Let me get straight to the point: Civil War was the biggest story Marvel ever told. Not the best, far from it, but the biggest. While heroes Thor and Hulk were off-planet at the time, the Superhuman Registration Act (I'm guessing this is what "the Accords" defend in the movie) affected every hero who was on Earth. This was a story that reached to every corner of the Marvel universe.
When Civil War was announced as the basis for the third Captain America movie, many were concerned. Besides the fact that a lot of people don't even like the story, it didn't feel right for a solo film. Wouldn't it be better as an Avengers/event film? Then we found out that the movie show Cap's perspective, with the Winter Soldier being caught in the middle of the conflict. The fans relaxed, for the most part.
I have no problem with Bucky being a focus in this movie, or even that there are so many superheroes (and two huge villains!!) in it. What concerns me is that the premise seems to revolve around the Avengers specifically. Here is the official synopsis from the Marvel website:
“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.
While the comics focused on people with powers in general, the synopsis seems to suggest it's about the Avengers specifically. The key phrases here are "when to enlist the services of the team" and "fractures the Avengers." While obviously a conflict on this scale would break up the team, the story was so much more than the Avengers. Civil War was not a Captain America story, and it was not an Avengers story. It was a Marvel story, period.
This concern might seem redundant when you realize that non-Avengers Ant-Man, Spider-Man and Black Panther are playing important roles in the movie. And while this is very true, Ant-Man and Spider-Man are still recruits. Ant-Man is being recruited by Captain America to join a team, and Spider-Man is being recruited to join a team. Black Panther is here for Wakanda, somehow, but we all know he's still an Avenger. So far, we've seen a focus on how the government will control the Avengers, not powered people altogether, which in my opinion is part of what made the Civil War comics special.
It wouldn't make a lot of sense to throw the TV characters in the movie and give them prominent roles, seeing how big portions of the movie-going audience won't have any idea who they are. But if I'm wrong and the Accords do end up focusing on powered people altogether, having Marvel's TV heroes have a cameo portion in the film would show how high the stakes are. While this is only one scenario, having the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Mockingbird, Quake, Secret Warriors) fight the Defenders (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Punisher) would show just how huge the conflict has risen. This would be a great fan-service for MCU followers, would prove faithful the comic books and only require 30 seconds worth of footage, tops.
Of course, they could always have Matt Murdock defend Steve Rogers in court, and while that would be cool, it would still take him out of the fight. Civil War is a superhero story, and should involve all of the heroes, not just Avengers.
Well CBM, we've reached the portion of this article where the tomatoes are thrown. That's right, it's time for you to give me shit! Let me know what you think in the comment section below!