely comfortable with it, and proceed to say “You know how easy to get a reputation and how hard to lose it, and I’m not playing victim, I’m not complaining, it’s just something that occurred over time..”

He was the one who played up that ‘Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’ persona after all, so of course he knew the price, that it was inevitable some people wouldn’t see through it and took everything he presented at face value. And part of him found ease in slipping behind that mask, because then people wouldn’t know he’s scared, vulnerable and insecure, and they couldn’t be disappointed with him when he offered nothing more for them to expect. In IM 2 he embraced the persona fully and acted his most obnoxious self to annoy everyone around him and push them away, because he didn’t want to admit to his friends that he was scared, that he didn’t want to die; because (an irrational) part of him was scared that even if he opened up to them they wouldn’t care, so he opted to toughen up and push them away first and avoid getting hurt later. The similar train of thoughts was happening In Avengers when he used the mask as his defensive mechanism, and it was what gave birth to that infamous one liner. He needed to act cool and nonchalant in front of all these new super people, because how could he possibly measure up to Captain America himself with his ‘laundry list of character defects.’ He was afraid of how they wouldn’t accept him as part of the team as previously Nat’s assessment of him had suggested, and judged him by his past as Steve had put it later ‘I’ve seen the footage, the only thing you really fight for is yourself.’ So at least acting like he was so self-absorbed and savvy that he didn’t care one bit of what others thought of him could protect him from letting the others know about his vulnerability and insecurity. 

The lovely thing is though, as movies progress, you see how this mask is slowly slipping away, when he said in IM3 ‘Now I’m a changed man’, he wasn’t just saying it, he really had changed. Being in a committed relationship with Pepper had helped him to realise that he could voice his fear and be vulnerable, as he found acceptance in her; being forced out of his comfort zone of three (3) friends and an AI, he developed an unlikely friendship with a kid, it opened up his guarded heart, he learned his capability to trust other people, reply on them, and that reaching out, asking for help, whether or not it was a sign of weakness, he had allowed himself it. Thus you start to see a more genuine and vulnerable Tony Stark in the presence of others way more often after IM3. In AoU he admit to the team of what he was scared of, he opened up to Fury about the vision he saw, the nightmare he dreaded. In Civil War, he opened up to Steve of his weaknesses, his flaws, and was practically begging him to stay, ‘I don’t wanna see you gone, we need you Cap’; to give him time (which tragically was what Steve didn’t have), so they can deal with the Accords together. He had allowed himself to be rejected, and still trying to reach out, ‘because it’s us.’ He cared a lot about the Avengers and he no longer tried to hide it behind the ‘Genius playboy devil may care’ facade, he may not be verbally spelling it out, but he let his fear, worries, guilt, sadness, be written all over his face. It’s peak Tony Stark being vulnerable and emotional and not bothered to hide, this side of him with all the emotional complexity is available for anyone who’s looking to see, and it’s amazing.

The relationship he developed with Peter took him to an unexplored area of emotions, it was the first time he felt strongly and personally responsible for someone else’s wellbeing. He may have learned to take better care of himself over the years, but having a kid who was already hundred times better than him and still looked up to him? It created a lot of internal conflicts in his mind. On one hand he wanted to provide the best he can for Peter (while not overstepping), the extremely thoughtful suit he built for him with an insane amount of web shooters combinations and a friendly sassy AI is one perfect example; on the other hand he was afraid that his involvement would ruin Peter’s life. His self doubt and guilt were stalling him from being open and emotional available for Peter, which, compare to the super suit, it was what Peter needed from him more. His relationship with his own father had not given him the confidence he needed when it came to something close to parenting, so he did what he always tended to do when he was feeling insecure, he put on the cool Tony StarkTM mask and tried to keep Peter at arm’s length by putting up a barrier (Happy) between them. He wasn’t mentally ready to take on the mentor/father figure role, but sentimentally, looking at all those things he did for Peter in silence, he was already caring and worrying about Peter like a parent would to their child. He just needed to learn to show it to Peter, drop the mask, be present, be vocal, because if Peter couldn’t feel it, love failed in communication and it wouldn’t be complete. And over the course of the Homecoming and IW, you really see how he had come to it, seeing how they squabbled and Peter was no longer looking up to him like he was an idol, but simply looking up to him for reassurance and comfort, it is so (tragically) beautiful and had everyone crying. 

Don’t ask me why I turn a simple line ‘Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’ into a character analysis, it just happened, but he’s come so far and I’m so proud of him and it just goes without saying how beautiful how complex his character is and people who still misunderstand him by default, they’re missing out. 

[stark-defense-squad]

Some of y’all are missing the point

BARF originally being Beck’s idea or however that happened isn’t supposed to villanize Tony. The whole point is that Tony took this potentially destructive technology, put it into the right hands, and used it for good, whereas Beck only would’ve used it for evil/his own self interest. It’s supposed to show how twisted Quinten is, that he thinks Tony wronged him, when Tony was clearly in the right for trying to de-weaponoze the technology. Some of y’all are just looking for problems when there are none.