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The Marvel universe seems to be expanding exponentially, with its 13th film since 2008, opening Friday, and seven more films already scheduled through 2019.

With that many stories and an ever-growing number of characters, I keep expecting the universe to finally implode, to collapse in on itself in sheer aesthetic exhaustion.

But I’m happy, and perhaps a bit surprised, to report that No. 13 holds its own.
“Captain America: Civil War” is the latest in a pretty remarkable string of entertaining comic book blockbusters. It鈥檚 a string that began with “Iron Man” and over the years has also introduced us to cinematic versions of the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man and more.

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In addition to individual franchises for many of them, these superheroes all get together periodically for “The Avengers” films as well, films in which they have to jostle each other for screen time.

This new film is ostensibly the third in a series of Captain America films but in reality it’s the third of the Avengers films, because so many of Captain America’s colleagues show up here, including two new ones.

Having vanquished Norse god aliens in the first Avengers movie and super-intelligent robots in the second, the Avengers now take on their most difficult foe yet: themselves.

Following a series of Avengers activities that, yes, saved the world but also caused untold collateral damage – cities destroyed and thousands killed – the world is beginning to have second thoughts about the value of all these superheroes. Here’s the Secretary of State explaining their PR problem: “While a great many people see you as a hero, there are some who prefer the word vigilante.”

The avenging superheroes find themselves split ideologically. Some are fine with putting themselves under the jurisdiction of the United Nations while others champ at the bit.

Somewhat surprisingly, Captain America, who I’d expect to be the good soldier, leads the group resisting UN authority. Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and independent entrepreneur, leads the group which acknowledges they need to be put somewhat in check.

This should set up an interesting ideological battle between our beloved superheroes but it’s really just an excuse to cram a lot more superhero fighting into the film’s 2.5-hour running time.

I mean, who doesn’t want to see how these various comic book heroes measure up against each other? This film takes the “Batman vs Superman” gimmick and increases it five-fold, make that six-fold.

Instead of a one-on-one boxing match, it’s more of a basketball game, with superhero teamwork taking precedence.

All the various permutations among the varied superpowers are fun to watch and refreshingly unpredictable. The filmmakers leaven the near-constant fighting with strong doses of humor, with Ant-Man and Spiderman mostly used as comic relief.

“Captain America: Civil War” would have more heft if it took its ideological wars more seriously but in the end, whatever philosophical divisions might initially separate, say, Iron Man from Captain America, they’re unfortunately reduced to mere personal animosities by the final showdown.

I realize that’s not going to disappoint too many fans, however, because I’m sure they’re more interested in the fights than the reasons for the fights.