Captain America: Civil War is centred round the Superhero Registration Act. The Act was formulated to give the international community oversight of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, especially after their more recent escapades caused destruction on a global scale.
In Marvel’s Avengers, incoming aliens destroy New York. In Thor: The Dark World, the climax lays waste to London and in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the final battle in Sokovia caused untold damage. In light of all this, every superhero is supposed to register their identities with the government. The question is simple: how long can these superheroes be allowed a free run, unchecked, when each time, they rain destruction upon the earth?
Tony Stark (Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr) is pro-registration. Steve Rogers (Captain America played by Chris Evans) is anti-registration. This causes an immediate rift. And Cap’s efforts to keep his best friend Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), out of imprisonment for his actions in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, widens that rift.
Team Stark includes Iron Man, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman, playing T’Challa, the prince of the Advanced African Nation of Wakanda), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff, played by Scarlett Johansson), Spider-Man (Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland), War Machine (James Rupert Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle) and Vision (played by Paul Bettany).
Team Cap comprises Captain America, Agent 13 (Sharon Carter, played by Emily VanCamp), Ant-Man (Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd), Falcon (Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie), Hawkeye (Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen) and Winter Soldier. Also in the mix is Daniel Brühl playing the sinister Big Bad — Baron Zemo. Frank Grillo plays the menacing Crossbones.
In the comics, both sides go to war take and severe casualties before Captain America decides to lay down his shield in surrender. It remains to be seen see how the conflict is resolved without Cap ending up behind bars.
Here’s a titbit from the comics: in the storyline that follows Civil War, Captain America is assassinated by Crossbones. It will be interesting to see if Steve Rogers meets with a similar fate.
