Marvel's huge
SECRET WARS summer event continues with another look inside a Marvel iconic crossover: Civil War.
In the current SECRET WARS mythology, the world has been remade into lands comprised of different Marvel storylines. It's a little weird of a premise, but hey, at least it's not a REBOOT. So in this part of
Battleworld, the world of CIVIL WAR continues, feeling a bit like a TV show picked up by NETFLIX years after the show has been taken off the air.
To recap,
CIVIL WAR is a story of opposing sides: pro-superhuman registration (championed and supported by Tony Stark) and non-registration (supported by Steve Rogers). It's a political war that makes you wish you were an independent voter or grateful you have no abilities. In any case, due to the deaths of several hundred people when a team of young super-heroes try to help stop a super-villain, here we are. By the beginning of this issue, we find that several heroes have died fighting in this turmoil and at least 12 million people are dead due to collateral damage between Cap and Iron Man's feud.
Fast forward to years later, the US has been divided up into two EAST-WEST countries. The East, ran by Tony Stark, is called "The Iron" and practices registration. The West, ran by Steve Rogers, is called "The Blue" and allows people to use their abilities without restraint as long as they use them to help people and make the world better. The nation is divided and years after the tragic events I mentioned above, Tony and Steve try to sit down with a mediator to resolve their differences and reunite the country.
Needless to say, this doesn't quite go as planned. The mediator is killed, with both Tony and Steve pointing fingers at each other, as most political disputes go.
This story, written by Charles Soule, feels very much like the original CIVIL WAR storyline, and Leinil Yu's artwork fits nicely with the story, although I'm not a fan of his art. His artwork does add legitimacy to the issue, since Yu penciled the original CIVIL WAR series years ago.
I won't say this book is one you need to get, unless you really really enjoyed the original CIVIL WAR storyline. More than a "WHAT IF...?" issue, and less than a necessary story, CIVIL WAR #1 is not one you must read to understand SECRET WARS, but it was an interesting story. You would think that Tony and Steve would have ended their dispute after the deaths of 12 million people they caused (seeing as how the whole thing started over the death of 600) but that's not a question necessary to enjoyment of the issue. I am interested in seeing how the rest of the mini-series plays out and I'm DEFINATELY on board for the rest of SECRET WARS. There's lots of variant covers to this issue, including a nice "Mini-Mates" homage variant to the late Michael Turner's original variant to Civil War #1. All in all, a good read, and that's what it's all about.
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