Captain America: Civil War and the Future of Marvel Phase Three We are now less than a year away from the release of Captain America: Civil War. Here’s why this one is so important to the Marvel Universe. Warning: contains potential spoilers for a num- ber of Marvel Phase Three films as well as Aveng- ers: Age of Ultron. Fans perspectivie of how the battle will look (above) It’s difficult to qualify any comic book related an- Tony Stark, who, with the best of intentions, gets be- nouncement as a “bombshell” these days. They all hind a government mandated superhuman registration stoke a virtually identical amount of outrage and/or ex- act in an attempt to get costumed adventurers regulat- citement. But when word got out that Robert Downey ed, purportedly preventing future tragedies. In the case Jr. would take on a signficant role in Captain America of the comic book story, this worst case scenario was 3, and when that film’s title was confirmed as Captain quickly realized by a reality show gone wrong involv- America: Civil War, well, you can imagine how excit- ing a team of young superheroes. ed fans might get. Then things got even crazier when Marvel and Sony struck a deal to share Spider-Man, On the other, we had Captain America, who felt that allowing him to appear in this movie, too. such sweeping legislation was a violation of civil liberties, and a generally slippery slope. The heroes of Captain America: Civil War arrives on May 6th, 2016. the Marvel Universe took sides, did a fair amount of It happens to be two years before the next central Mar- soul-searching, and went at each other. We’ve already vel film, Avengers: Infinity War - Part I, which won’t seen Steve Rogers take a similar stance in Captain get here until May of 2018. As what will certainly be America: The Winter Soldier, so suddenly, the central the last time we’re likely to see Iron Man and Captain conflict of Civil War makes perfect sense in the context America on screen together for at least that two-year of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. period, this looks like the movie that will truly set Marvel’s Phase Three in motion. Just for some context, here’s the official synopsis of the movie version: Just a little background for the uninitiated, Civil War was a massive comic book event that spanned dozens Captain America: Civil War picks up where Avengers: of Marvel Comics titles between 2006 and 2007. It is Age of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new exactly what that title indicates: a civil war between the team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safe- heroes of the Marvel Universe. On one side, we had guard humanity. After another international incident Promotional phot for the upcoming movie, Captian America: Civil War involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, The key here is going to be making Tony Stark’s posi- a “big moment” but I have my own doubts about Really, though, it will all be worth it if we get to see political pressure mounts to install a system of account- tion sympathetic, something which the Mark Millar/ whether that moment will play out on screen. I wrote this scene realized on screen... ability and a governing body to determine when to Steve McNiven comic never quite managed to do about them, as well as Spidey’s place in the larger enlist the services of the team. The new status quo frac- (although the argument can be made that Stark was Marvel Cinematic Universe, right here. tures the Avengers while they try to protect the world mostly doing damage control for an imperfect law). from a new and nefarious villain. Marvel’s entire marketing campaign hinged on a Despite its lofty ambitions and political pretensions, “whose side are you on” tagline, despite the fact that the comic book version of Civil War quickly col- Now, on with the show... anyone with a functioning soul was firmly in Captain lapsed under its own weight. If Marvel has proven America’s corner by about page six. anything recently it’s that they have the ability to boil these stories and characters down to their essence, With that tension established in Avengers: Age of Ul- magnify what works, and discard the rest. The basic tron, and the ultimate conflict playing out in Captain clash of ideologies between Tony Stark and Steve America 3 next year, there’s little chance of an imme- Rogers doesn’t necessarily need to involve an entire diate resolution or happy ending in Captain Ameri- team of Avengers in order to create the necessary ca: Civil War. In fact, much of Marvel’s Phase Three dramatic tension. But for now, we know that in is spent wrapping up current franchises (with Civil addition to Cap, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Black Promotional photo for the upcoming movie (above). War and Thor: Ragnarok) and introducing new char- Panther, we’ll have the Falcon, the Winter Soldier, While conventional wisdom has dictated that the logical acters such as Doctor Strange and Black Panther. In Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Hawkeye extension of Captain America: The Winter Soldier fact, Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman) along for the ride, and possibly Bruce Banner, too. would be some variation on the “Death of Captain is going to make his first Marvel Cinematic Universe America” (and the introduction of Bucky Barnes as appearance in Captain America: Civil War. That doesn’t even take the villains into account. You Cap), there’s no reason Civil War can’t get us there, too. don’t really expect Tony Stark to be a villain, do In terms of timing, both of those storylines were nicely Variety believes that part of the reason for Robert you? Daniel Bruhl is on board as Baron Zemo, while intertwined. Downey Jr’s beefed up role in Captain America 3 was Frank Grillo’s Crossbones will return...this time with simply to find a way to keep him involved in as many a skull mask. We still don’t know who Martin Free- There was a bit of a roster shake-up at the end of Aveng- Marvel films as possible without the necessity of man is playing, other than the hints he has dropped Scene from the Captain America: Civil War ers: Age of Ultron, and that’s only going to get com- having him carry an Iron Man 4 (or 5, or 6). Come about being something of a wild card working for comic book (Above). pounded by whatever we see in Captain America: Civil to think of it, Tony Stark: Director of SHIELD has a the US Government. War. There is virtually no way that the main Avengers nice ring to it, and there’s some precedent for that in Captain America: Civil War will hit theaters on May roster emerges from Captain America 3 unscathed, and the comics, as well. The footage screened by Marvel at D23 drove fans 6th, 2016. You can see the complete Marvel release that also means that there’s far less chance that Aveng- wild, and hopefully will be officially released shortly calendar right here. ers: The Infinity War Part I is going to be any kind of And while there’s no doubt that Downey is the heart after you read this. Our writer described the action “traditional” Avengers movie. One way or another, it’s of this entire franchise, guys like Chris Evans and as “ferocious,” so it looks like the stakes will be plenty This article originally ran on October 29th, 2014. It a safe bet that somebody else will be holding the shield Hemsworth have carved out a nice chunk of the fan- high for this one. has been updated to reflect recent developments at in that one (it could be Bucky Barnes, or The Falcon, as base for themselves. The longer they can be seen as Marvel and Sony, and new details about the film. we’ve seen in recent comics), since Chris Evans hasn’t involved (and the only thing better than a big sendoff seemed terribly keen on marrying himself to Steve Rog- is a big return), the more secure the suits are gon- ers for another decade. na feel. As Marvel begins to branch out into lesser known characters in their stable, it will help to keep And while Cap’s civil libertarian stance was nicely estab- the big guns under contract both to add a little name lished in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it looks recognition where necessary, or to step back in for a like the seeds of Tony Stark’s plan were sown in Aveng- film of their own should the line start to falter. ers: Age of Ultron. The same well-meaning but misguid- ed instincts that backfired on Tony in Age of Ultron will The news that Spider-Man is now open for business probably lead to him deciding to use his considerable with Marvel Studios allows a more faithful version fortune and political influence to help prevent such of this story to be told, as well. In the comics, Spidey meddling from screwing up the world again. We’re left found himself torn between two of his heroes. He with a relatively maverick Captain America on a colli- starts off working for Tony Stark, and even unmasks sion course with a paternalistic superhero nanny-state at a press conference in order to show his own faith Promotional photo for the upcoming movie.