Civil War is going to be ringing in a lot of changes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if it hews as close to the source material as many believe it will. Jerky Iron Man, a darker tone, and the introduction of Spider-Man are just the tip of the iceberg: audiences may also get their first glimpse at actual, lasting death. Or at least, longer-lasting than Agent Coulson being killed off in Avengers and instantly being resurrected in Agents Of SHIELD. Or the five seconds Gamora and Star-Lord spent unconscious in the vacuum of space halfway through Guardians Of The Galaxy. Comic book death is a particularly pernicious trope which sees characters killed off willy-nilly, only for them to be brought back to life soon after with no sort of real consequence. It sort of robs any life-or-death situations of any real tension, and character's passings of any emotion. You know they'll be back. The MCU has had a similar problem in that, so far, none of its heroes has ever been in any mortal danger. Well, in Civil War, everybody is. Not only does Spidey's doddering Aunt May end up in critical condition, and all those kids get exploded thanks to the New Warriors, but the comics end with Captain America being killed. An interesting way for Chris Evans to complete his Marvel contract, perhaps, and potentially a huge change for the MCU going forward.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
