Civil War Journal – Week Fourteen

Civil War II hits seven more titles this week, breaking Ms. Marvel’s heart and pulling more of our Guardians back in from the Galaxy.

Welcome back to Civil War Journal, Bam Smack Pow’s weekly recap column of all things Civil War II. This week has a couple of close tie-ins to the main story and a couple books that really don’t count. We can help you sort this all out.

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

Previously: Captain Marvel’s use of Inhuman Ulysses’s visions to map out strategy has the Marvel Universe questioning her ethics. When Iron Man leads a group of heroes to protest her arrest of a probably-innocent woman, Danvers summons Alpha Flight and the Guardians Of The Galaxy to back her up.

Ms. Marvel #10

What happened? Ms. Marvel is crushed that her best friend, Bruno, is gravely injured because of his reaction to her task force’s predictive incarceration. When she fights her team to shut the operation down, Captain Marvel makes her keep going. So she starts a plan to stage a crime and prove Carol Danvers wrong.

Was it good? Very much. The hospitals scenes will shake you up, and Kamala’s arguments against Carol are well-reasoned and completely earned.

Recommendation: Yes, this makes the short list of books that improve the read of the main summer crossover.

Spider-Man #7

What happened? Miles has a nightmare about that vision he shared with Ulysses about the Hulk killing everyone. Bombshell advises him to stay out of the whole Civil War, but he decides to join Team Iron Man. Before he can answer the call, though, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones confront him about his secret identity.

Was it good? It was fine. Bendis has a great handle on the Miles Morales character, but the book took 22 pages for an extended flashback to a vision we’ve all seen, some patrol action with Bombshell, and a lot of conversation.

Recommendation: Bendis should be making his tie-in books essential, but this one is completely unrequired.

Uncanny Avengers #13

What happened? Deadpool tries to break Hawkeye out of jail before his trial, but Barton refuses to go. Ulysses tells Captain America that Cable is going to lead a mutant war. He confronts Cable, but the big guy blows him off, and Rogers accepts that. But Ulysses was right – Cable, Rogue, Sebastian Shaw, and Toad are hunting down a cure to M-Pox!

Was it good? Uncanny Avengers hasn’t been great, and “the team is fighting amongst itself” has been every story of every arc. And it is frustrating that Captain America leads a team of SHIELD agents to hunt Logan in All-New Wolverine but gives the heavily-armed telepathic cyborg a pass. But Deadpool’s mission to save Hawkeye is surprisingly sweet.

Recommendation: I wouldn’t bother.

Guardians Of The Galaxy #11

What happened? The team returns from space to help former member, Captain Marvel. Star-Lord learns that Thanos is still on Earth after killing War Machine, and he and Kitty Pryde have to figure out whether to tell Gamora her evil adopted father could come back into her crosshairs.

Was it good? It was fine, though I prefer the Thanos story in The Ultimates and hope this one won’t contradict it.

Recommendation: Again, Bendis has the chance to use his own tie-in book to flesh out the complexity of his main story. He could at least add some emotional weight to a team preparing to fight their friends. But that’s lost in favor of a few plot points that only advance the story in Guardians Of The Galaxy. You can skip this one.

Rocket Raccoon And Groot #8

What happened? Rocket and Groot aren’t really paying attention to Captain Marvel’s briefing until she mentions a predicted heist that could help Rocket track down an outstanding bounty. So the scamps volunteer to take this on and run afoul of Gwenpool.

Was it good? Yes! This has so much clever humor, both from writer Nick Kocher and artist Michael Walsh. It adds nothing to the Civil War II experience, but it’s one of the best things I read this week.

Recommendation: It is with a sad heart that I suggest you let this one pass.

Spider-Man 2099 #14

What happened? Spider-Man 2099 looks for his friend in the future and teams up with beloved characters like Ghost Rider 2099, Strange 2099, and Cerebra. He tells Strange that he is working a tip from Ulysses, and she warns him that the predictions led to a lot of divisive trouble.

Was it good? It hit the right nostalgic spots for this 2099 fan, but Strange’s ominous foretelling just proved she can read solicitation copy for the crossover.

Recommendation: This has no business pretending to be a Civil War II crossover. It’s a good read, but the banner is a lie.

Civil War II: Choosing Sides #5

What happened? In the first story, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tells Alpha Flight that he doesn’t like them trampling civil liberties with Captain Marvel. Then he and Iron Man box and hug each other. In the second story, Misty Knight lets Colleen Wing run off with a guy she’d arrested on Captain Marvel’s orders. In the Nick Fury story, he finally finds the enemy leader – a Nick Fury, Sr. Life-Model Decoy. The robot says Ulysses predicted that “for SHIELD to live, Fury must die!”

Was it good? Nope. The Fury story continues to frustrate with its poor pacing and silly, pulpy predictions. The Daughters Of The Dragon story didn’t really tie in to the main event at all – I didn’t catch the Captain Marvel reference until the second read-through, so I couldn’t even tell whose side anyone was on. And the Alpha Flight story was cute enough (they fought outside a movie theater playing Minority Report) but covered no new ground.

Recommendation: Nope. Maybe read a friend’s copy for the Justin Trudeau story, but maybe learn to live with the curiosity and let this year’s anthology miniseries sink quietly beneath the waves.

So this week, Bendis had the chance to improve his story with two of his own tie-ins and instead just moved their own plots forward. Ms. Marvel was an emotional tour-de-force as usual, but the Guardians books could barely remember what event they were joining. The quality on Marvel’s books is still generally high, certainly more consistent than last year, but this event is flat.

Tie-In Round-Up:

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

Good but not top tier: A-Force, All-New All-Different Avengers, Captain America: Steve Rogers, 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 until issue 15, The Fallen, International Iron Man, Invincible Iron Man, Mockingbird, Nova, New Avengers, Patsy Walker AKA: Hellcat, Power Man And Iron Fist, Rocket Raccoon And Groot, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Woman, Squadron Supreme, Totally Awesome Hulk, The Ultimates, Uncanny Avengers, Venom

Not good: Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., the bulk of Civil War II: Choosing Sides, Civil War II: Kingpin, Deadpool after issue 15

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