In Captain America: Civil War, the Sokovia Accords threaten to control and monitor superheroes. Here’s why Cap is right and the Accords are wrong.
In Captain America: Civil War, the Sokovia Accords drive a wedge between the Avengers. The United Nations drafts the Accords after a terrorist attack that killed 26 people. The Accords regulate what, when, and how a superhuman can be involved in global emergencies. As fans already know, Captain America strongly opposes the Accords while Iron Man supports them. And while the Avengers also seem split on them, they all should have been against them. The Sokovia Accords were created to be problematic. They make the viewer wonder what it takes to protect the world and whether the cost of individual freedom is worth paying. Cap would say that price is too high.
Before Civil war, Chris Claremont is the author of the Mutant Registration Act in the x-men comic books. This law was the ancestor of the Superhuman Registration Law, on which the agreements are based. The MRA was the first to raise the issue of registration and was heavily influenced by the treatment of Jews during World War II.
Mutants have long served as an allegory for “the Other”, and Stan Lee and Jack Kirby – the creators of the X-Men and the Avengers – were intimately familiar with them, as was Claremont. When Bill is featured in the comics, Moira MacTaggert said, “Registration today, gas chambers tomorrow”. The hint is clear, and the Superhuman Registration Act continues this theme.
The Sokovia Accords Captain America: Civil War whistle the same tune, of course, and the Accords’ ramifications can be devastating for many superheroes. While not discussed on screen as much, they do include the stipulation that enhanced people who sign must give their fingerprints and DNA. Signatories must also reveal their secret identities and be classified according to the appropriate threat level. Some of the worst items on the list are tracking bracelets, which those with innate abilities must wear at all times, and they will be detained indefinitely without trial if they violate the Accords.
Captain America: Civil WarThe Accords view superheroes as weapons rather than people, and they pose a threat. Superheroes are different, and that’s enough to make the government fear them because they don’t understand them. But no regulation born of fear and prejudice has ever been a good idea. Although the presence of superpowers changes things up a bit, the creators of the comics and Captain America himself have always believed that asking someone to check in is wrong. Security at the expense of individual freedom is not a price to pay. As Captain America would say, “If we sign them, we give up our right to choose.”
That’s what the Accords do: take away choice and freedom from a minority group of people because they are different. Signatories must perform actions assigned to them by a government group, otherwise. Not only is it wrong because it takes away a person’s autonomy, but it also puts superhero power in the hands of a few. The corruption that awaits in this scenario is similar to what happened to SHIELD. Recording a human, treating them as an object to be controlled, is wrong, and Cap has never lost sight of that.
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