1Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Comics, or anything related to CA:CW. I am open to suggestions on how to make it easier to read. Heaven knows I hate walls of text.
Dear Mr. Stark;
I'd tell you my name, but in the long run I don't think it really matters. I've never met you, and you've probably never even heard of me. I hope this isn't too forward of me, but in light of the recent debacle, I wanted to...well, I'm not entirely sure what I wanted. But let me start by saying that I believe that neither you nor Captain Rogers are entirely right or wrong. Before you throw this letter away, please, let me explain. Both of your arguments have good, logical points, and yet both have points that aren't logically sound. I can't really support either side, yet I can see the reasons behind your choices. As such, I shall begin with the problem of oversight. My apologies if this letter reads somewhat disjointedly, my mind isn't the most organized at the moment.
Captain Rogers is wrong in assuming that oversight of some sort is unneeded, as history shows us. Yet I hesitate to believe that entrusting the control of superpowered individuals to people who lack powers is the right choice. And on that note, listening to Secretary Ross, a man who shouldn't even hold the position given that Harlem's destruction is entirely his fault as well as the fact that he has made Dr. Banner's life a living nightmare for years, is clearly a sign of impaired thinking. I'm quite certain that he has more than one skeleton in his closet; unfortunately, he has them buried well. Still, oversight of some sort is clearly needed, as the events that occurred in the recent days have proved. But to rely solely upon the people who have proven themselves unworthy of the responsibilities that comes with power and the ability to fire weapons of mass destruction? I would rather see the sun go supernova. The UN or any current government is not suited for dealing with the power and responsibility that would come with absolute power over the Avengers. Consequently, something new is needed. What, I don't even dare to presume to know. But currently there is no clear-cut solution. There aren't enough other superheroes with enough age and experience to form a council of peers. At this time, this problem has come to an impasse.
James Buchanan Barnes is the Winter Soldier. My horror at this discovery...well, it wasn't pretty, to say the least. Yet I can't imagine that Steve Roger's best friend chose to become the Fist of HYDRA willingly. Cpt. Rogers certainly seems to believe that Sgt. Barnes is largely innocent of the various assassinations reputedly performed by the Winter Soldier, and I find myself agreeing with him for my own reasons. To prove my point, I ask you this, and also ask your forgiveness ahead of time: are you responsible for all of the people killed by the Stark Industries weapons sold to various terrorist organizations by Obadiah Stane? They were your weapons yes, but you did not give them to the terrorists personally. The weapons were designed by you, built by your company, but were not sold by you. It was not your hand that fired them. Some responsibility may lie on your shoulders, but not all. There is more than enough blame to go around, and not all of it is yours to bear. Similarly, I do not believe that all of the blame lies solely upon the shoulders of Sgt. Barnes. A gun is not responsible for the people it kills and that is what HYDRA forced Sgt. Barnes to become; a weapon that followed orders without questioning anything. Take for example the mask that Sgt. Barnes wore as the Winter Soldier: it molded to his face and jaw, preventing speech. In essence it was a muzzle. As I said earlier, I believe that it took time for Sgt. Barnes to be reborn as the Winter Soldier. Proof for this theory is simple: his first mission as the Winter Soldier was in 1967. He was captured the second time in 1945. There is a 22 year gap between those dates, 22 years that Sgt. Barnes spent fighting for his mind, a fight he eventually lost, yes, but not permanently. Something that I have learned from an early age is that, for all of the blame that the world can heap upon a person's shoulders, they can easily triple the amount with their own self-hatred. I am not a telepath, but I imagine that the Sergeant utterly blames himself for every single mission he remembers. From your actions during the recent conflict, I can only presume that one of his missions was responsible for the deaths of your parents. If I am correct, then I apologize for reminding you, but for all you blame him, he blames himself ten times more. You cannot do anything to him that he has not already done to himself. I won't say forgive and forget, I refuse to trivialize your pain like that. You lost your parents: you shouldn't forget them. And maybe you will never forgive Sgt. Barnes. But he isn't the true reason they're dead. That dubious honor belongs to HYDRA. So summon up the fury of the Merchant of Death and let the heads of HYDRA tremble, for what else is the Iron Man armor but a weapon?
I must apologize; I started this letter hoping to be as impartial as possible, yet I seem to have biased this letter despite that. I hope I haven't offended you, and I'm not trying to convince you that the Captain is infallible but...ah, forget it. The point was, you aren't perfect and neither is he. And if you're ever going to even contemplate remaking the Avengers, then there has to be an understanding on both sides. I'm writing a similar letter to Cpt. Rogers even if I never actually mail it, so don't feel like I singled you out. I don't claim to know everything, I'm not superpowered in any way, but I have seen family turn their backs on each other for all the wrong reasons. I won't pretend to understand your reasoning for doing what you did, but I think you never meant for it to escalate like it did. If I've offended you, my deepest and most sincere apologies; it was not my intent. Feel free to do whatever you wish to this letter after you are finished reading. Burn it, shred it, I don't care. Thank you for taking the time to read it. In closing, I bid you good day.