Civil War Is The Second Best Marvel Story Of All Time?
By Nick Tylwalk
Comics fans, you’re going to have to help me out with this one, mostly because you helped vote for it.
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If you pick up the Marvel 75th Anniversary Magazine from your LCS (and you should, because it’s free, and there’s some good stuff in there), you’ll find that the first article reveals Marvel’s rundown of the top 75 stories from throughout its publishing history. Some are single issues, others are arcs, but all of them are pretty awesome tales.
“The Death of Gwen Stacy,” from Amazing Spider-Man #121-122, came in at number one (spoilers, I guess), and I’ve got no problem with that. But right behind it at number two is … Civil War?
Really folks, ahead of “Born Again,” “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and Fantastic Four #1? We really voted in an event with a cloned Thor and one of the most anticlimactic endings of all time over those classics?
Look, I’m not dissing Civil War on the whole. It was an interesting high concept and definitely got people talking. It had excellent art from a still-on-the-rise Steve McNiven and more than its fair share of drama. Civil War also had lasting repercussions without over-promising, which is rare for an event.
But I’m not seeing it as the second-greatest Marvel story of all time, or probably even in the top 10. I had no idea it was this popular, but at least now I get why the rumor that Captain America 3 will be subtitled Civil War has so much steam.
If you’re one of the people who feels it deserves its lofty position, please state your case in the comments or on our Facebook page. I’m willing to listen.