When the word came that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to adapt the Marvel Civil War storyline, there were some big questions. First of all, how would the registration work when there really are no secret identities in the Marvel movies? Well, when Kevin Feige announced the upcoming Marvel Phase 3 movies, he answered that question.
I don’t want to give too much away, but needless to say, the generalities of the act are the same. Something happens, perhaps it’s cumulative for things that have happened though all of the movies leading up to this point. It has made the governments of the world say “we need to have some oversight of these guys. They need to report to somebody. So it becomes more… it falls under that umbrella, rather than “you have to take off your mask.” It’s not about the secret identity thing, as much as it is about, overall, who reports to who, and who can agree to oversight committee. Because as of now, in Avengers 2, there is no more security council, there is no SHIELD, obviously. Stark is paying for it, Captain America is running it, and things occur that will make governments begin to question.
This makes a lot of sense, and makes it seem like the idea of the Civil War from the comics will take place. Basically, in the comics, Tony Stark wanted the heroes to register with the government, get training and benefits, and be better heroes in the end.
However, the comic book story lines really lost their way. Daredevil doesn’t need more training, but he was a wanted fugitive for not revealing his identity to the government and coming to work for them. Spider-Man gave in and revealed his identity to the public, which got his Aunt May shot because once a hero’s identity is revealed, all their loved ones are in danger. When Spider-Man refused to help hunt down his friends who didn’t want to register, S.H.I.E.L.D. turned on him and considered him a fugitive.
That was the big problem with the comic book story. It wanted the superheroes to register and become government employees, which means you are working for the government instead of helping the people who needed help. Luckily, this looks like it won’t last too long, although it does look like it will completely change the Avengers by the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
According to Feige, something will happen to make the governments of the world want to control The Avengers. That might be a mixture of the alien invasion in The Avengers, the Ultron attack in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the old Hulk rampages, The Winter Solder, et al. If Iron Man is the only Avenger left by the end of the next movie, that makes it seem like he will be on the government’s side in this, which makes no sense based on what we have seen of him so far in the movies.
However, Tony Stark almost died at the hands of aliens. He has seen that he is not as powerful as he thought in the grand scheme of things. He has to have PTSD still. Iron Man is changing in the comics, and that change will lead to the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie.