The Most Uncivil Civil War

 

Because of its ambitious crossover status, those of use who took an interest in Marvel's 2006-07 Civil War event were obliged to tweak its promotional slogan--"Whose side are you on?"--into something more practical: "Which books will you read?" Many of us probably just winged it, depending on our preferences, but for the most part we probably simply picked up the main seven-issue limited series in order to chart the progress and keep apprised of the clashes between the two major sides of the conflict, while deriving more substantive reading from the event's many, many tie-in books which offered greater perspective from those characters who were either directly or indirectly affected by the event, and certainly more in-depth examinations of their choices and feelings on the situation than what writer Mark Millar could provide for them in the core title. Yet it's Millar's work that we indeed turn our focus on here, since it is the book that all the others orbit around--and what takes place there allows him to pass the baton to his fellow writers, who take the handoff and shepherd their characters through whatever stage the conflict is currently at.

Several key developments, for instance, occur in Millar's story which other titles have already broached in one way or another. The repercussions of the incident in Stamford, CT; heroes attempting to take the temperature of both the government and the public; the swift passage of the Super-Human Registration Act; and of course the taking of sides which signify which heroes are resisting the SHRA and which are enforcing it. Given that the tie-ins are providing character-specific coverage of these developments and others that are relevant, Millar has the luxury of providing just enough detail to pique our interest and allow the story to gain momentum and keep it moving, all of which he handles well enough.

Daredevil is correct in both of his assessments: One, Stamford will be the point where Congress, spurred by public outrage, finally says "enough is enough" as far as giving costumed heroes a free hand when it comes to acting on their own without supervision, oversight, or even, in some cases, proper training... and two, that the matter of registration of super-beings has already been explored at the federal level, as seen in both the Mutant Control Act and, later, hearings on full-blown government registration of individuals who demonstrate evidence of superhuman powers and abilities.

As for the Falcon's basis for objecting to what the government has planned--that "masks are a tradition"--while such paltry justification for resisting registration seems geared to mainly trigger Yellowjacket's pointed response about secret identities making mask-wearers unaccountable to the public, it seems like a flimsy line of dialog for Millar to toss into the mix. Does the Falcon expect that to (forgive the pun) fly in testimony to Congress? It's really Spider-Man who makes the best argument for avoiding disclosure of his identity--yet how quickly his clear-headed resolve would unravel, all for the sake of a camera-ready moment for this series.

You may have noticed that one prominent figure is missing from this gathering, the one voice you'd expect to be raised on this issue and the one man whom the others might wish to hear from in particular. Currently, however, he's meeting with Maria Hill, who's been appointed the acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Mind you, the SHRA is still two weeks away from even being voted on, much less signed into law yet; but with the law expected to pass, Hill wants all of her ducks in a row by that time, and one of those ducks is Steve Rogers, who gets an earful from Hill and other agents who expect him to fall in line.

Despite her lack of tact, it's hard to fault Hill for the points she and her subordinates are making. Her real mistake here is her attempt... her intent... to conscript Cap as part of a preemptive measure for dealing with those heroes who might not comply with the forthcoming law. By doing so, she all but assures that Cap will receive the unmistakable impression that he's not going to be allowed to walk out of this room without giving assurances of his cooperation--and as a result, you could say that this "war" really begins here and now.

As is apparent, then, Millar in Civil War provides in essence the nuts and bolts of this conflict, while leaving it to the writers of the tie-ins to take their lead from and/or expand on what we've seen here. In this case, both Hill and Cap have taken the shortest route to open hostilities, while, over in Cap's title, where we find he's gone underground, writer Ed Brubaker gives each person more of an opportunity to justify their actions--particularly Cap, who becomes Captain America again instead of Millar's version who took the almost startling position of heroes needing to stay above "that stuff" (words which could be construed as referring to "the law"), and instead presents his position rationally and thoughtfully. Without that tie-in, it would become too easy to believe that Cap has simply flown off the handle and is lashing out at those whom he can't see eye to eye with, behavior which Millar will provide other examples of as the series progresses.

For instance, following his abrupt exit from the SHIELD helicarrier, one might expect the Captain America we know to make tracks for the White House and respectfully request an explanation directly from the Commander in Chief on this business while also dutifully presenting his own side for consideration. Instead, others have beaten him to the punch--and the sides of this conflict become more clearly drawn.

As expected, the SHRA goes into effect, and we begin to see that Cap has begun organizing his forces--which is fortunate for the Young Avengers, who during their capture are schooled by predictably cocky SHIELD forces on which choice they should have made. One agent, however, makes the mistake of going too far on the issue with his undercover driver--while Millar manages to offer a stinging rebuttal of the Falcon's position on masks.

Dagger is referring to a public relations coup for pro-registration advocates--most notably among them Tony Stark, who sets up a media event to demonstrate the positives of the SHRA by bringing forward the most visible figure of those with super-powers who guard their secret identity, and unmasking him with his full cooperation.

So how did Peter Parker--who like others of his ilk has loved ones to protect from those who wouldn't hesitate to come after them as a means of revenge or retaliation--come to reverse the position Millar staked out for him? We find the answer in Amazing Spider-Man, where writer J. Michael Straczynski makes the risk to Peter's wife and aunt palatable to him simply by their accepting that risk knowingly.

Since we've seen the end result of this conversation, we know that Peter has caved, rather than putting his foot down and bringing up names like "Gwen Stacy" and "Green Goblin," or wondering aloud if Mary Jane might feel the same if she and Peter had a child or children to consider--while Aunt May fails to note that some of those high-profile figures in professions she's named have security in place for their families. Yet all things considered, it's the only argument that Straczynski could make if Spider-Man's decision to register and side with Stark's forces was to move forward.

Later, we find that this story has moved forward, to what amounts to a turning point in the "war"--because while there have been other deaths which could be termed collateral damage in this conflict (a man Ben Grimm knew from Yancy Street, for example, whose death makes Ben read both sides the riot act), the death which strikes home for everyone is the direct result of the efforts of Stark, Reed Richards, and Henry Pym to give their side an overwhelming edge against Cap's forces: a cyborg clone of the Thunder God, Thor, whose DNA was secretly collected by Stark long ago and fused with Pym's cyber-technology. (Now that's asking for trouble, given Pym's track record with cyber-tech.) The moment comes when Cap and his forces have walked into a trap, and "Codename Lightning" is held in reserve along with SHIELD forces--but not for long.

Of course, judging from appearances, there was no real reason to unleash "Thor" given that Cap and his forces were arguably on the ropes by that point. Still, for those anti-registration heroes not in the know about their new foe's true nature, the demoralizing effect of Thor's sudden and hostile appearance, an Avenger who had been presumed dead, allows them to be taken off guard and fall prey to the lightning attacks which sweep through their ranks. In addition, they must also deal with Iron Man, whose prime target remains Cap but whose sonic attack debilitates many of them.

Yet just when you think things could not be more dire for Cap and his team, we see an attack by Hercules shift the momentum their way once again--a last-ditch rally that subsequently seals the fate of Bill Foster, aka Goliath, when Thor takes decisive and fatal action against him.

Before Thor can wipe them out, however, Sue Richards intervenes with a force field which save their lives and provides for their escape. From there, reassessments are made on both sides... loyalties shift... blame is cast... and the struggle continues for everyone:

...everyone, it seems, except for Tony Stark--who isn't among those in Avengers Tower who cope with the tragedy of Foster's murder and the ripples of discontent from several in their camp who now voice disapproval over what they're doing. Instead, we find him attending the still giant-sized Foster's burial and proceeding with his plans for the fifty-state initiative, while continuing to touch base with his pro-registration forces to ensure an end to this civil war. Also, in a head-shaking decision, Stark has arranged to furlough a number of super-villains from incarceration and join them with the Avengers in order to offset the numbers advantage of Cap's forces. The way that this conflict is spinning madly out of anyone's control, it's beginning to look like Stark's bold new vision of the future of super-heroes might ensure that Goliath's grave isn't the last one dug in its name.