Breakdown of the 'Captain America: Civil War' Super Bowl Trailer
Character drama comes to the forefront in Marvel's first movie of Phase Three.
A brand new TV spot for Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War aired during Super Bowl 50. The sleek trailer was a 30-second flurry of new images not seen in previous trailers, revealing quite a bit of the plot, as well as the rich tension between Marvel’s frenemies turned blood rivals.
What’s new, and what was just plain cool?
New plot reveals!
Right off the bat, Bucky, aka Winter Soldier, is seen hooked up to machinery, à la The Matrix, in a mysterious facility. This has to be the midpoint of the movie, when Cap breaks him out and pisses off Tony Stark.
He’s definitely under government custody, because later shots in the trailer show Cap and Bucky in civilian clothes, surrounded by authorities — and War Machine. Look to the left.
Another big moment is the collateral damage at a German airport, no doubt a result from an initial skirmish between Team Cap and Team Iron Man. Civil War’s conflict stems from the Avengers’ unchecked authority, and to most of the world who lived through 9/11, wrecking an airport is a pretty tangible nightmare.
Character tension!
A quick sequence featuring Bucky and Tony was the trailer’s best moment and says everything Civil War is really about. Tony, using his partial-armor technology, stops a bullet fired point-blank from Buck. It’s quick, but indicates the personal scale of Civil War, despite its global ramifications.
Also personal: Rhodey. He’s probably not dead — they wouldn’t show a reveal as big as this in trailers — but Cap messing up Tony’s best friend means Tony will want payback and to do the same to Bucky. Once again: Civil War isn’t just about superheroes fighting each other; it’s a personal revenge drama.
Just plain awesome!
Nothing revealing about Civil War here, just a badass image that collectors will pose their Captain America and Winter Soldier action figures after on their shelves.
The Avengers, plus Ant-Man and Black Panther, pick their sides.
Right before the teaser closes out, there are amazing tracking shots outlining who’s on whose side in Civil War.
Team Cap, left to right: Falcon, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Captain America (duh), Scarlet Witch, and Winter Soldier.
Until now, Scarlet Witch had been curiously left out of anyone’s team. In her place was Emily VanCamp’s Agent 13. Should we worry about Agent 13 now instead of Scarlet Witch?
On Team Iron Man, right to left: War Machine, Black Widow, Iron Man (duh, again) The Vision, and Black Panther.
Besides giving us another great look at T’Challa (played by Chadwick Boseman), we also see Iron Man short by one. Of course, two armored suits with enough firepower to blow up tanks and a magical being with an Infinity Gem in his forehead even the odds a bit.
Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6. Watch the trailer below.
