Mentioned: @secretaryross

“You’re right, but what do you want me to say?” Her voice was drained, exhausted, and her hands worried the hem of her shirt. “That I’m sorry I hurt Betty? I’m sorry that I can’t let her go so that she can be happy like she deserves to be? That I’m sorry that I keep failing to do the one thing that can make this right? It’s all the truth, but none of it is ever going to be enough.”

Last time we talked about how Zemo’s plan, while aided a bit by coincidence, was not the massive master plan that is often held up as the main plot weakness of Captain America: Civil War. The thing that is so often forgotten is that while Zemo certainly did plot and scheme, he probably had nothing to do with bringing about the Accords, but merely took advantage of them. There was another schemer in play though, whose presence, if ignored, makes Zemo seem far bigger in scope. Secretary Ross. A lot of people have memory holed Incredible Hulk (I often feel that I am one of the few fans of it around) but in that movie we have seen the single-minded drive of Ross to control the Hulk as a weapon. He was thwarted as a General in this, but I don’t feel that drive has lessened, even with his newfound perspective. His heart attack did not change his goals, merely his methods, and his way to secure control of the heroes in the world hinged on one thing, the Sokovia Accords. Though he talks a lot about “middle ground” when addressing the Avengers at the Compound, it is clear Ross represents total control, desiring to take full autonomy from the Avengers. This would be an unlikely outcome if they had a role in crafting them, so the Accords come as a surprise attack, not appearing the active team until three days before they are signed. Of course, the Accords are just so much paper if they are not signed by the Avengers themselves, and so completely locking them out of the drafting is almost certain to put up their backs unless he has an in. That in, of course, is Tony Stark, as the movie shows, but Ross needs and ace, to make sure sure that the notoriously impulsive Tony is in just the right frame of mind to accept the Accords without looking too closely. So it just so happened that an employee from the State Department who lost a son in Sokovia was at MIT when Stark launched his grant program. Huh, big coincidence, eh? Soon after, Secretary Ross gets a lift with Tony to the compound with the Accords in tow and Stark’s full support. He now has a leader of the Avengers, their main financier as well. With Stark bringing along others, he has enough to legitimize the Accords. Moving forward from there, he continues manipulating Tony to raise the stakes, using the chaos of the bombing to tighten his grip until all non-signing Avengers are imprisoned. But it was here that he overplayed his hand, both by revealing how the prisoners are being treated and ignoring the evidence exonerating Barnes. His goal was never justice for the Bombing... the fake story, an enhanced individual gone rogue, serves his purpose better. Seeing that, Tony’s cooperation ends and he begins antagonizing Ross, though his ability to do so in a meaningful way is severely hampered by the Accords. So with both Zemo and Ross plotting, there was more than enough things happening to drive the plot without needing God like power or knowledge.