Predictions: Who Dies in Captain America: Civil War?

Hey guys! The title explains it all. This list is generated by my opinions and speculations on who may or may not die, in no particular order, for the upcoming Marvel film. I'm gonna be covering the central figures to the plot and give my reasons for why or why not I think they'll survive.

There is a small chance of spoiler warning as I will be extrapolating from released trailers and possible inspiration from the comics. If you're desperately afraid of spoiling anything for yourself, I will not be insulted if you skip over it.

Regardless, enjoy yourselves and feel free to add in your thoughts in the comments at the end!

Let's start with the obvious ones.

Let's be honest, guys, Spider-Man isn't going to die. Superhero movies have a lot of shenanigans in regards to death, true, but they're not going to introduce such a polarizing character and even give them a temporary death, especially when future Spider-Man movies are currently being planned out. 'Nuff said.

For very similar reasons as Spider-Man, Black Panther isn't going to die. For one, he's got a first standalone film coming up. Also, killing a non-sidekick black character in his debut would be a really bad mistake by Marvel nearly any way you look at it.

Also, Black Panther was originally Anti-Registration (siding with Captain America) in the comics during this event. I'll be interested in hearing his convictions and whether or not he'll change sides during the film (he certainly seems to have it out for Bucky though).

Ant Man also has another film coming out (Ant Man and the Wasp), so it's also doubtful that he dies (don't worry, he's the last character I cite this reason for).

Also, there's a chance we might see his 'Giant-Man' persona from a Lego set, but Lego sets have hardly been a reliable depiction of a film's contents.

Given her character's importance to Civil War in the comics (or the aftermath at least), I find it difficult to believe that Sharon Carter will be killed off. However, depending on other deaths in the film, she could be an additional death in order to add to the 'psychological thrill.' Her importance of a character does not extend past the Winter Soldier and Civil War, so far as I can tell (I can't see a SHIELD agent taking on Thanos and doing anything), so your character could easily be disposed of.

Personally, I doubt it's Hawkeye after Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel had their chance to kill him off but chose Quicksilver instead (much to Joss Whedon's frustration), possibly in order to avoid sharing a now prominent character in the X-Men franchise. As a standalone film, I could entertain the idea that Hawkeye dies (his death would possibly be heavier in impact due to having an established family) but following his potential fate in his prior film, it would feel cheap and annoying, at the very least.

Now, here's a thought: Black Widow is just as likely to die as any other superhero in Captain America: Civil War. Why, you ask? I'll explain.

Black Widow has not had, nor will have, a standalone film. If she were, Marvel would have announced plans for it already. Her death would not impede the progress of Marvel films as they are currently scheduled (she probably can't do anything to Thanos anyways).

Because of this, she's never really had a good character arc. Unfortunately, the biggest interest the writers have drawn to the character is her potential relation to other characters. In Iron Man 2, she was an object of interest to Tony (although yes, she was playing a part). In Avengers, it seemed that she and Hawkeye had a complicated history, pairing them up in a nice little package, before having her kiss Steve Rogers and finally (and officially) having a relationship with Bruce Banner. Overall, it did not seem well received and their relationship more or less ended in that same film. According to various reports, Mark Ruffalo will not be appearing in Civil War or another Marvel film aside from Thor 3 which doesn't seem to be taking place on Earth, meaning they likely won't see each other until Avengers 3: Infinity War. Rather than trying to fix their sudden attraction by retro-explaining it in future installments, they may just as well have her killed to avoid the slightly off-putting relationship reunion.

But finally, my biggest point. Natasha has strong ties with both Steve and Tony. She was in Iron Man 2 and pairs up with him in Civil War. She was in Captain America 2 and developed a strong bond with Steve with their mutual respect and understanding. Some theorists claim that Black Widow will be playing double-agent for Steve because she's a spy (duh), but I'm choosing to think she, more than most, really doesn't want the two sides split and fighting. I can see her death being the cause ending the conflict, causing both sides to realize how petty or ineffective they've been in the grand scheme of things.

I'm not saying I want Black Widow to die, I'm just saying they've used her character as effectively as possible up to this point, and from a writer's point of view her death makes as much sense as anyone else's.

While Marvel did kill off her brother in Age of Ultron, I doubt she'll receive the same treatment here. Repeating what I said about Quicksilver, I believe Marvel decided to let Fox run with their character unopposed. If I'm right about that, it makes sense that Fox would choose to generally leave Scarlet Witch alone (which by the trailers and news on X-Men: Apocalypse, she won't be making an appearance). That being said, especially in regards to the hoopla that went down when people found out Quicksilver would be in movies by Sony and Marvel Studios, I highly doubt that Scarlet Witch will kick the bucket so soon after her initial appearance.

In addition, Scarlet Witch seems to be one of the most powerful characters in the MCU currently. She did overwrite the Mind Stone's influence with just a wave of her hand (in the scene when Ultron first tries to create Vision), and ripped out the robotic heart from the strongest form of Ultron in his vibranium skin. Both of these things were treated somewhat discretely, but I'm excited to see what they'll have her do.

C'mon, you don't really think they'll kill the Vision. Honestly, I'm thinking he's going to leave Earth at the end of this film, horrified by the fighting and possible deaths, and likely come across Thanos as some point, who will hopefully rip his head off to claim the Mind Gem. Then, the average audience member would understand just how powerful Thanos is.

Falcon kinda falls into the same boat that Captain America (discussed below) and Bucky Barnes. However, it's important to note that fairly recently in the comics Sam Wilson has become a new Captain America. I find it unlikely that the film would kill off a character in the films that has become a bigger player in the source material, especially when so much of the comic world has now been shaped by the film environments (like how mutants are receding and inhumans are becoming a bigger deal, presumably because Marvel Studios doesn't own the film rights to X-Men).

Obviously the trailers would like you to believe that Rhodey is going to be one of the fatalities during the film. It's my belief that this purposeful showing is all a red herring and at most the War Machine will be hospitalized after the the airport battle (where I assume is close to when War Machine is taken out).

However, a quick note about the cause of War Machine's downfall in the trailers (view below). While it's insinuated that it's Bucky who takes him down, I've noticed it's a golden beam. The only character who has shown the capability to emit such an attack is the Vision...which doesn't make sense at all. In addition, it seems that Iron Man and War Machine both are flying in one direction when the beam comes from behind them. It makes no sense for Vision to fire on his teammates, even less if they are not even actively attacking anyone, let alone Vision himself. Maybe the Scarlet Witch is controlling him? Maybe the Vision disagrees with their proposed methods? Or maybe it's a third party with a remarkably similarly styled weapon? Only time will tell.

I originally thought, if given faith in the film's ability to be adaptable, that Iron Man might finally kick the bucket. Iron Man has appeared in some capacity in 7 films and Robert Downey Jr has said before that he's getting a bit old for the role. Then came the news that he's joining Spider-Man in Homecoming. So, maybe he won't be dying if he's appearing in a film set after this.

Granted, it could always be more of a flashback when Tony first met Peter. For comic fans, killing Tony Stark would be possibly the greatest twist that could be pulled while still heavily affecting the universe. I can't argue for the cause of his death nearly as well as I can for Black Widow, but the effect would be undeniable.

Bucky is a big target for sure. Numerous characters are gunning for him, we're not even sure if he's a good guy or not (he could very easily still be under Hydra programming), and his biggest contribution aside from being the Winter Soldier is taking up the reigns of Captain America (a position that could easily be taken from him by Sam Wilson). In fact, his closest counterpart would be the Falcon and while the Falcon has a very clear place in the comics currently, Bucky does not. Having taken over Nick Fury Sr.'s role of defending Earth from countless unseen alien attacks all by himself (self-titled 'The Man on the Wall'), since the Marvel universe's reboot he hasn't been seen.

Bucky has a pretty big target on his back with little reassurance to his role (past contract deals, of course).

Well, this is the time that if you don't want to be spoiled by the actual Civil War event in the comics, skip down to the bottom and be done. Otherwise, here we go. Steve Rogers is very clearly the most likely to die if the cinematic event is to mirror the events in the comics. It has all the right ingredients, with Crossbones and Sharon Carter. Baron Zemo can likely replace Red Skull's involvement. It's the obvious answer, surely, though Chris Evans is set for both parts of the Infinity War (though these could be flashbacks). Hopefully just because it's obvious doesn't mean that they will be forced to do it, though with reviews as high praise as they are right now, maybe even the obvious answer can be done incredibly well.

• Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Ant Man will survive (due to having a new movie coming soon)
• Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch will survive (due to Quicksilver's death in the last film)
• The Vision will survive (Thanos needs to collect that stone in his head personally)
• Sharon Carter may or may not (Really don't have a lot of info past her comic counterpart)
• Black Widow could die (a great medium between two sides and her character has been used in numerous angles)
• Falcon will likely survive (counterpart to Bucky but is current Captain America in comics)
• War Machine will survive (trailers are red herrings)
• Iron Man will survive (will appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming)
• Bucky could die (his comic counterpart is awol and lots of people are gunning for him)
• Steve Rogers could die (for reasons listed above)

Thanks for reading through! If you have any thoughts or arguments for what I've said, please comment below and let me know!