Captain America: Civil War is a remarkable example of blockbuster entertainment done right, and Marvel Studios is getting very good at what they do. Civil War feels like the culmination of everything that has come before it, with regards to the earthbound characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. It is most definitely the next chapter in the story of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), but it is also a reaction to everything that has happened since 2008's Iron Man when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) became the first superhero of a new era for Marvel characters on the big screen.
In a perfect world, Marvel Studios would be thrilling us with their own versions of Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men, combining them into the same incredible onscreen world as The Avengers. Unfortunately, the rights to those other characters are tied up at competing studios (X-Men and Fantastic Four with 20th Century Fox, Spider-man at Sony), thanks to deals that were made long ago. Not having those characters in their cinematic stable forced Marvel to get creative, to reach into the not-so mainstream corners of their comics for characters and stories with cinematic potential. And it seems those limitations have turned out to be a benefit to the studio. Because if that "perfect" world existed, Marvel might not have had the creative or financial need for a movie about a strange band of alien misfits known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, and moviegoers would be all the poorer for it.
