Captain America: Civil War ending explained: How The Avengers split up

Captain America's third adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had the nearly impossible task of continuing his titular character's stand-alone arc, introducing audiences to key players such as Spider-Man and Black Panther, and creating one of the most memorable superhero battles we've ever seen on the big screen. Fortunately, it delivered big time by doing all this and more.

The movie features a complex narrative that pits our favorite characters against each other in one heartbreaking rollercoaster of a ride. So before we watch Earth's Mightiest Heroes assemble once again in Avengers: Doomsday, it's time to remember their fallout and break down the ending of Captain America: Civil War.

The Sokovia Accords disassembled the Avengers

Earth's Mightiest Heroes have always fought for the greater good. They protect the little guy and save as many lives under the most dire of circumstances. However, that doesn't mean there isn't collateral damage along the way. That idea is explored all throughout the events of Captain America: Civil War. To exemplify it, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross plays recordings of Hulk inadvertently crushing innocent people under rubble, civilians being harmed by Helicarriers taken down by Captain America, and Ultron destroying an entire city.

However, the last straw was the Lagos incident. When Crossbones executed a plan to steal a biological weapon from the Institute for Infectious Diseases, a new ensemble of Avengers intervened. Unfortunately, Rumlow activated a bomb strapped to himself as a last resource when fighting Captain America. It is then that Wanda Maximoff tries to use her powers to divert the explosion, but she tragically ends up killing numerous civilians in the process by sending it upwards near a building.

While this incident wasn't as big as Tony Stark creating a homicidal A.I., it was more than enough for governments around the world to address the bigger issue. For a long time, Earth's Mightiest Heroes operated as an independent entity outside any jurisdiction. So 117 countries voted and introduced the Sokovia Accords; an agreement that established that the Avengers would be required to answer to the United Nations panel, following their every order.

This proved to be a controversial decision that not every hero agreed with. Two bands quickly formed, one led by Tony Stark in favor of the Accords and the other one guided by Steve Rogers that went against them. Eventually, the outlawed were hunted, and the two teams fought in what can only be described as one of the greatest action sequences in the MCU. But as awesome as that moment was to watch, it unfortunately brought the disbanding of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

By the end of the movie, Captain America goes on the run along with other characters such as Black Widow and Falcon. Furthermore, James "Rhodey" Rhodes gets seriously injured by Vision, which forces him to use leg braces.

Not only do The Avengers face each other in Civil War, but they also disassemble. And with them out of the picture, it came the perfect time for a new nemesis to make his big entrance.

Civil War sets up Thanos for victory

We didn't know it back then, but Thanos would eventually use the Infinity Stones to erase half of the life in the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. Up to that point, Earth's Mightiest Heroes had already stopped Loki and Ultron on their quest to conquer the world. So why did they fail to prevent the Mad Titan from carrying out one of the MCU's biggest tragedies? Sure, he was more powerful than any threat they faced before. However, there were more Marvel heroes than ever to stop him, which would have surely given them the upper hand... had they fought together.

Infinity War presented a battle on two fronts: one in Thanos' home planet, Titan, and another one in Wakanda. Each location featured a different ensemble of superheroes with different plans to save the world. Unfortunately, this "divided" approach provoked their ultimate demise, with both teams falling a little short of victory.

Captain America and Iron Man gave each other the cold shoulder after the events of Avengers: Civil War. As a result, they weren't on the same page when it came to fighting Thanos. Had the Lagos tragedy never happened, the Sokovia Accords wouldn't have been created and Earth's Mightiest Heroes could've been united and better prepared to face the Mad Titan.

Tony finds the truth behind the death of his parents

All throughout the events of Captain America: Civil War, Baron Helmut Zemo pulled the strings from the shadows. At first glance, it seems he wants to create and command an unstoppable army of super soldiers. However, it's later revealed that he truly wanted to pit the Avengers against each other - completely destroying them from the inside. To accomplish that, he brought Captain America, Iron Man, and Bucky Barnes to the same location and exposed the truth right before their eyes.

Turns out Bucky was responsible for the death of Tony Stark's parents, and there was a videotape of it. Granted, at the time, The Winter Soldier was still brainwashed by Hydra and followed their every order. However, that was the least of Tony's worries when discovering the identity of his parents' murderer. To make matters worse, Steve Rogers reveals he knew what truly occurred, but decided to keep it a secret.

A fight breaks loose between the two super soldiers and the man in a suit of armor. Bucky tries to escape as Steve buys time, but the fight ends with the former losing his metal arm. To make matters worse, the relationship between Captain America and Iron Man completely shatters - disbanding the Avengers in the process and taking Cap's iconic shield away from him.

In the end, however, Tony realizes that giving the government full control of the Avengers might not have been in the team's best interests. So, when Steve decides to break the members of his Avengers faction out of confinement, Iron Man looks the other way; allowing his longtime friend to do the right thing.

Fortunately, Earth's Mightiest Heroes came together once again to undo Thanos' blip in Avengers: Endgame. It would be the last time audiences would see the "big three" Marvel heroes - Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America - fight together side by side. Fortunately, it was one amazing last ride to remember.