8 Changes That Would Have Improved Captain America: Civil War

8. Explore Tony Stark's Crumbling Mental Health In More Depth

If there is one thing that is abundantly clear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is that Tony Stark is rapidly losing his mind. It makes sense – after all, he is a playboy civilian who has suddenly been thrust into intergalactic battles with no prior experience. We also know this is a man who, despite his apparent aloofness, has a strong conscience. This is first demonstrated in the original Iron Man flick when he stops producing weapons after seeing their consequences.

Inevitably the immense stress and trauma from his role as Iron Man have started to make him crack, which has, in turn, lead to mistakes like Ultron. The weight of that disaster is making him suffer even more because he knows Ultron was his fault. Essentially, he is living a horrendous cycle of pain.

His change from fun-loving party animal, to paranoid and guilt-ridden war veteran is the richest character arc in the entire MCU. Civil War presents Stark’s desire to sign the accords as coming from the death of one person in Sokovia when there is so much more to it than that. Giving this trauma more focus would have given his ideological battle with Captain America a whole lot more grit and meaning, and upped the stakes considerably. It would also make him more sympathetic and relatable, which as a billionaire superhero, is something he always needs from the audience.