Second MCU Civil War is Coming, Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross Will be the Villain

The Marvel Universe saw a second Civil War event between Captain Marvel and Iron Man, but it was nowhere near as good as the first iteration of the events. However, given that a conspiracy thriller like Captain America: The Winter Soldier set up the first conflict between The Avengers, a second one might be brewing in the superhero community come Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*.

However, there is a potent possibility that due to the lack of an Iron Man in the MCU, along with the fall of Captain Marvel’s popularity, there might be a different setup for a second conflict in the superhero community. This could be the second Civil War that actually makes sense, one that could get mutants and the Fantastic Four involved in the conflict as well.

Thunderbolt Ross and Bucky Barnes are setting a new precedent for heroes in the MCU

With Thunderbolt Ross, who is confirmed to be Red Hulk, becoming The President of the United States and Bucky Barnes becoming a senator, it seems that superheroes are entering into governance, which can change the way that they can operate as superheroes. It begs key questions like whether superheroes should hold public office, and whether they should be allowed to operate with the same impunity as The Avengers, a private organization.

While countries like Wakanda and Talokan have superhero monarchs, it must be noted that they do not have the same checks and balances that a democracy like America does. Further, with newer superheroes with active public profiles like John Walker being violent, the people of the country might not like the fact that their leaders and representatives look more like the Avengers than the common man.

Come the Mutants and other heroes into the MCU, this could give characters like Bolivar Trask and Reverend Styrker the ammo that they need to keep superpowered individuals from public service, something that could easily echo by some heroes who would prefer to keep superhero affairs separate from governments. For example, if the Avengers were to become a team sanctioned by the American government, would Black Panther and Thor still be a part of the team?

This could lead to a crack in the superhero community, leading to a second, more brutal Civil War

While the first schism between the Avengers could largely be chalked up to a personal conflict, a war over whether heroes should be able to serve in public offices could be a very wide-reaching problem, leading to a schism on a team that might never heal from it.

Although there has never been an issue with Thor and Black Panther, who are monarchs to be on these teams, it needs to be noted that their systems of government, as well as their traditions, encourage such activities.

However, in a country like the United States, heroes, and anti-heroes have routinely caused a lot of damage, and loss of life and might not be welcome as public servants. Bucky and Thunderbolt Ross might find themselves fighting with heroes who can give up their powers when it comes to serving (like Black Panther and War Machine) for the right to be public officers in their countries. This could be a great follow-up to all the political thrillers that have happened in the MCU, allowing the conflict that the heroes face to take a whole new, nuanced direction.

Captain America: Brave New World hits theatres on February 14, 2025.

Thunderbolts* will hit theatres on May 2, 2025.

Captain America: Civil War can be streamed on Disney+