What happened to the airport in Germany that provided the battleground for Team Iron Man and Team Cap in Captain America: Civil War? Who rebuilt all of New York City after The Avengers? These were questions Marvel fans have been asking for years, and now we finally have the answer: Damage Control. What is Damage Control, you ask? In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Damage Control is a company founded by Tony Stark specifically tasked with the clean up of superhero-created messes. In other words: Damage Control is what the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been missing.
Since its Marvel Comics debut in 1988, Damage Control has inspired three comic book series and appeared in many more. The company is traditionally portrayed as a sort of clean-up crew, one that takes care of the messes superheroes and aliens leave behind. And that's exactly what it does in Homecoming. In the comics, Damage Control was co-owned by Tony Stark and Wilson Fisk, aka the villain in Season 1 of Netflix's Daredevil. This potential relationship is not explored in the film, and, given Fisk's fate in Daredevil, it seems unlikely that we'll get to see Fisk and Stark together in any future movies. Headed by Anne-Marie Hoag in the comics, Damage Control has a long and complicated history with S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization responsible for bringing the Avengers together.
Fans of the MCU will note that S.H.I.E.L.D. is no more, after being briefly taken over by Hydra in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. By the time Homecoming takes place, S.H.I.E.L.D. is long gone, meaning that any affiliation Damage Control may have had with it is ancient history. Assuming Damage Control is an official Department, which would make sense considering it is shown on a news report in the Homecoming trailers (see below), it seems logical that it would be managed by the U.S. Government. But that's all speculation. Here's what we know for sure: the shot teasing Damage Control in the trailers shows a banner that reads "Breaking News: Damage Control" next to a picture of Tony Stark and his Avengers compound, meaning that the department is still connected to Iron Man. Furthermore, according to the film's official IMDB page, Anne-Marie Hoag is still involved, and will be played by Tyne Daly.
Tony's involvement in Damage Control makes sense. After all, he's a billionaire with ties to the government, so making the jump from playboy Iron Man to superhero clean up wouldn't be a very big one. It might also help explain his eagerness to agree to the Sokovia Accords in Civil War. Being exposed to the aftermath of superhero battles through Damage Control, in addition to the personal responsibility he feels for creating Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, would certainly justify his desire to be supervised as Iron Man.
It's unclear whether or not fans will be seeing more of Damage Control in the future. But, as long as Iron Man, Spider-Man, and other heroes are fighting bad guys, one thing's for sure: there will always be messes that need cleaning up.
