Next year’s vast line-up of superhero films will bring us plenty of eye candy for sure especially for the die-hard comic book fans. We will have a total of seven Marvel/DC comic book related films to feast our eyes on in 2016. However the three films that I want to focus solely on here for this article is: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse. These three films have one MAJOR theme in common: Heroes will battle other Heroes.
All three of these films will pit hero against hero, brother against brother, friend against friend. We are in an age where we are used to seeing heroes battle it out against the famous comic book villains; ie: Spider-Man vs the Green Goblin, Batman vs the Joker, Superman vs General Zod, Captain America vs the Red Skull, or the Fantastic Four vs Doctor Doom. We rarely root for the villain to take down our hero, but what if we had a film(s) where it may not be so easy to pick a side?
#1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The first film that will debut next year in a BIG way is the film most fans have been patiently waiting for a VERY long time. That film is non-other than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This movie will pit two of DC’s most popular heroes against one another: Batman and Superman.
Kal-El was re-introduced to us in 2013’s Man of Steel. This big-budget film was directed by Zack Snyder who gave us a darker look at the most powerful being known to man. Superman had to prevent his own people the Kryptonians led by General Zod from taking over Earth and re-creating their own Krypton. In the final moments of the film, Superman went toe to toe with General Zod causing massive devastation to Metropolis. This devastation will play a key role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (also directed by Zack Snyder).
As we see from the first official trailer, Batman (Ben Affleck) watches as Superman and General Zod destroys one of his office buildings named Wayne Financial. Affleck now has reason to want to destroy the Man of Steel after killing his employees and family who were inside of that building. This destruction now raises a lot of questions as to whether people should trust Superman or not. This alien is a god to some, a devil to others.
Even though this is the first time we will see these two cinematically on the big screen, we all know that these two heroes will eventually come to terms with one another and help form the Justice League. The heroes will certainly clash on screen but once again these are both heroes fighting each other for reasons established in Man of Steel. Fans have waited for this moment forever and will finally get their wish on March 25, 2016.
#2. Captain America: Civil War
The next film that will put more heroes against one another is the Russo brother’s Captain America: Civil War. Now this film will be much different than Batman v Superman simply because there will be more heroes involved. This movie will have a TON of characters and in my honest opinion will be the biggest superhero film next year. Obviously with the words “Civil War” in the title, we immediately know that allies will be fighting other allies for various reasons. The biggest reason both in the comic book as well as the film will be the introduction to the Superhuman Registration Act.
The S.R.A. to put it simply means that the government will have control over the heroes who sign off on the Act. This limits the heroes to what they CAN and CANNOT do with their abilities as heroes. With Captain America opposing this and Iron-Man accepting it, the two heroes will eventually clash on screen in an ultimate battle. But those aren’t the only heroes involved in this Civil War. The rest of the Avengers including Hawkeye, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Vision, War Machine, and Falcon will be combating among each other with some choosing Iron-Man’s side and others choosing Captain America.
After having his first solo film, Ant-Man who will also be in this film is rumored to play a large role in this movie. Other characters who will be involved in this movie include Agent 13, the Winter Soldier, and Thunderbolt Ross. We also can’t forget the introduction to the Black Panther and of course Spider-Man to this Marvel cinematic universe.
The film will certainly be an emotional ride as we will be watching the characters we’ve come to know clashing and fighting one another over differences in opinion. Like Avengers: Age of Ultron, an Avenger will likely perish. This will most likely bring an end to the war and make the heroes realize that they are all fighting for a lost cause. All this fighting will lead to nothing as they will eventually see that there is a bigger threat at hand that will surely involve the likes of Baron Zemo. Crossbones will have reason to begin the Civil War, but Zemo will be the villain who makes all the heroes come together to take him down.
This film is my most anticipated superhero film of the year and I cannot wait to see what the Russo brothers cooked up this time. We can all watch heroes clash when Captain America: Civil War opens in theaters on May 6, 2016.
#3. X-Men: Apocalypse
This film like all previous X-Men movies will pit mutant against mutant. However this film has more of a twist to it: Apocalypse will be the one pulling the strings this time around instead of Magneto.
The first time we laid eyes on Apocalypse was at an end credit scene for the last X-Men film: X-Men: Days of Future Past. We see a young En Sabah Nur form the Great Pyramids of Egypt and worshiped as a god. We also get our first look at the four horsemen viewed from a distance. Even though at the time we did not know who his four horsemen would be in the upcoming film (over the years he’s had different mutants play as his horsemen) however we now know who his four horsemen will be: Storm, Psylocke, Angel (who will most likely go by the name Archangel), and of course Magneto. These four mutants will take on one of these four themes: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death.
Apocalypse will be recruiting these mutants to fight alongside of him to go against Charles Xavier’s team of mutants. We will be introduced to a young Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee. We will also have plenty of returning X-Men characters including Mystique, Beast, Quicksilver, and Havok. These mutants must team-up to take down whatever Apocalypse throws at them even if it is their own brethren. We still don’t know the reasons why these four mutants (Storm, Psylocke, Angel, and Magneto) accept to fight for Apocalypse but we will certainly find out when X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27, 2016.
These three films all have an intriguing plot with each film being different from the others. We will be witnessing a time when it’s not just the good guys vs the bad guys. These films will bring us a different perspective when we look at heroes in the future. Some will decide to fight for what’s right, others will fight for what THEY believe is right. That is going to be the overall theme as we continue to progress in the golden age of comic book films. These films cannot arrive any sooner as we are all in for one hell of a ride!
So what do you all think? Will we be looking at our heroes differently after the conclusion of these three films? Which of these three films are you most excited for? Please share your thoughts and comment below!
Creamer's Cinema Craze 