What I Learned About Perspective from Marvel's Civil War
Marvel's Civil War was a 2006-07 crossover event that involved the entire Marvel Comics universe choosing sides in the aftermath of a national tragedy. The United States government, faced with growing public pressure, sets a mandate that all super-powered people must register (and reveal their identities) or face imprisonment. It divides the large roster of heroes and villains right down the middle, with Captain America leading a rebellion against registration, and Iron Man leading those who have been tasked with enforcing this policy.
What I really enjoy about this event (in addition to the prominent featuring of Spider-Man) is the depth of storytelling, where we get perspectives from individual characters on each side as well as the civilians on the front lines. Also, there is such a deep moral and philosophical quandary being played out a midst the epic superhero fights. From a certain point of view, Civil War was ahead of its time, dealing with the overreach of the federal government, surveillance, privacy, and freedom before such matters were national debates in light of recent revelations surrounding things like social media, and our government listening to our phone calls.
While reading through the different comics in this event, you witness the debate between Captain American and Iron Man especially, as they try to reconcile with each other. Both have their own values and beliefs, but as they take their stances, neither is entirely right or wrong. It's all a matter of perspective, which makes the dilemma that much more intriguing to me.
I love having these sorts of debates. I'm a very relative person when it comes to taking sides on things. I can see stuff both ways and understand where people are coming from. Often people can get very dug into their points of view, and can't relate at all to where someone else is coming from. It's important to be open to different perspectives, and even if you don't agree with each other, you can perhaps get to a compromise since typically each side will want the same thing in the end. Patience, open-mindedness, and empathy are all traits we all should embody as we work together to improve our teams, our departments, our communities, and our world.
We'll see this story arc adapted for the upcoming film, Captain America: Civil War, which I am very excited for. I hope it does the comics justice, and from the first trailer, it seems like it has the right angle.