Robert Downey Jr. Explains Iron Man's Motivations In Captain America: Civil War

Marvel's upcoming Captain America: Civil War pits two of the most iconic Avengers at odds with each other, but because the conflict doesn't stem from mind control, time travel, or magic, it requires you to do the uncomfortable and choose a side.

At least, that is what Robert Downey and the team behind the film hope you'll do.

The central conflict in Civil War is one of required supervision, specifically the Sokovia Accordis. It is a piece of legislation that, if enacted, would make all vigilantes and superheroes required to register with the government. It also essentially makes them employees of the government, and that doesn't sit right with Captain America. Robert Downey jr. spoke about the differences between the two (via Nerdist) and if his grasping for control was at the heart of his stance.

"I mean, conversely, I think what's interesting is not so much that he's looking for more control but that he's saying that as a group of individuals we all require a little bit more supervision than we might imagine,"

The film is taking a much more deliberate approach when it comes to how they paint Tony in the film. In the comics, while both had valid arguments, Tony lost a lot of goodwill and frankly any credibility when he and Reed Richards built a superhuman prison and starting arresting their friends. Downey Jr. even admits it was a bit hard to get behind him in the books.

"It's difficult for me to think of Tony in those terms, but when you read the comic it's like, 'Man, Tony, you're blowing it dude!'" he said with a laugh.

Screenwriter Christopher Markus addressed this a bit as well.

"Part of the challenge in not making Tony clearly wrong as he seems to me to be in the comic book, where [he] built an inter-dimensional prison… is to give him his own personal reason, the same [way] we've given Steve a personal [reason], so that he's coming from a place where you understand why he would make this decision."

The team agreed that both arguments needed merit and that Tony's side needed to be more well rounded behind a central idea.

"Ultimately, what we didn't want was a story that's just a bunch of ideologue nonsense going back and forth," Downey Jr. told us. "Because it's like, 'Why are you guys talking? We like it when you're doing witty stuff or when you're in a weird position or when you're really hurting or when you're fighting.' So I, just as a fan of these movies, I wouldn't want to see anything irreparable happen, but I also like it when seemingly irreparable things occur and men and women find a way to move past it."

If things go their way, audiences will be leaving the theatre truly split on who they would follow, and who they'll continue to root for.

via Nerdist