This is how the MCU will change. Civil War may lead to the biggest change thus far to Marvel's cinematic universe. The first non-Avengers movie to REQUIRE just about everyone to be in it. We know it has to be more than just Tony, Steve, and T'Challa. This is an event that will shatter friendships and alliances, and it will ultimately affect all the movies coming up after it. Marvel's first Phase 3 movie will be, arguably, their biggest undertaking since the first Avengers. We seem to understand what the fission will be(should the government be in full control of the heroes or not?), so it makes it a little easier to speculate this next part. Who will take whose side? We know Cap and Tony's feelings, but how about the Hulk? Thor? Widow? Hawkeye? Coulson? Well, I take a look at each of these characters, and I'll try to decide if they'll ultimately side with Tony, Steve, or if they will remain neutral in the conflict. If you disagree, well then let me know in the comments. I'm very interested to see how you guys think it'll play out.
So with that...let's BEGIN!
QUICKSILVER/SCARLET WITCH
Ok, so here are the two biggest wildcards. Why? Well, we haven't met them yet and we have almost NO idea as to what their characters are like and their motivations. In the Age of Ultron trailer they were seen protesting, but we don't know what. Many have said, "Hey, maybe they're protesting the Avengers". If this is true then I'd be willing to say they'd more than likely be team Tony. Why? Well, if they're protesting the Avengers than the chances are they are protesting the thing that Tony wants to change. They are probably protesting an unregulated group of super-humans being able to do whatever they want above the law, acting as an international police-force. But that's all just guesswork. No one knows what they're motivations are, we just know that it's a fact that they aren't buddy-buddy with the Avengers at first. Maybe they see Tony's invention of Ultron as a big enough reason not to trust him. They were part of the
*POTENTIAL SPOILER* rumored team that is supposedly formed by Cap after this film
*END POSSIBLE SPOILER*. Regardless of what side they are on, it's hard to imagine them not being a part of the clash. Whichever side they choose, whether it's the same or they split, they'll definitely be forces to be reckoned with.
Whose Side are They On?:
ANYONE'S GAME
BRUCE BANNER AND THE INCREDIBLE HULK
So let's talk Bruce Banner/Hulk. The chances of him showing up in this film are pretty high. Feige said Hulk will show up in multiple Phase 3 films, and Ruffalo certainly has the contract for it. So will Banner side with his science buddy-for-life, Tony? I don't think so. 1) If there is one thing that Bruce Banner would not be for, it's the government having control over him. He spent however many years, pre-Avengers, avoiding the government knowing they wanted to throw him in a cage somewhere and use him as a, or to make, weapons. Now if they become government agents then that puts him dangerously close to people like General Ross. I doubt this gives Banner any confidence in Tony's vision. 2) I heard rumors somewhere that Banner and Stark are on odds in AOU over Ultron's creation and use. If his relationship as BFF's with Tony breaks down here, and he stops trusting him then it would make since that he'd turn to Cap. BUT there's a reason I put Bruce Banner AND the Hulk. Banner will lean to Cap, and I believe that's what could happen, but I don't know if Tony is just going to let the Hulk join his ally. I think, and this may be a stretch here, that Tony will eIther A) Take Banner/Hulk out of commission all together or B) turn the Hulk against Banner. If there's one thing we know about the Hulk...he's REALLY easy to manipulate. Stark could have a handy device up his sleeve to keep the hulk under control if he ever loses it again(a natural progression after his hulk fight in AOU if you think about it. Why fight him if you can control him). That could be a good way to see that we don't see another Iron Man vs Hulk fight like we will in AOU. If the Hulk is on Cap's side, though, you have to be asking yourself, "If Iron Man is fighting Cap at the end...who could take on the Hulk?".
Well I have two answers, one I'll get to later. The other one, is right below.
Whose Side is He On?:
COULD BE BOTH
THE VISION
The Vision is the only character so far that I can give a truly, 100% confident answer to. He is team Iron Man, 100%. Well, maybe not 100%, but I still think it's a rather intelligent guess. Why? He is, presumably, in AOU Tony's VISION. He is JARVIS 2.0. If Tony uses him as a failsafe against Ultron, uploading JARVIS'
consciousness into this suit, then the character should remain fairly similar. JARVIS and Tony have always stuck together and I see no reason why they wouldn't here. It all depends on how much independent thinking Vision exhibits between the movies. He would be a good counterbalance to the Hulk, and if him and Wanda DO start having a thing, then maybe that'll sway her one way or the other.
Whose Side is He On?:
PRO-REGISTRATION
WAR MACHINE/FALCON
Here are the next two who I can say with certainty will each go a certain way. Falcon and Cap will stay together because they work like peanut butter and jelly. Rhodey is the same with Tony. Plus Rhodey is with the government and would likely see no problem with registration. He's been Iron Patriot for the government with no incidents...that were completely his superiors fault. Falcon on the other hand, as said in The Winter Soldier, "Well, the number of people giving me orders is...zero so yeah I'm good".
Whose Side are They On?:
PRO AND ANTI-REGISTRATION RESPECTIVELY
WINTER SOLDIER
Now that Bucky remembers, at least part of, his past then what's next? Will he take a side in this conflict? Will Cap hunt him down for help? Will Stark recruit him first? Will he take over for Cap if this ends the way it did in the comics? Well, he signed up for seven films so we WILL be seeing him again, and the fact that this is a Captain America titled-story makes me think yes. Whose side is he on? Well, isn't that the question of the day(crap, I just quoted TASM2...don't hate me). He could stay a lone wolf, or he could take his place with his ol teacher. I highly doubt Tony could get him to do anything, especially against Cap.
Whose Side is He On?:
NEUTRAL OR ANTI-REGISTRATION
BLACK WIDOW/HAWKEYE
Now, here is what I think will happen. See this team-up right here ^? Well, enjoy it because they are splitting up. What better way to show just how much division is going on between heroes than seeing this power couple split up? They will probably pick different sides, and to deliver an emotional punch they will probably also 1) break-up and 2) fight each other in the finale. The Civil War comic split Reed and Sue, so they could represent them in this story. So who goes where? I believe Natasha will support the Superhero Registration Act(if it's still called that). Why? She supported it in the comics. Well, I can already hear people, "This isn't the comics! She was so close to Cap in the Winter Soldier!". Another reason it works so well. Her turning against Cap will be unexpected. Her character has been working for SHIELD for a long time, and she was working for governments long before that. Take that as you will, but I think Age of Ultron will make her think, "Hm, we almost killed the world acting on our own, but we saved it when we worked for SHIELD." Vice versa Hawkeye will stay with Cap. Hawkeye respects Cap more than anything else, and I think the Hydra in SHIELD revelation hit him harder than Natasha(Just guesswork here, trying to make this division work). He's seen first hand that when you work for a government, they tell you who the bad-guys are. Think about that cut scene from The Winter Soldier where he was told Cap was a traitor and tasked with hunting him down even though Cap was a good guy. Why would he ever trust a governing body again to tell him who's bad or not? Will the division happen exactly this way? Maybe. Maybe they go the opposite ways that I suggest here. It could happen, but I guarantee the split. The split will happen.
Whose Side are They On?
BOTH
THOR
I honestly believe that Thor will NOT appear in Civil War. I think that the events of AOU will shake him to his core, and he'll leave Midgard at the end of the film. We saw his fury at Tony in the trailer, so it's not out of the question to believe that he'd leave the planet to get a little bit of a breather after the earth-shattering fight. Plus I don't know how many films Chris has left in his contract so it would make since to save him for Ragnorak and the Infinity War films. IF he is in the film, however, I think he'd either be neutral or on Cap's side. He could be neutral seeing this as a purely Midgard problem that heroes from there need to solve. He wouldn't want to get involved(Think T'Challa from the comics). If he picked a side, he would choose Cap over Tony any day. From their fight in the Avengers to the tension in AOU I don't see Thor assisting him anytime soon.
Whose Side is He On?:
NEUTRAL
BLACK PANTHER
The only hero besides Tony and Steve to be in the film, Black Panther could be a game changer for either side. Too bad he probably won't pick one. I think his path will stay true to his comic counter-part. Plus, Boseman said during the announcement, "Black Panther's his own guy" maybe implying the role in the film. So what will his role be? Your guess is as good as mine. In the comic event he joined Tony's side after the death of a friend. Maybe he'll join Tony, but I'm willing to mark him down as Neutral for now.
Whose Side is He On?:
NEUTRAL
MOCKINGBIRD/DEATHLOK/FURY/HILL/AND SHIELD
So SHIELD. Let's cover some smaller heroes and the big heads of SHIELD. Will Coulson back his old friend Cap? Will Hill lead the witch hunt? Will Fury come out of hiding? These are all the important questions. Here are the answers. Will Deathlok reappear during Civil War? It would make sense. He is about as rogue as you could go as super-humans go. If he was to return, then my guess is he'd side with Coulson, a man he trusts. Coulson would most likely side with Fury, who would most likely side with Cap. Fury sides with Cap because he doesn't trust anyone, and he especially doesn't trust them to handle these superheroes. Cap will probably be given the backing of Coulson and his SHIELD. Come on, Coulson going against Cap? yeah, that'll happen. Then there's the problem that is Maria Hill. Think about her position after Winter Soldier. She's working a menial desk job for Stark. Imagine that after AOU the government comes to her, asking her to be a consultant. She's worked with heroes, she's smart about it. She could suggest registration in the first place. This puts her right on track with her(more dick-ish) comic counterpart and it gives Stark something too. Stark and Hill vs Cap and Fury/Coulson. Now, let's stretch once more and assume that Hill and the government make a new organization to police superheroes. SHIELD isn't trusted, so they make their own. Enter the MCU's H.A.M.M.E.R.! Tony is given access to HAMMER and their new "Cape-killers", just like in the comic. Oh, and Mockingbird is still new, but I assume she'll follow Coulson in whatever he does. Also, if SHIELD is still on around this time then it'd give a cool, inside look to the war. The coming of the registration act, the division of heroes, and maybe a division in team members. Maybe half the team thinks registration and HAMMER are in the right, and the other half think Cap is. There is a lot of potential there for the end of SHIELD's season 3.
Whose Side are They On?:
BOTH
ANT-MEN(PYM AND LANG)
There are no plans for another stand-alone Ant-Man movie in Phase 3, so it would make sense that Marvel's newest star could show up in the movie that comes after. Even more, I think that this could be another big schism made. Lang could side with Captain America, but Pym would side with Tony. He isn't a fan of heroes in the first place, and he could give Tony's side his intellect(and maybe even a little Yellowjacket...you know, if Yellowjacket isn't the villain of Ant-Man). It'd be a war of Mentor vs Student, and maybe it'd be cool to see Douglas suit up to fight against his
protégé. If the Wasp shows up in Ant-Man then she could easily be involved, too.
Whose Side are They On?
BOTH
NEW PLAYERS
If AOU can introduce new characters then this movie can too. They're already introducing Black Panther for his future movie, so maybe we'll see Captain Marvel! It's not that far out of the question with a cameo by Danvers rumored for AOU, and she was a powerhouse for Tony's side. Maybe they could introduce something like the "50 State Intitiative" and introduce new heroes like Wonder Man or Doc Samson. Cloak and Dagger are two characters who, in my opinion, have a lot of potential on the screen and would bring more diversity powers, race, and gender-wise to the screen. The punisher played a small role in the comics, and they do have the rights. Plus, he'd be easy because people already know who he is! He doesn't even require too much explaining! I'll also put these guys down as "New Players" even though we've met some of them before, but don't forget that the
Thunderbolts played a part for Tony in the war. What villains would they use? Abomination and The Leader are behind bars, plus Absorbing Man and Blizzard. With Abomination or the Leader there are two more anti-hulks on Tony's side. It is a possibility. I wouldn't hold out much hope for Supernatural characters like Ghost Rider or Blade. They didn't play a large role in the event, if any, and they probably won't show up until the post-Doctor Strange universe. Don't expect Strange either. He isn't Captain Marvel, he's something like the MCU hasn't seen before. A post-credit scene? Yes. There is far too little room in this movie to establish the significance of a Sorcerer Supreme. How about the Netflix Defenders? Is there room for Daredevil in all of this? Feige made it seem like they won't show up, but with an event this big I find that hard to believe. Finally, the ones who start it all, I believe the New Warriors will show up in some function. Speedball has been rumored for SHIELD this season, and just about any young heroes could be on the team. The New Warriors, a team of young and inexperienced heroes, cause a school to be blown up as a result of their recklessness and this is the final straw that forces Superhero Registration out. Would it work? Absolutely! Could they go without it? That depends on how devastating AOU is. If AOU is strong enough to warrant a registration act on its own...then wow that's going to be a very devastating movie. With all this potential for new characters to be brought in then could the film be overblown with characters? No. Not if the movie balances everything perfectly (giving the old characters time to deal with them but not forgetting the new guys and their problems/personalities) then it'll be fine. And, let's be honest, if you want this Civil War to be as big as the comics...we're gonna need a few more people on each side.
Ultimately, this movie has a LOT of potential as long as it's done right. Will it be? I believe in Marvel. They just need to be smart in what they do, and who they put on each side. I honestly can't wait. Please let me know what you guys think, do you agree or disagree, and thanks for reading! Oh, and let me know...
^That, let me know that.
I'm Team Cap, but I see the shades of grey. There are problems with free-roam heroes...but registration isn't the way.