The MARVELous Universe

Destiny Montgomery, Editor in Chief

I have many obsessions: sweet tea, books, “Dance Moms” and most importantly: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As of now, there are 27 movies and six Disney+ series. Not all of the movies were released in the timeline order, so Disney+ has a feature where fans can watch the movies in the specific order. The 14th movie in the timeline order: “Captain America: Civil War,” was released on May 6, 2016. Spoiler alerts ahead:

The movie starts by showing a man on a motorcycle causing a car to crash and taking a case of supersoldier serum out of the trunk. 

In Lagos, Nigeria, the new team of Avengers is trying to find Brock Rumlow, the HYDRA agent who was infiltrating SHIELD. It’s hard to explain exactly what they are doing, but the new Avengers are trying to stop them. Rumlow steals a vial of an infectious virus, so they go through a battle to try to get it. Natasha Romanoff finally gets it, and when Steve is winning against Rumlow, Rumlow tells him that Bucky remembers him, causing him to be distracted. Rumlow sets off a bomb on his own chest, and Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, is able to contain it up into the air with her powers, but she loses control and the explosion goes into a hotel. Wanda was devastated. 

At a college, Tony Stark presents a video of his parents and tells the students that he is starting the Howard and Maria Stark foundation in honor of them and that all of them were approved for a research grant. Near an elevator, a woman shows Tony a photo of her son who was killed while working in Sokovia. 

Tony then brings Secretary Ross to Avengers Headquarters where he presents the Sokovia Accords, which were ratified by 117 countries. Under the Accords, the Avengers have to operate under a panel’s supervision. Ross announces that there will be a meeting in Vienna in three days and if they don’t sign they have to retire. 

The group argues over the Accords for a while and Steve finally walks out. He gets a message that Peggy Carter died and goes to her funeral. The day after, Nat finds him and explains that she, Tony, James Rhodes and Vision signed on. 

In Vienna, Wakandan Royalty, prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and King T’Chaka are there. Wakanda is the place for vibranium, a very strong material. After the meeting starts, a huge explosion rips through the building, killing the king. 

In the US, Steve, Sam and Sharon Carter are watching the news and see security footage of a man that looks like Bucky fleeing the scene. Not only does Steve want to bring Bucky in, but so does T’Challa. 

In Bucharest, Bucky, not being under HYDRA’s control, sees in a newspaper that he is being accused of the bombing. He knows he has to leave, but when he gets back to his apartment where he finds Steve. The German military finds them and there is a big battle. Out of nowhere, the Black Panther shows up and fights to bring Bucky in. Sam also ends up joining in. Eventually, War Machine flies in and the task force surrounds them, and they are all arrested. The Black Panther takes off his mask revealing himself as T’Challa. 

Going to headquarters, Bucky is in a cage and Tony explains that even though secretary Ross wants them prosecuted, they are just going to lose the shield and wings which were then government property. 

At the Avengers facility, Tony has Vision trying to keep Wanda put in order to keep her safe. Joining Steve’s side, Hawkeye breaks in and frees Wanda.

Colonel Baron Zemo killed a HYDRA agent and took a book which contained a list of words that trigger Bucky’s mind control state. He then poses as the psychiatrist that was supposed to do Bucky’s psychological evaluation. Cameras to his room shut off and Zemo starts listing the words. There is then a huge fight with them, Tony, Steve, Nat, and T’Challa. They eventually get Bucky to come out of being brainwashed, and that’s when he tells them that Zemo is going to Siberia, the place where other super soldiers like Bucky are on ice, waiting for their next mission. 

Then, the famous airport scene, one of my favorites. There are two teams. Steve’s team consists of Bucky, Falcon (Sam Wilson), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) and Ant Man (Scott Lang). Their goal is to stop Zemo, but they are outside of authority and they all become “renegades.” Tony’s team consists of War Machine (James Rhodes), Black Panther (T’Challa), Black Widow (Nat), Vision and Spiderman (Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland). Their goal was to arrest the others. They meet up at an airport in Germany. There is a whole battle, but eventually Steve and Bucky escape on the quinjet, with Nat allowing them, knowing that they wouldn’t stop. 

Seeing evidence that Bucky was framed for the bombing at Vienna, Tony travels to the Raft, a literal floating prison in the middle of the ocean, to visit the other members of Steve’s team. He blocks the audio surveillance system long enough to explain that Steve was right about Bucky, so Sam tells Tony where they went.

In Siberia, they find that the other super soldiers were already killed, and Zemo’s plan all along was to expose that it was the winter soldier who killed Tony’s parents that night, and Zemo shows video footage of it. Steve knew all along. They break out in a huge fight. Tony tells Steve that he doesn’t deserve to carry the shield that his father made for him, so Steve drops it and leaves. Outside, Zemo sits and talks to T’Challa, who followed them there. Zemo tries to commit suicide, but T’Challa stops him and takes him in. 

At the end, Tony helps Rhodes recover, after becoming paralyzed during the airport scene. He gets robotic leg braces. Steve breaks his team out of the Raft, and they go to Wakanda. Bucky decides to go under cryogenic sleep until they can figure out how to cure his brainwashed state. Peter Parker recovers from the airport scene at home and tries the new web shooter that Tony gave him. 

I absolutely loved this movie. I would definitely say that it is in my top five.