Phase 3 begins with Captain America: Civil War (2016). This installment of Captain America is just as universe-shifting as its predecessor. The Avengers cause some more destruction in their quest to save the world. World governments decide that they can no longer operate independently and develop the Sokovia Accords. These Accords give control of the Avengers to a bureaucratic board. This conflict helps to set up all of the other conflicts in the film.
Steve Rogers does not want to sign the Accords. He just had his eyes opened to the nature of humanity. SHIELD was supposed to protect the world, but HYDRA was wielding its power for its own personal agenda. Steve feels that the Accords open the Avengers up to the same dilemma. Furthermore, Steve believes the Avengers shouldn't shy away from their failures. They should accept responsibility for their errors instead of shifting the blame to some other party. This belief is where antagonist Tony Stark comes in.
Tony Stark is still filled with guilt. He still harbors guilt from selling arms to terrorist groups, but most importantly his guilt about the loss of life he and the Avengers have contributed to. Tony tries to ease his guilty conscience through philanthropy, creating murder-bots, and now through the Accords. In some ways, the majority of Tony's actions are to put the blame of past, present, and future problems on someone other than himself. Honestly, he is still Ironman and a hero, but Tony Stark is an incredible antagonist in Civil War.
All the things we traditionally love about Tony Stark become aggravating in this adventure. He is arrogant and condescending to the point of physical reaction. Steve wants to put the world and his shoulders and Tony wants to take it off of his. This is a wonderful beginning to an arc that sees Steve eventually put the world off of his soldiers and Tony put the world on his shoulders, but that's not till much later.
Steve and Tony's conflict on these issues illuminates many different themes of the film. The Avengers lose their personhood. Steve calls it "internment." Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross refers to Thor and Banner as objects that the Avengers own. While the Accords initially seem like a measure of goodwill, they quickly become a tool to own and control a specific group of people. Is Thor not an autonomous person? Should he, Bruce Banner, and Wanda Maximoff be owned by the U.N? I think this part of the movie is too often overlooked. The scary part of the Accords is their dehumanization of human beings. Tony Stark even says, "They don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction" in reference to Wanda. She isn't an object of war to be given to a government body. She is an autonomous human being. This whole idea culminates in the damages that came from the loss of autonomy that Bucky Barnes suffers. He loses the ability to choose which missions he will take part in. Do the Avengers have anything to learn from his tragedy? Will they lose their ability to choose and become objects of war?
Now, to get the other half of the story. Vengeance. Multiple characters are filled with a need for vengeance. Of course, Zemo, who constructs the entire conflict by bombing the U.N. and framing it on Bucky Barnes sets up a large part of the physical conflict. Steve wants to save Bucky, the last vestige of a past that has now left him with the death of Peggy Carter. T'challa, played by Chadwick Boseman (Rest in Peace), is consumed with avenging the death of his father. The Avengers no longer avenge but seek vengeance. T'Challa's storyline is one of the highlights of the film. He is desperate to find his father's killer and in doing so loses who he is. Also, Black Panther is badass. Watching him fight with the various Avengers is incredible. His introduction scene is one of the best sequences of the movie.
It is difficult to pin down one sequence that is the best because the Russos are geniuses at the fight design. Every fight and fight sequence is cinematic gold. The airport scene is maybe still the best fight in the entire MCU. The battle on Titan in Infinity War (2018) and the final battle of Endgame (2019) are the other contestants, but it's still hard to pick.
The Avengers (2012) massively increased the popularity of the Hulk and this film gives the same treatment to Antman. They allow the character to be out of place, trying to impress the other Avengers. On the other side of the conflict is Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, doing the same thing. The two of them have incredible scene-stealing fights and dialogue. They provide a large portion of the comedy because the stakes aren't as high for them. They are thrown into a conflict neither of them really understand.
The Russos do such an incredible job of orchestrating the various storylines. Every character, no matter the size, receives a satisfying arc. No skulking around Hawkeyes here. Everyone gets something fun. They manage to do this in the first movie that the Avengers lose. We don't really think about it too much because they didn't lose directly. The Avengers are destroyed from within.
Quick Hits
Stan Lee's cameo is as
No infinity stones, but the Avengers break is every bit as important as their location.
Again, Rest In Peace to Chadwick Boseman. Wakanda Forever.
Vision learns what it is to be human and gets knocked down a peg.
Vision's smug, fake apology is nauseating.
I noticed there wasn't enough love for Sam Wilson here. So, go, Falcon!
Now, the whole tragedy comes to a head with Tony Stark seeking vengeance on Bucky Barnes even though he didn't have a choice. Tony ignores the Accords in hypocritical fashion and attempts to destroy someone for something they didn't have control over even though he was fighting for the Avengers to give up their control to another organization. See? It all ties together. Steve feared this loss of control because he saw what it did to his friend. Tony doesn't care. He, yet again, lets his emotions control his actions and attempts to murder Bucky Barnes. If Bucky is still guilty, won't the Avengers still be guilty if something goes wrong even if they are operating under someone else's command? So, not only is it an attempt to shift the blame, but people won't care anyway.
In the end, Steve stands up for his right to choose. I know its just a comic book movie, but this is so important to our society. We can never surrender our right to choose and give our responsibility for our society over to someone else. Like they say in the movie, "Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say, 'No, *you* move'." Don't throw away your voice because you think it absolves you of responsibility. It doesn't and people will blame you for the ills of society anyway.