Lainey is #TeamIronMan. I am #TeamCap. We’ve been sniping at each other over text off and on about how she’s wrong. And with the Captain America: Civil War press tour kicking off over the weekend, it’s only going to get worse, because everything is divided by Iron Man vs. Captain America. The press conference was split in half, with RDJ, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, and Emily VanCamp on one panel, and Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, and Elizabeth Olsen on the other. Last night #TeamCap was on Jimmy Kimmel Live, with #TeamIronMan scheduled for Wednesday. So far, Chris Evans and his side are bringing it. RDJ is a consummate showman, but Evans’ has Paul Rudd in his corner. You cannot beat Paul Rudd. Everyone loves him.

This is the savviest press campaign Marvel’s run yet. Bolstered by extreme confidence in their movie—and maybe also by Superhero Face Punch’s stumble—Disney uncorked the embargo a full month early and let critics take to social media to sound off on the movie, and the early praise is overwhelmingly positive. Continuing their social media push, yesterday they did a thing on Twitter where you could tweet your team and get a response from an Avenger, which is a genius idea for fan engagement. And RDJ blesses Sebastian Stan—Lainey, is this how we heal our divide?


So far, the Civil War press blitz is much less peppy than Avengers: Age of Ultron last summer, so it’s off to a good start. Renner has yet to say anything stupid, and Evans doesn’t look like he’s about to have a nervous breakdown. And, as is always the case with the Marvel cast, they’re so f*cking fun to watch. Anthony Mackie trash-talking Team Iron Man is the highlight of the press conference. And Sebastian Stan, getting an obvious push to center stage, is holding up well. This is going to be a fun month of coverage.

Check out #TeamCap on Kimmel: