Captain America: Civil War

**Captain America: Civil War** is a 2013 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the twenty-second film in the universe. It is also a sequel to *Captain America*, *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*, *Avengers: Age of Ultron*. The film stars Chris Evans, Bradley Cooper, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Luke Grimes, Michelle Williams, Emily Blunt, Rosamund Pike, and Kevin Costner and was released worldwide on March 8, 2013. The film ran 130 minutes and grossed $1.214 billion on a $200 million budget.

## Plot

A year after Ultron's attack on the world was thwarted, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor have retired from the Avengers, so Captain America leads his Avengers to stop crimes and terrorist attacks. His team consists of Black Panther, Hawkeye, Wasp, Vision, War Machine, Falcon, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, and Invisible Woman. However, when they are on a mission, Invisible Woman slips up and causes an accident that kills 302 people. Returning to the Avengers Mansion in New York City, the team learns that Thunderbolt Ross has become the Secretary of State and declares that he and the Senate have decided to enact the Superhero Registration Act, which would make all superheroes register themselves, giving away their identities and only go on missions when the United Nations deems it necessary. However, Steve refuses to not stop crime unless he is told he can. Tony Stark returns and reveals he is helping Ross with the Act.

The Registration splits the Avengers. T'Challa, Janet, Clint, Vision, Rhodey, and Carol are with Tony, while Natasha, Sue, and Sam are on Steve's side. Tony takes the eleven of them to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base where Maria Hill tries to convince Steve, Natasha, Sue, and Sam to sign the Act. However, Steve refuses. Sharon Carter, Steve's on-off girlfriend and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. reveals she is one of the only S.H.I.E.L.D. agents against the Act. Steve and Sharon discover that S.H.I.E.L.D. has finally found Bucky, who has started to remember his past life. Steve is allowed to talk to him but Bucky escapes and the heroes try to stop him. However, Steve lets him go, angering Tony. Steve, Sam, Sue, and Natasha escape when they realize they were about to be arrested. Ross and Hill give Tony and his faction of the Avengers 48 hours to catch Steve or they use lethal force. Steve and his allies find Bruce Banner, the Hulk, and plead with him to be on their side. Bruce reluctantly agrees and goes with them.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man is also asked to sign the Act and he agrees at the behest of Tony. Steve's smaller team also finds where Bucky went, and he agrees to fight alongside them as long as Steve helps him get his memories back. Finally, Sue takes them to Matt Murdock/Daredevil, who has been resting from his injuries in a battle six months ago. Matt, now fully healed, agrees to go with them to fight against the Act's terrible idea. The Anti-Registration team finds sanctuary in a former Hydra base which is now abandoned. Steve, Sam, and Matt go out to decide a plan. They decide to get fake ID's to be able to survive while fighting as superheroes without permission in the meantime. Steve is devestated to learn Tony has broadcast Steve, Natasha, Sue, and Sam's identities and faces, outing them as superheroes. The people in the diner that Steve, Sam, and Matt are in recognize them and drive them out. Tony and his team arrive and attack them. Steve calls in the rest of his team, Bucky, Natasha, Sue, and Bruce, who appear just in time.

The battle leads to collateral damage and the near-deaths of several heroes. The Hulk goes crazy and attacks several civilians. Vision fights Sue, but one of his blasts deflects off her force field and hits Rhodey as he is flying, which sends him crashing down, killing him. Both teams retreat. Ross discovers what Bruce has done and decides to initiate Code Green for Bruce. Bruce is lured out when he discovers Betty has been kidnapped. However, it was a ploy and Bruce is captured, taken into a spaceship. Ross then sends the spaceship to unknown coordinates, though Ross hopes Bruce can find a planet that the Hulk can have to himself. Bruce pleads with them to let him go, though they don't listen and he is sent away. Peter talks to Tony about the Act and the latter realizes Peter wants out. However, Hill arrives and orders Peter either stays with them or be killed, due to the information he has discovered. However, Peter is rescued by Frank Castle/The Punisher, who escaped prison in the chaos.

In their hideout, Frank gives Peter to the team and reunites with Matt. However, Frank reveals he can't stay for long and leaves due to a manhunt going on for him. Steve's team is now one man bigger than Tony's. Ross and Hill make a deal with Steve; the two teams fight and whoever the civilians support wins. The two teams line up on the streets of Manhattan and begin the fight. Both teams become exhausted of fighting just as Steve and Tony go up against each other. Steve's shield is broken in half as Tony uses his rays against it. The civilians attack Steve after he tries to reason with Tony. Ross and Hill prepare to arrest Steve and his team due to their agreement. However, Sharon leads a squad of Anti-Registration agents and extract Steve, Sam, Natasha, Sue, Matt, Peter, and Bucky. Tony is angry that they lost Steve and the others, though the Act is officially enacted and Tony, T'Challa, Carol, Clint, Vision, and Janet form the Mighty Avengers, while Tony is given the title of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., upseting Hill, who was hoping to get the title.

Steve and his team are led by Sharon to an underground base of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents supporting Steve and his team. Steve sees the news and asks why Fury resigned from S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Fury appears and reveals when he opposed the idea of the Act, they dropped him, until Sharon found him. Steve and his team agree to form the Secret Avengers, stopping the attacks the UN deems unnecessary. In a mid-credits scene, Hawkeye is given his own team by Tony. In a post-credits scene, Matt meets with Karen Page and the two reunite.

## Cast

* Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
* Bradley Cooper as Tony Stark/Iron Man
* Chiwetel Ejiofor as T'Challa/Black Panther
* Luke Grimes as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
* Michelle Williams as Janet van Dyne/The Wasp
* Emily Blunt as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
* Ryan Reynolds as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
* Armie Hammer as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
* Hayley Atwell as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman
* James Marsden as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
* Joe Manganiello as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
* Abbie Cornish as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
* Mahershala Ali as James Rhodes/War Machine
* William Jackson Harper as Sam Wilson/Falcon
* Bryce Dallas Howard as Pepper Potts
* Will Forte as Vision
* Morena Baccarin as Sharon Carter
* Rosamund Pike as Maria Hill
* Kevin Costner as Thunderbolt Ross

## Production

A film adapting the "Civil War" storyline from the comics was announced in 2009 to be the final film in Phase Two. It was later revealed to be the third *Captain America* film. In November 2010, Chris Evans was announced to star in the film, with this being one of the final two films on his contract. Morena Baccarin and Luke Grimes were announced to be reprising their roles as Sharon Carter and Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. In January 2011, a release date of March 29, 2013 was revealed along with the announcement of the rest of the cast; Bradley Cooper, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michelle Williams, Emily Blunt, Ryan Reynolds, Hayley Atwell, James Marsden, Abbie Cornish, Mahershala Ali, William Jackson Harper, and Will Forte reprising their roles from *Avengers: Age of Ultron*, while Armie Hammer and Joe Manganiello were reprising their roles as Spider-Man and Daredevil from their self-titled films. Rosamund Pike and Kevin Costner were revealed in April to be appearing as Maria Hill and Thunderbolt Ross, while Bryce Dallas Howard rounded out the cast in June as Pepper Potts. Iron Man and Captain America were confirmed to be the leaders of the respective teams, Pro-Registration and Anti-Registration. Joe and Anthony Russo were announced to be returning as directors, by a screenplay written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, in September 2011. The official teams were announced in February 2012; Iron Man's team (Iron Man, Black Panther, Wasp, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, War Machine, and Vision) and Captain America's team (Captain America, Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Hulk, Invisible Woman, Daredevil, and Falcon). Filming began on April 13 and concluded on August 2.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Captain America: Civil War* grossed $409 million in North America and $805.8 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.2 billion.

### **Critical reception**

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 80% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10 based on 298 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "With the help of its ensemble cast, some impressive action sequences, and even a few surprises, *Captain America: Civil War* is a witty, entertaining adventure and a strong addition to the Marvel canon." Metacritic gave a score of 62 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".