Captain America: Civil War – Trailer Analysis and Screencaps

Captain America: Civil War

As I’m sure you’ve seen by now, Disney/Marvel debuted a new trailer for Captain America: Civil War yesterday in conjunction with advance tickets going on sale. The first trailer was an atmospheric and moody one, giving us quick peeks at a variety of what’s happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with an emphasis on the Steve Rogers/Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes triangle. We got our first look at Black Panther, as well as hints at the ultimate showdown between Captain America and Iron Man. This latest trailer expands on the first one, repeating a few moments but going bigger. It’s much more action-packed, it gives us a larger idea of the film’s plot without too many specifics, and we get to see many more of our favorite heroes. And to top it all off, this trailer also gives us a first look at a new character, although one with whom most viewers are probably familiar. So take a look at the trailer below and then read on for my thoughts and screencaps. Then be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!

The new trailer for Civil War begins with a recap of recent dramatic events in the MCU, starting with the Chitauri attack in The Avengers and including the DC Helicarrier crashes in Captain America: The Winter Solider and the Sokovia incident in Avengers: Age of Ultron. General Ross, last seen in The Incredible Hulk is making a presentation to the new Avengers about the havoc they’ve wreaked, and calling for greater oversight of the group. It’s an idea that Cap opposes but which Stark supports, and it’s the basis for the central conflict in the film. However, the catalyst for the “civil war” seems to be Bucky Barnes.

Bucky Barnes in Civil War

We already saw in the previous trailer that Bucky would be captured by Steve and Sam Wilson, but apparently they aren’t the only ones after the Winter Soldier. Black Panther wants to track him down as well, as it seems that he’s responsible for some sort of bombing in Wakanda, where T’Challa is ruler. We see an exciting chase sequence involving all four of them, as well as a rooftop fight between Bucky and T’Challa.

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T'Challa in Civil War

Black Panther chasing The Winter Soldier in Civil War

Black Panther in Civil War

It appears that Bucky is captured and taken to some sort of special prison that rises from the sea and which has a lot of empty cells just waiting to be filled. If I had to guess, I would bet that Cap, Falcon, Ant-Man and the other new Avengers who are on the same side spring Bucky from jail due to some form of “justice” with which they disagree. I seriously doubt Bucky is going to stand trial for his crimes, and even if he was he probably couldn’t get a fair one because no one would believe he was brainwashed. We get a showdown between Cap and Iron Man, where Cap says, “I can do this all day,” which appears to take place at the prison.

Civil War Prison

Civil War Prison

Iron Man in Civil War

Steve Rogers in Civil War

Interspersed in the trailer are some other interesting images. We see Rhodey get shot down,

War Machine gets shot down

Tony Stark and Rhodey

James Rhodes

Stark’s new Iron Hand watch,

Iron Hand Watch?

Good for stopping bullets

Wanda Maximoff using her powers on Vision,

Wanda Maximoff in Civil War

Scarlet Witch vs Vision

a brief glimpse of the Cap/Crossbones showdown which most likely opens the film,

Crossbones vs Captain America

and a repeat of Stark’s “Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth” line from the first trailer.

I want to punch you in your perfect teeth

The big moment in the trailer, and I imagine in the film, is a showdown between Team Captain America and Team Iron Man at an airport. On Team Cap we’ve got Cap, Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Scarlet Witch. On Team Iron Man are Iron Man, War Machine, Black Widow, Black Panther, and Vision.

Team Captain America

Team Iron Man

Battle at the Airport

It looks like it’s going to be an all-out superhero brawl, the first one we’ve really seen in the MCU and it allows for some cool moments like the one ripped straight from the comics where Ant-Man rides one of Hawkeye’s arrows.

Hawkeye in Civil War

Ant-Man rides Hawkeye's arrow

Ant-Man vs Iron Man

And then comes the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the reveal of the long-rumored Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland. Spider-Man is apparently on Team Iron Man, as he comes when Stark calls (calling him “Underoos!”), webbing Cap’s shield away from him and saying, “Hey everyone.”

Underoos!

Web-slinger

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War

This incarnation of Spider-Man has a very classic looking suit, a far cry from the dark version worn in the most recent Amazing Spider-Man movies, of which I was not a fan. There’s really not much to go on from this one appearance in the trailer, though we can assume that Spider-Man/Peter Parker will have a pretty big role in the film since he’s a part of the action and Stark knows who he is. I’ll be very curious to see how they work him into the story. But perhaps the coolest part of his moment in the trailer is the way his eyes narrow as the camera zooms in, a cool effect we haven’t seen in any of the Spider-Man movies thus far, and one which really captures the expressiveness of the character from the comics.

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War

I’m definitely excited about Civil War. The Winter Soldier was probably my biggest surprise from Marvel’s Phase 2 slate of films, as I thought Captain America: The First Avenger was the least interesting movie in Phase 1. If Civil War can capture the intensity, humor, action, and emotion of The Winter Soldier (and I hope it will, since the same team behind the camera is returning), then we’re in for another great ride. But the idea of these heroes we’ve grown to love at each other’s throats in a more direct way than we’ve seen thus far is a tough one. It’s going to take a lot of storytelling work to convince us that these heroes who have fought together would turn on each other, and the stakes have to be high enough to sustain that belief. Then comes the issue of specifically what they’re fighting for. I doubt Stark and Rogers would actually come to blows over an ideological difference, so there has to be some more concrete threat that would cause each group to believe they’re fighting for the right reasons. I would imagine the grand confrontation will happen over something time sensitive, and that they’re fighting either to stop something or someone, rather than simply fighting to beat the other team. These aren’t the sort of guys who fight to kill if they can help it, and based on what we’ve seen thus far Bucky seems to be at the center of everything. Stark’s team might be trying to return him to prison while Team Cap is trying to keep him out? Hard to say at this point, and we don’t know what roll General Ross and Martin Freeman’s character will have in how the events play out. My only real fear is that the film will devolve into just a series of “who would win in a fight” showdowns, but I have faith that Marvel will deliver something with more impact.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to Captain America: Civil War? What do you think of Spider-Man’s appearance? Are you surprised we got to see so much of him, and in action no less? How cool are the eyes? How big of a part do you think he’ll have in the film? Are you worried about Civil War at all? Which hero do you think is most likely to die by the film’s end? Is Rhodey just a red herring? Are you Team Captain America or Team Iron Man? Are there any team affiliations that surprise you? Is there anything you still want to see from upcoming trailers now that the film is only 2 months away, or would you rather just wait and avoid further spoilers? Have you already bought your tickets? Let me know in the comments!

9 thoughts on “Captain America: Civil War – Trailer Analysis and Screencaps

  1. I may be tiring a bit with the MCU films, despite their general high quality. I am sure I will watch this one and I am sure I will enjoy it. But I am worried about too many characters in a movie and bringing in the extended Avengers certainly gives us a lot of characters, fighting for screentime.

    I didn’t really think much of Captain America before MCU movies, so CA:FA was one of the great surprises for me in phase 1: A movie I hadn’t really expected to see but after all the fun of the other MCU movies I gave it a shot. And I really liked it. And, as you say, CA:WS was really great, so CA:CW could be great as well.

    The trailer felt a bit all over the place for me, again because of all the characters. But the look on Stark’s face when Bucky has fired his gun reminded me that Downey Jr. is a great actor.

    Spider-man is going to be interesting to see and I actually liked his eyes.

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    • I agree on Marvel fatigue, it’s a definite concern (although personally I’m not there yet). Civil War has been referred to as Avengers 2.5 given the overload of characters, and I definitely don’t want every movie to turn into an Avengers film. Thankfully it will be followed by Dr. Strange, which should be very different.
      I had the same reminder about Downey Jr’s acting ability in the shot you mention. I sort of forget that there are actors under the costumes sometimes, especially in movies this big, but it’s remarkable how much they can convey with a simple look.

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  2. I’m not suffering Marvel fatigue at all. All of the films have been different and interesting enough to sustain interest and Ant-Man which introduced a new hero showed the studio is still on top of its game. I’m more worried about DC fatigue and they’ve barely kicked off.

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