Marvel will be kicking off Phase 3 of their cinematic universe next May with the release of Captain America: Civil War, the trailer for which dropped this week. This can mean only one thing; it’s the return of Trailer Breakdowns!
In case you’ve missed it, here’s the first trailer for what promises to be an epic super showdown.
Be warned, from this point on we may be stumbling through spoilers. This whole breakdown is based entirely on speculation derived from the trailers. It involved no additional research, no fact-checking against the source material of the comics, and generally shouldn’t be trusted at all.
The trailer opens up on the post-credits scene from Ant-Man, with Steve ‘Captain America’ Rogers (Chris Evans) and Sam ‘The Falcon’ Wilson (Anthony Mackie) discovering Bucky ‘The Winter Soldier’ Barnes (Sebastian Stan) with his prosthetic left arm trapped in some kind of machine. After the multiple attempts Barnes made on Steve’s life back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Cap is understandably cautious as to the mental condition of his former friend.
However, it seems Bucky is more in control of his own mind now, and even has some hazy memories of Steve from his past. Apparently he used to put newspaper in his shoes, whatever that means. I know he’s a super soldier and all, but are we supposed to believe Captain America has the ability to read with his toes? That’s getting a little far fetched now.
Bucky is a wanted man, but he tells Cap and Falcon that he doesn’t do that kind of thing any more, although it’s alluded to that this explosion in some kind of conference was caused by Buck. However, it could just as easily be taken from the big fight at the end of the film because, as we’ll get to, there’s a great deal of this film that’s in the wrong order. Everything is a lie!
Clearly, whatever he’s been up to, Bucky is in trouble, and Cap and Falcon are here to save him. He’s somewhere in Germany (“Polizei” is German for “police”), and these guys are here to, well, kill some folks.
Nothing to say here other than I really love this show of the guy rappelling down through the skylight above the square stairwell. It’s like Mission: Impossible meets Vertigo.
Although he doesn’t appear in the trailer (unless he’s in teeny-tiny mode), it was alluded to in Ant-Man that Paul Rudd’s Scott ‘Ant-Man’ Lang would help get Bucky out of that vice, so clearly he was successful given Buck’s ability to now run around and jump off buildings.
Anybody remember The Incredible Hulk? The one with Edward Norton and Tim Roth as a Russian? Yeah, me neither, but apparently Marvel still do, because they’ve managed to tie that film in with the rest by involving General Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross (William Hurt) into the proceedings.
Ross is here to lay out some kind of contract to Cap, presumably the one that requires all superheroes to reveal their true identities. My guess is this takes place before the Bucky scene earlier, as I get the feeling it is Bucky’s potential wrongdoings that are amongst the catalysts for creating the contract.
Side note: Does Natasha ‘Black Widow’ Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) look pissed here because General Ross has returned, which in turn could mean his daughter Betty ‘No Secret Identity Or Nickname’ Ross (Liv Tyler) is also back in the picture, she Betty is a former love interest of Bruce ‘The Hulk’ Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo now, Edward Norton then)? Given the relationship that developed between Nat and Bruce in Avengers: Age of Ultron, there’s every reason why Nat would be annoyed at some former flame coming back into the picture. I’m certain this isn’t going to happen (especially given neither Tyler, Ruffalo nor Norton have been announced for this film) but you never know.
Cap doesn’t want to sign, and Sam is behind him with his arms folded in annoyance, mainly because nobody saved him a seat.
So here’s where the time order of things gets a bit choppy. After the contract meeting, it seems Black Widow has been tasked him bringing in Bucky, who can be seen here riding around on a motorbike, just to reassure us that the Civil War of the title won’t take place mostly in conference rooms and light grey offices.
“I know how much Bucky means to you. Stay out of this one. Please, you’ll only make this worse,” Nat tells Steve over the phone, clearly aware that Steve will do no such thing.
“Are you saying you’ll arrest me?” Steve asks.
“There will be consequences,” is the reply we hear, but not from Nat, it’s from Ross, and it’s over this shot of masked men in Audis with guns. It’s my interpretation that the phone call above takes place immediately before the first scene of Steve and Sam (who I’m now annoyed isn’t Sam the Eagle rather than Sam the Falcon) rescuing Bucky from the vice, given the plain-clothes attire, and how similar the jacket Bucky is wearing when he jumps off the building is to the one Steve is wearing above.
the other clue to these scenes not being adjacent within the film is that, when the camera whips around from the goons with the guns to see who they’re pointed at, we can just about make out Bucky there standing behind Cap. Clearly this shootout in an orange tunnel takes place some time after the successful rescue mission, giving everyone at least enough time to suit up first.
Speaking of suiting up, here’s another awesome shot of Tony ‘Iron Man’ Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) emerging from the darkness, lights first.
Something I don’t think has gotten enough credit throughout this series is the sound design of the Iron Man costume. I do love those beeps and whirrs.
The most intriguing aspect of this film is the notion of Captain American going up against Iron Man and, as this is essentially Cap’s story, that makes Tony Stark’s Iron Man the antagonist. Iron Man was the first Avenger to get his own film. He’s been the cornerstone of the franchise so far, and the first Iron Man film remains my favourite of everything we’ve seen any of these folks do, so to turn him around and make him the villain could be some damn compelling stuff, but there’s also a chance it could throw the whole franchise into turmoil. Obviously I hope it doesn’t, and it’ll be fun to see Downey Jr. take a potentially more villainous turn. Also, notice the black eye and weathered appearance of his face. We’ll get to that later, but I’m guessing this isn’t his and Cap’s first meeting in the film.
From much earlier on, this shot sees Steve and Sam approaching a barely-glimpsed couple in a big police garage. The girl is Sharon ‘Agent 13’ Carter (Emily VanCamp), who i don’t remember appearing in The Winter Soldier but apparently did. Fine. I’m more interested in the guy in the grey suit, otherwise known as Martin ‘Bilbo Baggins’ Freeman (Tim from The Office). His character has yet to be confirmed, and I’ve got no idea who he is, but here at least is proof that he’s in the film, so yay.
Bucky grabs a gun, because sometimes a metal arm just isn’t enough.
“Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth.” So says Tony to Steve. Note the lack of a black eye on Tony’s face. My estimation is that this line is initially meant as some kind of a joke, but the trailer deliberately misconstrues it to show animosity between the two. This is where I think Steve has turned down the contract offer and Tony has accepted it, but cannot comprehend Steve’s disinterest. Soon there will be punching.
“I just wanna make sure we consider all our options, cause people who shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me too.” The best part of The Winter Soldier for me was Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, and I’m pleased to see he seems to be playing another integral role to the plot here, and gets to kick some ass of his own accord. If he winds up being Cap’s long-term sidekick you’l have no complaints from me.
I find this image of a man kicking ass with a giant par of metal wings on his back to be ludicrously hilarious. 
Argh! The damn three-point-landing hero pose. Stop it! Everyone stop it now!
It seems Black Widow still hasn’t fixed that zip on her suit. It always seems to get stuck at juuuuuuuust the right point.
This is it. The climactic showdown. It’s in the same location as Black Widow above, but she seems to be taking something of a back seat, maybe undertaking some other mission whilst Tony and Captain James ‘War Machine’ Rhodes (Don Cheadle) provide covering fire. Notice Tony is post-beaten up again.
And here’s who they’re fighting. Joining Cap, Falcon [offscreen] and Bucky are Clint ‘Hawkeye’ Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Wanda ‘Scarlet Witch’ Maximoff, aka the archer and the weird girl whose powers I still don’t quite understand.
Seeing how the only oen of these characters who can fly is Falcon (apart from Scarlet Witch’s weird red floating powers seen later) I wonder who they’re flying to fight against? It must be serious if they’re both going, so it can’t just be Falcon, right?
Why is this shot of Bucky in here? This is clearly from his escape attempt earlier. He’s not even in his Winter Soldier outfit! This is why these trailers annoy me.
Those two little figures running away are Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye. Do you think they’ve gotten closer since the last film, after Wanda’s brother died saving Clint? Either way, I doubt they’ll have a great deal to do in this film other than show up for this fight.
Hell yeah. Here’s T’Challa, otherwise known as The Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). Apparently his allegiance lies alongside Iron Man’s team, for reasons as yet unclear. I expect at least part of this film to take place in his home town of Wakanda.
There’s the weird red fire I mentioned earlier. It looks like Scarlet Witch has a couple of handle-less light sabres, which is cool.
Black Panther roundhouse kicking The Winter Soldier. Please, by all means, take my money now.
Cut back to way earlier in the film, with Black Widow back in her civvies (though not the same clothes she was wearing during the phone call). Is this in Wakanda?
If it’s alongside this scene (back in the orange underground) then that would appear correct, as Cap chases Panther, and the cops chase them both. In the timeline of the film, this is probably the set-piece around the middle.
Whereas this will be most likely near the start, during Bucky’s escape. Why does Steve look so strained?
…because he’s pulling down a helicopter that’s trying to take off. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before.
Those trucks would indicate we’re back in Germany, where the Polizei were Tom-Cruising through the ceiling earlier, and this also seems to be where the climactic rumble match showdown takes place too, given the colour of the floor and the general surroundings. So maybe those cops raiding the stairwell earlier weren’t from the raid on Bucky, but somewhere closer to here. What is the chronology of this trailer? Everything is all over the place!
But here is what everyone is talking about. This is the meat that makes you forget those earlier inconsistencies. Bucky is beating the crap out of Iron Man.
And he is out for blood. If Buck rips out that generator, Stark dies pretty soon afterwards. And Bucky really wants that to happen. Could this be the fight that caused Tony to be so bruised and bloodied?
Rhodey, it would seem, is dead. If not dead, he’s at least been injured. I predicted War Machine would be incapacitated in Age of Ultron, to prove how serious a villain Ultron was, but of course that didn’t happen then, but maybe it will here? It’s unlikely the death of a major supporting character would be revealed in the trailer, so if he does die it most likely isn’t in this shot, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Cheadle’s last film in the franchise.
But if there’s one segment of dialogue that has already emerged from the trailer into pop culture it’s this. Cap says mournfully “I’m sorry Tony. You know I wouldn’t do this if I had any other choice. But he’s my friend.” He’s talking about Bucky, offering some kind of explanation for his actions in protecting his life-long buddy. 
Tony’s response? “So was I.” Damn that’s harsh. Past tense. There’s no way back. This is going down.
Cap and Bucky, working as a team, beating on Iron Man. This is brutal, yet strangely poetic. The way Buck and Cap work together, seamlessly tossing the shield from one to the other, often via Iron Man’s face or torso, it’s just beautifully fluid. I’m a fan of watching superheroes working well together – the opening of X-Men: Days of Future Past is another great example of this – so I’m looking forward to seeing this scene in spite of who it is that’s being beaten up. My main question is where the heck are they? There’s snow-capped mountains in the background, and they appear to be at high altitude but not inside a SHIELD heli-carrier, so could this be yet another secret HYDRA base?
So, chronology-wise, here’s my prediction:
Some kind of opening set-piece, maybe set in Wakanda with Cap and Black Widow, introducing Black Panther as an enemy of Cap. Steve, Natasha and Sam are then taken to see General Ross. From there Steve and Sam break away from the plan and go to find Bucky, who Natasha has been sent to bring in. Steve and Sam succeed, but Iron Man comes to find them. He fights Cap and Winter Soldier, and gets beaten up for his troubles but not killed. Cap & Co. then undertake some kind of mission – there’s some talk of an Institute for Infectious Diseases so it may involve that, which may be in Germany – which Stark and the rest don’t want them to accomplish, and fight back, leading to the possible death of Rhodes. From there, I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out. I’ve yet to actually like a Captain America film (First Avenger was a bit dull and meandering, Winter Soldier was way over-hyped and underwhelming), but by the looks of it this one could be a winner.
Captain America: Civil War is released in April/May 2016.
Are you looking forward to it? Has the trailer got you hyped, or are there too many characters to keep track of? Are you waiting until we’ve seen more Spider-man or Crossbones? Or are you more of a Baron Zemo person? Let us know in the comments!