Watching Captain America: Civil War is like watching your squad go to war, but on a much larger scale. Sure, the melodrama is popcorn worthy in the beginning. By the end, though, no one is happy.
The script for this latest Captain America was written by dynamic writing duo Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely; based on the comic book by Mark Millar, who used characters created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. In the film, Steve “Captain America” Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) are on opposite sides when the U.S. Government has decided that the Avengers need some boundaries. So, 117 countries sign a plan called the Slovokia Accords (named after the fictional Russian city that met its end in Avengers: Age of Ultron).
The Accords are designed to make the Avengers answer to a higher being: the United Nations. Not all of the earthbound Avengers are on board with the Accords, which puts them at odds with each other. So, based on Twitter hashtags, #TeamCap consists of Captain America, Sam “The Falcon” Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), Clint “Hawkeye” Barton (Jeremy Renner), Scott “Ant-Man” Lang (Paul Rudd), and Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who don’t want the UN to potentially stop them from doing what’s right.
On the other side is #TeamIronMan, which con- sists of the titular man, Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Lieutenant James “War Machine” Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Vision (Paul Bettany), Peter “Spider-Man” Parker (Tom Holland), and newcomer King T’Challa “Black Panther” (Chadwick Boseman). Iron Man’s guilt over the events of Ultron have persuaded him that being under the UN’s thumb will help the Avengers be better at the choices they make and his team agrees.
What directors Anthony and Joe Russo have done with this latest Captain film is create an Avengers-like film that allows minor Avengers to have a chance in the spotlight, while showcasing what happens when our heroes don’t get along: it ain’t pretty. The lines get blurred and our heroes end up more bruised than vindicated. Al- though the story shows a true-to-life scenario where the Avengers have to take responsibility for their actions (something that doesn’t always happen in action films), the real toll is on the people that are left behind who suffer the great loss.
One of those people who suffers a huge loss is King T’Challa; a loss so enourmous he makes the decision to go after the one responsible. However, we wouldn’t necessarily call the Black Panther a potential Avenger. He’s not the typical Marvel superhero: chewing scenery and smiling as he saves the day. T’Challa is the type of royalty that weighs the cost of all casualties of war and makes an informed decision. And, since he’s royalty, he pretty much acts, thinks, and generally carries himself as such.
Black Panther is also one of the best Marvel superheroes ever developed. After some research, I found that he’s not just the King of Wakanda (a fictional African nation that is rich in an indestructible metal called vibranium). He’s also a well- traveled, highly-educated billionaire who has some mad fighting skills and an awesome suit made of vibranium thread that protects him from head-to-toe; which brings me to why I started to search.
The Black Panther’s mask covers his mouth. I assumed it was a way to keep the black man from speaking, however after more consideration, I believe it’s just protection for his mouth, as well as a way for King T’Challa to immerse himself into the Black Panther. See, we all have masks that we wear at different times. When King T’Challa wears his royal “mask” he’s in a tailored suit and tie. When it comes to defending his people, he wears the mask of the Black Panther. Most importantly, when the time comes for King T’Challa to show himself to be the better man in a bad situation, he removes his mask and shows himself to have more heart than the rest. He’s also appears to be single, which makes him the most eligible bachelor in the Marvel Universe.
Either way, despite the Avengers being locked in a war amongst themselves that will take much healing for them be a team again, Civil War is still a great addition to the Marvel-verse. If for nothing else than to introduce the world to the most remarkable black man since President Barack Obama.
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