The movie premiered in Los Angeles on April 12, 2016 and was released in the United States on May 6, as the first movie in Phase Three of the MCU.
Plot
In a flashback from 1991, James "Bucky" Barnes/Winter Soldier, a brainwashed soldier with the same strength and power as Captain America, is ordered by the evil organization Hydra to crash a moving car and steal a case that has super-soldier serum. In Lagos, Nigeria in the present, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sam Wilson/Falcon, and Wanda Maximoff are on a mission to stop ex-Hydra agent Brock Rumlow/Crossbones from releasing a deadly bioweapon from a lab. After a fight, Crossbones almost kills Captain America by blowing himself up, but Wanda uses her powers to lift Crossbones and let him explode in the air. The explosion kills Crossbones but also destroys a nearby building, killing a few Wakandan charity workers. Wanda is blamed for the accident, making her feel guilty.
The United States Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross tells the Avengers that the United Nations (UN) wants to pass a law called the Sokovia Accords to control them, because there have been a lot of Avengers-related accidents that have killed innocent people. Ross tells the Avengers that they have to sign the Accords or become criminals, and if they sign it, the Avengers will have to listen to the UN and can't make decisions by themselves anymore. Tony Stark/Iron Man is at the meeting and tells everyone that he supports the Accords because he created Ultron, a program that went out of control and killed a lot of innocent people. Steve tells everyone that he doesn't support the Accords because politicians can be evil, and he wants the Avengers to make their own decisions.
While the Avengers fight over the Accords, a Sokovian man named Helmut Zemo finds the Winter Soldier's old Hydra commander and asks him for information on the 1991 mission from the flashback. When the commander doesn't tell him anything, Zemo kills him and steals a red book with commands. The UN holds a conference in Vienna, Austria to pass the Sokovia Accords but a bomb goes off and destroys the building, killing the Wakandan King T'Chaka. Security footage shows that the bomber was the Winter Soldier, and the cops hunt him. Knowing that Bucky was framed by the real bomber, Steve wants to find Bucky before the cops do. Meanwhile, T'Chaka's son, T'Challa, swears to find and kill Bucky in revenge for his father's death.
With Sharon Carter's help, Captain America and Falcon find Bucky living a normal life in Bucharest, Romania. Steve meets Bucky and tries to make him remember that he is his old friend, but Bucky tells him to leave. When the cops show up and attack them, Bucky runs away and Steve and Sam follow him. Black Panther shows up and also chases Bucky, trying to kill him. There is a big chase, which leads to the cops and James Rhodes/War Machine arresting Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Black Panther, who takes off his mask to reveal that he's T'Challa.
The cops take them to a building, where they imprison Bucky in a cage. Tony tries to convince Steve to sign the Accords but fails. Zemo comes to the building in disguise to "interview" Bucky, but starts reading commands from the red book. Bucky turns into the Winter Soldier, breaking out of his cage and fighting everyone, letting Zemo escape. The Winter Soldier almost escapes, but Steve stops him and sneaks him away with Sam. Ross tells Tony and Natasha that he wants to arrest Steve and his group and gives them 48 hours to bring them back. Natasha asks T'Challa for help, while Tony goes to Queens, New York City to recruit Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
When Bucky wakes up, he tells Steve and Sam that Zemo was the real Vienna bomber and wanted the location of a Hydra base in Siberia, where there are more Winter Soldiers like Bucky. Wanting to stop Zemo as soon as possible, Steve violates the Accords and makes a team with Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Scott Lang/Ant-Man, and Clint Barton/Hawkeye. They go to an airport in Berlin, Germany to find a jet, but they are stopped by Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Vision, and War Machine. Tony tries to tell Steve to peacefully come with them, but Steve wants to fight instead. The Avengers attack each other, and Steve's team decides to let themselves be arrested so Steve and Bucky can escape in the jet. War Machine tries to follow them, but is accidentally shot down by Vision and can't move his legs anymore. Tony visits Steve's team in an underwater prison called the Raft and asks Sam where Steve and Bucky went, promising to not fight them. Sam tells him, and Tony finds out that Bucky didn't really bomb the UN.
Bucky, Steve, and Tony come to the Hydra facility in Siberia, and Tony says he only wants peace. They find all the other Winter Soldiers dead, and realize that Zemo's the one who did it, and he's already there. Zemo tells them that he wanted to destroy the Avengers because they accidentally killed his family in Sokovia, and plays a clip from the 1991 mission. The clip shows that the people in the car from the flashback were Tony's parents, and the Winter Soldier was the one who killed them. Tony attacks Bucky and fights Steve, angry that Steve never told him the truth. Bucky tries to escape but Tony locks him in the Hydra base with Steve. Zemo tries to kill himself but T'Challa, who followed them, stops him and arrests him. After a big fight, Steve defeats Tony and smashes the Arc Reactor in his Iron Man suit, before leaving with Bucky. Tony tells Steve to drop his shield because he doesn't deserve it; Tony and Steve are not friends anymore and the Avengers are broken.
Knowing that Zemo was his father's killer, T'Challa allows Bucky to recover and heal in Wakanda, which T'Challa now leads as king. Tony returns to the abandoned Avengers base and helps Rhodes use his legs again. Steve sends a letter to Tony, telling him sorry and letting him know that he'll always be there if Tony needs him. Steve breaks into the Raft and helps his friends escape.
