Road to Civil War
// May 7th, 2006 // My Stuff
Over the last few months Marvel has been building both marketing and storyline in preperation for this summer huge event, Civil War. Marvel has had a lot of major events in their universe over the three years, but this one is by far the largest, and all the recent events seem to point nicely at this one.
In 2004 Brian Michael Bendis wrote Secret War. This event saw a change in leadership at S.H.I.E.L.D., as Nick Fury was replaced by Maria Hill. As part of the fallout, there was some serious distrust established between the super hero community and the US government.
Later in 2004, Avengers Disassembled (also written by Bendis) truly began this whole arc. In a stunning series of events, Scarlet Witch goes crazy leading to the death of Hawkeye and destruction of the Vision.
In the aftermath of Disassembled, a New Avengers team and comic was formed. This new team is currently made up of Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Sentry, and Ronin. In addition, a group of young super heroes formed a Young Avengers team.
While all of these new teams were forming, the summer of 2005 brought the next big event, House of M. Scarlet Witch, daughter of Magneto, was taken by him and Professor X of the X-Men in hopes of helping her get control after the events of Avengers Disassembled. At some point during this, she snaps, sending all of the Marvel Universe into an alternate reality of her creation. When she eventually puts things back, she changes something else.
Most of the mutants throughout Marvel are stripped of their abilities. This event was called Decimation. Notable on the list of depowered include: Magneto, Jubilee, Quicksilver, Stacy X, and Professor X. In the days after, there is a worldwide lash out against mutant kind. Additionally, the government recommends and helps round up many of the remaining mutants into a concentration camp-like area. Tensions are high here.
Last fall, Marvel’s banner character Spider-Man faced his own major event. In the course of Spider-Man: The Other, he is killed, resurrected, gets new powers, gets a new costume, and further establishes a deep relationship with Tony Stark (Iron Man). This newly forged bond will undoubtedly influence where he stands when full fledged civil war breaks out.
While all of these events show unrest and change in the Marvel universe, a difference of opinion on a major issue is needed to polarize the characters enough to spark a Civil War. This issue is the super-human registration act (SHRA). The plans for this act are revealed in New Avengers: Illuminati.
This secret group is made up of Namor, Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, and Professor Xavier. This group represents all the major groups in the super human population. It is also revealed in this one-shot how the group reacted to continuing destruction by the Hulk of cities and communities by exiling him into space. This ongoing Planet Hulk storyline will follow Hulk’s adventures in space. When Iron Man brings them an early copy of the act, its clear this will be a devisive topic. Iron Man tries to convince the group that by registering and supporting the act, they can diffuse an inevitable future conflict. They do not come to agreement on this.
Civil War #1 hit the shelves this week. The war has been set off and sides are forming.
Which side are you on?
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1. i didnt get to go to meredith for Free Comic book day, oh well :(
2. if you READ spiderman and the like, then wouldnt you be pro-mutant? i mean… it isnt like the comics are from a regular persons pov and is anti mutant, so i guess yeah. i feel like i am only leaving pointless and grammatically incorrect comments tonight. I guess I just don’t get the whole mutant issue. Especially between mutants, but there is evil everywhere. oh well
It isn’t just a mutant issue… The governement wants all super-humans to be registered and regulated. As it currently is, there are hundreds of people taking the law into their own hands, causing public damage, and making life and death decisions for many. They do all this without any accountability. The government feels this has to stop.
Whereas many heoes think this separation from the legal system allows them the flexibility to do what they do. Some like Spider-Man continue to hold on tightly to their secret identities to protect their families.
So the government wants regulation and the mutants prefer the anonymity so they can continue doing whatever they want. well that makes sense.
Its too bad there isn’t a morality meter, and if you pass that, the you don’t have to be registered as a mutant (like Spidey) but if you don’t pass it, (like the Green Lantern or Magneto, bad people) then you have to be regulated.
Of course there are many parallels into our real-life society with that issue.
NEW YORK (AFP) – For a comic book hero, it’s the ultimate taboo.
In the latest edition of the Marvel comic “Civil War” on sale, Spiderman does the unthinkable and removes his Spidey mask to publicly reveal his hidden identity.
“I’m proud of who I am, and I’m here right now to prove it,” the legendary webslinger tells a press conference called in New York’s Times Square, before pulling off his mask and standing before the massed ranks of reporters as newspaper photographer Peter Parker.
“Any questions?” Parker asks in the final panel of the issue, amid a barrage of camera flashes.
In a statement, Marvel trumpeted the revelation as “arguably the most shocking event in comic book history.”
The seven-issue “Civil War” series, launched in May, sees Marvel’s writers taking on the topical issue of civil liberties.
Following a showdown between a group of superheroes and supervillains in which hundreds of innocent civilians are killed, the government passes the Super-Hero Registration Act, requiring all superheroes to reveal their identities and register as “living weapons of mass destruction.”
Marvel’s roster of invincible crime fighters is split into two bitterly opposed factions, with one camp — championed by the likes of Spiderman — in favour of the new law and the other, including Captain America and his ilk, refusing to relinquish anonymity.
“It’s about which side you are on and why you think you are right,” said Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.
[...] As a side effect of needing to choose a side in Marvel’s Civil War event, Spider-Man has been put in a position where he needs to reveal his identity to side with Iron Man’s pro-registration views, or become a criminal with Captain America and the other super heroes who are anti-registration. [...]
[...] As for Spider-Man/Peter Parker, I always felt as though he was protestant, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. Seeing all the evidence clearly laid out was an interesting viewing. The image included above comes from Amazing Spider-Man #494. The scene occurs as Peter and Mary Jane reunite after a temporary seperation. This scene strikes deeply for me considering the current talk that MJ may get killed in or as a result of Civil War. Personally I hope this doesn’t happen. Between The Other and deciding to unmask, Peter is going through enough. [...]
[...] Zach over at NoSheep! recently brought me into the comic book fold with Marvel’s Civil War. For weeks his posts have been piquing my interest. It wasn’t until his post on Spider-Man’s identity being revealed that I broke down and read something. [...]
Finally a clear timeline so I know which comics to buy/read first!