

Do characters need to die for the sake of Marvel being able to prove they can kill off characters? Would Avengers 5 be better with Steve Rogers bouncing dialogue off of Carol Danvers, or would it be better without the former even being alive? Would it make sense and honor the comics to never have those two meet? Of course not. The teams and heroes are still very young in their superhero careers - especially compared to the comics - so killing off key characters before the likes of Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel are even introduced would be killing off great opportunities for the future. Captain America: Civil War is only the first time viewers meet Black Panther and Spider-Man for instance. While some viewers have commented that the stakes of the film weren't high enough as a result, the reality is that it's simply too early to kill off main characters in the Marvel movie universe. Instead, the film reshuffles its characters leaving the door open for all of them to come back further down the line in Phase 3, albeit some of them transformed.

Where 2006-07's Civil War crossover event in the comics written by Mark Millar was followed immediately by the death of Captain America and Tony Stark quickly enlisting Bucky Barnes to pick up the mantle and join the Avengers, the film adaptation doesn't take the consequences of its similar conflict that far.
