Civil war is about to complete two decades of publication, and the fight between the groups led by Iron Man and Captain America remains one of the most important moments in the chronology of Marvel Comics stories. And thanks to the plot of the HQ Contest of Champions (or Tournament of Champions), we saw an alternate ending to the conflict, with Iron Man showing off his ultimate weapon for the battle.
Just to refresh your memory, Civil war The story of comics began after the young team of heroes the New Warriors tried to take on very powerful supervillains, such as the human bomb known as Nitro. During the brawl, Nitro exploded among hundreds of people, including children at a school.
Public opinion blamed the superhero community, which resulted in Iron Man’s support for a superbeing registration bill in the US Congress – that is, a directive that made heroes subordinate and accountable to the government. Captain America, on the other hand, rallied naysayers. The conflict between the two sides became a bloodbath, and it only ended when Steve Rogers decided to turn himself in. Then the Sentinel of Liberty was murdered before he could stand trial.
Subsequently, Steve Rogers returned, of course, but the whole thing became an iconic moment in the Marvel canon.
Iron Man’s Ultimate Weapon in Civil War
But in the story of Contest of Champions #1 2016 by Al Ewing and Rhoald Marcellius, the story has an alternate ending to the Civil warwhich shows Iron Man using his ultimate weapon in the conflict.
Tony Stark uses the Reality Infinity Gem to resurrect Captain America and “set things right”. Although it is a somewhat disturbed “solution” to the Civil warthis goes against Iron Man’s personality, who often has trouble acting in a balanced way when he is close to power.
Much of Iron Man’s charm lies in his past mistakes, and the way he deals with his limitations to redeem himself or escape these internal conflicts – be it his relationship with his father or his alcohol problems, among other issues. What if he had the power to change those things? It is precisely this somber scenario that the plot of Contest of Champions brings, showing that the hero’s ultimate weapon would be to control situations with limitless power.
