The Avengers franchise has done a solid job of setting up the antagonism boiling between the heroes beneath the surface of their uneasy alliance. Ever since Robert Downey Jr. has been cast in the third “Captain America” movie, fans knew that Steve Rogers and Tony Stark were bound to go head-to-head.
“Captain America: Civil War” is to hit theaters on May 6, 2016, but the latest promo art for the film shows that the Avengers have chosen their sides in the internal battle among the Marvel superheroes.
According to Fashion and Style, the new concept art from the upcoming film shows that Downey Jr.’s Iron Man leads the side in favor of the US government’s Superhero Registration Act, which would essentially criminalize superheroes keeping their secret identities, while Chris Evan’s Captain America leads the side opposed to the regulation.
The issue that seems to split the Avengers is clearly not a case of good versus evil as they are all superheroes who happen to be on the opposite side of a very personal and emotional issue.
But it’s also important to note that the conflict in the group’s camaraderie is not the sole plot of the upcoming film. In the movie, the Avengers are going to have to join forces to fight Daniel Bruhl’s Baron Zemo. Whatever happens, this great divide fractures the Avengers as a whole as they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.
The photos which surfaced online seemed to have earned the approval of cast Jeremey Renner from Twitter. The two warring faction breaks down as follows: Team Stark comprises of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Don Cheadle’s War Machine, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther and Paul Bettany’s Vision. Team leader Iron Man appears to sport his look from “Bleeding Edge” comic books.
Team Rogers, on the other hand, comprises of Renner’s Hawkeye, Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, Sebastian Stans’ Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter aka Agent 13, and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man. For those who did not see the “Ant-Man” in the photo, look closely at Hawkeye’s right shoulder.
Oddly, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is not in the concept art as well as in the movie. Judging from the concept art, Captain America’s team seems much more placid than Iron Man’s crew and it’s difficult to imagine Steve being the bad guy especially after the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” How can Stark be trusted with his backward invention of Ultron?
Iron Man’s team seems a little short-handed but all the interest points to his squad. Black Widow is surprisingly joining Stark’s assemblage despite being an advocate for Captain America and a close friend of Clint a.k.a. Hawkeye. Johansson’s character was even the female lead in last year’s “Captain America: Winter Soldier.”
However, Vanity Fair points out that the absence of Ruffalo’s Hulk is the reason Natasha allied with Tony Stark in the upcoming film. With Hulk in self-imposed exile over the damage he’s caused in “Age of Ultron,” he and Thor may be assuring that no super-powered individual causes that kind of destruction again.
Also, the fact that Black Panther makes his way in the concept art is a surprise considering he hasn’t been featured in the Marvel cinematic universe yet which raises a lot of questions about Spider-Man’s participation in the alliance.
Rumors say that Spider-Man will eventually be a great addition to Stark’s team. According to LidTime, Peter Parker’s alter ego is bound to create a rivalry with Captain America in “Civil War” and that the reason the web-slinger isn’t part of Team Stark’s concept art is that Marvel is reportedly highly protective of how he will look in the film.