Captain America: Civil War is another triumph for Marvel Studios – but like any film, you’ll come out of it with questions that they maybe had to skim over, didn’t have time to answer, or didn’t think needed answering. And we’re here to try and fill in the gaps.
Spoilers, obviously – so if you haven’t seen the film, stop here.
What are the Black Panther’s powers, and how did he get them?
The latter isn’t discussed in the film as far as we could see, but that’s probably because they’re saving it for the solo outing. In the comics, the Black Panther – whoever that may be at the time – receives their powers from eating a special heart-shaped herb which only grows in Wakanda. This herb allows the Black Panther to communicate with the Panther God, receiving a variety of superhuman attributes including acute senses, strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, healing and reflexes.
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The film leaves it sort of ambiguous whether T’Challa’s powers are in the suit or in him – but we’re guessing they’ll go all the way on the mysticism by the time his solo movie rolls around.
Why is Bucky left in Wakanda?
Although Steve and T’Challa don’t know each other well at this point, it’s probably clear to Cap that the monarch of Wakanda is a man of honour – and indeed, someone who has the technological capabilities to both house Bucky and keep him safe. Cap knows S.H.I.E.L.D. (or what remains of it) can’t be trusted, and he can’t turn Bucky over to the Avengers or Stark at this point. That leaves precious few options. All things considered, getting T’Challa’s help is the sanest move at this point.
What was Zemo’s plan?
Zemo’s plan was always to break up the Avengers by showing Tony proof that Bucky killed his parents – something he could only do by breaking the footage out of the facility where the other brainwashed operatives were being held.
Although it initially seemed like he was trying to get his own team of assassins, that was never the plan – it was always about turning the Avengers against one another as revenge for his dead family. That, you can safely assume, is why he listened to that voicemail more than once in the film: it was his last remaining recording of his family before they died in Sokovia.
What’ll happen to Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Scarlet Witch and Cap now?
Good question. Presumably all of them are technically fugitives. After Civil War in the comics, there were two teams of Avengers operating independently, so it’s entirely possible Cap will form his own team while Tony leads another.
We’re not sure it’ll come up in Doctor Strange, and it’s incredibly unlikely to come up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – but you can bet there’ll be more information about what the status of the MCU’s main players is in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tony Stark has a confirmed appearance in that movie, so it might be a year and change until we get some concrete information.
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How is Agent 13 related to Peggy Carter?
In the comics, Sharon Carter began life as Peggy’s sister, but later turned into Peggy’s niece so that her age lined up better with Cap’s. In Captain America: Civil War, Sharon refers to Peggy as her “aunt”. But, in a roundtable interview before the film came out, Sharon actress Emily VanCamp told us that Peggy is actually her character’s great-aunt.
Is Baron Zemo different from the comics?
The movie version of Zemo is essentially a different character to the one from the comics. In the source material, Baron Heinrich Zemo was a sadistic Nazi scientist who was notable for being the man who killed off Bucky. His son, Baron Helmut Zemo, continued his family’s vendetta against Steve Rogers in the present day. Both wore distinctive purple hoods to hide their identity, and suffered disfigurement after being doused in Adhesive X (yes, adhesive) a powerful bonding agent that fused their masks to their face.
The movie version is named Helmut Zemo, but there’s no “Baron” in there and no mention of his father. He also seems to be Sokovian rather than German. The only real similarity to the source material is that he’s got no super powers – just his wits – and a fascination with using Bucky to hurt Steve Rogers.
Of course, Helmut remained alive at the end of the film, so maybe he’ll get stuck into some Adhesive X further down the line…
Who was Martin Freeman’s character?
Everett K. Ross is a sarcastic government employee who was introduced in Christopher Priest’s Black Panther run as the character’s US liaison. Although he’s not in this movie a lot, we’d expect to see him primarily reappear in the Black Panther movie of 2018 – though the character’s position does mean he could become the new Agent Coulson/Nick Fury figure, dipping in and out of movies to add some familiar texture
Where was Hulk / Thor / Nick Fury?
Fair questions. Banner is presumably laying low – if he’s still on the planet at all (those Planet Hulk rumours simply refuse to die…). Thor, we can assume, is off on Asgard and out of touch. Since this isn’t an Avengers movie (honest!) it probably makes sense for those characters not to be in it, given that the other two core Avengers are.
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Nick Fury, though? Your guess is as good as ours. Last seen at the new Avengers facility in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, one imagines that Fury’s insight would’ve been especially welcome (from the Avengers, at least) when it comes to negotiating this sort of contract with the people he used to deal with. I guess we can assume he’s somewhere undercover, or maybe he just flew off into the sunset in his Helicarrier.
Think we missed anything big? Feel free to discuss it in the comments!
