Civil War Journal – Week One
By Matt Conner
Civil War Journal is Bam Smack Pow’s weekly recap of all things Civil War II!
Welcome back to the Civil War Journal, our guide to helping you figure out how to stretch your comic dollar across dozens of tie-in books to the summer’s biggest event, Marvel’s Civil War II.
Last Time: In the Free Comic Book Day offering, Captain Marvel used a premonition from new Inhuman Ulysses to pull her friends from The Ultimates and A-Force into setting a trap for Thanos, but in the fight, the Mad Titan seriously wounded War Machine and She-Hulk.
Spoilers ahead!
Civil War II #0
This prelude issue takes place before the action-packed Free Comic Book Day story, setting up Captain Marvel and She-Hulk as philosophical opponents when it comes to predestination.
More from Comics
- X-Men: 6 reasons why Marvel’s mutants are the best superhero team
- Harley Quinn renewed for a fifth season on Max (and it’s well-deserved)
- Marvel Comics announces seven important X-Men comic books
- The X-Men were betrayed by Captain America in Uncanny Avengers
- Spider-Man: Miles and Peter team-up for their first ongoing series
She-Hulk opens the book with a brilliant Bendis monologue in the form of closing arguments as she defends The Jester, a small-time criminal caught up in entrapment. He hadn’t committed a crime this time, but because he was a repeat offender, the jury was sure he would have done something, so he’s convicted and then murdered behind bars.
Captain Marvel has a talk with super-shrink Doc Samson, revealing that the number of near-misses in her career have started to get to her, and if she could find a better way to protect the world from disaster, she may finally get to have some kind of life outside the superhero game.
War Machine has a meeting with the President where he’s praised for keeping peace in disputed Latverian territory, then offered a position as Secretary Of Defense with hopes to eventually become the first superhero to run for President. The current politicos are fairly sure Iron Man is going to buy up an election, and they want to help James Rhodes get there first.
In Ohio, college student Ulysses is working up the nerve to ask Michelle out on a date when the Terrigen Mist cloud knocks both of them into cocoons. She comes out as a feral monster; he comes out looking like himself but quickly falls into a vision of a city in ruins.
This prelude lacks the intensity of the Free Comic Book Day cliffhanger injuries, but it’s doing a good job establishing the arguments about destiny and applying them to real life. War Machine is pushed into something he has no interest in because everyone’s sure someone they don’t like will try to get there first. She-Hulk is discouraged by a justice system that metes out punishment based on the predictions of crime. And Captain Marvel really does have noble intentions in her search for a safety upgrade, even if that means her side is willing to act on an Inhuman who tells them what they want to hear. I’ve seen Minority Report a few times; I’m firmly with She-Hulk on this one. But this prelude issue offers a balanced look at both sides before it gets into your favorite good guys punching each other.
Keep up with the Civil War Journal by following this link!