Coming off of San Diego Comic Con, the good folks at Marvel are riding a wave of successful projects. Their movies and TV shows (especially the Netflix shows) are very well received and the upcoming films all look to build on that success. But hey, it’s Marvel! First and foremost this is a comic book company, right? And currently Marvel Comics is smack in the midst of yet another major comic event, Civil War II. Let’s look at how this event is shaking things up in the Marvel universe through the first four core issues.
WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the first four issues of the Civil War II comic series. Deal with it.
Why we are fighting in the first place
An early glimpse into the contention in Civil War II dates back to Free Comic Book Day in May 2016. In this Road to Civil War issue, we learn of a young man who discovers that he is an Inhuman with a new and very unique power. This new Inhuman, Ulysses, discovers that he can “see” the future, or to be more accurate, experience the future. This ability results in Captain Marvel first attempting to leverage these visions as a way to protect the Earth and thwart an attack by Thanos. While the team is successful in stopping Thanos’ plan, the attack is not without casualties. War Machine (Col Rhodes) dies.
This becomes a trigger point that establishes the main rivals of this Civil War sequel, Captain Marvel and Iron Man. Both have close ties to Rhodes and mourn his death in their own way. While Tony finds the use of these “possible futures” to be reckless and irresponsible, Captain Marvel believes that what they are doing is the right thing to prevent possible disasters. This sets the basic division for this event with the rest of the Marvel heroes choosing sides in the conflict.
Much like the first Civil War story, this moral dilemma makes for some interesting storytelling. I really like that both sides have strong arguments that support their reasoning. As a reader, I don’t want one side of this conflict to feel like the “right choice” is being presented to me. I want to be able to weigh the options and self-check to see which side I agree more with. So far, I feel that the first four issues have done that fairly well.
I also want to make sure to note how much I love the art style in these books. All of the drawings are great, the coloring is great, heck I even love the lettering. The organization of panels and they story progression feels cinematic in a lot of ways and I really dig that sort of thing. If I’m honest, one of the reasons I haven’t dug into as much of the “choosing sides” titles and additional books that tie into the Civil War II event, it’s because of that difference in quality. Speaking of choosing sides…
Choosing Sides for Myself
For the first Civil War story I found myself on the #TeamCap side. I disagreed with the way Tony Stark supported the Superhero Registration Act. Coming into this event I expected to fall in line with Carol Danvers and again disagree with Mr. Stark. But I gotta say, I’m rolling Team Iron Man on this one. The way Danvers keeps pushing the issue of using Ulysses’ powers without any realistic understanding of how they work or how accurate they are, I find to be frustrating.
The situation with Bruce Banner is a great example. In a vision that was shared to all the major players involved (issue 2), we see a future where Hulk goes on a rampage that kills what appears to be all of the Avengers. When the group approaches Banner about the vision (in issue 3), he feels trapped and starts to lose his cool. Just before he has any chance to Hulk-out, Hawkeye shoots Banner and kills Hulk.
This outcome is very different from what we see in the vision and brings up a lot of questions. Would Banner have ever lost his cool without this mob confronting him? Are these visions of possible futures more or less likely to happen when these core heroes get involved? Is it ethical to accuse someone of a crime that they might commit in the future?
Tony Stark eventually analyzes Ulysses’ brain and shows that the accuracy and probability of his visions occurring is very low. His answer is scientific and a result of mathematical testing, which is hard to argue. It is Captain Marvel’s passion and promise to her fallen friends that keeps her from accepting this result. She continues to leverage Ulysses’ power and gets to the point where she is arresting unknown suspects off the street with zero evidence to back up her actions.
Big Fights and Eventual Fallout
The fourth issue of Civil War II ends with the two sides about to face off. Iron Man’s team appearing to clearly outnumber Captain Marvel’s. Some assistance from Danvers’ friends in space should even the odds and make for an exciting battle in issue five. While I’m not positive of how this battle with play out, we do know that this event sets the stage for a new period in Marvel comics. The “Marvel Now” era which is set to roll out this fall.
The first Marvel Now branding event (2012-2015) was an attempt by Marvel to bring in new readers and make adjustments to their release lineup. The events of Secret Wars, Standoff and now Civil War II, have brought our heroes into some very different situations and groupings. The lineup of comics in this new Marvel Now reflects the big shakeups with brand new teams, new solo books and reboots of popular characters. You can check out more about the new comics here or by picking up a previews book at a comic shop near you.
So at this halfway point, what do you think about Civil War II? Who are you rooting for? What do you think might happen? Were you happy with the Hawkeye verdict? Are there any Marvel Now books you can’t wait to check out? Let us know here in the comments or hit us up on Facebook and Twitter!