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cap_ironman2018-03-18 06:53 pm
cap_ironman_mod) wrote in cap_ironman2018-03-18 06:53 pm
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The Steve/Tony Multiverse Ship Manifesto & the Cap-IM Slashy Moments List
Last year we celebrated 10 Years of Steve/Tony. So far this year, we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the
cap_ironman community and next month it'll be time to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lot of time has passed, a lot of fans have shared their love for the Steve/Tony ship with us and put in work to share the love for this ship. In July, it will be ten years since elspethdixon posted her Captain America/Iron Man (Marvel Comics) Ship Manifesto in the
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ship_manifesto community on Livejournal: an essay and overview of the Steve/Tony ship that aided the start of our fandom and the still active Steve/Tony community. Ten Years Later
Much has transpired during those ten year in Marvel Comics canon, the Marvel multiverse, and in the Steve/Tony fandom. But not least of all, the MCU has given shippers an accessible and immensely popular Steve/Tony universe, and brought in so many new members to our community in the past decade. Just look at all the brilliant Steve/Tony moments everyone voted on during our Best of Steve/Tony 2018 votes.
Steve/Tony and the Marvel multiverse go hand-in-hand. And that's why it is time to for the community to come together to continue on the legacy of the Steve/Tony Ship Manifesto, and help create the...
The Steve/Tony Multiverse Ship Manifesto
What is a Ship Manifesto?
To quote the original
ship_manifesto community, a ship manifesto is a "a public declaration of fannish love for a particular pairing or ship". The idea was to provide "readers with a detailed listing of pairings, insight into the characters behind the pairings, and contextual understanding of what makes the pairing work" and "provide newcomers with a starting point for further exploration."People signed up to write detailed essays of 1500 to 5000 words to give people unfamiliar with ship a good reason to check it out and fall in love!
What is the goal of this post?
The goal of this post is to give the Steve/Tony ship an updated ship manifesto, one that not only acts as a sequel to the original essay — we don't want to reiterate the original essay, we want to expand on it and branch out into the different Marvel universes we have come to enjoy. A new place to point newcomers who may want to learn about the multiverse versions they're unfamiliar with, a place that answers the question "Why do Steve and Tony belong together?" and a place for an ongoing discussion about the ongoing canon versions and the fandom.
To achieve our goal, we want to explore the following points for versions of Steve/Tony across the multiverse:
- Small character studies that allow the uninitiated reader to get to know the characters and understand who they are.
- Canon or subtext evidence for why Steve and Tony work as a pairing.
- Your own interpretation of the pairing and why you ship them.
- Some background information on how you became involved with the fandom, and why you were first attracted to the pairing.
- Meta/insight into why the reader should be following Steve/Tony.
- Short fandom/universe guide (information on how to get into the canon, fanwork recs, useful sites etc.; resources that will help a newbie find their way around fandom and the Steve/Tony ship)
To make it a ship manifesto for everyone, we want to crowdsource and discuss everyone's thoughts on Steve/Tony. Everyone's shippy view of the pairing is welcome, everyone can share their opinion. (Please, remain positive and be nice to each other! You don't need to hate on other characters or ships to justify your love for Steve/Tony!)
This post will remain open indefinitely, so that shippers old and new can come back here in the future and talk about new developments and give new fans a chance to see Steve/Tony fandom as it progresses. By next year, we'll archive everyone's thoughts, meta, and links into a new community Steve/Tony ship manifesto index.
Please promote the post. We want to have diverse viewpoints and opinions!
How do I help and join the discussion?
The mods will make top level comments with a subject line that indicates what part of the multiverse the thread will be for. You can comment there with your thoughts on all or some of the points listed above.
If you want to write an essay and post it in your own space, please do so and leave a link to it here on the post so that everyone can find it. Please indicate that it was written in answer to this post and link back to it, so that new people coming across it will find the main discussion easily. On Tumblr you can use the #capimmanifesto tag. We also encourage you to link to meta you've written previously or existing meta you think is relevant!
If you're new to
cap_ironman please read through our community information and posting guidelines before you get started!The Cap-Iron Man Slashy Moments List
The Cap-Iron Man Slashy Moments List has been curated by different fans and
cap_ironman mods over the years and is closely connected to the answer of "Why do you think Steve and Tony are the ship?" It's currently hosted on the
After months of discussion, preparation and work, we are now finally going to update the slashy moments list again with about a moment per week starting next week — and usher in the long overdue inclusion of the non-comic multiverses with MCU, animated universes and video game moments, as well as missing comic moments. (Expect us to do some reorganizing of tags and update the index as soon as the anniversary gives us a breather!)
As you're discussing why you love Steve/Tony across the multiverse, please let us know your favorite moments in canon and why you ship them. We'll be reading through everybody's comments and will include any moments we've forgotten as we're updating the Slashy Moments list!
Manifesto: Steve/Tony through the Multiverse
Re: Manifesto: Steve/Tony through the Multiverse
I really love the tension between them in the MCU and the potential it has to turn into something soft and warm.
I love how obviously in love 616 Steve and Tony are, how sweet they are with each other in the beginning and how tragic the different rifts between them are, especially when it's clear they both still care so much.
I love Ultimates angst, how deeply troubled they both are, but how they grow into caring about and relying on each other.
I love Avengers Assemble for how much Steve and Tony so clearly trust and care for each other, overcoming anything trying to tear them apart.
I love 1872 for giving us a Steve and Tony that have so much chemistry it came through loud and clear in a mere four issues (of canon western au!).
There are so many more great universes they can be shipped in, like Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Marvel Adventures: Avengers, Avengers Academy, Marvel Noir, various animated movies, what-ifs, and one offs from the comics.
There is just something about who Steve and Tony are at their very core that fits together so well. They couldn't be more different, often in ways that work to complement each other. Yet they share this desire to do good, to help where they can, a certain tenacity that lets them keep going even in the face of immeasurable odds.
Re: Manifesto: Steve/Tony through the Multiverse
Other than that, I agree with everything you have said, and you have said it very well.
Re: Manifesto: Steve/Tony through the Multiverse
Alas, my purity was unsustainable in the face of that molten, blazing, searing chemistry. Also, the X-men seem like a bunch of teenagers now that I am myself a stuffed-shirt grown-up outside the walls of my academy (although Logan remains that one way-older guy who just... hangs out around teenagers for whatever reason). Funny, that.
Beyond that brilliant fit, there's an inherent yin/ yang thing going on, where they're so very opposite and just exactly the same: Steve has to claw his way to who he is, and Tony has it thrust upon him; Steve's tragic flaws (stiff-necked and unable to understand why people aren't better at following rules) stem from what makes him a superhero, Tony's tragic heroism grows directly from his flaws; they're both anachronisms, but in different directions; Steve was born short of breath and part of gaining powers cured that, Tony was born physically healthy and the thing that gave him powers took that away. Steve was born an angel, fell, and was redeemed; Tony was born human and kind of oscillated between angelic and demonic. Steve's love of the system drove him to rebel against it; Tony's rebel nature forces him to take up authority. & c & c and on and on forever. The only thing they can't deny they have in common is that they can't stop being heroes. Or loving each other.
At this point, I don't even want the ship to become canon. I have this incredible rainbow of infinite possibilities in front of me, each more beautiful than the other (until you count the other way round, and then the other is more beautiful). Take away the prism of the rain, and all you get is one white light. Maybe brilliant, maybe not, but I want to share ALL their adventures and ALL their possibilities.
EDIT FOR A MORE SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE SIMILE AND TO ADD: Not that I would mind watching makeout scenes between RDJ and Chris Evans. Um.