Next year’s Captain America: Civil War will have no shortage of conflict. Now, the picture of one of the notable antagonistic forces of the film, Frank Grillo’s Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, just became a bit clearer, thanks to some promo art released by news site, Heroic Hollywood. Bask in the badassery!
As we can see, this full-bodied, unambiguous detailing of Crossbones’ Civil War digs emphasizes some sinister, ill-intentioned equipment. Fans who have been paying close attention to the process have likely seen some of the brief tidbits and leaked set footage from the film’s Atlanta shoot in which Crossbones does a bit of brutal hand-to-hand with Captain America. Thus, the artwork may not be entirely edifying as far the outfit’s overall aesthetics are concerned. Yet, in the spirit of putting on our fanboy/girl hats, the artwork does showcase some differing details that could come into play in post-production.
Indeed, one thing about the getup that’s obvious are the obscenely menacing gauntlets, sporting some yet-to-be-revealed utilitarian purpose. While the likely explanation is that they are guns of some type, the gauntlets seems to show no barrels indicating such a purpose. In fact, what we do see, in both the artwork and the leaked set footage, are hydraulic-looking shafts with hinges, capped off with a metal fist with clear designs to sock the Star-Spangled Avenger in the kisser without breaking one’s hands.
Based on pure speculation, it may be possible that these gizmos are designed to allow Crossbones to contend with Cap’s super-strength. In fact, contributing to that theory, the artwork’s depiction of the devices seems to show wiring and other minute details that don't seem present in the physical version seen on the set. (Although, it's hard to tell.) Those details could represent moving parts meant to be depicted in the final cut by way digital additions. It’s not unreasonable to presume that Crossbones, not having any super powers, might need a boost when taking on Cap in a hand-to-hand battle. Watch below as Crossbones, at this point in the battle whittled down to one gauntlet, desperately swings it at Cap.
At this point, the degree of importance that Crossbones will have in the Civil War movie is still generally unknown. It was speculated that the character might fulfill the key role from Marvel’s original Civil War storyline. Avoiding potential spoilers, let's just say he carries out a significantly heinous, game-changing act. Other rumors even had him responsible for an attack that would be the film’s inciting incident. However, Frank Grillo’s recent Instagram post indicating that his character was wrapped early, seems to contradict Crossbones’ importance in the film, possibly relegating him as an early threat in the film just as Batroc was in The Winter Soldier.
Besides, with Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo lurking about, not to mention the disastrous political tensions that will have our heroes fighting amongst themselves, it could be conceivable that Crossbones’ role may be left as an afterthought, a simple nod to a long-term comic book nemesis and nothing more. Of course, the actual truth will become quite apparent when Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016.
