Deconstructing the Captain America: Civil War Super Bowl Trailer

While Super Bowl 50 is underway, we’re mostly excited for the advertisements. Deadpool, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and even Turkish Airlines, who employed Ben Affleck and Jesse Eisenberg to talk about villainy all made appearances early in the first half. The Civil War trailer dropped online just before the game began, but also made an appearance early.

Fueled by the ongoing chant of United We Stand, Divided We Fall, Captain America: Civil War premiered a new trailer with all new footage. Upping the ante and stakes of when friend becomes foe, Civil War is a guaranteed emotional ride.

The trailer opens on Cap gazing at Bucky, who is hooked up to machinery. You’re aware of this. But it looks much like a scene straight from the comics, except we don’t have Red Skull in this continuity. Or do we? He probably won’t be returning but I wouldn’t completely rule out Marvel pulling a retcon.

Bucky’s role in Civil War has been touted as pretty central to the plot, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Tony had been the one to locate the former brainwashed Hydra assassin. Bucky is responsible for the murder of Tony’s parents, Howard and Maria Stark. And while Tony’s relationship with his father has always been strained, the death has always been reflected as taking a toll on him.

Another important aspect of the trailer is the clear shot of both sides. Perhaps most notably, T’Challa is standing clearly on Tony’s side. It’s surprising to see him on a side at all, but a brewing theory is that T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka had also been targeted and crossed off the list by the Winter Soldier. This would definitely prompt T’Challa who join Team Iron Man. This doesn’t mean that T’Challa can’t still work on his own predilection, but does mean he leans toward the registry cause.

For most of the 42 second trailer, there’s a lot of Steve and Bucky working together. But we do see Bucky work on his own accord. We know he has some tense scenes with Tony, and we got a sneak at another, where Bucky nearly shoots Tony in the face. Luckily, Tony has a smart watch that turns into a piece of his suit.

It seems the big showdown in the movie may occur at Flughafen Leipzig Halle, a German airport in Schkeuditz, Saxony. With it taking place in Germany, we wonder if Cap’s past comes to haunt him in any way. The airport is also one of Europe’s largest cargo hubs, so maybe something important was tracked down there.

Marvel continues to deliver the goods in the trailer. The shot between Team Cap and Team Iron Man finally shows off Ant-Man full-size (with a new helmet to boot) and a close-up of T’Challa.

All and all, May 5, 2016 cannot come soon enough. We’re thirsty, Marvel, and can’t wait to have our answers. Are you #TeamCaptainAmerica or #TeamIronMan?