The MCU Was Too Chicken to Use Civil War’s Original Ending

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has done well at adapting a lot of major moments from the comics, but it surprisingly held back when bringing one event to life on the silver screen. Fans everywhere waited with bated breath to see Civil War play out in the MCU, and that dream finally came true with Captain America: Civil War.

Like most Marvel movies, the adaptation of Civil War was not a 1:1 translation. But among all the changes made to the original story, the biggest by far was how the story ended. While the movie ended with Cap and the rebel heroes going on the run and Iron Man opting not to pursue them, things were vastly different in the comics, namely Captain America being shot and killed, with Iron Man admitting that the fight wasn’t worth it. Admittedly, this change was necessary for Tony Stark’s MCU characterization, but removed an interesting chapter from Marvel history.

How Marvel’s Civil War Really Shook Out

The Death of Captain America and Iron Man’s Dark Descent

“Civil War” was a crossover event that ran from 2006 to 2007, largely centering around a book of the same name with dozens of tie-in issues and one-shots. The series follows a schism in the superhero community after an accident involving superheroes and villains leads to the deaths of over 600 people. This leads to the creation and passing of the Superhuman Registration Act, spearheaded by Iron Man, who believes that heroes need government oversight. However, due to the act’s requirement to give up one’s identity, many heroes oppose and fight back against the legislation.

Major conflict breaks out between the two sides of the issue, with Iron Man leading the pro-registration faction and Captain America leading the anti-registration faction. Towards the end of the series, Captain America realizes that his opposition has only led to more chaos and pain, surrenders and gives himself up to the authorities. Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there as, shortly after he gives himself up, Captain America is shot and killed by his longtime love interest, Sharon Carter, who had been brainwashed.

Iron Man reflects on Captain America’s death and gets a very humanizing moment where he tells Steve’s corpse how the fight “wasn’t worth it”. However, that one moment juxtaposes everything he did after, as post-Civil War, Tony was appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he spent months fine-tuning the superhero community, launching the 50-State Initiative, that put a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sanctioned, pro-registration hero in each state. For those who opposed the Superhuman Registration Act, Iron Man used his S.H.I.E.L.D. resources to track them down and imprison them in prisons designed to hold individuals with superpowers.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Pulled Back from Having Too Down an Ending

Cap Goes on the Run and the Door is Open for Reconciliation

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has adapted numerous classic stories, the franchise has never tried to make them exactly like the comics. Civil War is no exception, as the set-up for the conflict doesn’t involve the New Warriors, nor does it occur in Connecticut. Instead, Captain America: Civil War builds on the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the United Nations has passed the Sokovia Accords to ensure the Avengers are held accountable. But like the comics, Iron Man supports the legislation while Captain America believes the heroes can monitor themselves.

Wrapped up in all of this, of course, is Steve Rogers’ old friend, James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes, aka the Winter Solider. Barnes is still struggling with the mental re-conditioning HYDRA put him through, especially as he becomes targeted by Helmut Zemo, who has a larger plan to tear the Avengers apart in revenge for the deaths of his family in Sokovia. Towards the end, Zemo reveals that Bucky was responsible for the deaths of Tony’s parents, fracturing what was left of Iron Man and Captain America’s friendship. Unlike the comics’ Civil War, however, Captain America manages to get away.

While the damage from Captain America: Civil War had a lasting impact on the Avengers’ interpersonal relationships, the fallout wasn’t as bad as the comics. Some heroes were pursued, but not as aggressively as the comics (Ant-Man was even able to secure house arrest). Iron Man doesn’t become S.H.I.E.L.D.’s director, nor does he attempt to try to bring Captain America or any anti-Accords heroes to justice. By the time Thanos attacked Earth in Infinity War, the heroes were willing to work together again, even if it was hard for them to move past their version of Civil War.

It’s Not Comic Accurate, But It’s the Only Way It Could Tie Everything Up Neatly

Now, this isn’t to say that one ending is better than the other. Both versions of Civil War had different lead-ins and each of them were going in a different direction. It’s disappointing to see Iron Man say that the Civil War wasn’t worth it at one moment, then see him continue to lock up his former friends and allies the next. But the comics were heading into a darker period, with Secret Invasion and Dark Reign right around the corner. For the comics, a more downbeat ending made sense for where Marvel Comics was going.

However, Captain America: Civil War kicked off Phase Three, and while it had its darker moments, the Marvel Cinematic Universe wanted to end on a more heroic note as it worked toward Endgame. It didn’t want to repeat the most infamous moments from the comics’ version of Civil War, because it wanted there to be room for forgiveness and allow its heroes the chance to work together again. Plus, having Captain America die at the end of his own movie would have been a major bummer for wider audiences (even if that’s comic canon).

Some may wish that the Marvel Cinematic Universe went for a darker tone to reflect how bitter the heroes’ confrontation really was in the comics, or at least have a more intense fallout. But the comics’ ending didn’t work with what the movies were trying to do. It would have been interesting to see how things would have shaken out had the franchise copied Civil War’s infamous ending. But for the sake of a more traditional ending, it’s probably for the best that the MCU went in its own direction after the Civil War.

“}]] Marvel held back from a more satisfying ending.  Read More