As anticipated, Marvel released the final trailer for Captain America: Civil War on Thursday, and it’s chalk full of amazing moments which will be screen-capped and .GIF-ed up until the movie’s April release.
The film centers around the collateral damage caused by the Avengers constantly taking on extraterrestrial, heavily weaponized and super-powered menaces to save the world. This conflict will also apparently be explored in DC Entertainment’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Take a look (or yet another look) at the trailer:
In Civil War, the government — represented by William Hurt’s Gen. Thunderbolt Ross — wants to create a new governing body to keep Earth’s mightiest heroes in check, requiring registration and perhaps even imprisonment. Captain America is opposed to the idea and searching for his childhood friend, Bucky Barnes (aka the Winter Soldier), before the government gets to him for his crimes under mind control. Iron Man, who likely feels responsible for the destruction of Sokovia after creating Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, is in favor of the idea and seemingly will help the government track him down and apprehend him.
The new trailer gives us teases of the battle between the two heroes. Here’s a breakdown of its key moments and images.
Some of the Avengers sit disheartened and uncomfortable in a meeting while Gen. Ross shows them the past destruction that their actions have caused, including the major destruction in New York from The Avengers.
Steve Rogers says he’s seen enough, to which Ross replies “Captain, people are afraid.” We then see a shot of T’Challa, aka the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), laying in destruction appears in what could be Sokovia — or his home African nation of Wakanda. (That would certainly explain how the Panther gets involved in this conflict.)
Iron Man explains to his Avengers teammate that this is why he’s here and tells Rogers, “We need to be put in check.” It establishes the inherent disagreement between the two heroes that we’ve seen in past trailers, and probably does a better job of explaining why presumed allies and friends would be fighting. (This is something the Batman v Superman marketing campaign hasn’t really done so well.)
One of the bigger reveals of the trailer is an underwater headquarters, presumably for the Avengers or whatever government or military organization replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. Or it may be a prison, as we then see what appear to be specialized cells to hold superhumans in captivity.
Up next is a longer cut of the Black Panther chasing down the Winter Soldier. The pursuit has been shown in previous trailers, but this new footage emphasizes how fast this new character is, as he catches up and totally knocks Bucky off his bike with his Vibranium claws. (That’s the same metal Captain America’s shield is made from.)
Tony Stark puts on a new piece of tech, an Iron Man hand that forms from a wrist watch, and avoids death when the Winter Soldier pulls the trigger on him point-blank in hand-to-hand combat.
Previous trailers have teased War Machine (Don Cheadle), Tony Stark’s friend James Rhodes, being a casualty of the Avengers’ infighting, as this trailer does some nifty editing to make it appear as if the Winter Soldier shoots him out of the sky to his assumed death. We’ll see if that’s what happens in the actual film.
The Black Widow, who’s been shown in previous stills and trailers as being on #TeamIronMan, tells Stark that she’s not the one who needs to watch her back. Possible conflict? Does the former spy switch teams, as she did with her allegiances to country?
“You just started a war.” That’s probably the money quote right there, and essentially explains the title of the film.
Here’s more of Black Panther and the Winter Soldier sparring. Bucky perhaps did something awful in Wakanda (some speculation centered around T’Challa’s father), which may have sent the Black Panther into action. And is that suit bullet-proof? It certainly looks that way when helicopters are firing at the new hero.
While they may be partners in the comic books, it looks like any possible romance between Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) is off to a rocky start, as she appears to be using her powers to weaken him. And this after he saved her life toward the end of Age of Ultron. Where’s the gratitude?
As shown in promotional artwork, Marvel’s Avengers cartoons and the famous cover to 1982’s Avengers #223 comic book, Hawkeye and Ant-Man seem to work well together, with the miniature hero using an arrow as a way of launching himself at adversaries.
The burned and bruised Crossbones (Frank Grillo), aka S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Brock Rumlow, returns after his fiery downfall in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, sporting a new armored costume and kicking the crap out of Captain America.
Here’s an action shot of Team Captain America vs. Team Iron Man, which we’ve seen in previous trailers.
But the trailer ends with what Marvel fans have been waiting for and hoped we’d see in this new Civil War preview. We get our first look at Marvel Studios’ version of Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland). He appears when Tony Stark calls for him (with the nickname “Underoos”), using his webbing to steal Captain America’s shield and strike this epic pose.
That costume is unmistakably Spider-Man, sticking very close to how the character looked in the classic 1970s and 1980s comic books. And the exterior texture certainly appears different than the Kevlar or basketball-like surface we’ve seen in so many movie superhero costumes over recent years. Is it possible that the CGI for the character hasn’t been completely finished and we’re getting an early look here?
Also, Spider-Man’s eyes being able to move is an interesting touch, one inspired by how he’s frequently been drawn in the comic books. This Spidey will be able to express some emotions through his mask, which has always been a weakness in these movies.
Every still, poster and trailer Marvel has released for this film has been great, and this trailer is no exception. From what has been shown thus far, it’s possible Captain America: Civil War will live up to its enormous hype. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the film is set for release May 6.
