When it was announced that the third Captain America film was going to follow the events of the Civil War comics storyline, expectations from fans were understandably sky high. Coming off of the stellar Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Captain America franchise was regarded as the best series that Marvel had, and it was now confirmed that it would tackle one of the most exciting storylines in recent Marvel history. From day one, no one could get enough info about the secretive movie shoot, and with every piece of news revealed, fans went crazy with speculation and anticipation, unable to wait until the films May 6th, 2016 release date to see the finished product.
Now that May is almost here we know a lot more about Captain America: Civil War than we ever have before. We know who the main characters will be, what conflict will drive the story, and just how many mind-blowing cameos and world-blowing-up explosions will occur.
So, while we’re all dying to see what Marvel has cooked up for us, we’ve decided to aid you in your bumpy journey to May by telling you the 10 Things We Know About Captain America: Civil War.
Iron Man Is For Superhero Registration, While Captain America Is Against It
There’s always been differing ideas between The Avengers, which is one of the reasons those movies were so thrilling to watch. But while the heroes eventually learned to play nice in the spirit of saving the world a handful of times, Civil War looks to throw out that formula in exchange for something far more dangerous; full out war.
In a battle of ideologies, when the Superhero Registration Act is proposed, Captain America immediately fights against it while Iron Man takes up the mantle of supporting it. Once it’s discovered that their differences can’t be resolved over a wood chopping competition or a few sarcastic quips, our two main heroes go to war, recruiting just about everyone from the Marvel Universe to fight for one side or the other. As everyone joins a side, longstanding alliances are tested and allegiances shift. If we know anything about Civil War right now, it’s that things are going to get messy, and there’s not going to be an easy way to clean it up.
It’s Basically Avengers 2.5
Civil War is going to be picking up after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and pretty much every Avenger is going to be back; minus Thor and Hulk, but that’s because they’re chasing each other around the cosmos, ready to team up in Thor: Ragnarok. While fans are divided on how Age of Ultron stacks up to the first Avengers film, everyone who went to the theaters to make those movies massive hits still wants to see more of the same, and that’s exactly what we’re going to get with Civil War; big action, big heart, and big, world-destroying explosions.
When we first heard about Civil War, the news was that Iron Man was going to make an appearance to provide an antagonist for Captain America. But as time went on, Robert Downey Jr. let it be known that he was co-starring in the film. Then, it turned out that almost every other actor who’s ever been in a Marvel movie came on board. Then, new cast members joined the party. Now it’s just crazy, and with an overstuffed cast and a bunch of storylines left unresolved from previous films, Civil War will absolutely be the must-see movie event of the year.
Spider-Man Is Swinging into the Action
While everyone involved in Marvel Studios was playing coy with this fact, first claiming that the rebooted Spider-Man played by Tom Holland will just show up in the MCU “at some point in the future,” they’ve since abandoned that lie and pretty much confirmed that he’ll be here, fighting it out with all of Marvel’s Greatest Heroes in Civil War. And since Spider-Man plays a huge part in the comics storyline that the movie is partially based on, we can expect Spider-Man to side with Tony Stark here and act like the inexperienced hero he’s said to be.
As Tony lavishes Peter Parker with fancy mechanized suits and trains him to be the great he’s destined to be, the groundwork will be laid for Spider-Man’s full inclusion into the MCU, eventually culminating in – so we hope – Spider-Man taking his rightful place as one of The Avengers.
Black Panther Will Make His Debut
Played by Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther is an exciting addition to the MCU for many reasons; most of all being that his solo film in 2018 will hopefully take the MCU in a more adult direction by showing us a politically charged war film with a complex hero at the center. But before that, he’s set to show up in Civil War, perhaps as a newcomer caught between two sides.
While early trailers and posters show Black Panther on Iron Man’s side, it’s too early to say for sure how he will influence the biggest war to come to the Marvel Universe. But the one thing we can say is that we’re excited for his debut to come at a time so essential to our favorite heroes. Rather than introducing Black Panther in a stand-alone movie with no bigger consequences for the larger universe, the idea of seeing him immediately thrust into conflict, and thus learning about his character through the actions and decisions he makes, is a tantalizing one, and something we can’t wait to see.
The Winter Soldier Will Feature Heavily
While Bucky Barnes has been an important through-line to both Captain America movies, including his transformation into The Winter Soldier during the movie of the same title, it looks as if he’s going to play a huge part in the action during Civil War. The trailers hint at his actions kicking off all the commotion that gets the ball rolling on the hugely controversial decision to support Superhero Registration, and this will eventually bring Captain America to his side as other heroes rally against them.
While the end of The Winter Soldier saw Captain America finding out that The Winter Soldier is actually Bucky, the rest of the world has yet to learn the truth, and when they finally do – considering that Bucky killed Tony Stark’s parents as a mission for Hydra – there’s going to be hell to pay. With half of the superhero world rallying against Bucky, it’s tough to imagine him getting out Civil War alive; despite him coming out from under the spell of Hydra and presumably trying to be the hero he’s destined to be.
It’s Not Tied Directly to the Comics
The Civil War storyline in the comics was a sprawling affair, reaching every corner of the Marvel Universe and changing the lives of everyone involved. If it were to be followed verbatim in the film, not only would every past Marvel film have needed to lay the groundwork for it, but the entire story would need three or four movies to be told right. So while we know that the movie will be skipping over many of the comic storylines, many insiders are saying that the film is in fact only loosely based on the comics, and to be used as a jumping-off point that more tied to previous films than to any comic book.
Since the MCU hasn’t focused on secret identities as heavily as the comics – most of The Avengers identities are known to the public, or at the very least could be easily deduced – the entire concept of The Superhero Registration act from the comic arc will need to change. As well, it’s tough to imagine that key scenes that defined the comic book run – such as Spider-Man unmasking himself – will carry the same weight here, or even be included at all.
We’ll Get Our First Look at The New Avengers
When Avengers: Age of Ultron ended, the biggest shock was just how drastically the film’s events shook up the Avengers team. By the end of the movie, Vision, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon were part of the new team, while Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and The Hulk were out. While many thought they’d have to wait for Avengers: Infinity War to see the new team in action, Civil War will actually give us our first glimpse at the new team in its entirety.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this development is where some of the loyalties of the New Avengers lie. Specifically, War Machine – being led by Captain America as an Avenger – who is wearing Stark Industries armor and has a deep friendship with Tony Stark that goes back to before he joined his new team. While Iron Man was once a founding and essential member of the Avengers team, it will be exciting to see which of his disciples take up the fight against him and which decide to move over to his side.
The Guardians Are Busy
Fans would love to see the Guardians of the Galaxy on Earth dealing with superhero squabbles, but unfortunately, the fact remains that they don’t even know they’re a part of a larger Marvel Universe at this point. Sure, they may have heard about the exploits of Iron Man and The Hulk and all the times they’ve almost destroyed the Earth, but while they’re out in the galaxy, uh, being the guardians of it, it just doesn’t make sense for them to care about Superhero Registration or which side of the fight a teenage Spider-Man is on.
Though they may be needed to help The Avengers down the line – say, late in Phase 3 or 4, right now this is one fight that them and their '80s soundtracks won’t be involved in.
Baron Zemo Is (One Of) The Villain(s)
The marketing of Civil War implores you to choose a side; Captain America or Iron Man. And while most people watching the movie will almost certainly have a favorite, and thus the hero fighting against that favorite will become the villain, a Marvel movie just wouldn’t feel the same without a big villain coming in to shake things up. That’s where Daniel Bruhl comes in, playing Captain America baddie Baron Zemo.
When Bruhl joined the cast of Civil War, his part was kept secret. But after immense online speculation and chatter, it’s since been confirmed that he’ll be playing classic Captain America villain Baron Zemo. And while his purple ski-mask costume might be changed in favor of something a little more… dramatic, the idea of an actor like Bruhl taking up the mantle of one of Cap’s most famous enemies – all while every hero is busy fighting each other – is just one more example of why Civil War is shaping up to be the movie we’ve all dreamed of.
Ant-Man’s Going to Crack Some Jokes
Maybe a civil war between most of the Marvel Universe is just too much to take. Maybe seeing Spider-Man and Captain America and Iron Man hate each other and try to destroy each other will weigh too heavily on audiences. Maybe all the rumoured character deaths will be too sad, and audiences will walk out of the theatre before the credits roll. Well, not if Marvel has anything to say about it, because the good news is Ant-Man is going to be around to lighten things up, hopefully in that dry and rambling Paul Rudd style.
The most inexperienced of the group, Ant-Man is new to this whole Superhero thing, and it’s a life that he’s not quite yet comfortable with. So while he finds himself thrust into the universe’s biggest conflict, we’re going to look for Ant-Man to be the voice of reason, and count on Paul Rudd’s ageless face to comfort us in times of bone-crushing hero on hero fights. And that may just be the thing we’re looking forward to most in this whole insanely exciting spectacle of a film.
-
Which part of Captain America: Civil War are you most looking forward to? Sound off in the comments to let us know!