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Vigilantes confirm their stance on Sokovia Accords in confrontation with the Avengers
Marie West, August 23rd 2020
Despite having been seen in Leipzig, Germany, fighting alongside ‘Team Iron Man’ in an attempt to bring the fugitive ‘Team Cap’ into custody, yesterday, after a long battle in central New York City, the beloved vigilante Spider-Man has stated in an argument between himself and Iron Man, that he will not be signing the accords. He’s made it abundantly clear that he does not and will not agree with the Sokovia Accords on any level.
This argument was carried out in the middle of the city, between vigilantes and heroes, between those who have signed and those who haven’t. The loudest voices in this group included Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Spider-Man all of whom were vehemently against the Accords. The other side of the conversation included Iron Man, War Machine and the visiting King T’Challa of Wakanda, the Black Panther.
The Sokovia Accords were designed as a world-wide effort to provide some form of oversight for superhero teams, so that they had something to be held accountable to. It was supposed to mean that there wouldn’t be any more tragedies like the city of Sokovia, after which the Accords were named, and would allow teams like the Avengers to cooperate with local governments and organisations in order to reduce damage and casualties.
They were a way for superheroes to continue their good work but allow there to be repercussions for any actions that caused an unnecessary loss of life. These very documents are what caused the Avengers’ Civil War, which consisted of Iron Man, War Machine, Black Widow, the Vision, Black Panther and Spider-Man on the pro-accords team, with Captain America, the Falcon, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and the - at the time - suspected terrorist bomber James Buchanan Barnes. The conflict between the two groups ended with Iron Man, War Machine, Black Panther and the Vision remaining as members of the Avengers, and Spider-Man returning to New York and continuing his good work in the city. However, Black Widow supposedly changed her mind about the Accords, and ended up on the run along with Captain America, Sergeant Barnes and the Falcon, while Hawkeye and Ant-Man appeared to take plea deals in return for turning themselves in.
This ‘Civil War’ forced many fans of the Avengers to rethink their opinions on their favourite heroes, with public opinion split between the two groups. Over time however, it appeared that most people took Captain America continuing to run from law enforcement as a sign of guilt, and opinion swayed to the new Avengers, who were working within the new Sokovia Accords, and seemed to be doing an excellent job of saving people but in cooperation with governments. This appears to have been idyllic thinking, as while the regulations may have worked with higher class superheroes like the Avengers, many vigilantes who have been hailed as heroes held firm in their refusal to sign.
Witnesses claim that once the fight had ended, Iron Man confronted Spider-Man. There is no record of how the first part of the conversation transpired, but nearby witnesses certainly heard it when Spider-Man, apparently fed up with Iron Man, yelled that ‘signing the Accords was a death warrant for vigilantes.’ Iron Man’s response was to flip up his face plate and allegedly get right up in Spider-Man’s face, yelling right back. The argument quickly escalated, with phrases like ‘tracking bracelets’, ‘duty to the people’ and ‘corrupt government agendas’ supposedly thrown around.
It became clear that neither Iron Man nor Spider-Man were taking steps towards de-escalation, so it appears that Daredevil, rarely seen in daylight, and War Machine, long time Avenger and friend of Tony Stark made an attempt to defuse the situation, although it appears to have simply made it worse. Iron Man, while no longer yelling, was clearly furious, and appeared to be talking fast while gesturing to Daredevil. It is no secret that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen isn’t beloved by everyone, given his brutal methods in dealing with criminals in his corner of New York, but it appears that Spider-Man is not amongst those who fear or hate him, given he seemed ready to fight Iron Man then and there.
By this point, Black Panther had made his way over, and it appears that he was the most level-headed of the group. Black Panther made it a point to not make the situation any worse, even holding Iron Man back when he appeared ready to physically escalate the situation. Spider-Man and Iron Man were still the centre of this argument, but by this point, it seems other groups of heroes, Avengers and vigilantes alike, had taken notice, and were starting up conversations amongst themselves. These other conversations remained civil, until Jessica Jones got involved into the central argument, derailing it with a loud accusation that the Avengers were stalling in order for the authorities to arrest the vigilantes.
It has never been a secret that vigilantes are commonly disliked by most law enforcement, whether this be bitterness that the vigilantes are doing the job of the police, or hatred of the brutal methods taken by most vigilantes, and the apparent grey morality many of them take. Most vigilantes blatantly have a no kill rule, but Daredevil has been known to torture his criminals, and Spider-Man, the golden standard for vigilantism being heroic, has been known to associate with both the Punisher and Deadpool, individuals who have body counts in the hundreds.
At Jessica Jones’ announcement, the vigilantes scattered, with apparently none of them remaining behind. It appears there was some truth to Jones’ statement, as the police arrived within a minute of the vigilantes fleeing the scene. Many have taken this argument as a shock, as Spider-Man, one of the few heroes originally fighting on the side of the Accords, has made it clear that he has no interest in signing them, and people don’t have enough context to understand why.
The accords were designed as a way for superheroes to be held accountable, so they don’t end up doing whatever they wish whenever they want at the cost of human lives. Sokovia was a wake-up call for many as to the truth of what these heroes could achieve. The details of the tragedy are still murky, but it appears a defence A.I. designed by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner went rogue and attempted to wipe out humanity, using Sokovia as its meteor to do so. Stark has paid for reparations, and even stood trial to prove his innocence in the overall destruction that Ultron caused, although the evidence used in the trial was never released to the public.
Such a tragedy caused a cry for repercussions for those who are overly powerful, to make sure that it never happens again. However, the fact is, the Sokovia Accords were designed for superheroes, for those apart of large teams with globally recognised names, while the truth of the situation is that small time heroes and street level vigilantes based in single cities across the globe vastly outnumber teams like the Avengers.
Most vigilantes are personally opposed to signing the Accords, and most of them seem content to continue operating in their own cities and areas, making a difference on the small scale, rather than only fending off world ending events. The other factor believed to contribute to vigilantes’ opinions on this issue is that many of them are remarkably private, with unknown identities behind the masks. The few that are known have faced hatred in the street and persecution that many deem unnecessary, as well as the targeting of friends and family members. Vigilantism is illegal, and many vigilantes have been forced to flee the police after aiding them in city wide disasters.
A look into the Sokovia Accords has shown that vigilantes are required to register if they wish to continue their activities, and that failure to do so will result in arrest. If they do choose to sign, there are even more regulations that they have to follow, with it being required to document any and all abilities, reveal identities and report back to an organisation after every incident, and this is only for low-risk heroes. For vigilantes deemed high level threats? They have to wear a tracking bracelet at all times, dwell in facilities that are capable of restraining them at any time, and if they step out of line, they are detained indefinitely, until it can be ruled that they are not a danger to society.
Most vigilantes have a reason to be against the Accords as they currently are, but it still leaves the issue of oversight. There is nothing keeping vigilantes in check, we simply have to trust that they won’t fly off the rails and start killing anyone and everyone they find, regardless of if they are a criminal or not.
Spider-Man and the other vigilantes clearly refuse to side with the Accords, and therefore with the Avengers, despite seemingly standing for the same thing – the general public being safe and protected from harm.
Where does the line get drawn? What is the difference heroes and vigilantes, vigilantes and criminals? Do we just allow people to continue running through the streets, dealing out justice as they see fit, trusting that they are morally good people who can keep themselves in check?
In this age of heroes, where do normal people stand? We could be killed in a matter of seconds if any one of these vigilantes chose to end us, and yet they refuse any method of being held accountable.
All of this brings a new light to the events of 2016. The Accords would have been revised in the past few years, so what was so horrid about the original documents that Captain America, a man who has been held up as a paragon of righteousness and justice for nearly 75 years, turned tail and ran rather than sign them? Why did half of the Avengers take such offense to documents that were supposed to make their jobs easier?
And above all, where should we as a society stand on them now? With the heroes who protect the world from global threats, but are arguably as powerful as gods, or with the vigilantes, who protect us from everyday threats and crimes, but have no oversight and nothing keeping them from doing what they want?