The fact is that Captain America is less about politics than it is the power of agency, or the power of being able to make your own choices. The threat of the Sokovian Accords is crucial to the film, don’t get me wrong, but the theme of the movie isn’t the question of government oversight, it’s how important agency is to any existence. The most obvious example of this is the character of Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. … The character of the Winter Soldier forces audiences to ask: Is a person responsible for their actions if they were brainwashed? In other words, can we punish Bucky for crimes he committed when he was without his agency? According to Tony, the answer is “yes.” Whether or not he was technically powerless to stop himself, Bucky is responsible in Tony’s eyes because Tony wants to be held responsible for his own actions — for creating Ultron and almost destroying the planet.