3. Zemo’s Plan
Despite everything going on within Civil War you’d think there wasn’t room for a villain. Helmut Zemo was an unusual villain because he didn’t have the usual traits and desires of previous MCU villains. Instead he wanted to bring the downfall of the Avengers because of a personal vendetta. This, in many ways, made him a more dangerous villain because of the lengths he was willing to go to. What was fantastic was how the film led you to believe his goals were basic but in fact it was all a ploy to execute his actual scheme.
Zemo deliberately brought about a rupture within the Avengers through manipulating events and facts. This was all to avenge his family, whom were killed during the events of Age of Ultron. His deadly plan went about breaking apart our heroes in the most personal battle ever conceived and ultimately succeeds.
2. Assassination of the Starks
The nail in the coffin came about with the revelation that Bucky was responsible for the death of Iron Man’s parents. This was a shocking scene, especially in how it was executed. Bucky didn’t just assassinate them, he full-on murdered them. Iron Man’s father was beaten to death whilst Iron Man’s mother was strangled. What made the scene more tragic was Iron Man’s reaction, “You killed my mum.” We already knew he had a shaky relationship with his father but in this film we got an understanding that he was very close to his mother, thus seeing her brutally murdered hit him hard. It was made even worse when Captain America indicated he knew about this and kept it from Iron Man in order to prevent further pain. Instead this caused further friction between the characters and cemented their final dual to the death as part of Zemo’s plan.
1. Captain America v. Iron Man
The final dual between Captain America and Iron Man was an emotional experience to witness, leaving you feeling tense, upset and afraid. These characters had become close comrades and helped to forge the Avengers in order to make a difference and now they were fighting each other to the death. The entire battle revolves around the fate of Bucky, with Captain America wanting to protect his friend whilst Iron Man wants nothing but vengeance.
The death of family members became one of the main themes of the film, with both Blank Panther’s and Spider-Man’s introduction being driven by this. The fight ultimately ends with Captain America having the choice to kill Iron Man but reluctantly chooses to destroy his suit instead. In that moment both of their symbols of justice are tarnished and Captain America throws away his infamous shield due to no longer feeling he deserves the right to wield it. In one act the MCU is reshaped forever.
That’s my top 6 darkest moments from Civil War, please share your own Top 6 Moments in the comments below or on our Twitter page.
