Captain America: Civil War focuses on an epic battle between two teams of superheroes – a very unique concept when it comes to comic book movies – and that should make for an extremely special experience for viewers.
But that doesn’t mean the movie will be without actual villains. Daniel Brühl will portray Baron Zemo and Frank Grillo will reprise his role as Brock Rumlow (who has evolved into Crossbones since his first appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), adding some extra spice to proceedings.
But what do fans want from these villains? This is a movie in which they will be expected to take a back seat, but it would still be nice if they were interesting. So, here are ten things we’d like to see from Baron Zemo and Crossbones, starting with Crossbones…
He should cause the incident that prompts the Sokovia Accords
The Avengers have undoubtedly caused some major collateral damage in the past; the Battle of New York, the Battle of Sokovia and Hulkbuster Iron Man versus Hulk in South Africa are examples. All resulted in buildings being brought down and, undoubtedly, civilians being injured. But the Avengers were always there, trying to help.
For the Sokovia Accords to be introduced, the incident will need to frame them – as if they single-handedly caused an international incident. That is where Crossbones should come in.
Not only should a fight with the Avengers result in some major collateral damage, but Crossbones should cause the incident and make it look like it’s entirely the Avengers’ fault. That would immediately establish him as a credible villain for this movie.
And now, on to his abilities.
He should have new powers
It’s clear from the promotional materials that Brock Rumlow is returning from his near-demise in Captain America: The Winter Soldier with some new gear.
He is masked, he is armored, and there are definitely some gadgets attached to his new apparel that will give him some new abilities – but just what will they be?
In the comic books, exposure to the Terrigen Mists gave him the ability to fire powerful energy blasts from his face. While we don’t necessarily expect that to be the case in Captain America: Civil War, it would be cool to see him pulling some crazy new powers out of the bag – perhaps in the form of energy blasts of another variety.
And now for his ability to fight Captain America.
He needs to outmatch Captain America
Simply put, Captain America was far too much for Brock Rumlow to handle in their previous encounters in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He was too strong, too fast, too skilled, and too durable for the undercover HYDRA operative.
This time around, in Captain America: Civil War, that needs to change – otherwise Rumlow’s new identity of Crossbones will come across as extremely underwhelming to audiences.
Of course, we fully expect Captain America to do what he always does, and come out on top. But, at least initially, Crossbones needs to display new abilities that put him ahead of Captain America on paper when it comes to their vital statistics.
On to his…how to put this…his “new look”.
His scars should look awesome
At the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Brock Rumlow’s badly burned body was seen being stretchered away from the wreckage left by the fall of the Helicarriers. Some people might have assumed that he was dead, but those in the know realized he was simply well on his way to becoming the scarred comic book villain Crossbones.
That is, of course, exactly what has happened. Crossbones wears a mask in Captain America: Civil War – but we all want to see what’s behind that mask.
We got a glimpse of what those scars might look like in pictures of Frank Grillo on set – but it’s not gruesome enough for our liking. Hopefully, some CGI effects will be added to make him look like a truly terrifying villain, so that the reveal of the character’s new face will have a lot of impact in the movie.
And now for his ultimate fate.
We want him dead
Two films for Brock Rumlow is enough. Captain America: The Winter Soldier saw him appearing as secondary antagonist and Captain America: Civil War will see him in a similar – albeit more prominent – role. He needs to be killed off this time.
This is especially true, given the fact that he’ll sacrifice hundreds of lives to initiate the event that prompts the introduction of the Sokovia Accords in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – he deserves to die for that alone.
Hopefully, we’ll see Captain America, who is typically somewhat merciful, offing the character in a brutal one-on-one battle – a fitting demise for a man who embodies the deceitful nature of HYDRA, and is everything that Captain America despises in a man.
On to Baron Zemo…
He needs plenty of screen time
Like Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Avengers: Age of Ultron (as played by Thomas Kretschmann, above), Baron Zemo is a very prominent comic book villain with Nazi roots. Given that the two characters already have that in common, we don’t want them to end up with another thing in common: a lack of Marvel Cinematic Universe screen time.
Kretschmann was totally wasted in his appearance in the franchise, and Daniel Brühl has far too much to offer to be similarly wasted in Captain America: Civil War.
Hopefully, Baron Zemo won’t just be a bit-part villain and will actually have a prominent part to play in the movie. Although, as things stand, he hasn’t been seen in any promotional material, so things don’t look particularly promising on that front.
And now for his threat levels.
He should feel as though he’s a genuine threat
To date, far too many villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe simply haven’t felt like major threats to their superhero counterparts.
Nobody can truly say that they ever believed that Malekith would beat Thor or that Ultron and his drones were ever going to be able to harm the likes of the Hulk – and that simply won’t do as an ongoing precedent.
Baron Zemo needs to be presented as someone who is a threat to all of the Avengers on both sides of the war in Captain America: Civil War. Whether it be through physical might (which seems unlikely), or through his genius and cunning, he needs to be conveyed as someone who can do some serious damage to our beloved heroes, because it’s getting a little boring to have villains who aren’t conveyed as such.
And this next point is something that could help in that regard.
Links to other villains
As a standalone villain who suddenly appears out of nowhere, there is a very real risk that Baron Zemo could come across as non-threatening and underwhelming. However, having him be part of something bigger would fix that.
Could he be plotting to bring back the Red Skull? Could he be building an army of supervillains? Could he even have links to the Mad Titan Thanos? After we’ve had so many superpowered villains, a human like Zemo needs some links to bigger things to make him threatening.
If it’s revealed in Captain America: Civil War that he’s plotting something huge – which would indicate that he’s ready for an even bigger appearance in a future movie – that would be awesome.
This next point is on a related note.
He should bring back HYDRA
HYDRA was a very prominent organization in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they had a lot of potential. To have totally destroyed the organization in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and at the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron – as cool a story as it was – was actually quite disappointing.
Of course, the organization is experiencing a rebirth in television’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but that’s been largely ignored on the big screen, so having Baron Zemo – who obviously has strong HYDRA roots in the comic books – reveal that they are still very much up and running would be cool.
Having HYDRA back would open up all kinds of opportunities for stories in the MCU. It could tie in with the potential return of the Red Skull, the emergence of new HYDRA villains, and many other things.
And, finally…
He needs to survive
All too often, the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are killed off. Obadiah Stane, Ivan Vanko, Aldrich Killian, Laufey, Malekith, Kurse, Ronan, Korath, Darren Cross, Ultron – they’ve all died in their first appearance on film. That won’t do!
Comic book villains are generally longstanding characters who keep coming back for more. Totally ruling that out by killing nearly all of them off before they can really get started on film is a bad idea.
Baron Strucker was the worst example of this. He’s a major comic book character and he literally did NOTHING on film. We really don’t want to see this from Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo, as he has the potential to be a major player in many movies to come.
What do you think? Do you want to see these things from the villains of Captain America: Civil War? What else do you want to see? Have your say below!
