The implosion of superhero factions
If there’s a moment in the trailer for the new Captain America movie, Civil War, that encapsulates the direction superhero movies are taking, it’s the seven seconds of footage showing Chris Evans as Steve Rogers ( a. k. a. Captain America) duking it out with Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), aided by Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes (a.k.a. The Winter Soldier).
The brief scene has Iron Man, flanked by his two assailants, flailing this way and that as they strike blows and toss Captain America’s shield back and forth. It’s like a game of monkey in the middle performed by angry ballet dancers.
It’s also indicative of a growing rift in the ranks of the Avengers — Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Anthony Mackie as Falcon, to name some of the main members of the group. ( Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Paul Rudd as Ant- Man will be making their way in from other movies, while Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their roles from Age of Ultron.)
No doubt there will be some world- conquering, freedom-enslaving or Infinity- Stoneseeking bad guy to deal with. When isn’t there? But from its title to its trailers, Civil War is shaping up as an internecine battle, with Iron Man supporting government oversight of the Avengers while Captain America wishes to operate without regulation. And before that gets too boring, remember that they have to fight it out to decide.
A similar battle is forming in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Again, that may sound like a Supreme Court ruling, but we are guaranteed fisticuffs and mayhem.
An early t railer shows Henry Cavill as Superman called on the carpet for some sort of collateral damage, and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne taking him on, and out, before he does something even worse. Watching on the sidelines, fingers crossed, is Jesse Eisenberg as a remarkably youthful Lex Luthor. Also, briefly but importantly, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
What other superhero factions will be imploding in 2016? X-Men: Apocalypse, latest in the 15-year franchise, will feature a new villain named En Sabah Nur (a.k.a. Apocalypse), played by The Force Awakens’ Oscar Isaac. The X- Men have long been split along the Magneto/ Prof. Xavier divide, but with that rift somewhat healed by the last movie, a new one now opens. Apocalypse will be on the lookout for followers, and not everyone will want to join him.
Finally there’s Suicide Squad, part of Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe that includes the Batman/Superman picture. As government official Amanda Waller ( Viola Davis) explains in the film’s first trailer: “I want to assemble a task force of the most dangerous people on the planet, who I think can do some good.” As to how she’ll control them: “Getting people to act against their own self-interest is what I do for a living.” These people, played by Will Smith (Deadshot), Jared Leto (Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn) and others, are clearly just waiting for a chance to turn on each other.
Filmmakers no doubt relish these superhero-on-superhero battles, both for the narrative complexity they add to the stories and ( let’s be honest) for the chance to do some really rip-roaring destruction. Intra- hero squabbles aren’t going to go away any time soon.