Civil War (comics) — BrandWiki

Civil War (comics)

title	Civil War
publisher	Marvel Comics
startmo	July
startyr	2006
endmo	February
endyr	2007
superhero	y
crossover	y
titles	The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #529–538 Black Panther (vol. 4) #17-25 Blade (vol. 4) #5 Cable & Deadpool #30–32 Captain America (vol. 5) #22–25 Civil War #1–7 Civil War: Choosing Sides #1 Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1 Civil War: Files #1 Civil War: Front Line #1–11 Civil War: Opening Shot Civil War: The Confession #1 Civil War: The Initiative #1 Civil War: War Crimes #1 Civil War: The Return #1 Civil War: X-Men #1–4 Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways #1–4 Daredevil #87 Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1–5 Fantastic Four (vol. 4) #536–543 Ghost Rider (vol. 6) #8–11 Heroes for Hire (vol. 1) #1–3 Incredible Hulk #100 Iron Man (vol. 4) #13-14 Iron Man / Captain America: Casualties of War #1 Moon Knight (vol. 5) #7–12 Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #6–8 New Avengers: Illuminati Special #1 New X-Men #28 Punisher War Journal (vol. 2) #1–3 New Avengers #21–25 The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #28–34 She-Hulk (vol. 2) #8-9 Thunderbolts (vol. 3) #103–105 110 Winter Soldier: Winter Kills #1 Wolverine #42–48 X-Factor (vol. 3) #8–9

"Civil War" is a 2006–07 Marvel Comics crossover event. The storyline consists of an eponymous seven-issue limited series, written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, and various tie-in books. The storyline builds upon previous Marvel storylines, particularly "Avengers Disassembled", "House of M", and "Decimation". The series' tagline is "Whose Side Are You On?".[1]

Civil War explores the conflict between freedom and security against a backdrop of real-life events and discussions, such as the U.S. government's increased surveillance of its citizens in response to the 9/11 attacks.[2][3] The plot revolves around the U.S. government passing a Superhero Registration Act

Plot

The New Warriors (Night Thrasher, Namorita, Speedball, and Microbe) battle a group of villains (Cobalt Man, Speedfreek, Coldheart, and Nitro) in Stamford, Connecticut, while filming a reality television show. Nitro explodes, killing more than 600 people (including school children and every villain and New Warrior present, minus Speedball). Numerous other superheroes appear in Stamford to search for survivors.

Public opinion turns against superhumans, branding even inactive members of the New Warriors as "baby killers". Hindsight, desperate to distance himself from the team, releases the New Warriors' secret identities online, and several of them are attacked. She-Hulk forces Hindsight to shut down the site, and Hindsight is arrested by John Jameson. Angry civilians attack the Human Torch outside a club after he cuts the line and mocks one of his critics.

Guided by Iron Man, Congress passes the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA), 6 U.S.C. § 558,[9] requiring the registration of all persons with superhuman abilities with the U.S. government, and the enlistment and training of all aspiring superheroes. The law applies to those with naturally occurring superhuman abilities, humans using exotic technology (e.g. Iron Man), or anyone who wants to challenge superhumans.[10] Enactment of the federal law leads to revisions of state criminal codes.[11]

Characters within the Marvel Universe superhero community split into two groups. One advocates registration as a responsible obligation, and the other opposes it, arguing the act violates civil liberties and the protection secret identities provide. While arguing with Iron Man about the law, African American hero Luke Cage compares the mandatory registration to slavery.[12] A number of villains also choose a side.

Captain America refuses to join a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force hunting violators of the act, and is attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Cape-Killers" before the act is passed. He subsequently becomes a fugitive, and forms an underground resistance movement calling itself the "Secret Avengers". This team includes Hercules, Falcon, Danny Rand (who is acting as Daredevil in Matt Murdock's place),[13] Luke Cage, and the Young Avengers.[14][13] Iron Man, Reed Richards, Hank Pym (actually a Skrull in disguise), and She-Hulk come down in favor of the act. Spider-Man unmasks at a press conference as a show of support for the act.[13] Doctor Strange wants no part of the act and tells Iron Man and Mister Fantastic to never call on him again (the government subsequently declares Doctor Strange exempt).

The government-backed heroes track down unregistered superhumans and subsequently detain or register them. Captain America's Secret Avengers and Iron Man's Avengers end up fighting in Yancy Street. The Thing, who was only visiting his old neighborhood, gets roped into crowd control. However, when a young member of the Yancy Street Gang is killed in the ensuing violence, he leaves the country for France.

The Secret Avengers, responding to a false emergency, are lured into an ambush by the pro-registration forces. As the battle turns against them, a new weapon is brought into play: Project Lightning, a cyborg clone of Thor. Confronted by Bill Foster, "Thor" sends a bolt of lightning through his chest, killing him. With both sides stunned, Cap orders a retreat. Susan Storm shelters the re-grouping Secret Avengers under an energy shield, allowing their escape.

Foster's death shakes up both sides: Stature and Nighthawk surrender and register, while the Human Torch and Invisible Woman oppose the act. In turn, Pym drafts a sub-group of the Thunderbolts to the SRA's cause.[15]

Spider-Man demands to see the Prison 42 in the Negative Zone.[16] He concludes he's made a mistake in siding with Stark, and attempts to defect. Iron Man confronts Peter, however, yet after a brief battle, Spider-Man escapes. Against Tony's will, Peter is hunted down and badly beaten by the Jester and Jack O'Lantern of the new Thunderbolts. The Punisher saves Spider-Man by killing the two villains, and carries him to a Secret Avengers safe-house. After recuperating, Spider-Man joins Cap's forces,[17] and publicly pledges to fight the Registration Act.

The Punisher seeks to join Captain America's forces. He explains Iron Man's decision to employ infamous mass murderers motivated the gun-wielding vigilante to come out of hiding, but also notes superhero registration has caused a huge drop in crime. Captain America reluctantly accepts Punisher's help.

As the Punisher makes his way through the Baxter Building to retrieve plans for the Negative Zone prison, Sue Richards travels to Atlantis to persuade Namor to join the Secret Avengers, although he refuses. Supervillains Goldbug and Plunderer arrive at the Secret Avengers' base to join Captain America's team, but the Punisher immediately kills them, leading Captain America to attack him and kick him out of the group.

While meditating, Doctor Strange speaks with Uatu the Watcher, who asks why Strange does not end the conflict with his immense power. Doctor Strange responds that the Sorcerer Supreme has no business in mankind's internal struggles, but promises to pray for an outcome with minimal bloodshed that will benefit mankind.

As the final battle begins, Cloak teleports the combatants to New York City, where Namor and an Atlantean army arrive to fight alongside the Secret Avengers. The Champions, the Thor clone, and Captain Marvel, meanwhile, reinforce Stark's team. Mister Fantastic saves Invisible Woman from a bullet fired by Taskmaster, and Hercules destroys the Thor clone. The Thing returns to protect the civilians. As Captain America is about to deliver a final blow to Iron Man, policemen, EMTs, and firefighters try to restrain him. Realizing how much damage the fight has already inflicted upon the very people he wishes to protect, Captain America surrenders, and orders his team to stand down.

Aftermath

At the end of the storyline, a number of changes to the status quo have occurred, including:

The President of the United States grants general amnesty to all Superhuman Registration Act opponents who turn themselves in or register.
Captain America, the act's chief critic, is arrested and subsequently assassinated by a brainwashed Sharon Carter.
Spider-Man's identity, Peter Parker, is now public knowledge, causing J. Jonah Jameson to sue.
An assassin hired by Wilson Fisk, alias the Kingpin, to kill Spider-Man fails, instead shooting "secondary target" Aunt May and leaving her in critical condition. An enraged Spider-Man dons a cloth version of his black suit and confronts Kingpin in prison, mercilessly beating him within an inch of his life. The Wallcrawler warns the Kingpin that Fisk will die if May does, and promises the other inmates he will come for them if they try to harm Spider-Man or his family.
Tony Stark is appointed director of S.H.I.E.L.D., while Maria Hill is demoted to deputy director.
The 50-State Initiative is set up to eventually place a superhero team in every state.

Tie-ins

(This list is in read order)

Road to Civil War

Amazing Spider-Man #529
Amazing Spider-Man #530
Amazing Spider-Man #531
New Avengers: Illuminati Special #1
Fantastic Four #536
Fantastic Four #537

Civil War

The 2006 Eternals relaunch has the Civil War play a fairly present background in the setting with Sprite appearing in pro-registration PSAs. In issue #3, Iron Man reminds Sersi to register. In issue #6, Iron Man and Hank Pym try to get the Eternals to register again, but they refuse. In the end, Zuras explains that the Eternals have no desire to meddle with humanity, and will stay out of their affairs, which Iron Man concedes as a fair compromise.
New X-Men #28 and She-Hulk #9 are indirectly, but strongly involved.
Marvel Comics Presents (vol. 2) #12 involves a patsy attempt to get Man-Thing to register with the government. The story was published late (October 2008 cover date), during Secret Invasion and the same month as Marvel Zombies 3, in which Man-Thing also appeared.
The cover of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #11 features a Civil War parody cover including a plaid background, the words "Not part of a Marvel Comics event", and

In other media

Novels

Marvel adapted Civil War into a prose hardcover novel in July 2012 as the first of a series of four novels adapting some of Marvel's most significant fictional events.[30] It was written by Stuart Moore, the writer of Namor: The First Mutant. The book expanded on the story and set the events during Barack Obama's first term in office, rather than George W. Bush's last term; Tony Stark makes reference to the Affordable Care Act when speaking to Spider-Man in the first chapter of the novel.[30] The novel is set in the alternate timeline created by the controversial storyline "One More Day" and detailed in "One Moment in Time", as Spider-Man is depicted as never having married Mary Jane Watson, having never arrived on the day of their wedding.[31] In the original comics version, Civil War was a lead-in to "One More Day", depicting May Parker's assassination on the orders of Wilson Fisk near the end of the main Civil War storyline. An illustrated version of the novel was released in 2016, with a cover from Steve Epting, and internal art from Steve McNiven. The ISBN is.

Film

The 2016 film Captain America: Civil War was a cinematic treatment of the story, albeit focusing more on the issue of government control rather than public knowledge of secret identities: these matters were also being escalated by the interference and manipulation of Helmut Zemo as his plan for revenge against the Avengers' role in Ultron's assault and the deaths of Zemo's family. The movie version of Civil War also differs from the comic substantially; the United Nations enforces the above regulations, called the Sokovia Accords, rather than America alone, former Army General Thaddeus Ross as the United States Secretary of State is involved in the registration debacle instead of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Maria Hill as the former was dismantled in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the latter's whereabouts are unknown at that point or is presumably in hiding with Nick Fury, and the fate of Bucky Barnes is a key element of the war after he is framed for the assassination of the Black Panther's father, the king of Wakanda. As in the comics, Captain America and Iron Man are the respective leaders of the anti-registration and pro-registration sides of the conflicts, with Cap's side including the Falcon, Bucky, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and the Scarlet Witch, and Iron Man's side being Black Widow, War Machine, the Black Panther, Spider-Man, and the Vision. Stark and Rogers reconcile after realizing the truth of the king's assassination, but it is short-lived as Zemo reveals Barnes' role in Stark's parents' deaths, and that Rogers kept the truth from him. An enraged Stark attacks both Rogers and Barnes, and the fight culminates with Rogers abandoning his shield and identity and escaping with Barnes, becoming a fugitive in the process. The film concludes with Cap's side seeking asylum in Wakanda after the Black Panther recognizes that he was wrong to target Bucky. The latter is then put into cryogenic sleep. Black Widow goes on the run after betraying Stark's side to help Rogers find the instigator of their fight, and War Machine is left crippled after injuries sustained in the final battle.

Television

A different variation of the Civil War storyline closely resembling Civil War II as it features Iron Man and Captain Marvel in opposition to each other was adapted in the four-part season finale of Avengers: Ultron Revolution. In this version of the storyline, the Registration Act targets new Inhumans, and teams of Avengers come into conflict over the issue, as in other adaptations. It is revealed in Part 3, however, that the Inhuman Registration Act is actually part of a plan by Ultron (disguised as Truman Marsh) to begin the Ultron Revolution by manipulating humans and Inhumans into destroying each other, which is foiled by the combined efforts of the Avengers.

Video games

The comic is adapted into Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. While the storyline remains relatively faithful to the original comic, it takes a different path halfway through the game, as the act is briefly suspended for the heroes to deal with a crisis involving the nanite network used to control supervillains manifesting a form of sentience. In the game, the player gets to choose whether to side with Pro or Anti-Registration- with Captain America, Luke Cage and Iron Fist 'locked' into Anti-Registration and Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Songbird in Pro-Registration: which affects the story's progression, characters they interact with, and the story's ending. Spider-Man and Wolverine are however playable on both sides.
In Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Iron Man and Captain America reference the event if they are pitted against each other. The player also receives an achievement titled "Whose Side are You On?" if Iron Man defeats Captain America or vice versa in an online match.
In Marvel: Contest of Champions, a special storyline featured elements of the Civil War, as the apparent death of the Collector causes Iron Man and Captain America to become divided over what action they should take with the Iso-Spheres that must be collected in the game. This storyline also introduces a special player in the form of the Civil Warrior, who is identified as a version of Steve Rogers who witnessed so much death in the final battle of the Civil War that he adopted some of Tony Stark's armor and dedicated himself to preventing such a catastrophe ever again.