C&C Op-Ed: 'Civil War' Analysing the Opposing Superhero Teams Are you Team Cap or Team Iron Man?

C&C Op-Ed: 'Civil War' Analysing the Opposing Superhero Teams

Are you Team Cap or Team Iron Man? 

By Steven Carter

2016 is set to be a huge year in comic book films and Captain America: Civil War promises to deliver some serious comic book action as Captain America and Iron Man face off! Today we will be taking a closer look at  Marvel’s newest feature film and fill in some background for you guys in the build up to this event. The movie pits two teams of Avengers against one another and if you're confused as to why these heroes would exchange fisticuffs hopefully we can shed some light on that. Lets take a look and find out why these heroes are drawing a line in the sand and siding with either Captain America or Iron Man.

Team Cap

Steve Rogers aka Captain America:

Steve Rogers is at odds with the government in this movie over a decision for all superheroes to register under their control. After all the destruction and global danger in both the Avengers movies it seems our heroes now have to curb their individual pursuits of justice for an UN agreed operation. After the events of 'The Winter Soldier' it's not hard to see why Cap isn't down with this new idea. Steve Rogers has been the ultimate soldier throughout the years, laying his life on the line for the good of his country and the betterment of the world, things aren't as clean cut anymore though and Steve's eyes have been opened to the kind of corruption that comes with great power. It's this new found distrust that leads to Rogers opposing the registration act.

Sam Wilson aka Falcon:

It’s no surprise that Sam is sticking to his bff in this film. We find out with his cameo in Age of Ultron that he has been working on tracing Bucky Barnes after his trail went cold at the end of the last Cap film. We also see him become one of the new Avengers and go toe-to-toe with Ant Man after foiling an infiltration attempt.

James Buchanan Barnes aka Bucky:

Poor old Bucky. Believed dead in the first Cap film, turns out to have been brainwashed into becoming a deadly black ops assassin for the second film and rumour has it, he may be the cause of the rift between Cap and Iron Man in the third outing! Things haven't been going well for the sidekick and that trend looks set to continue. If you stayed to watch the scene after the credits in Ant Man, you will know Cap and Falcon finally catch up to Bucky and have him in their custody. They decide not to notify Stark. Instead they contact Ant Man, presumably because of his contacts with Hank Pym.

Scott Lang aka Ant Man:

Scott’s views on Tony Stark and Shield will already be tarnished due to his mentors Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne. It's hard to break them first impressions! Civil war looks to be set roughly around the same time as the events of Ant-Man. (Again we refer to the post credits scene after Ant Man) Falcon had just recommended his services to Cap when they were holding Bucky captive and were deliberating their next move.

Sharon Carter aka Agent 13:

Unfortunately this character was rather under used in “The Winter Soldier” but we did see enough to understand that she was assigned to protect Rogers when he was between missions. Black Widow even tried to set him up with her. In the comics, Sharon is a love interest of Steve Rogers and by the time Civil War rolled around, they had already got together. Could we see their relationship progress during the events of this film? Another thing to note from the comics is that Sharon plays a critical part in the death of Captain America during the fallout of Civil War! We are expecting big things from Sharon in this film...

Clint Barton aka Hawkeye:

Eh? Thought he was retiring! After finding out in AoU that he has a wife and 3 kids and hoped he would be able to spend more time with them, what gives? Then again, Tony Stark appeared to “retire” at the end of Iron Man 3. Barton’s motivation for donning his new purple getup is rather unclear. All we can tell is that Cap’s group of rebels largely consist of ex S.H.I.E.L.D members so maybe his loyalty lies there. Either that or if he joined Stark’s side,
the numbers will be imbalanced or the film makers  just really want to see him fight Black Widow again…

Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch:

Once again, a bit of an unknown as to who's side she will be on but we're fairly confident she will side with Cap. Going by her initial hatred of Stark as seen in AoU, it would seem silly for her to side with Iron Man. Plus she will be the team’s big gun so seeing her stand up to the Vision would be an excellent spectacle. Comic book history sees Vision and Maximoff romantically linked and even get married at one point so hopefully we will see the beginnings of this in the film. Heck. Some American states allow humans to marry inanimate objects so marrying an android couldn't be out of the question, could it?

Team Iron Man

Tony Stark aka Iron Man

Tony Stark has changed a lot since we first saw him suit up in the original Iron Man movie, once an advocate for unabashed freedom with a devil may care attitude, he's now a seriously stressed out super genius who just can't stop trying to save the world. Stark was  affected heavily by the events of the first Avengers film and we see he's still suffering with PTSD from that battle in New York in later movies, factor in the nightmare of his creation, Ultron, nearly ending life as we know it and it's fair to say that Tony Stark is a little less carefree these days. So when the government comes along with this registration pitch Tony views it as an opportunity to unify and strengthen, after all, you never know what planetary threat is around the corner.

Col. James Rhodes aka War Machine:

Like Falcon, Stark's bff was in no question going to side with Iron Man. SInce day one Rhodes has always championed Stark and even while working with the US government he never caved in on his man. Rhodes and Stark have been through way too much together to call it quits now. We saw him join the new Avengers along with the Vision under Captain America's leadership though, so it will be interesting to see why this alliance breaks down so quickly.

The Vision:

The team’s big gun after Iron Man himself. The comic book version had sided with Captain America in Civil War, but being as this movie version used to be Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, (yes that is what J.A.R.V.I.S stood for!) the tie seems obvious. It will be interesting how and why he takes sides being as he claimed he was only on the side of life. Kicking the arses of his fellow colleagues seems a bit of a contradiction to this statement.

Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow:

By far the most interesting character placement amongst the two teams. You'd think Black Widow would be a sure thing for Team Cap but not so! Rumour has it that she may be acting as a double agent and could be in deep cover on behalf of Cap or even Nick Fury still. We saw her last as second in command of the New Avengers so if she has sided with Stark for real what would make her turn on Cap? Thats if she even HAS even turned on him!? She is quite literally a riddle wrapped in an enigma!

T’Challa aka Black Panther:

Not much is known about Black Panther yet, this is the first time we will see him after his homeland of Wakanda was featured briefly in the last Avengers film. What will his motivation be to get himself involved in this conflict? Did the Hulk vs Hulkbuster fight leave more collateral damage than we thought? Was the construction site that Stark dropped the Hulk through owned by the Wakandan Prince? Who knows! It will be interesting to see what kind of role he plays and what abilities he will bring to team Stark.

Peter Parker aka Spiderman:

The prodigal son returns! Finally we get to see what Marvel Studio’s take on this beloved hero. Again, the studio is keeping its cards close to the chest here, only rumours and speculation surround the character. You may remember the mystery twitter account that teased what appeared to be a home made spidey suit. Reports later suggested that Stark makes him a new and improved suit that looks closer to the costume we all know and love. Personally, I hope we see a version of the Iron Spider costume. In the comics, this suit did have the ability to change its appearance so we may possibly see several variants on display! We do know that he will be 15 again and will have only been friendly neighbourhood-ing for around a year or so. 

So there you have it, what are your thoughts on the teams? Whatever side you choose you can bet Marvel won't cop out and we will get a true victor by the time the credits roll. Mark your calenders 'Captain America: Civil War is set for release May 6th 2016, make sure to stay locked here at Cape and Cowl and we'll keep you updated on everything Marvel.