Civil War II #5 Review: No! Not The New Kid!

Civil War II crosses the midpoint with a satisfying battle royale and a creepy new premonition that puts Marvel’s fun new kid in the collective crosshairs.

Civil War II #4 (of 8)
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by David Marquez
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Published by Marvel Comics

For a series that keeps hitting publishing delays, Civil War II is actually elegant in its internal pacing. The first issue established new clairvoyant Inhuman Ulysses with a major win against certain Apocalypse. The next issue focused on Iron Man’s actions against the Inhumans. The third issue killed the Hulk, and the next slid Captain Marvel down the slippery slope to arresting a woman who hadn’t committed a crime yet. This issue finally matches hero against hero to punch their way to ideological victory.

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Bendis navigates the battle royale with skill, giving a few panels each to anticipated fights like Star-Lord versus Steve Rogers, Iron Man versus Captain Marvel, and Miles Morales versus Venom. Critics often accuse Bendis of lacking variety in his characters’ dialogue, but this fight showcased a breadth of wordplay. And the tipping point of the battle changes the status quo for the Guardians Of The Galaxy in a way that December’s solicitations prove will reverberate across all of their solo titles.

What? No! Not him!

The most meaningful piece of the book, however, comes after the pugilism stops. Ulysses uses his powers in a strange new way to show the heroes a new premonition, this one accusing one of their own of murder. And Captain Marvel has to choose whether to follow that slippery slope to arrest a beloved teen hero for a crime he has yet to commit. This is the game-changer; this is the uncrossable line.

As I’ve said before, the miniseries has been entertaining, even if the tie-ins have been repetitive and skippable. The plot is unavoidably Minority Report, but Bendis is doing well with it, and his use of this issue’s scapegoat to push Carol Danvers across the line makes sense within the story and as a statement on the popularity of this character.

This should have been a story arc of the Avengers, with maybe tie-ins from Guardians Of The Galaxy and Avengers books. It doesn’t have enough to the argument to justify spilling throughout the entire publishing line. But Bendis hasn’t made a major misstep in the main book yet, and I’m enjoying it, even if the bloated sprawl gets to me.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re reading the tie-in issues or not (and I generally recommend not), Civil War II has been a good read, and this is the best issue so far.