Spoilers: We’ll be discussing some major plot points in Captain America: Civil War, so proceed at your own discretion.

The Avengers are broken. The eponymous scuffle of Captain America: Civil War between Team Cap and Team Iron Man brought new heroes into the public’s eye, while it caged many more. Steve Rogers discarded his signature shield, a symbolic gesture of shedding his last ties with the team and his former self, while Tony Stark dealt with the revelation surrounding his parents’ death. After busting out Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Scarlet Witch from The Raft, the once star-spangled Avenger is now working from the shadows away from the government’s eye, War Machine is adjusting to his injuries, Black Widow vanished, The Winter Soldier put himself on ice, and Vision returned to his chess game where I imagine he continues contemplating the meaning of life.

So, where does this leave the MCU?

The obvious answer is that more heroes will fill in the gaps, and Marvel’s Phase Three slate makes it clear which ones — Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Captain Marvel. But, much like how Captain America: The Winter Soldier left the MCU in disarray, this is not the same world. This is a world marked by the Sokovia Accords, which placed the Avengers under the control of a United Nations panel. How might this affect T’Challa, a monarch who’s been fighting within the confines of his own nation of Wakanda, or Peter Parker, a teen who’s been web-slinging around New York City as a masked vigilante? What impact does the film have on the TV series within the MCU?

Let’s take a look.

The Secret Avengers

captain-america-civil-war-team-cap
Image via Marvel Studios

The note and burner cellphone Steve left behind for Tony at the end of the film indicated he and the other heroes from Team Cap will be operating underground, if you will, out of the government’s imposing eye. Should Tony ever need their help one day, all he needs to do is call. This group, whatever it is or isn’t called, brings to mind The Secret Avengers from the Civil War comics.

The powers that be at Marvel have said time and again that they are diverting from the source materials and using them more as inspiration instead of blueprints for the MCU. For one, fans assumed The Winter Soldier would adapt the comic arc of the same name, though it ended up being a mixture of that and Secret Warriors. On the page, The Secret Avengers was established by Captain America in direct response to the Superhuman Registration Act, which is essentially the equivalent of the Sokovia Accords. The team was eventually disbanded when Cap died, but the films would appear to be once again putting their own spin on the concept.

We’re already seeing Iron Man popping back up in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and this unofficial Secret Avengers offers other characters the opportunity to appear elsewhere. We know very little about what Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther will be about, but we saw in the mid-credits scene of Civil War that The Winter Soldier cryogenically froze himself in the labs of Wakanda. Assuming the film won’t be a prequel-esque story — Boseman advised press to not rule anything out — someone like Cap could easily pop in to check on his buddy, or perhaps Black Widow, who formed a rapport with T’Challa during Civil War.

Elsewhere, there’s still the mystery surrounding Vision and Scarlet Witch. The android wields the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinite Stones Thanos is after, while the gem also gave Wanda her abilities. Both beings are incredibly powerful, but we don’t know their full extent. Wanda’s powers grew exponentially from Avengers: Age of Ultron to Civil War, and she’s a character who fears what she’s capable of and whether one day the government will decide to come for her. We may never get to see an adaptation of House of M, a comic event that saw her untamable power spark a battle between the Avengers and mutants, but I found it interesting how Civil War essentially used Wanda’s slip-up as a means of inciting the Civil War.

Then there are teases from Joe and Anthony Russo to consider. The directors will return to helm the two-part Avengers: Infinity War and they say Scarlet Witch will be at her full power by that point. Both she and Vision have remained secondary characters, and the filmmakers further teased “story telling from some of the secondary characters.” It seems they have a larger part to play in the events to come.

The New Avengers

captain-america-civil-war-black-panther-chadwick-boseman
Image via Marvel

The conclusion of Civil War gives validity to rumors about Infinity War. It’s been speculated that Part 1 will see the new Avengers lineup taking on Thanos and the Infinite Gauntlet, while Part 2 will see the original team adding their might. I’ve been forming various scenarios in my mind that would bring the vets out of retirement, but now I realize all it takes is a quick call from Tony to get the band back together.

Civil War introduced two of the four heroes who’ll headline their own films in the years ahead, and they each reacted to the conflict in telling ways. T’Challa became a combination of Tony and Steve — he began the film more aligned with Iron Man as he allowed his tragedy and thirst for vengeance to overtake him. At the same time, he also broke the Sokovia Accords hours after he helped sign them into law. By the time the credits rolled, he stood by Cap. Where does he stand now? T’Challa is half government body (as a ruler), half superhero, which makes him an interesting case for the Accords.

Meanwhile, Peter is the new, refreshing set of eyes on this universe. Tom Holland, an actor much younger than the rest of the cast, entered the fray playing a kid recruited by Iron Man, who was impressed by his scientific prowess and superhuman abilities. In addition to his new Stark-erized suit, “Underoos” is already heading into his solo film with gadgets from his new mentor. Tony sees bits of himself in Peter and we’ll get to watch that develop in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Although, Cap also took a liking to the young Padawan, and Peter’s ideology of looking out for the little guy in spite of what happened with Uncle Ben seems more aligned with Steve.

Speaking of “Homecoming,” it can’t be a coincidence that one of The Winter Soldier’s trigger words is the subtitle for Spider-Man’s solo film, right? I mean, this is Marvel we’re talking about where there’s a plan for just about everything.

Soon we’ll also meet Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel a couple years after, but another piece of the Phase Three puzzle is Ant-Man and The Wasp. This will mark Marvel’s first film to be named after a female hero, so we know Hope van Dyne is back in the game and packing a bigger punch. But, given how Scott Lang is on the run with Cap, we shouldn’t be shocked if other folks join the fray. Falcon featured in Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man, and he could in the sequel, too.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Defenders

agents-of-shield-season-3-cast
Image via ABC

While Marvel’s TV division was dedicated to expanding the MCU by taking nods from the films, it always seemed to me the feelings weren’t reciprocated. A recent example came during our visit to the set of Civil War in Atlanta. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely had no clue what a reporter was talking about when she brought up the fish oil fiasco on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That said, it’s going to be harder for the films to ignore what’s happening on the small screen given the Sokovia Accords.

The May 10th episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. revealed “the aftermath of the events of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War force S.H.I.E.L.D. to register the Inhumans.” That would imply that not only do the Sokovia Accords place government control over the Avengers, but it would seemingly carry a superhuman registration clause. In the same breath, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s team of Inhumans are already technically overseen by the government, but the implication leaves room for some sort of witch hunt to ensue in order to register any and all superhumans. Will this, for instance, be done to The Defenders? New York is already aware of Daredevil’s presence, as well as enhanced individuals like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Kilgrave. Plus, Iron Fist will soon enter the fray.

Then there’s the revelation that Spider-Man has been fighting bad guys in and around Queens. New Yorkers may joke that we can live in the city for years without seeing the same people twice, but it’s not so big that a young vigilante like Peter Parker would not make any reference to the Man Without Fear or the other heroes of Hell’s Kitchen. The same goes for Stephen Strange. After his shout-out in The Winter Soldier, the character will be played by Benedict Cumberbatch in this year’s solo film, and operating as a neurosurgeon out of the Big Apple. Set photos from Doctor Strange reveal some sort of supernatural battle involving the Sorcerer Supreme, Mads Mikkelsen, and Chiwetel Ejiofor right in the city.

As the MCU gets bigger, it also gets smaller, in a way. More characters and story arcs mean more restrictions on what is and isn’t plausible. We still have a ways to go until we get to Infinity War and we still need casting for Captain Marvel, but if there’s any body that can juggle this many pieces, it’s Marvel.