kindnesssalways:

Hi! Tony was emotionally compromised, absolutely. It honestly can’t be argued, because the first 30 minutes of the movie were devoted to setting up his fragile emotional state. That being said, high emotions don’t make his arguments wrong. Tony did have a point in needing oversight. I think they show, though, that his actions came purely from fear/guilt, and that’s where he went wrong. 

Because government oversight sounds completely logical; no one wants the Avengers running around doing whatever they want, and all of Tony’s points about ‘we need to get a handle on this before they force us’ make perfect sense. The problem comes from Tony’s conclusions. He wants government oversight… in any form it takes. He wants to look good for PR purposes… so he signs immediately and hopes to fix it later. He doesn’t want Wanda to be extradited… so he locks her in the compound until she signs. He doesn’t feel he has the numbers to fight Cap’s side… so he brings some random kid into the fray. None of these actions are reasonable responses – they’re coming from a place of pure fear, and Tony doesn’t stop to think about the consequences. He doesn’t listen to Steve’s warnings about how groups have agendas and how oversight shouldn’t mean absolute control. He’s letting General Ross manipulate and use him because he’s so struck by guilt over Sokovia he just wants that responsibility taken out of his hands. 

Tony wants the Accords because he believes in accountability, which is understandable, but he doesn’t think about what they’ll mean or how they’ll be implemented, which we see towards the end of the film. His high emotions make him unable to see other’s perspectives (I wrote a little about that here), so he just barrels through in his desperation for the end result. This is why Tony is the antagonist of a Captain America film, not the protagonist of an Iron Man one.

Maybe I’m in the minority on this one, but I don’t feel like Steve was compromised by Bucky. His beliefs and moral compass have never changed, from CATFA to CACW. He didn’t even know where Bucky was when the Accords were being set up and signed, so I don’t know how he could be biased. He listened to Tony’s arguments, he read the Accords, he watched the presentation… but he didn’t feel like the Accords were the answer. Even when Steve found Bucky – he didn’t stop him from being arrested, but merely stopped the government from trying to kill on sight. I never had the impression that Steve was throwing it all away for Bucky, because it’s pretty clear that he’s standing up for his own beliefs and threw the shield away for himself.

Instead, Bucky is more… a representation of Steve’s fears. Bucky is the result of complete government control of Supersoldiers. Bucky’s arrest is how we see the government’s power under the Accords: no trial, no lawyers, and complete loss of autonomy. Despite his proven innocence, the government goes after him anyway. What happens to Bucky is what cements Steve’s beliefs, which he’s had all along. So Steve isn’t changing his mind or being emotional because of Bucky – it’s really Bucky that helps the audience see why Steve’s thoughts are reasonable.