Captain America: Civil War… why should you care?

Attention: Avengers 2.5 is being disguised as another movie – Captain America: Civil War! Do not be fooled because you don’t see the word “Avengers” in the title. Fact is, more Avengers will be in this movie than any other Avengers movie. (Ok, I’ve said “Avengers” far too many times in one paragraph already…)

So why should you watch it?

The first reason is simple enough. It is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). I explained about that on a previous blog post, but essentially, the movie is the first episode of sorts in season (or phase) 3 of the MCU. It is a “season premiere” really, so one would expect it to start with a bang.

The second reason is where I enter the geek realm and give a bit of backstory. #SorryNotSorry

If you can’t be bothered to read it (too long; didn’t read) here you are:
TL;DR – the comic book story it is adapted from is outstanding and critically acclaimed.

Now you lazy souls can jump to the end.

Those of you who are obviously smarter and more cultured, continue on.

Background
Civil War in the comic books was a story arc that spanned all of the Marvel characters – Iron Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and any others you could think of. Reason being, for a while the government and the public had been growing tired of super-powered beings smashing through property, civilian casualties and more – with no accountability. They are all essentially vigilantes officially.

Eventually there was one incident that broke the camel’s back. In a reality show, a group of newbie superheroes faced off against some bad guys including a character called Nitro. An accident destroyed several buildings, including a school. Lots of children died. The superhero registration act then got pushed through the Senate meaning every hero had to be registered with the government – reveal your identity to them, train and work officially for SHIELD.

Of course for several people including Spider-Man and Daredevil, this caused a problem. Revealing their secret identity could result in their loved ones getting hurt. The heroes took sides, with Iron Man leading the registration act with a firm belief in accountability to prevent catastrophe, and Captain America fighting for the freedom of powered people to do the right thing without being governed by potentially corrupt government.

It was a unique story causing friendships and marriages to break down, Spidey revealing his identity causing problems for his family and Aunt May, switching sides, betrayal… Problem was, there was no real bad guy, you could see the points raised by both sides of the camp.

Aaand we’re back
I won’t go into the story more than that, the comics are definitely worth a read. But the MCU adaptation is obviously different from the comics in some ways because they have been following a different storyline. The teams however, have been revealed!

In the blue corner…

Captain America’s team consists of Ant Man (sitting on Hawkeye’s shoulder), Hawkeye, Sharon Carter (former SHIELD agent from the last Captain America movie), Falcon and The Winter Soldier (who was actually a bad guy in Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

In the red corner…

Iron Man’s more technically oriented team is War Machine, Black Widow, Black Panther (making his debut before his individual movie), and The Vision. Wow, three black people in this team…

Someone not yet mentioned, but definitely is cast in the movie, is Spider-Man. Which is the third reason why you should care about this movie. Finally, after an agreed reboot between Marvel and Sony, Spider-Man will get to interact with the other Avengers in the MCU.

Going on powers alone, it appears that Iron Man’s team have it firmly in the bag. But Cap’s team are all former military or assassins (besides Ant Man who is dangerous for a different reason). It should make for a visually interesting match up!

If you are already in the know, spread the word. The next Captain America movie is an Avengers movie in disguise!

So… any questions? Comment away.

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