Civil War Journal – Week Ten

Civil War II ties in to five books this week, spotlighting the war between the Inhumans and Iron Man.

Welcome back to Civil War Journal, Bam Smack Pow’s weekly recap column of all things Civil War II. This week, we thrill to the war between the Inhumans and Iron Man, enjoy Blue Marvel’s preemptive takeout of the Squadron Supreme, tolerate the Kingpin’s plotting, and scratch our heads about what Deadpool has to do with any of this.

Previously: Iron Man kidnapped Ulysses out of the Inhuman fortress-city of New Attilan, so the Inhumans destroyed his life – bank accounts, reputation, the lot. But Queen Medusa draws the line at blowing up Stark Tower for risk of casualty. Unfortunately, Maximus and Triton go around her and demolish the tower.

What happened? Medusa is shocked that someone else blew up Iron Man’s building and prepares for retaliation. Her advisors encourage her to look for traitors, and she interrogates her son for it, but Lash and some of his Inhumans lead a terrorist attack in her name in Switzerland, and the Ultimates show up on Medusa’s doorstep looking for answers.

Was it good? Yes, the intrigue that made this book work so well during Secret Wars is on full display here. Medusa is seen as a good leader who’s being targeted, not some incompetent, and the political stories are what set the Inhumans apart from the X-Men.

Recommendation: Pick it up. Tony’s downfall has been referenced in the main Civil War II series and comes from a major plot point in the second issue, but this Inhuman takedown hasn’t been shown anywhere but here (and the next book on our list).

What happened? Tony Stark has come to accept that the Inhumans are at war with him, and that he’s losing, but he also knows that it’s not going to bring his best friend back to life, so he’s willing to act a little less impulsively. He’s met Riri Williams, the woman who will be taking over this book after Civil War II, and he’s also taking advice from Doctor Doom, who will take over the other Iron Man book.

Was it good? Yes. Fitting Brian Michael Bendis’s reputation, this issue is big on dialogue and small on action, but I like Tony’s cockiness even in the face of destitution.

Recommendation: I like this side of the war that we’ve been following in Uncanny Inhumans, but most of the issue was tying up loose ends from Bendis’s previous arc, and the Inhuman side is thus far the more interesting one. Keep this book in mind, but if you’re getting Uncanny Inhumans, I think you’re good.

What happened? The Squadron tries to take out a dangerous think tank, but the Blue Marvel uses Ulysses’s vision to set a trap and take out the whole team by himself. Licking their wounds in their undersea base, they welcome the original Power Princess, who tells them about the predictive Inhuman. Thundra points out that she’s one of three people she can think of from “the future,” and none of them are the same future, so prediction is pretty dumb, but Hyperion thinks any advantage is a good one if it means not losing to guys like Blue Marvel. Then they all head out to keep Warrior Woman from resurrecting Namor.

Was it good? This book has surprised me, telling great stories with characters who are so different from my beloved Mark Greenwald Squadron Supreme, and this issue might be the best so far. The ties to Civil War II were pretty weak last time, but this entire issue relates to the theme.

Recommendation: The connection is still pretty slight, and the exploration of theme is efficient but minimal. I’d let this one pass if you only want to understand what’s happening in the main book.

What happened? Stuck in a bank vault, Solo explains to Deadpool and his fellow Mercs For Money that he recently pulled  high-profile hero job while he was wearing a Deadpool costume, which is why people like Deadpool now.

Was it good? Umm, not really. The last couple issues were fun, but this one had nothing to do with Civil War II and didn’t engage me as a reader who doesn’t normally follow this book.

Recommendation: This might be a good time to step off Deadpool tie-ins. I’ll let you know if next issue gets us back on track.

What happened? Kingpin builds up a criminal empire through a series of murders and other crimes, and super heroes can’t stop him because his Inhuman, Janus, makes him invisible to Ulysses. I think that’s what happened – I’m extrapolating from last issue, and it’s not made clear at all in this one.

Was it good? It was slightly better than last issue, but last issue was bad. This one is full of stiff visual compositions, a tough match for a necessarily monologue-heavy plot. I don’t think the Kingpin has always been a man who loves New York so much he’s willing to do crimes to protect it, and I’m not buying this motivation from him now. The rampant profiling Kingpin’s peers are experiencing isn’t what’s happening in the main series, where they did it once, guessed wrong, and had a brawl about it.

Recommendation: Please don’t. Marvel has already announced that they’re doing an ongoing Kingpin series with this creative team, and it might play better without the Civil War II connection, but it’s just not working here.

This week’s showcase of the Inhuman-Iron Man war is a surprisingly interesting development spinning out of Civil War II, and I hope to see more of it. Squadron Supreme yet again shows that the “Should we act on Ulysses’s visions?” argument in the main series gets taken out in a couple of panels in most of the tie-in books that give the matter any thought. Deadpool is already tired of tying in to the main book, and Kingpin is making this up as it goes along.

Tie-In Round-Up:

Recommended: The main series, of course, with preludes from the zero issue and the Free Comic Book Day pages. Also All-New Wolverine, Captain America: Sam Wilson, Captain Marvel, Civil War II: Ulysses, Ms. Marvel, and Uncanny Inhumans.

Good but not top tier: Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man, Civil War II: Choosing Sides (but only the Damage Control story and the Whitley/Sauvage eulogy for War Machine), Civil War II: Gods Of War, Civil War II: X-Men, Deadpool, International Iron Man, Invincible Iron Man, Nova, New Avengers, Patsy Walker AKA: Hellcat, Power Man And Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Squadron Supreme, Totally Awesome Hulk, The Ultimates

Not good: Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., the bulk of Civil War II: Choosing Sides, Civil War II: Kingpin

Keep up with the Civil War Journal by following this link!