Civil War Journal – Week Fifteen

Civil War II slows down output in the fourth month, taking a large part of three books and a cameo in a fourth.

Welcome back to Civil War Journal, Bam Smack Pow’s weekly recap column of all things Civil War II. Most of the tie-in books this time actually tie in to the main story. That’s a plus. We can help you sort out which are worth your time.

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• 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 used Ulysses and his premonitions to run a mission that defeated Thanos but cost War Machine his life. Heroes disagree on the ethics of using these visions, and they’re ready to fight.

Civil War II: Ulysses #5

What happened? Karnak keeps Ulysses locked in the tower to test whether his vision of a train crash will come true. Ulysses manages to break out, defeating some of the great new weird Inhumans. But Karnak is waiting at the door for him.

Was it good? It’s great. Karnak’s idea is chillingly sensible – the best way to test Ulysses’s visions is to do nothing and see if they happen. The tone is creepy and engaging, and the new character designs are winners.

Recommendation: Pick this up, and pick it up in digital form for the amazing animated panel flow. Ulysses shows more personality in here than in the rest of the summer event’s issues combined.

All-New All-Different Avengers #14

What happened? After the new Wasp and her stepmother (current Wasp Janet Van Dyne) fight bad guys, they see a news report about the Civil War. Nadia can’t handle it, screaming, “They’re super heroes… They have to do better!” So she tries to use her technological skill to build a solution. It explodes in her face, and Janet helps her understand that some things are just feelings problems. Heroes fight. It sucks, but it happens. Nadia understands but doesn’t approve.

Was it good? Yes, very much. The argument the Wasps have echoes most of my conversations with fellow Marvel fans this summer.

Recommendation: You don’t need this to validate your feelings about the crossover. But it sure does feel good.

Squadron Supreme #11

What happened? Warrior Woman wants to use Doom’s time machine to resurrect Namor and fulfill Ulysses’s premonition that she’ll conquer the world. The Squadron and Spider-Man have a violent rebuttal. The machine, whacked by Modred’s magic, pulls Hyperion and Doctor Spectrum in, but Warrior Woman can’t follow.

Was it good? There’s a lot of action, but the plot development from last issue gives way to fairly standard fight scenes.

Recommendation: I doubt they mention Ulysses more than once. This whole story could have used any other fortune-teller and gotten the same plot. This book has dropped the moral dilemma that fuels the best of the tie-in issues.

Invincible Iron Man #13

What happened? Tony Stark, too upset to attend War Machine’s funeral, muses about times Rhodey has saved him.

Was it good? It was a few great emotional pages in the middle of an issue about other things entirely. And those few pages have been done better in Captain America: Sam Wilson and Jeremy Whitley’s Civil War: Choosing Sides story.

Recommendation: Bendis has kept up his trend of writing tie-in stories to his own summer event that you absolutely do not need to read.

The crossover only has half the books last week did, but most of them were good. None of them did much to beef up the main event, but the reactions in Iron Man and Avengers validated readers’ feelings about it. I wish more weeks had this ratio of quality.

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

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