Who’s on Team Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War?

Get ready for Captain America: Civil War by learning more about who’s on Team Iron Man, and why they might be siding with Tony Stark.

Remember back when Nick Fury told Tony Stark he was considered a poor fit for the Avengers Initiative because he didn’t play well with others? Things have changed quite a bit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since then.

Iron Man has been at the heart of quite a bit of it, saving the day during the Battle of New York in The Avengers but also playing an oversized role in creating a villain that threatened the whole planet in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s hard to say that Tony would ever be humbled, but he’s also a super smart guy, so if he reads the tea leaves and sees that people would be more comfortable with government oversight of superheroes, you can be darn sure he’ll try to convince others it’s a good idea too.

He’s going to do just that in Captain America: Civil War, rallying others in support of the Sokovia Accords. With that in mind, let’s check out who decides to back him up when it comes time to throw down with fellow heroes in reverse alphabetical order.

Who’s on Team Iron Man

• War Machine (James “Rhodey” Rhodes) – This is obvious. Not only are the two men close friends, but Rhodey is still an active member of the military (as far as we know). If the U.S. government thinks the Sokovia Accords are needed, so will he.
• Vision – The artificial man is going to understand exactly what scares people, because he’s one of those things. Using logic, he’ll likely feel that people will be safer if the Avengers answer to someone. Also, Tony created J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI upon whom much of Vision’s personality is based.
• Iron Man (Tony Stark) – One thing that we’ve learned about Tony is that once he thinks he’s right about something, it’s nearly impossible to talk him out of it (see also: Ultron). It’s interesting that he’s been making a parallel journey to Captain America that will have them essentially ending up in total opposition to the views they once held.
• Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) – Of all the Avengers, her decision is the hardest one to figure. She grew much closer to Steve Rogers during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so to see her in combat against him is going to be stunning — not to mention her old partner Hawkeye.
• Black Panther (T’Challa) – The people behind Captain America: Civil War made it sound as if Black Panther wouldn’t take sides, but it certainly looks like he’s backing Iron Man. As a world leader himself, T’Challa has a different point of view and more responsibilities than the other MCU heroes, which could definitely inform his decision.

It’s a little too early to say for sure, but the second Captain America: Civil War trailer has Iron Man summoning Spider-Man to help even the odds when the two teams are facing off at full strength. Since this will be Spidey’s debut in the MCU, his motivations are a complete mystery, and there could very well be more than meets the eye when it comes to his participation.

Next: Who's on Team Cap in Captain America: Civil War?

From a pure comic book nerd perspective, Team Iron Man should be the “stronger” team, but it’s not necessarily going to be all-out slugfest when the two sides clash. It won’t be long until that happens, as Captain America: Civil War invades theaters everywhere on May 6.