Tony made things worse in Johannesburg
Wanda was wrong to trigger anyone, but she didn't intend for the Hulk to go to Johannesburg. She triggered Bruce in a deserted shipyard hundreds of miles away. She’d seen everyone else go catatonic, so she did not have any reason to suspect Bruce would behave differently. What I’ve never understood is why Tony waited until the Hulk was in a populated area to do anything--including preventing Bruce from going to a populated area. The Hulk was pushing at cars and didn’t hurt anyone until Tony provoked him by calling the Hulk “Banner,” which apparently made the Hulk even more angry. That’s when the damage became catastrophic.
***
Natasha frowned as she studied the readouts on the screen. Steve stepped up next to her and asked, “No sign of Bruce?”
Natasha shook her head and said, “Nothing so far.”
Steve nodded, then studied Natasha more closely. He said, “That’s been true for four days. So what are you really frowning about?”
Natasha pointed at a bright line crossing a map of South Africa. She said, “I'm trying to understand what happened. Bruce was triggered here, right near the jet. According to Wanda, he was supposed to go down like the rest of us, but instead he headed off in this direction.”
Steve nodded and said, “With Tony flying overhead.”
Natasha dropped her arm and turned to look at Steve. She leaned against the table and said, “That’s what bothers me. Tony was there the whole time. How did he let Bruce get anywhere near civilians? WHY didn’t Tony try to contain the Hulk as soon as he saw where things were headed? If nothing else, Tony could have used his blasters to keep the Hulk at the shipyard or provoked him to head back in that direction. It’s the clear choice of action. So why not take it?”
Steve nodded and said, “It’s a good question. But let’s review the footage before we pass judgment. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about the situation.”
Both Natasha and Steve stared as they watched Tony simply trail behind the Hulk for hundreds of miles, then fight in Johannesburg. They both frowned as they listened to Tony seem to make all the choices that would make things worse.
Natasha frowned and said, “How could Tony keep calling the Hulk by Bruce’s name. You could see how that kept making the Hulk more angry--Bruce would never have been able to take back control when the Hulk was in that state.”
Steve just shook his head in disbelief. If only one of the other Avengers had been there...
***
The new Avengers gathered around the conference table. Steve's face was grim as he said, “Bruce is still MIA. We’re not sure when he’s coming back or if this will ever become an issue. But Natasha and I think we need to go over what happened in Johannesburg to prevent it from happening again.”
Wanda said, “It was wrong of me to use my powers against you. The Hulk awakening was my fault. I did not expect...” She shook her head and looked down.
Steve nodded and said, “Yes. If you hadn't triggered Bruce none of this would've happened.”
Natasha said, “We’ve already discussed power and responsibility, and the difference between Strucker’s version of Shield and how we actually operated.”
She looked at the others and continued, “But now we want to discuss why things went so badly. We’ll review the footage together, but we already know two lessons to take from the shipyard and Johannesburg. One--be aware of your surroundings and if civilians aren’t in the vicinity, don’t let the fight move to a populated area. Tony didn't do anything to try to contain the Hulk at the shipyard, which would definitely have kept the damage to a minimum.”
Steve sighed and said, “Two--know your opponent--and your teammate--so you don’t make things worse. All of the Avengers knew Bruce and the Other Guy have strained relationship. But instead of acknowledging that, it looks like Tony instead kept calling the Hulk ‘Banner.’ It was like kicking a hornet’s nest after the swarm has already started. It only made the Hulk angrier.”
As the footage displayed on a large screen, Vision said, “I do not understand the logic of Iron Man's actions.”
Natasha nodded and said, “Exactly. We have to remember to do better. The people of Johannesburg deserve that.”
***
In this universe, the review of the Lagos incident confirmed that they had done the best they could to contain the terrorists and prevent civilian casualties. The New Avengers stood together against the Sokovia Accords, so Tony left to sulk.
Rhodey, Wanda, and Vision took the jet from the compound to meet Steve, Sam, Sharon, Bucky, and Natasha to stop the Winter Soldiers. T’Challa secretly followed them and learned the truth about Zemo. He offered everyone sanctuary in Wakanda and came out against the Sokovia Accords. With only Iron Man still on board, the Sokovia Accords were soon repealed. The former Avengers were invited to discuss oversight with safeguards, which is what Steve had wanted in the first place.
With Vision fully protected and Dr. Strange rescued by Sam and Rhodey--along with an assist from Spider-Man--the Time Stone stayed on Earth and Thanos was defeated.