Didn’t anybody check for cell phones or small cameras at the Marvel event held in downtown Hollywood earlier this week? First, the trailer that the studio cut together to show off Thanos and tease the Avengers: Infinity War reached the Web. And now this exclusive scene between Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has surfaced – albeit in grainy form. Feel the Civil War tension below:
Chopping wood. Such a manly metaphor. So, where to begin all of the analysis? My first obvious question tied to this footage would be where are Cap and Iron Man having this tete-a-tete… and when in the timeline of the Avengers: Age of Ultron story does it take place? The super duo is discussing a confrontation that The Avengers had with Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch. And based on their comments, the mental master made quick work of them, pulling Earth’s mightiest heroes "apart like cotton candy."
In the aftermath of this attack, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) appears to have left the group looking for "answers," and the absence of the God of Thunder upsets both Steve Rogers and Tony Stark… for obvious reasons. If this scene occurs very late in Age of Ultron, this could point to Marvel President Kevin Feige’s recent comments that Thor: Ragnarok will take place immediately following the events of Age of Ultron. Maybe Scarlet Witch shows Thor all that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been doing in Asgard, and Thor runs home to set things right?
Or maybe this is more of a mid-movie sequence, setting up what will be a culminating battle between The Avengers and Ultron… possibly with Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Olsen) on their side?
What’s evident in the clip – based on the moment when Cap decides to rip a log in half with his bare hands – is that Marvel is driving a wedge between Rogers and Stark. When you think about it, this can be traced back to an early scene in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers:
These two actually have been on opposite sides of the hero fence for some time now. It’s all going to come to a head in Captain America: Civil War, and knowing that explains why Marvel has had to start explaining some of this tension heading into Age of Ultron. It might be hard for casual fans to accept why core members of The Avengers are fighting each other… when they really should be fighting this dude.
Avengers: Age of Ultron kicks off next summer’s blockbuster season on May 1, 2015.
