Now that 2016 arrived, comic book fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of blockbuster superhero movies. A slew of new films from both Marvel and DC are set to hit theaters this year, with entries such as X-Men: Apocalypse, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. One of the most anticipated movies, however, is Captain America: Civil War - the sequel to the much-heralded Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Though much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken liberties in creating alternate storylines separate from the comic books, Captain America: Civil War is directly influenced by Marvel’s comic series of the same name. Civil War originally published as a limited crossover series back in 2006-07 and featured an identical storyline in which Captain America and Iron Man divide opinions of the Avengers and engage in ethical (and literal) battle following government restrictions. Given how the Captain America: Civil War movie borrows so much of the plot from the Civil War storyline, it’s interesting to know that Marvel plans to kill off a major character in the comic book sequel, Civil War II.
The news comes from the New York Daily News, who sent a reporter to shadow an “editorial retreat” hosted by Marvel. The exclusive event is typically limited to Marvel writers and editors, as plans for the publisher’s comic books are discussed in private to avoid potential spoilers. However, the Daily News has revealed that Marvel is making concrete plans to kill a well known superhero in the upcoming Civil War II. This is a critical revelation, considering the previous Marvel editorial retreats yielded storylines for not only Captain America: Civil War, but Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well. What these writers and editors discuss will most likely have a direct impact on its eventual big screen adaptation.
According to the Daily News, Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis and editor-in-chief Axel Alonso came up with the following premise for Civil War II:
"A mysterious new Marvel character comes to the attention of the world, one who has the power to calculate the outcome of future events with a high degree of accuracy. This predictive power divides the Marvel heroes on how best to capitalize on this aggregated information, with Captain Marvel leading the charge to profile future crimes and attacks before they occur, and Iron Man adopting the position that the punishment cannot come before the crime.”
With that synopsis, it seems like Civil War II will also examine some serious moral and ethical quandaries. The plot thickens even more as the Marvel editorial team decides to make the new character predict another hero’s involvement in a cataclysmic act of destruction within three days. Now, the Avengers must decide what to do with the potentially dangerous superhero in question. But who should that individual be?
Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch and other unknown characters are placed onto the chopping block, but ultimately the Marvel writers decide to spare these heroes. But after much deliberation, the team comes up with a solution. An excerpt from the Daily News article reads:
After hours of occasionally heated debate, Bendis and Alonso reveal they had a eureka moment during a 10-minute break and came up with the perfect superhero to sacrifice and an even better candidate to murder him. The answer actually gets a loud ovation from the crowd.
“The death is the marketing hook,” admits Buckley [an editor]. “The thing that’s really compelling is whether or not there’s a story afterwards that’s going to connect with readers and sustain it.”
Of course, the identity of the fallen Marvel superhero and his/her murderer are not revealed to the public, but confirmation of the situation’s occurrence should make for some exciting entertainment in both comic books and film. If anymore information is revealed, we’ll be sure to post an update.
In the meantime, Captain America: Civil War arrives in theaters on May 6. Who are your predictions for the Marvel death and murderer? Let us know in the comment section below!
