The second Captain America: Civil War trailer came out and it definitely got everyone talking. As cool as it is to see Spidey, the trailer was enjoyable to me because for once I felt like this universe was real. What do I mean? Let’s get into that!

I’ll preface this by saying that overall I enjoy Marvel movies. Some are better than others, but overall the universe is pretty strong. I understand the importance of escapism in film, and Marvel movies have been really good at offering that. For two hours you get to witness fun stories about witty heroes and bombastic villains, and it’s a good time.

But you can have a fun movie, but also have there be more to it. Actions should have consequences, superheroes in the world should have a big impact. The drama always felt a little superficial in a sense in the Marvel movies (less so in the Captain America films though). Now that they’ve been building their universe for 8 years, it was time to change that, and change they did.

In comes Captain America: Civil War, and the tension is palpable. The opening shots of the trailer did a great job introducing the problem. We saw how hard it was for the heroes to witness their actions. To realise just beating up the bad guy isn’t enough to make you a hero. From their faces you saw that they were forced to look within and realise that they are also a major source for threat and terror.

We have known and grown with these heroes for 8 years now, there’s an emotional connection there. And finally they are putting a story in place that utilizes this history. After everything The Avengers have been through, seeing this be the result of their team-up feels devastating.

We all remember what an amazing and happy moment it was when they first teamed up in The Avengers. It was a great moment. But it can’t always be happy-go-lucky, over time issues will arise and reach a boiling point. Civil War is that boiling point.

There’s a strong emotional and dramatic core to this movie that hasn’t been seen in the Marvel movies yet, to the same extent. An interesting debate arises and people are starting to have meaningful conversations. Who is right? Iron Man or Captain America.

You understand both perspectives and their conflicting ideologies. There are actual stakes in this game, so you have to really consider things before picking your side.

Do these heroes need to be governed? What gives them the right to intervene in such events anyways? Shouldn’t people have a say in what’s happening?

What happens when you let a group of unauthorised individuals place the fate of others in their hands?

I have a knee-jerk reaction of saying I’m Team Captain America, simply because I like the character better. But you need to think about it from the perspective of someone who actually lives in the world of the MCU. If I turned on the news to see a city being lifted into the sky as chaos erupts and find out that this is the result of someone we considered a “superhero”, I think I too will start questioning the validity of these heroes. Maybe we do need rules so they know they are consequences to their actions, that what they do affects everyone.

But then do we really want government controlled heroes? Politically neutral heroes tend to be more trustworthy, they’re not acting on the interests of some government body, they’re acting on the interests of the people. But then the question will always be, how will these heroes define what those interests are?

It’s clear that things won’t be the same after Captain America: Civil War. The Russo Brothers have already talked about the supposed controversial ending, indicating that the ramifications of this movie will reverberate throughout the whole universe. And it’s exciting.

I’m not saying darker or more realistic movies are necessarily better, but having real drama and real thought-provoking conflict should be something to aspire to in these superhero movies as well.

And of course the drama will be balanced out with the lighter moments, you know like that Spider-Man guy. So basically this is all to say that I’m all in for Captain America: Civil War, less than 2 months to go!