Looking Back at Civil War Hints

When reports surfaced earlier this month from Variety and Latino-Review that Robert Downey Jr will join Captain America: Civil War many were shocked by the news. It was even more surprising for people that Marvel would use this movie to kick off their version of the Civil War storyline. Then this week at a special Marvel Event, Marvel confirmed that Stark and Rodgers will go head-to-head, along with lots of other news. That begs the question, should we really be that surprised?

Ever since Avengers Tony Stark has been moving farther and farther away from wanting to be a superhero, but would suit up when necessary. Steve Rodgers on the other hand is in it now more than ever, even with the fall of SHIELD.

Marvel's two biggest characters and stars, Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America, will be going head to head throughout Captain America: Civil War. They have certainly clashed in the past before ultimately setting their differences aside for the greater good of the team and the world. It seems that after Avengers: Age of Ultron, their differences could be too much to overcome.

The differences in their beliefs were apparent throughout Avengers and their individual actions since. Let's start with what we learned about each of them in Avengers. One of the most memorable scenes in that movie is the confrontation scene between the entire group, but the focus was on Captain America vs Iron Man. Lines from Cap like "Big man in a suit of armor, take that off and what are you?" and "You better stop pretending to be a hero." started to show the rift that would eventually develop between the two. Even though they put their differences aside to stop Loki, their differences remain.

Then came Iron Man 3. Stark has started to gain the mindset that him being in the suit and being a superhero is not something he necessarily wants. He developed suits he could control by a headset. He then blew up his suits to please Pepper and really started the new approach he has taken.

Captain America saw action later on in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. As we all know, SHIELD fell in that movie. SHIELD developed a new kind of helicarrier that could take down potential threats instantly. Stark had a hand in helping design the helicarriers but Rodgers was instantly against the idea. This movie really showed just how dedicated he was in maintaining the freedom of America. He said, "This isn't freedom, this is fear." and "The price of freedom is high, and it's a price I'm willing to pay." That view point will certainly continue for Cap. One of the closing scenes in that movie was Black Widow talking to government officials. At the end of that conversation she basically tells them that they wouldn't dare touch the Avengers or try to control them because they need them. 

Next summer we will see the Avengers tested like never before in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Tony Stark will continue his quest to get out of the suit by creating an A.I. like nothing the world has ever seen. Unfortunately for the Avengers and the world, that A.I. will not work the way Stark hoped and turn into Ultron. A new clip from Avengers: Age of Ultron that was shown at the Marvel Event this week leaked that showed the growing feud between Stark and Rodgers. Check out the clip below. As you can see, how they see threats and their roles in stopping potential threats are evident.

Avengers: Age of Ultron will lead basically right into Captain America: Civil War, with only Ant-Man standing between the two movies. How Avengers: Age of Ultron ends will certainly play into what causes the Civil War storyline to kick off. My guess is after the team stops Ultron and sees what new super-powered people like Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and maybe even Captain Marvel, Stark will realize that without SHIELD, they have nothing to control them. Agents of SHIELD could certainly tie into this and have Coulson and the new SHIELD try and control all the super powered beings on earth. Stark will likely help push the notion that the government needs to oversee what the Avengers and other super-powered people. As you can see looking through what Captain America stands for, even though he likes structure and being a soldier, he also wants people to have freedom. How our new Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Black Widow, and maybe even Hawkeye factor in to the story should also be fascinating to see.

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Agents of SHIELD Season 2 EP 6 Review

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD has flipped the script so far in season 2. Instead of light episodes stuffed with one-liners, the shows sophomore season is darker and more serious. Coulson and his team have been tasked with rebuilding SHIELD, stopping HYDRA, hiding from Talbot, finding the Obelisk, and figuring out what those mysterious markings are.

***** SPOILERS for "A Fractured House" to follow *****

This week in "A Fractured House," the team takes a break from those tasks to maintain the reputation of SHIELD. Thanks to HYDRA poising as SHIELD, they attacked Talbot and Senator Christian Ward. His trustworthiness is immediately put into question as he sends out a message to SHIELD that his men will find them, shut them down, and kill them.

When Grant Ward is asked about his brother, he tells Skye just how untrustworthy his brother is. Coulson is already past that point and discussing what he could do for the senator to not get that act passed. They come to an agreement on sending Grant Ward into his brother's custody for a few weeks.

While all of this is going on, Fitz and Simmons relationship continues to be tested. Fitz is still scarred by the accident and that Simmons left him when he needed her. Simmons cannot seem to accept the fact that he is different. Thanks to Fitz's new best friend Mack, he tells it how it is to Simmons. Fitz is only worse when she is around and their relationship will never be the same.

Now that relationships have been changed between Fitz and Simmons and Ward and Skye, the show introduces an old flame. Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird, and Lance Hunter have been revealed to at one time being married.  The current relationship is definitely one filled with awkwardness but also underlying trust and care for one another.

What does the senator plan to do with his brother? Well, Ward has broken out of transport and now on the loose, but it seems like he will team up with his brother no matter what. The final scene showed the senator with full body tattoos of the mysterious alien markings floating around in Coulson's head. 

We will start to get answers to what exactly the alien markings are in two weeks when Agents of SHIELD returns for episode 7 "The Writing On The Wall." Check out the promo for next week's episode below! Also be sure to tune in to Marvel's 75th anniversary special next week at 9 pm EST on ABC for a look back at Marvel as well as a sneak peak into their future! 

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Marvel Sets Phase 3 Lineup

After HYDRA leaked the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, Marvel officially released the trailer for the world to see. They also announced a special event that was open to media and fans. The "Marvel Event" turned into what I called Marvel-Con by the amount of news and excitement Marvel generated through the event.

When Marvel first made the announcement of the event many started trying to figure out what kind of big news Marvel could announce. I was in a small corner that did not expect anything major to be revealed. Then reports surfaced that Benedict Cumberbatch is close to signing on for the role of Doctor Strange. After that happened, my thought process started to change but did not expect what Marvel had up their sleeves.

This afternoon Marvel announced their entire Phase 3 movie lineup! That's right, after announcing dates earlier in the year, Marvel officially put titles on those dates. Among the movies announced was Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Inhumans, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and 2. It's time to breakdown each title announced as well as speculate on what each movie could hold.

Captain America: Civil War

The first movie Marvel announced at their event was Captain America: Serpent Society! Wait what? That's what Marvel initially said but it was all just a hoax. They announced what had been reported a few weeks ago. Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers will go head to head and bring a new friend along for the ride. Black Panther will make his big screen debut as he will be asked to choose a side in this world changing debate. Captain America: Civil War will feature the previously mentioned characters as well as Falcon and the Winter Soldier. How both of these characters factor into the story will surely be interesting to watch unfold. Captain America: Civil War will release in theaters on May 6th, 2016.

Doctor Strange

Marvel also put an official date and title on Doctor Strange. Director Scott Derrickson has been attached to the movie since June and will bring his horror background to Marvel. While there is no current lead officially on the project, this week reports surfaced of Benedict Cumberbatch closing in on the lead role. Doctor Strange will release in theaters on November 4th, 2016.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Marvel announced Guardians of the Galaxy 2 at Comic-Con this year before Guardians of the Galaxy even released in theaters. So why is it on this list? Well Marvel bumped its release date up 2 months! Instead of releasing on July 28, 2017, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will release in theaters on May 5th, 2017. James Gunn is scheduled to return to direct the sequel as well as returning the core members of the team. This movie will see the team continue to patrol the galaxy and probably have a run in with Thanos, which brings them on a path to earth.

Thor: Ragnarok

The day after comments from Chris Hemsworth surfaced where he hinted at a 2017 release date for Thor 3, Marvel gave us an official title and release date. That's right, Thor 3 will officially be called Thor: Ragnarok! It will feature the return of Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Thor will also likely travel to Ragnarok and have to deal with the fallout to what is happening or will happen to his father Odin. I expect this to be the final movie for Loki and Odin. Thor will take the throne of Asgard and be out of the way to protect earth from imminent threats. Thor: Ragnarok will release in theaters on July 28th, 2017.

Black Panther

After the fallouts from Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther will embark on his first solo movie in 2017! Who will be playing T'Challa? Chadwick Boseman! The fan favorite has officially joined the Marvel universe! Concept art for the suit was also revealed and it looks fantastic. Black Panther will release in theaters on November 3, 2017.

Avengers: Infinity War Part 1

Avengers 3 will be split into two parts now after Marvel had denied such a possibility. With the fallouts of Avengers: Age of Ultron unclear, how part one plays out could be very interesting. By this point Thanos will likely have the gauntlet in his possession and a few of the infinity gems. He will likely take to earth to destroy the Avengers but have a tough time taking them all down. Part 1 will most likely end with Thanos seemingly defeating the Avengers before the Guardians and the other cosmic allies come to the rescue. Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 will release in theaters on May 4th, 2018!

Captain Marvel

Marvel is finally doing a movie with a female lead! Carol Danvers will be the lead of Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel will have earthbound adventures but her powers are based on the cosmic side of Marvel's universe. Captain Marvel will release in theaters on July 6th, 2018!

Inhumans

Marvel announced that for their 20th movie they release another team based franchise, this time it will be the Inhumans. The Inhumans are a group of people who have been given powers from the alien race of the Kree. One actor who has commonly been linked to an Inhumans movie is Vin Diesel starring as the leader of the team Black Bolt. Marvel and Diesel have been negotiating a role that would be bigger and combine different properties. There has been much speculation that Skye from Agents of SHIELD could have Kree or Inhuman ties, which would provide a big payoff and connection from the show to the big screen. Inhumans will release in theaters November 2nd, 2018.

Avengers: Infinity War Part 2

Marvel's Phase 3 will conclude with Avengers: Infinity War Part 2. This movie should be the conclusion of the current Thanos story arc, with him having the real possibility to have a part in many of these Phase 3 movies. This will likely be Marvel's first big mega crossover event. Not only do I expect the Avengers, Guardians, and Inhumans to team together to stop Thanos but also the smaller characters. I expect Marvel's Netflix characters to appear as well as some of the other characters they develop through Agents of SHIELD. Thanos will ultimately survive the onslaught of attacks and probably be back in a few years to try again. Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 will release in theaters on May 3rd, 2019.

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Marvel Weekly News #9

This week turned out to be pretty uneventful on the Marvel front unfortunately. Wait, what's that? Oh yeah, it was the exact opposite! Thanks to the work of HYDRA we got our first leaked and official look at Avengers: Age of Ultron! Mockingbird also made her debut in Agents of SHIELD, James Gunn gave some Guardians of the Galaxy 2 news, new director rumors, and a new addition to the Agent Carter cast was announced. With so much news, let's get right to it.

Guardians of the Galaxy Climbs Oversees

Guardians of the Galaxy was once considered to be a huge risk and the potential downfall of Marvel Studios but it has been anything but that. Thanks to the movie finally releasing in China, it has now totaled $739 million in worldwide gross. It now sits as the third highest Marvel Studios behind only the billion dollar club of Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Characters

Thanks to the aforementioned success of Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel wasted no time in announcing a sequel. In fact, the made it official before the first movie even came out. James Gunn has been hard at work on the sequel since the day Guardians of the Galaxy came out. This week he confirmed that the core team of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket will all return as well as some other familiar faces. Nebula, Yondu, and Corpsman Dey all should return. He also once again teased the addition of another character to the main roster. Fan favorites include Nova, Adam Warlock, and Moondragon.

Agents of SHIELD EP 5

Agents of SHIELD continued on its strong sophomore season with its 5th episode. You can read our full review of the episode here. It featured the debut of Adrianne Palicki as Mockingbird and gave us a bigger look at Skye's background and father. The episode also saw an uptick in viewers up to 4.7 million and was the number 1 show in the 18-49 male demographic. After the debut of Mockingbird, Marvel released the first image of the official costume. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer Leak

HYDRA may be in hiding but they aren't holding back. This week they got their hands on the first Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer and leaked it early. Marvel was planning on premiering the trailer after next week's episode of Agents of SHIELD. With HYDRA ruining their plans, Marvel had to act quickly to save fans.

Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer Released

Only hours after the leaked trailer, Marvel officially released the trailer in HD early. While that means they'll have to change their plans for what they're going to do after next week's Agents of SHIELD, they made all fans extremely happy. Check out the trailer and a few screens right here! It featured our first look at the Hulkbuster armor, many different Ultron suits, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in action, and Andy Serkis!

Avengers: Age of Ultron Poster

Marvel wasn't done with the trailer either. They also released the first poster for Avengers: Age of Ultron. It looks almost identical to the first Avengers poster but with an obvious twist on Ultron.

  

Adam McKay the Director

Adam McKay was at one time in the running to replace Edgar Wright as the director of Ant-Man. He did help re-write the script with the help of Paul Rudd but could not direct because of other projects. Marvel is apparently very happy with his work as they are in early discussions for him direct an upcoming movie. Doctor Strange already has a director and it's unlikely he would direct Thor 3 or an Avengers movie, so what could it be? Black Panther is a possibility but I think him directing a small team up movie would be fantastic. Making a Secret Avengers or West Coast Avengers movie starring Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, and a combination of Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Iron Patriot, Vision, and Mockingbird would certainly draw in a crowd.

New Avengers: Age of Ultron Footage Coming

Since Marvel had to release the first Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer early, they are going to roll out new footage soon. It will start after episode 6 of Agents of SHIELD and then the following week during Marvel's 75th anniversary show.

Lyndsy Fonseca Joins Agent Carter Cast

Marvel continues to add quality actors and actresses to the cast of Agent Carter. Yesterday they announced that Lyndsy Fonseca will join the show as Angie Martinelli. She is an aspiring actress in New York who befriends Peggy and helps her adapt to a world without war.

Share your thoughts on this week's news in the comments below!

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