Why can Captain America: Civil War surpass the other Avengers films? It’s because long-awaited characters will be introduced. Captain America might feature a cast bigger than the Avengers . They should just call this Avengers 3 . Characters expected for Age of Ultron will finally get a proper introduction. Captain America will have to take up the weight of the conclusion of the Iron Man series of movies as well.
Besides the end of Iron Man solo films, this Captain America movie marks the beginning of Spider-Man ‘s long-awaited return to Marvel . To see Spider-Man finally interact with more characters in the Marvel Universe in proper Marvel territory should please fans to no end.
Another major character that’s coming is Black Panther. The capable superhero and African ruler had major hints in Age of Ultron . We got to see his main nemesis, Ulysses Klaw, get half his arm taken off by Ultron. If you know the comics, you know that that’s the beginning of Klaw’s foray into sonic weaponry, where he’ll put a sonic weapon in its place before a more complete transformation. That’s when Black Panther emerges. So there should be some tidbit of a Black Panther origin story between the Captain America-focused action.
And we will see General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross appear. General Ross was in the 2008 The Incredible Hulk film. In the comics he becomes Red Hulk, a red-skinned Hulk nemesis with a fiery temper. Not sure what sort of interaction he’ll have with Captain America, or whether he’ll be friend or foe, but he’ll be there in some measure.
When questioned about whether he will turn into Red Hulk or just remain a general, actor William Hurt gave this mysterious response to the Wall Street Journal .
“I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind feeling like I had that much power. But I created Thaddeus originally as an ego the same size as the monster’s. With the same degree of messed up-ness. Yeah, I’d love to have a shot at it.”
The Civil War storyline of the comics saw the coming together of massive numbers of Marvel heroes and villains. They were on the side of Captain America or they were on the side of Iron Man. But disaster was nonetheless the end result for Captain America. The movies are probably not going to take that approach, unless they want to end both the Captain America and Iron Man franchises.
The Vision had a fine character introduction, but fans wanted more. And Quicksilver came and went too quickly. But Civil War should make up for some of the ultimately misplaced anticipation fans had for Avengers: Age of Ultron . If the last Captain America is to go by, this film should not disappoint.
[Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]