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When Captain America: Civil War was announced in October 2014, the Marvel universe exploded with excitement and anticipation.
Not only did it mean a third Captain America film, but it meant an adaptation of one of Marvel’s most popular stories and appearances for other Avengers such as Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow, not to mention new additions to the team such as Ant-Man, Black Panther and Spider-Man.
Civil War rises straight from the ashes of Avengers: Age of Ultron as the world and its governments look to the heroes for answers for the destruction caused as well chasing The Winter Soldier aka Cap’s old friend, Bucky Barnes.
Civil War will see the Avengers split over the issue of Superhero registration, causing Tony Stark to side with the U.S. Government as well as several other key members of the team, including Black Widow, Vision, War Machine and newcomers Black Panther and Spider-Man.
Cap, on the other side is supported by Bucky, Falcon Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Ant-Man.
This film has been described as psychological thriller by directors Joe an Anthony Russo and much of this will be down to Cap himself. Having struggled to find his place in the modern world, Steve finally found some refuge with his new family of the Avengers only to see them be torn apart by these government sanctions.
Bucky remains the one trace of anything he can call home and it looks like Cap will do anything to protect him and his own beliefs from being destroyed.
Cap’s argument is based on the fact that no matter the situation, he will always try and help. If it means some people may die in that attempt then that’s the risk because it’s better than the alternative; not helping at all and potentially even more people being hurt.
Tony’s argument on the other hand is one of control for the actions of superheroes. The way the Avengers roam around reacting to any threat is almost vigilante like, possessing all this power without any real control.
What made the Civil War comic story so popular was that at the core were two very strong arguments, with both sides having cause to fight, a trait that looks set to continue with the film. Essentially there is no villain and there will be no winner. It’s a fight about opinion and morals, a concept that is new to the regular good vs evil story of most superhero films.
It’s obvious then that these events will surely change the dynamics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but in what way is difficult to predict. We’re already aware that several of our heroes in this film will feature again at some point in Phase Three, including an appearance in the new Spider-Man film for Robert Downey Jr, a confirmed appearance for Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Infinity War as well a solo film for Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man.
The change then is that Civil War appears then to be the beginning of the end of our original Avengers team, with several characters futures unknown. It’s highly likely most appearing in this film will appear in Avengers: Infinity War but until then, it’s time for some new characters to make their mark on the shared universe, including solo films for Black Panther and Spider-Man as well as the upcoming Doctor Strange film in November of this year.
For those concerned with the sheer size of this film, early reviews of the film have been exceedingly positive. Some are claiming that it’s Marvel’s best to date with some going as far to call it the best superhero film to ever be made.
Similar praise was heaped onto its predecessor, Captain America: The Winter Soldier so it’s no surprise that the team of Marvel, the Russo Brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (writers of Cap 1 & 2) have produced another classic.
They not only know how to make a great comic book film but also a great thriller too. The Winter Soldier could exist on its own as a superb espionage and heist film so we should expect much of the same from Civil War, perhaps even on a grander scale due to the amount of characters and giant of a story.
With just a few days remaining, fans are gearing up for what it is likely to be the most emotional and grandest Marvel film yet.
With the film just around the corner, have you chosen a side? It’s Team Cap or Team Iron Man; it’s time to pick a side.
Captain America: Civil War hits UK Cinemas everywhere from April 29th.