The heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can never seem to get on the same page. Even in The Avengers, when Loki and the Chitauri army are threatening Earth’s safety, the members of the titular team find time to bicker, pointing out each other’s flaws. The argument on the helicarrier paves the way for more disagreements in Avengers: Age of Ultron, mainly over the creation of Ultron and the role that Iron Man plays in it. By the time Captain America: Civil War rolls around, the gloves are off, with Steve Rogers and Tony Stark creating teams to fight one another after the Sokovia Accords put them on opposite sides of the aisle.
While Steve and Tony are long gone from the MCU, there is still beef between heroes. The biggest spat revolved around Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, who are arguing about the creation of the New Avengers. However, they may have to put their differences aside when they discover what one of the franchise’s newest characters is up to, as their plans could very well lead to a second Civil War.
Reed Richards Is Pushing the Boundaries of What It Means to Be a Hero
The people of Earth-828 treat Marvel’s First Family like rockstars in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. They make TV appearances, and the whole world wants to learn more about their personal lives, especially the sex of Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s baby. The team earns all this goodwill by defeating villains like the Red Ghost and Mole Man, thwarting their plans for world domination and, in the latter’s case, brokering a peace treaty to prevent Subterranea from attacking the surface world. Most members of the Fantastic Four think reactively, waiting for evil to appear before striking it down. Reed, on the other hand, wants to get ahead of the curve whenever the opportunity arises.
Before the Silver Surfer arrives on Earth and ruins everything, Reed reveals to his team that he’s been tracking criminal organizations. He doesn’t want them to have the chance to start trouble, so he alerts the police to their existence and sends them to do a major bust. Ben Grimm has to wrap his head around his friend’s actions, as it feels like he’s coming off the line a bit early, but he chalks it up to Reed being Reed. However, Ben may be onto something because, while Reed is doing the right thing now, it’s not going to take much to push him over the edge and have him round up people who haven’t done anything wrong… yet.
Marvel’s Civil War 2 Puts the Cart Before the Horse
The origin of Marvel Comics’ Civil War is legendary, with Iron Man and Captain America being on different sides of the Superhuman Registration Act debate. Civil War 2 doesn’t get the same attention as its predecessor, though, which is surprising because its moral conundrum is even more juicy. The 2016 title introduces a new Inhuman, Ulysses Cain, who joins the fray and causes a huge mess because he can see into the future. Captain Marvel and her allies want to use him to identify potential threats before they happen, while Iron Man chooses to believe it would put the punishment before the crime. The disagreement leads to its fair share of infighting, and a few heroes lose their lives.
Like the MCU borrowed aspects of the original Civil War comic for its third Captain America movie, it can do the same for Civil War II. Instead of having Ulysses around, Reed could be the spark that lights the fire by choosing to go a step further and arrest people he thinks will be a problem down the road. Sam Wilson, aka Captain America, won’t support that, as he backed Steve when he stood up against Project Insight, a plan that S.H.I.E.L.D. had to eliminate targets without engaging them directly. It took very little time for Project Insight to fall into the wrong hands, and Sam is sure to see the same future for Reed’s tech.
The MCU’s heroes aren’t going to have much time to debate their crimefighting styles with Doctor Doom on the loose in Avengers: Doomsday, but once that threat is over, true colors will start to reveal themselves. Not everyone will vibe with Reed’s worst-case attitude, and his actions could very well lead to the franchise’s next major conflict.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters.
Do you think Reed Richards could start the MCU’s Civil War 2? Who do you think would oppose him? Let us know in the comments below!
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