Time To Choose Sides For Marvel's Cinematic Civil War

Yesterday some alleged concept art was released revealing whose team each Avenger will choose for the upcoming film Captain America: Civil War.  The origin miniseries is one of my favorites and seeing how both Marvel Studios and the Russo brothers handled the Winter Solider storyline I have no doubt this movie will also be awesome.

In the comic, after a disastrous event causes many casualties, the government proposes the Superhero Registration Act.  This act demands all super powered beings reveal their identities and work directly for the government.  This splits the Marvel heroes into two sides; Iron Man being for registration and Captain America leading the rebellion against it.  Hawkeye himself, Jeremy Renner, went on Twitter and confirmed that this concept art is legit and that these are indeed the two sides to this war.  Fighting with Captain America will be Falcon, Winter Solider, Hawkeye, Agent 13, and Ant-Man.  Fighting along side Iron Man will be War Machine, Black Widow, Black Panther, and Vision.

I have a few issues with these teams.  First off, why is Black Widow fighting against her best friend, Hawkeye, and also Steve Rogers.  The progression of Steve and Natalia's relationship in the last Captain America film was one of my favorite parts of the movie.  She started off thinking he was an outdated boy scout, and as the film progressed she ended up respecting him as a true hero; the kind she's never encountered in her life.  Also, at the end of the Winter Soldier she basically told a government committee to grow screw themselves.  Now, I have no idea how close the film will stick to the source material.  For all I know Cap could be for registration, but given how he helped take down S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't see him liking big brother telling him and his friends who to fight.

The other issue I have is how stacked Tony Stark's team is.  Tony is a genius and a pretty formitable opponent himself, but then he gets another super suit with War Machine, and most all, Vision.  Vision has an Infinity Stone in his forehead.  He could take down Cap's team by himself!  They only way I can see this being more even is if Scarlet Witch, with her hex powers, ends up siding with Steve.  That might give Vision a little trouble and even out the battles a little.  But this is Captain America's movie.  And we always love rooting for the underdog.  

Everyone else is pretty predictable.  Of course Steve and Tony will have their best buds, War Machine and Falcon, on their sides.  Black Panther runs a country so he'd be for government supervision.  Agent 13 was also gimme.  However, with her being in the concept art it makes me hopeful that Emily VanCamp with be in more of the film than I thought.  Maybe among his biggest fight ever Cap gets a little lucky in love.  They hinted at it in Winter Soldier and if you know the comics you know it's coming.  

I knew best friends Hawkeye and Black Widow would be on opposite sides fighting each other.  I just thought they'd be on the other opposite sides.  Though, I liked how in Avengers: Age of Ultron we saw more of Hawkeye's personal life and what he fights for.  I felt like we got to know his character better the way we got to know Black Widow better in the first Avengers film.  Now that we know he is a family man I think it make sense he'd be for the people's rights.  I'll buy it in hopes that Renner is given a chance  to grow this character even further.

So, I have not seen any of the D23 footage nor do I know the exact plot of the film.  But given what I know about the comic book and which side Iron Man and Captain America both fall on these are my thoughts on the announcement of the teams and concept art.  What's yours?

MCU's Civil War: Drawing the Battle Lines

Last week Marvel Studios invited quite a few members of the press to a secret announcement.  Many speculated what it could be; from the casting of Dr. Strange to Spider-Man joining the MCU(Marvel Cinematic Universe).  President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, surprised everyone when he presented the studios films for the next five years that included Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel, two more Avengers films, and a Black Panther film starring Chad Boseman from 42 and Get On Up.  One of the bigger announcements came as little surprise given recent rumors, but a giant delight, as Feige read the title of the next Captain America film; Captain America: Civil War.

Based on the 2006 mini series, we'll see Captain America and Iron Man face-off against each other on opposite sides of the Superhero Registration Act.  Feige says that MCU's Civil War will be more about who the heroes report to rather than their identities since this world knows who Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner are.  Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans appeared on stage with Boseman to sell the upcoming rivalry.  This leads some to believe that Black Panther may play a key role in Civil War.  Perhaps a Switzerland type who chooses to stay neutral? 

Missing however from the original Civil War story line will be Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and may other heroes Marvel Studios does not have the rights too, or have yet to introduce.  But both Cap and Iron Man still need soldiers to support them.  So given the current Avengers/MCU characters I've got my team predictions.

TEAM STARK:  Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, War Machine, Ant-Man, and Maria Hill

In the comic book mini series Tony gets the inside scoop before the Act goes into effect and tries to soften the fallout.  Stark feels that super beings should be trained properly and report to someone.  His team would be a posse that is used to following orders.  War Machine and Maria Hill have ties to Tony so I'm sure they've got his back.  Meanwhile, Thor is a demi-god, and knows how power can be abused.  Therefore I feel like he'd side with Stark on supervising those who have power.  

Not much is known about how Ant-Man will fit into the MCU, but given he sided with Tony in the comics I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he'd be on Team Iron Man when the battle lines are drawn.

TEAM ROGERS:  Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, Falcon, Nick Fury, and Agent 13  

I was on Team Captain America while reading the comics so I'm a bit bias; but I like this team.  Each person on Cap's team has been burned by the government before so they'd be a bit suspicious of the Superhero Registration Act.  Natasha really started to believe and trust in Steve in their last film, which included their team-up with Falcon.  Nick Fury also got burned by his friend and boss so he's all about questioning "the man" now.  And Agent 13?  Well, anyone who knows Sharon's story knows her chips wouldn't fall anywhere else.  

The Hulk was probably the hardest to choose a side for.  He and Tony are science buddies so I can see that bond.  However, Bruce knows what it's like having his government hunt and try to contain him.  I think he'd be against being put in a "cage".  I also think these teams give for some great match-ups.  

Iron Man vs Captain America(leader vs leader)

Hawkeye vs Black Widow(good friends/partners face-off)

Thor vs Hulk(they really never finished their fight in Avengers)

War Machine vs Falcon(black best friend battle royale)

Nick Fury vs Ant-Man(the man(s) with a plan)

Maria Hill vs Agent 13(S.H.I.E.L.D. agent cat fight, MEEOOWW)

Like my teams?  Disagree with them?  Let me know! 

Marvel's Cinematic Civil War A Good Idea?

This week has been a comic enthusiasts dream.  After coming off all the news from the New York Comic Con there were also two big movie stories that broke.  I'll share my thoughts on Warner Bros announcement in my next post, but for now I'm gonna focus my feeling about Marvel Studios.

Robert Downey Jr seems to be teasing Iron Man fans lately with saying he wants to do another Iron Man film and then retracting his statement just hours later.  Now, Variety has reported that Downey is in negotiations to guest star in the third Captain America film opposite Chris Evans.  This is happy news, but the 'exciting' part of the rumor is that Cap 3 is set to start the infamous Marvel storyline, Civil War.

In the 2006 miniseries, the government has implemented the Superhero Registration Act, a law that requires any vigilantes or masked heroes to reveal their identities and work for Uncle Sam.  Tony Stark sees just how serious the American government is about this and decides to support the Act.  Meanwhile, Captain America opposes the Act and leads an underground group against Iron Man and those who follow him.

This series was epic and one of my favorites.  I've always dreamed of seeing it on the big screen, but I'm hesitant about this decision.  A main focus in this story was Spider-Man.  He's the Marvel hero that protects his identity the most, which is why Stark convinces him to reveal who he is at a press conference.  Later on, Peter Parker switches sides to Cap's team.  Peter's journey in this plot is central, and without him I feel like the movie(s) will be missing it's heart.  However, there are talks about Sony loaning Spider-Man to Marvel Studios due to their financial situation.  Could Marvel take advantage of this and get Spider-Man mixed in to the cinematic Civil War? 

 Another major perspective in Civil War is the Fantastic Four, which Fox currently owns the movie rights too.  Having to choose sides tares this team in two and almost destroys Reed and Sue Richards marriage.  Without this subplot I feel like the film may also be missing another piece of it's center.  I don't believe for a second Marvel is canceling the FF comic book in an effort to try and hurt the upcoming film, thus allowing Marvel to possibly get the rights back.  By the time the Fantastic Four movie is released next year you can bet Marvel Comics will have another FF series out to take advantage of any buzz the film may get.

My last gripe about bringing up Civil War on screen is the lack of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Sure we have more characters coming like Ant-Man and Dr. Strange, but all of these superheroes have already outed their identities.  The only issue would be those who are forced to work for the government or hang-up their tights, or leather now-a-days.  Of course, if they need more heroes Netflix's Defenders team will be coming up soon.
And what about Thanos?  We all figured Avengers 3 would be the Infinity Gauntlet.  Are they really going to continue that slow burn until perhaps Avengers 4 or 5?  I could however see all the Marvel heroes splitting up, but then having to put aside their differences to face the galaxy's ultimate baddie.

With all the concerns I've listed don't think for a second I'm not ecstatic about this!  Sure they'll probably have to pay RDJ a crap-load of more money, but seeing this all unfold will be sweet.  You can see in Captain America: The Winter Solider how the small seeds were planted for the idea of Civil War.  Speaking of which, the second Captain America film strayed pretty far from the original source material, but was still the best film Marvel Studios has released in my opinion.  So if this "Civil War" doesn't follow the miniseries exactly I won't be upset as long as it's good.

A year ago there was a phrase that I, and perhaps others, have started reciting; In Feige We Trust.  Guardians of the Galaxy was a risk for Marvel Studios that paid off big time because their president knows what he's doing.  I'm sure he's had Civil War planned for years now and is just now letting us all in on a fraction of his plan.  The story may not be exactly like the original comic, but as long as it's a good film I'll be ok with it. 

 Marvel Comics seem to be bringing back old story lines like Secret Wars, Planet Hulk, and Civil War, but the cinematic world is still a toddler that has a lifetime of stories to tell that will be fresh to us all.  Now if you'll excuse me I'll need a break before I start my DC/Warner Bros post.  Or I may just watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier because I could literally watch that film every day. Until next time true believers, In Feige We Trust.