The MCU Reviving An 8-Year-Old Story Would Solve Major Post-Endgame Problems

By repeating a major MCU storyline from eight years ago, Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World can solve some major problems with the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. In the wake of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios began a massive expansion of the MCU, introducing a huge number of new superheroes in Phases 4 and 5, and developing many projects across film, TV and animation. While this has grown the world of the MCU significantly, this expansion came with its problems, but Marvel Studios could look to past successes to solve its recent issues.

Despite its recent hiccups, Marvel Studios seems to be earning back some praise from audiences, with news concerning upcoming projects such as Deadpool & Wolverine, The Fantastic Four and Blade suggesting the future is bright for the MCU. However, some criticisms of the Multiverse Saga may be hard to rectify, but Marvel Studios perhaps has the perfect opportunity to make sense of the Multiverse Saga’s confusion in Phase 5’s upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. According to a theory shared by Reddit user MarvelFAW_Podcast, Captain America: Brave New World repeating a successful Phase 3 storyline could solve the MCU’s recent issues.

Captain America 4 Could Revive The Civil War Story

Acting as a pseudo-Avengers project, 2016’s Captain America: Civil War loosely adapted the events of 2006’s Civil War event in Marvel Comics. The 2006 story marked the introduction of the Superhuman Registration Act, which required the registration of all individuals with superhuman abilities or those using advanced technology with the United States government. While Iron Man led the charge, Steve Rogers’ Captain America renouned the Act and became a fugitive, which was explored in the MCU’s Phase 3, with the Superhuman Registration Act being adapted into the Sokovia Accords, following years of the Avengers’ actions causing destruction around the world.

It may seem an unorthodox choice to repeat the Civil War storyline in Captain America: Brave New World, but recent events in the MCU may constitute the revival of the Sokovia Accords, or indeed the introduction of an honest-to-goodness Superhuman Registration Act. Captain America: Brave New World will see Thaddeus Ross elected President of the United States, and his long-running feud with several MCU heroes could see him implement the Act once again. This could see Sam Wilson’s Captain America at the forefront of another superhuman battle, which would be a fantastic way to tie together many Multiverse Saga projects.

Civil War In The MCU’s Phase 5 Connects Many Multiverse Saga Projects

One of the biggest criticisms of the Multiverse Saga has been the disconnection between projects in Phases 4 and 5. Although separate, a strong throughline could be seen in the projects of the Infinity Saga, leading all the way into Infinity War and Endgame, but the Multiverse Saga has been exploring many different storylines at once. This has caused confusion, but can be solved if Captain America: Brave New World brings a new version of the Civil War storyline into the MCU. The Superhuman Registration Act would impact everyone in the MCU, allowing recent disparate projects to form strong connections.

Most notably, Secret Invasion teased the United States government cracking down on superpowered individuals, namely those of extraterrestrial origins. The new President Ross may extend this by restoring the Sokovia Accords to control superpowered people of all origins. After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw super-soldier John Walker murder a man with Captain America’s shield, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law revealed there are many more superhumans in the MCU than thought, Eternals’ Celestial Tiamut almost ripped apart the Earth and the Scarlet Witch trapped Westview in her sitcom-inspired world in WandaVision, it makes sense for the Sokovia Accords to return.

The MCU’s Civil War Can Be More Comic-Accurate Now

Indeed, Marvel Comics’ Civil War event in 2006 put Tony Stark’s Iron Man and Steve Rogers’ Captain America at the forefront, both of whom have been absent from the MCU since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. This means that the focal characters of a new Civil War storyline in the MCU would be different, but the fact that Marvel Studios has recently introduced a huge number of new heroes to the MCU means that a new Civil War event can be more comic-accurate. Marvel Comics’ Civil War included many characters that hadn’t debuted in the MCU prior to Captain America: Civil War.

Characters such as She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Deadpool, Shang-Chi, Daredevil, Wolverine, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange and the Eternals, among many others, couldn’t be involved in Captain America: Civil War. However, with them all having been (or about to be) introduced to the MCU prior to Captain America: Brave New World, it’s possible that Phase 5’s Civil War could be much more fleshed-out, potentially bringing together most of the new heroes introduced in the Multiverse Saga. This is perhaps the perfect storyline to bring all these separate stories and characters together, and could make better sense of subsequent projects, too.

Captain America 4’s Civil War Makes Sense Of Upcoming MCU Projects

Following the release of Captain America: Brave New World, not many projects have been announced by Marvel Studios that focus on pre-existing heroes. This may be in response to a potential Civil War storyline in Phase 5, as many of the MCU’s established heroes could become fugitives or be incarcerated, making room for the likes of the Fantastic Four and Blade to be introduced. The next project to release after Brave New World, Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, could also hint at Civil War being adapted again, as a version of the Thunderbolts plays a major role in Marvel Comics’ Civil War.

A team of Thunderbolts is brought together in Marvel Comics’ Civil War to find and imprison any superpowered individual renouncing the Superhuman Registration Act, which could be the purpose of the Thunderbolts’ formation in the MCU. It’s also possible that President Ross could employ the help of the Department of Damage Control for this purpose, as this group has displayed its insistence at tracking down superpowered individuals throughout the Multiverse Saga, namely in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. A new Civil War​​​​​​​ adaptation could even lay foundations for the MCU’s introduction of the X-Men.

During Marvel Comics’ Civil War event, the X-Men were hardly featured, claiming themselves to be a neutral party. However, Marvel Studios could combine the Superhuman Registration Act with the Mutant Registration Act, which was introduced into Marvel Comics in 1984’s Uncanny X-Men #181, and demanded the mandatory registration of all mutants. Marvel Studios’ official X-Men team is coming to the MCU, and with mutant characters, including Sabra, set to appear in Phase 5, Captain America: Brave New World is a prime opportunity to reveal mutants to the world, and sew the seeds of discrimination that make mutant-centric storylines so powerful.