Now before you all decide to burn me at the stake, I need to make one statement: Marvel knows what they're doing. Avengers: Age of Ultron wasn't the perfect film, but it was a beautiful piece of entertainment. And with the talented Russo Bros. at the helm, I have full faith that Captain America: Civil War will be no less entertaining.
But I cannot help but feel like the nefarious Baron Zemo should have been held for a later date. Baron Zemo is one of Captain America and the Avengers' most reccurring villains; he's right up there with Ultron himself, actually. While I'm not this dude's biggest fan, I have no less desire to see him than the rest of you.
The fact of the matter is, this solo film of Captain America's already has a billion and one other characters to play with. In fact, it's really looking like the entire Avengers team from the end of Age of Ultron will return: Cap, Black Widow, Falcon, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and War Machine. Additionally, Spider-Man and Ant-Man are rumored to appear, along with Hawkeye, Bucky, Black Panther, Iron Man and Crossbones obviously confirmed. I wouldn't doubt the return of Agent 13, either.
So what we're going to have here is a lot of political and emotional tension between at least twelve heroes with an already established, well-recieved supervillain causing turmoil. And behind him, we'll have another supervillain who is supposed to be the main threat.
The diagnosis: Baron Zemo isn't needed.
All the material the filmmakers need is there. Frank Grillo absolutely kills it as Crossbones, so why can't he be the main threat, not just the initial threat? Crossbones has always been another big villain of Captain America's in the comics, and while he oftentimes worked for someone else, I don't feel like it's needed here--though he was always loyal to Red Skull, which would be a great tie-in as well all know that particular character isn't dead.
The main point of what I'm saying here is that Baron Zemo deserves his own movie fighting against Cap. It doesn't feel right to throw him in here. Captain America and his group will be fighting Iron Man's side--while Iron Man isn't a villain, he is an antagonist. Then they're going to turn around and fight Crossbones during this, try to help Bucky (hell, try to get along with each other), then fight the badass Baron Zemo... all while setting up Avengers: Infinity War. At worst, it sounds like a mess, and at best, it sounds like a waste.
Now listen, I may have my nitpicks, but I am satisfied with everything Marvel has done--Civil War will be no exception. This is just my opinion on how the characters are being handled. Let me know how you feel in the comment section below!