[SPOILERS for Ant-Man ahead.]
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Ever since 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has been working to expand its cinematic universe. With the primary members of the Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, already established, Marvel now has the opportunity to bring new characters into the spotlight and create all new dynamics and conflicts between the heroes. While the Avengers have argued in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, their conflict is going to (presumably) be taken to a whole new level in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
Inspired by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s Marvel Comics story, the upcoming movie will see Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) at odds, over a policy that would give the U.S. government more information and control over the Avengers. As heroes choose to stand behind Stark or Rogers – or just do their best to avoid the conflict – the fact this movie follows Captain America: The Winter Soldier leaves fans with one question: how significant of a role will James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes, a.k.a. Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), play in the story?