Chapter 4: Power, Security, and Superheroes as WMDs
Captain America Said ‘Nah’ to the Sokovia Accords
4.1: Case Study – Superheroes and the Balance of Power. Captain America: Civil War
When we think of superheroes, we usually imagine people with extraordinary powers who save the world from equally extraordinary dangers—think super strength, flying, or shooting webs from your wrists. But what happens when superheroes become so powerful that they’re seen as global threats instead of saviors? Think of superheroes as nations with enormous, sometimes unpredictable power, able to change the course of events on a global scale. Their actions are exciting to watch, but they also raise serious questions about who should have control over such immense force. Just like real states with powerful weapons or armies, superheroes have abilities that can protect or, if unchecked, seriously harm societies. So when governments or alliances try to regulate or control these powerful figures, it’s not just about reining in strength—it’s a balancing act between freedom, security, and accountability. In international relations, we face similar debates over weapons control, alliances, and sovereignty. By looking at how superhero stories tackle these themes, we can gain new perspectives on how states wield power and negotiate security in the real world. In this chapter we will be using the film Captain America: Civil War as our lens for better understanding these issues.
In political science, understanding how power is distributed and used is essential to analyzing global stability and security. This chapter explores the idea of power and governance through an unusual yet compelling lens: superheroes. Using the film Captain America: Civil War as a case study, we’ll unpack how different international relations theories—like realism and liberalism—apply when superheroes, with their vast capabilities for both protection and destruction, are involved. In the film, superheroes are viewed by states as potential Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), raising complex issues around regulation, alliances, and decision-making. From the fictional Sokovia Accords, which aim to control superhero activity, to the tension between unilateral and multilateral approaches, Captain America: Civil War offers a unique framework for examining real-world concepts of power and governance. By the end of this chapter, you’ll gain insight into how IR theories help us understand the behavior of states, especially when powerful entities like superheroes—or in the real world, WMDs—challenge state authority and global order.
In the film, questions about power and control come to a head. The film follows the Avengers, a team of superheroes who have saved the world multiple times but left plenty of wreckage in their wake. After yet another battle causes massive destruction, governments worldwide decide it’s time to rein in these heroes with a UN-backed document called the Sokovia Accords. The Accords demand that superheroes register with the UN and submit to government oversight, effectively putting an end to their independent operations. This sparks a rift within the Avengers: Tony Stark (Iron Man) believes oversight is necessary to prevent further chaos, while Steve Rogers (Captain America) argues that political control would interfere with their ability to act freely and do what’s right. The disagreement escalates, and soon the Avengers are divided, with old friends becoming fierce opponents. It’s a story about loyalty, freedom, and the moral cost of power—plus a lot of buildings get destroyed in the process! Check out these two scenes from the film, where the Avengers are first presented with the Sokovia Accords, an attempt to regulate superheroes.
In Captain America: Civil War, superheroes are treated as if they were (WMDs), capable of causing catastrophic damage. WMDs are generally defined as highly destructive weapons that can cause large-scale harm to people, infrastructure, and the environment, often indiscriminately and with long-lasting effects. These weapons include nuclear, chemical, and biological arms, all of which create security dilemmas for states that fear being overpowered or threatened by their existence. In the film, superheroes represent a similar threat. With abilities that can level cities or shift the balance of global power, they act as “weapons” with unpredictable potential. This fictional representation mirrors real-world challenges that states face when dealing with WMDs; for instance, how does one control forces capable of massive destruction without creating even larger conflicts? In international relations, the presence of WMDs often forces states to increase military spending or seek strategic alliances, driving them to bolster their security in response to perceived threats. The film’s portrayal of superheroes as quasi-WMDs sets up a foundation for examining the complex political dynamics that arise when entities possess unequal power levels, requiring us to consider both state sovereignty and global security. In the following scene, Wanda Maximoff (aka The Scarlet Witch) inadvertently causes an explosion, killing dozens of people and demonstrating the potential destructive power of superheroes.
The in Captain America: Civil War serve as a fictional multilateral agreement aimed at regulating superhero activity, similar to international treaties that govern WMDs. In the film, the Sokovia Accords propose that superheroes register their identities and submit to oversight by the United Nations. This arrangement echoes real-world efforts to regulate powerful entities, such as the , which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons while promoting peaceful nuclear cooperation. The Accords raise critical questions about state authority, individual autonomy, and collective security—issues that lie at the heart of global governance. Many superheroes resist these controls, fearing that oversight could undermine their ability to act freely in crisis situations, similar to how states may resist signing treaties that limit their military capabilities. The Sokovia Accords bring to light the often-contentious balance between individual actors and collective security. By requiring superheroes to submit to a central authority, the Accords underscore the tension between respecting powerful entities’ autonomy and ensuring they don’t destabilize the international system. This debate mirrors real-world scenarios where countries with significant power face calls for accountability, highlighting the challenges and importance of global cooperation in the face of potential security threats.
Highly destructive weapons—nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological—that can cause large-scale harm to people, infrastructure, and the environment, often indiscriminately and with long-lasting effects.
A fictional multilateral agreement proposed in the film to regulate superhero activity, reflecting real-world debates over international regulation of powerful entities such as WMDs.
A landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament
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