Entries from July 2006 ↓

Being the pessimist that I am, I immediately thought that Marvel’s Civil War would be a train wreck right from the start. However, after reading the first issue of said series I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Since the series has been out for a few months now I have no problem giving away spoilers.If you haven’t read the first three issues yet, I’ll give you a few minutes to go down to your local comic shop and pick them up.
Don’t worry, I’ve got other things to amuse me.
Okay, read them?
Good.
Now on with the spoiler!
It opens up with the New Warriors(who have been reduced to Night Thrasher, Microbe, Namorita and Speedball) doing their reality TV show(think Cops, but with teenage superheroes) staking out the hideout of Nitro(the guy who has the power to explode) and three other escaped supervillains….which happens to be near a school….I think you can see where I’m going with this.
Long story short, Namorita throws Nitro into a school bus, but all that does is make him angry, which results in him using his powers. In case you missed it earlier, his powers involve him BLOWING UP! The New Warriors are killed, the film crew is killed, the school is blown up with very few survivors, and Nitro is the only one who got away unharmed.
This leads to an anti-superhero feeling that sweeps across the nation, causing people with known superhero identities to be hurt, like the Human Torch getting bottled and beat down. Suddenly, the government is wanting to initiate a Super Hero Registration Act. This act would require all heroes be trained, reveal their secret identities, be held accountable for everything they do, but on bright side they would be put on the government payroll.
Captain America is asked by the head of the spy organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. to hunt down and jail any heroes or vigilantes not willing to register. Let’s just say Captain America doesn’t like this idea, and is quite vocal/physical about it, and ends up going rogue.
Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Yellow Jacket on the other hand are more then willing to sign the act, and bring Captain America(and all other heroes following his lead) in to justice.
From here on out, everyone is choosing a side.
Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Tigra, Doc Sampson, Mister Fantastic, Yellow Jacket and several others have taken Iron Man’s side.
While Falcon, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Cable, Goliath, Hercules, the Young Avengers, and Cloak & Dagger have gone underground with Captain America.
As it turns out Cap’s team has been still fighting the good fight, saving people and the such, but not sticking around long enough to be turned in to the United States Government.
In an attempt do regain some of the public’s trust in superheroes, Tony Stark(Iron Man) holds a press conference where Spider-Man unmasks, and reveals to the world that he is really Peter Parker. This has been a pretty controversial topic as of late. A lot of people are making threats that they won’t read Spider-Man anymore because of it, but they’re lying. They’ll be reading just like I will be. If anything, this will make the character more interesting, because he can no longer be blackmailed by the people who know his secret(Green Goblin, Venom, etc.)
The stories will now probably show the impact that event had on his personal life, as the more sadistic villains come out of the wood work to attack his family and friends….not to mention his students…I guess this means his life as a science teacher is over….as well as his career as a photographer once J. Jonah Jameson fires him for it.
Not everyone is taking sides though. The Thing(on of the biggest patriots next to Cap) seems less then interested in what is going on, as rumors abound that he will be leaving the country and the Fantastic Four, as he cannot live in the states with all of this going on.
Doctor Strange goes into seclusion in his artic lodge hoping that everyone will resolve their differences if he goes fasting for forty nights. I’m not too sure if I like what they’re doing with Doctor Strange now days. They seem to be turning him from Sorcerer Supreme into Uber Geek.
Black Panther doesn’t live in the States, and thus far seems to want nothing to do with the whole thing.
The X-Men tell Stark that they will not join his side, but they promise not to join Captain America’s side either. Bishop, on the other hand, has no problem joining up with Iron Man’s crew.
Nick Fury gives Captain America and his people new identities to use when they’re not in costume. For the most part they all seem cool with their new ID’s except Goliath, who was hoping for something a little cooler then community outreach worker.
The Human Torch comes out of his coma, only to find out there’s a Civil War going on in the superhuman community. Anyone want to guess which side he joins up with by the end of the series?
There’s an explosion, that appears to be staged by the Pro-Registration heroes to trap Cap’s team so they can talk.
For the most part it works, until cap uses a device to short out Iron Man’s armor causing a huge superhero rumble to ensue.
Iron Man’s armor comes back online, and he makes a b-line right for Captain America. It’s a pretty one sided fight. Man in armor vs. Man in spandex with shield. Hercules sees that Iron Man is killing Cap so he goes in to make the save, just as ‘Codename Lightening’ strikes, taking down all of the Anti-Registration heroes. The dust settles, and all Daredevil can say is “My God…” as ‘Codename Lightening stands revealed before them as Thor, back from the dead and on Iron Man’s side.
Now, as you may have noticed, this entire series so far has been hero vs. hero….don’t worry, from what I hear the villains are planning something of there own.
This series I’ve had serious doubts about, but it is really shaping up into something good. Check it out if you can, right now the first three issues are still available at comic shops everywhere. Most kids probably wouldn’t find it that interesting, aside from the mass superhero interaction, but I figure most adults would get a kick out of it, whether you’re familiar with comics or not. The storyline is heavily political, which I thought would be boring, but has turned into a theme that I just can’t get enough of.
This is by far the best work Marvel has put out in over 10 years.