Meanwhile, the MCU event that kicks off Civil War is decidedly less compelling. The heroes nobly try as hard as they can to prevent destruction caused by bad guys, but fall a little short. Scarlet Witch tries to contain an explosion set off by Crossbones, but the blast destroys the top floor of a building, killing some Wakandan aid workers. The public backlash mainly consists of crowds shaking their fists in a news report, and then William Hurt is dragged out of the bar we left him in at the end of The Incredible Hulk to tell everybody they need to register with the government.
Ross does explain that the events of Age Of Ultron, wherein the Stark-created Ultron tried to destroy the world by lifting up a city and dropping it Looney Tunes-style, also figures into the need for registration. But that seems more like a justification to stop billionaires from making all-powerful murderous AI systems (which hopefully was already against the law), rather than a legitimate "Maybe superheroes are bullshit" debate.
It all feels less like the pressure cooker finally blowing and more like the MCU saying, "Well, we've done enough movies to have Civil War now." Stark's side of the argument seems petty, penalizing heroes for garden-variety blockbuster collateral damage, instead of holding them accountable for a disaster caused by attention-seeking and greed -- something that would actually call into question the entire idea of flamboyant public superheroism itself.
Related: 5 Reasons The Marvel Cinematic Universe Should Have Failed
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