New 'Civil War' Image Shows Captain America, Iron Man, And Black Panther Standing Tall

Last week's Captain America: Civil War trailer was our first good look at the movie, but it's really just the first drop in what's sure to be a flood of marketing material. Today, we have another new look at the Marvel superhero showdown, in the form of an Entertainment Weekly cover featuring Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and the mysterious Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman, or a pile of pixels arranged to look like him). Check out the Civil War EW cover after the jump. 

EW promises there's much more where that came from, so you can be sure we'll be keeping an eye out. It's no secret that the film pits Captain America against his fellow Avenger Iron Man — that's literally the premise of the story – but it should be interesting to see how Black Panther figures into the conflict. Both parties have reason to want him on their side, but he seems above it all on the cover, offering nothing but a little "meow."

In an interview this summer, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige explained why they decided to get Black Panther involved:

The reason we introduced him in Civil War is because we needed a third party. We needed fresh eyes who wasn't embedded with the Avengers and who has a very different point of view than either Tony or Steve. We said, 'We need somebody like Black Panther... why don't we just use Black Panther?' That's how it went in the development process.

Based on the materials we've seen so far, it sure looks like Black Panther winds up declaring himself Team Iron Man. Just look at what he does to poor Bucky:

But hey, maybe he has a change of heart or something. Or maybe Black Panther and Bucky are actually BFFs, and that's just how they show their affection for one another.

That sense of uncertainty is clearly what Civil War is going for. Evans explained in a quote accompanying the EW cover:

In most of the movies, there's no question who we should be siding with. We all agree Nazis are bad, aliens from space are bad. But this movie's the first time where you really have two points of view. It becomes a question of morality and I don't think [Cap] has ever been so uncertain with what right and wrong is.

Actually, Evans, we do not "all agree" that aliens from space are bad. Chitauri in the first Avengers movie, yes. But what about E.T.? What about Stitch? What about goddamn Superman?

That minor quibble aside, it should be interesting to see how Captain America: Civil War navigates gray areas. The Marvel movies have all pitted good against evil; they are superhero movies, after all. The closest the MCU movies have ever gotten to moral ambiguity is probably Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and even then it quickly became apparent that Cap, as usual, was on the side of angels, and that the other side, far from being well-meaning but misguided, was secretly run by the unequivocally evil Hydra.

It's worth noting, too, that Captain America: Civil War does seem to have one clear villain in Baron Zemo, played by Daniel Brühl. The comic book version of the character is somewhat morally ambiguous, as far as Marvel supervillains go. But since he didn't make so much as an appearance in the trailer, we've yet to see how the movie version of him stacks up.

In the meantime, revisit that epic Captain America: Civil War trailer in all its glory below:

Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark's surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability. Get ready to pick a side and join the nonstop action playing out on two fronts when Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" opens in U.S. theaters on May 6, 2016.

Captain America: Civil War opens May 6, 2016, and stars pretty much every Marvel character you can think of besides Hulk and Thor (who'll be off having their own buddy adventure in Thor: Ragnarok). Joe and Anthony Russo are directing.