WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?!
PREDICTING THE CIVIL WAR
The following article is an attempt to determine who will appear in the film, Captain America: Civil War, and on which side (if any) they will appear. Keep in mind that the film is called CAPTAIN AMERICA, and not the "Avengers". So we can assume this Civil War film will be on a smaller scale and likely will not include ALL the Avengers characters.
Characters for each team will be valued at three different levels.
Most Likely- meaning I would be very surprised if they were not in the film and not on the appointed team.
High Probability- meaning there is a very good chance that they will fight for the given side and will appear.
Or Longshot- meaning the chances may not look too good, but there is a chance (however slight) that they could end up on the given team.
So let's begin!
STEVE ROGERS' TEAM:
The movie is titled Captain America, so we can assume that these will be the protagonists of the movie, as the film will undoubtedly be primarily from Steve Roger’s perspective.
Most Likely:
Captain America:
This goes without saying. He will be the leader of this side and will go head to head with Tony Stark at some point. He will definitely be in this movie and if you disagree with me……then there is nothing I can do for you.
Falcon:
And where would good old Cap be without his main “wingman” (pardon the pun). There’s no chance that Falcon, who believes in what Cap stands for, would ever fight against him. There’s little doubt that when the punches start being thrown, Falcon will be right next to Rogers to watch his back.
Hawkeye:
Many of you might be saying, wait! Hawkeye? Why not Black Widow? The first reason is innitial rumors and reports say that Hawkeye will be having a good-sized role for this film. Also, Black Widow already teamed up with Cap in the last movie and the two of them didn’t always see eye to eye. This set up conflict nicely for a follow up film. If a fellow Avenger is going to be on Captain America’s side, I’m placing my bets on Hawkeye.
High Probability:
Winter Soldier:
Once the best friend of Steve Roger and later one of his biggest enemies, you better bet that the Winter Soldier is more than due his redemption arc. This makes it highly likely that at some point, Rogers and Bucky are going to have to shake hands and make up. It’s hard to imagine them making another Captain America film without including this character and furthering his relationship with Steve Rogers.
Vision:
A robot possessing independent thought and a will of its own, it would just be good entertainment to see Vision go against the wishes of one of his co-creators (Tony Stark). Even if Tony doesn’t have a hand in creating Vision (in A.I form or Robot form) he DID have a hand in creating Ultron, and that might not sit well with another super powered robot. Also if rumors are true about the Vision being part of a newly formed Avengers team, then that is just an even bigger reason for why he'd back up the Captain.
Black Panther:
You might be asking, why isn’t this in Most Likely? Well I’ll explain that a little later. But if the captain’s shield really is broken in the events of Age of Ultron, then who other than the king of Wakanda can repair it or replace it. Also, if Black Panther is going to be making an impression and lure people into his own movie, you’d better believe he is going to be on the side of the good guys….eventually….
Agent 13:
There is a lot going for Sharon Carter siding with Steve Rogers. First and foremost, she is his most famous love interest in the comics and it seems impossible that they would leave her out of the franchise and not expand her relationship with Rogers (even if it never goes into romantic territory). Also, she sided with Rogers in the last film, making her a trustworthy partner. Her spy background and government job would make her an excellent choice as an “inside man” for Rogers.
Longshots:
Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch:
It’s hard to say which way Quicksliver or Scarlet Witch could go because we haven’t seen their relationship to the team yet or how anything plays out. They could just as easily end up on Tony Stark’s side as Steve’s given what we know about them. The only thing that supports them a little bit more on Roger’s side, are the rumors that Captain America will assemble a new Avengers team at the end of Age of Ultron and that the twins will be part of it.
Nick Fury
After his not-so-secret organization fell apart in the events of the Winter Soldier, Nick Fury might be a bit more cautious as to what governments are up too and a little less trusting of world organizations. This gives him motivation to side with the captain.
Iron Man:
Here for the same reason as the Captain. He’s already confirmed to go toe to toe with Steve Rogers and we’re already eagerly awaiting it! It’ll be interesting to see how the character functions as a misguided villain (given that the film will be from primarily the Captain’s perspective).
War Machine:
If Falcon is Captain America’s right hand man, then War Machine would be Iron Man’s. I would be very surprised if the two sidekicks didn’t end up in some sort of brawl at some point in the movie. The only reason they would not include War Machine is if they couldn’t get Don Cheadle for some reason. Otherwise…count. On. It.
Black Widow:
In the last Captain America film, we saw that Rogers and Natasha don’t always see eyes to eye. She believes in extreme measures and doing what has to be done for the greater good. This sets up perfect conflict for them to be on opposite sides for this next film. She is skilled enough to be a physical threat to Rogers and well connected with a shady world. Also, she and Iron Man have worked together before (Iron Man 2), so an alliance between them makes perfect sense.
Maria Hill:
She currently works for Tony Stark as part of his security team and she’s already been confirmed to appear in the film. Like Black Widow and Nick Fury, she also believes in doing what HAS to be done, which makes her siding with Tony Stark practically a given between both her personal beliefs and (let’s be honest) her job security.
High Probability:
Crossbones:
Already confirmed to be one of the lead villains, it makes it highly likely that he will be on the opposing side to Captain America. We don’t know in what capacity, or if Stark even wants to be working with him, but count on Crossbones and Stark having a rocky working relationship as they fight against the Captain. It is also possible that as Crossbones, Rumlow’s true identity might not be known to the rest of his team.
Black Panther:
Yep, he is here too. Black Panther is a ruler of a county and he might have become concerned with limitless superhero freedom. Also, there are rumors that Ultron and the Avenger’s might be wrecking his home turf in the next film, giving him plenty of reason to distrust the exceptional and super powered of the world. This would be more than enough to put him on the side of Tony Stark….at least initially.
Longshots:
Agent 13:
She works currently for the government and was once a highly skilled asset for SHIELD. That alone is enough to suspect that she could potentially end up working for Tony Stark or the government to enforce their law (whatever the specifics of it may be). Also, after the destruction of SHIELD, she might be thinking that the world could use a little more order.
Winter Soldier:
He is one of the most infamous and feared assassins in the world. Would Tony Stark really sink to using him? Maybe, if he is pushed far enough… Also, the Winter Soldier is out of his villain phase and we can count on him diving more into his anti-hero phase, walking a thin line between hero and villain. It’s not too much of a stretch that Stark might employ him when the going gets tough.
Nick Fury:
Nick Fury had faith in the Avengers, and seemed happy that they came into their own at the end of the first film. So it seems a little odd that he would go against their freedom as an independent group. Yet the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier might have changed all of that. Perhaps he may think that without SHIELD, these super powered individuals need SOMEONE to answer too.
THE MIDDLEMEN:
These are the people that will likely be caught in the middle of the conflict. Sure they may pick a side by the end, but chances are that they will flirt between two sides and leave the audience guessing who really owns their allegance.
Most Likely:
Winter Soldier:
As mentioned before, Winter Soldier is an effective anti-hero and now that he has learned the truth about himself, he could really end up anywhere. We know he is pivotal character in Captain America’s story and will likely have a sizable role. However, it’s very likely his loyalties will remain firmly in the grey, at least up until the end of the film.
Black Panther:
He is anticipated to play a Spider-Man-like role for the film and be caught between the two superhero powerhouses. Black Panther will likely be portrayed as a protagonist with his morals tested as he has to choose between one of two sides. But you’d better believe that by the end of it, he’ll have chosen the right one, giving the audience the chance to root for him and prepping his own solo film.
Agent 13:
As mentioned previously there is a very good chance that this character could be used as a red harring. Perhaps pitched as being on one side and then flip flopping to the other. We know the less about her than most characters on this list. So that (combined with her background) makes her the best choice for a role like this.
High Probability:
Nick Fury:
The master manipulator! After tricking the Avengers into assembling, he then later manipulated Captain America into doing what he wanted for the sake of SHIELD, keeping various details about his missions concealed. Who says that he is not above that? Maybe he'll go back to pulling strings from the shadows?
Longshots:
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver:
Eh…..at the risk of repeating myself. Why not? We don’t know anything about them or why they would side with one person or the other. We don’t even know how big of a role they’d play in this films (more on that!).
Most Likely:
Thor:
With his own solo movie coming up and Loki having taken over the throne of Asgard, he doesn’t have time to worry about the trivialities of human laws. He will likely be hanging out, away from earth, while the events of Civil War are taking place. This keeps the powerful would-be-god from crushing all the puny spies and weaker heroes that will be running around.
Hulk:
The Hulk isn’t exactly an easy person to ally with. You pretty much only break him out when the situation has gotten so bad that the Hulk can only make it better, not worse (such as the Battle of New York). The Hulk is of little use in this case, especially in spy games and political dealings. Who knows, something might happened to him during the events of Age of Ultron! Maybe he is floating around in space….(wink, wink)
Ant-Man (& Wasp?):
We don't know if the Wasp will even be showing up yet, but Ant-Man will be hanging around.....somewhere. The thing is, that at this point Ant-Man doesn't have much connection to politics, the spy games, or the Avengers inner workings. He has no place in this fight. And as a (technical) career criminal, he doesn't really fit into the "superhero" category that well either and would be sooner thrown in prison for his various thefts and heists than monitored by the government. Also Ant-Man fits in the same category as Hulk and Thor, as having powers too "out there" for a more grounded approach that the Russo Brothers may be resuming.
High Probability:
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver:
Not only are we unsure what side they are on. We also can’t be sure that they’ll even be in the film! The Russo Brothers stated that they wanted a similar tone to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the Twin’s wacky powers sort of wreck that grounded feeling. Besides War Machine and Iron Man, most of the characters I’ve talked about are fairly grounded. Especially when compared to rage monsters, gods, and twins who can run super fast or cast “spells”. This makes it highly likely that they will either not be in the film or have a very, very limited usage. Also if the rumors about them being Inhuman (rather than mutants) proves to be true, then they might pop up in the Inhumans film instead.
Longshots:
Vision:
Similar to the Twins, he is kind of far-out, compared to the other characters on this list….relatively speaking, of course. Then again, is a self aware, emotional robot really all that different from guys wearing super advanced mechanical suits? I’ll let you guys decide.
Black Widow:
Scarlett Johanson only has one more film contract to fill besides the Infinity Wars double feature. Perhaps the heads over at Marvel Studios have decided they’ve saved her last film for something better. Or maybe her recent parenting makes her too busy to appear in three upcoming Marvel films. These are the most likely reasons for not including the character, because the drama she could create (and the fights!) are just too juicy and appealing.
Nick Fury:
Out of all the solo characters, it’s not too far of a stretch to say Nick Fury is most closely attached to the Captain America franchise, having a pivotal role in all the films the character has appeared in. But with so much going on in the film and a limited number of movies remaining for Samuel L. Jackson, perhaps the writers have decided to save him for a better time.
So thanks for reading! Or just looking at the names…..or just clicking on the link. Either way, let me know your own thoughts and theories in the comment section below.
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Also, check out my previous Article
Will Captain Marvel Be A Time Travel Film?