why peter would NOT have chosen team cap, even if he were given the choice
this is probably just a lousy attempt at trying to give everyone a new perspective about CA civil war 10 years later, but iâll say it anyway âcause iâm sick of arguing left and right for the past years of my fangirling
the decision tony and steve made all boils down to psychology: steve had a soldierâs mindset where he focused on saving those who can still be saved. tony, on the other hand, dwells on the lives that shouldâve been saved, and itâs a perspective he has carried all throughout his life, most probably ever since his parents died.
it just pmo when either side says that, âteam __ has beliefs while the other had none,â when steve and tony both had beliefs. both were acceptable depending on perspective, both had a point, and thatâs what makes this very complex. where it all blew up was how their mindsets just clashedâthey couldnât fit themselves in each otherâs shoes even if they tried. and each person on their team also had different motives as to why they chose the team they chose (tâchalla as revenge on bucky, nat as a way for them to stay together, antman and wanda because they personally hated stark, etc).
yada yada, after all that, i saw how many people still believe that spider-man wouldâve chosen team cap if tony didnât recruit him personally. and hereâs why that wonât be the case:
in terms of identity, signing the accords would deeply affect peter, but in terms of practise, it wouldnât affect his daily routine of patrolling in queens because the sokovia accords governs international incidents. so technically, if spider-man keeps his crime-fighting in queens, peter is under the control of the NYPD and not the UN. moreover, peter is legally protected by tony stark as the latter kept him classified under a stark industries internship, where he can reiterate that peter does not operate internationally.
if peter had chosen team cap, filled with known international fugitives, his superhero life wouldâve ended before it even started. he would have to be on the run as a fifteen-year-oldâdropping out of school and leaving his only family behind, until he gets locked up in that raft. and i donât get how this aspect is not clear to team iron man antis.
yes, peter was basically blackmailed when he was brought to germany by tony, but it gave him legal protection of his identity under stark industries, a bunch of upgrades that can protect him in future patrols, and someone who sees his potentialâwhich was what he needed, if yâall can see it or not.
steve brought wanda to an international mission that led her to unintentionally bomb a building, and when she got heavy criticism for what happened, his defense was that âshe was a kid.â itâs a bit hypocritical when some team cap stans refuse to see that flaw of steve and focus on tonyâs when he brought peter to the fight. but tony had explicitly stated his termsâhe gave peter an upgraded suit with multiple tools of protection, he stated that peter should keep his distance, and that he was to go home once heâs down. and all was well. he sent peter away after germany with a brand new suit and legal protection of his identity.
and like iâve said at the opening of this post, it all boils down to psychology. peterâs mindset is way more similar with tonyâs than steveâs. as a crime-fighting fifteen-year-old who webs up thieves and gives directions, he would not be able to handle any lives on his guilt and conscience. thatâs basically spider-manâs origin story: how he was not able to save his uncle ben from that mugger when he already had his powersâit motivated him to become spider-man to make sure something like that never happened again.
and you all expect this kid to side with a man who can easily move on from lives that couldnât be saved? itâs not a wrong perspective, no, but itâs definitely not peterâs perspective. you can even see in the ferry incident and in titan that he wouldnât let anybody fall during a fightâthatâs how desperate he is to save everyone. and thatâs exactly why he would choose tony every, single time.
if everything was discussed beforehand, peter would choose tony every timeâthe man who can provide protection, a safety net to fallback on, and resources. he would choose tony logically and emotionally. because like he said to tony, âwhen you do the things that i can, but you donât, then the bad things happenâthey happen because of you.â
thatâs exactly the philosophy that tony has kept in his mind for years, which led him to create ultron, which made him realise he needed boundaries. but these boundaries barely affect peter when he is legally protected by tony and if the ultimate goal is to only keep his city safe.
thanks for listening to my ted talk! :D