Civil War II
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| Civil War II | |
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Cover of Civil War II #1 (June 2016). Art by Marko Djurdjevic.
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/> |
| Publication date | June 2016 |
| Main character(s) | Captain Marvel Iron Man |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Artist(s) | David Marquez |
| Colorist(s) | Justin Ponsor |
| Editor(s) | Tom Brevoort |
"Civil War II" is a comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics that debuted in June 2016. It is the sequel to 2006's "Civil War" and consists of an eight issue eponymous core limited series, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artists David Marquez and Justin Ponsor, and a number of tie-in books. Functioning as an allegory about the nature of determinism versus free will,[1][2] the story sees opposing factions of superheroes led by Captain Marvel and Iron Man come into conflict when a new super powered person emerges with the ability to predict the future.
The storyline was preluded by a series of comic books collectively titled "The Road to Civil War II". Civil War II also ties into several new limited series including: Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man, Civil War II: Choosing Sides, Civil War II: Gods of War, Civil War II: Kingpin, Civil War II: Ulysses, and Civil War II: X-Men, the one-shots: Civil War II: The Accused and Civil War II: The Fallen, and numerous ongoing series. The release of the series was scheduled to capitalize on the release of the Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War.
Contents
Publication history
In December 2015, Marvel Comics announced the details of "Civil War II", whose core miniseries would be produced by writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist David Marquez, colorist Justin Ponsor, and editor Tom Brevoort.[3] The series, set to debut in June 2016,[4] is a sequel to the 2006 "Civil War" storyline which pitted Iron Man against Captain America in a conflict about national security versus civil liberties.[5] Brevoort, who also edited the first series, stated, "The attempt was to craft the conflict so that each side held a valid and defensible position, so that a reader could fundamentally agree with either one side or the other, with neither being painted as absolutely right or absolutely wrong. While the issues involved are different, we'll be taking the same approach to Civil War II."[3] Bendis, who wrote The New Avengers tie-in issues for the original "Civil War" storyline, stated that he only agreed to write the sequel after Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, the creators of the 2006 miniseries, turned it down.[6]
The idea of the sequel was conceived at one of Marvel's semi-annual editorial retreats. Bendis revealed, "People's personal accountability is the theme of this one...from the way cops are acting on camera, to the way people talk to each other online." According to the official synopsis, a strange new character with the power to accurately predict the outcome of future events comes to the attention of the world. This power divides the heroes on how best to utilize the information, with Captain Marvel wanting to profile future crimes before they occur, and Iron Man believing that "the punishment cannot come before the crime." The situation reaches a turning point when it is predicted that one of the heroes will be the cause of major destruction, forcing the others to make a difficult decision.[5]
The seeds for "Civil War II" were planted in the second volume of The Invincible Iron Man, which is also written and drawn by Bendis and Marquez,[7] and a prelude story by Bendis and artist Jim Cheung was released on Free Comic Book Day in May 2016.[8] Axel Alonso, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, stated that unlike other major comic book storylines which take years of planning, he only had three to four months to plan "Civil War II". This abbreviated timetable was necessary in order to capitalize on the release of the feature film Captain America: Civil War, which was released in May 2016.[9]
In March 2016, Marvel revealed which characters will appear on the opposing factions. Iron Man's team includes Captain America (Sam Wilson), Thor (Jane Foster), Black Panther, Star-Lord, Luke Cage, Hercules, Miss America, Daredevil, Black Widow, Hulk (Amadeus Cho), and Deadpool. Captain Marvel's team includes Captain America (Steve Rogers), War Machine, Spider-Man, Vision, Medusa, Blue Marvel, Winter Soldier, Spectrum, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, and Ant-Man (Scott Lang). Marvel also revealed two spin-off series: Civil War II: Spider-Man from writer Christos Gage and artist Travel Foreman, and Civil War II: X-Men from writer Cullen Bunn and artist Andrea Broccardo.[10] Bunn explained, "This tale is set into motion by the same catalyst that sets 'Civil War II' into motion. A new power emerges among the Inhumans. This power, in Magneto's eyes, could be very dangerous to the mutant population, so—in typical Master of Magnetism fashion—he decides to take it for himself. As you can imagine, something like that could very easily start a war between the Inhumans and the mutants. Storm sees this and decides to stand in Magneto's way."[11] In Civil War II: Spider-Man, Spider-Man helps a precognitive Inhuman use his powers responsibly. "Over the course of the miniseries, the Inhuman will make a prediction that, while not of the world-or universe-ending variety, could well mean the end of one character's world. It's really dealing with classic Spider-Man themes: power and responsibility; facing a situation where even if you win, you can also lose -- or you can just lose," Gage elborated.[12]
At the 2016 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Marvel announced two additional spin-off series: Civil War II: Choosing Sides, an anthology series by Declan Shalvey which will feature a different character in each issue and have an overarching story involving Nick Fury; and Civil War II: Gods of War by writer Dan Abnett and artist Luke Ross, which stars Hercules.[13] Abnett said, "Hercules is going to get involved more on a personal level in terms of his individual friendships with people rather than specifically taking a side because he objects to the whole thing anyway. He doesn't want to be taking a side."[14] Marvel also announced several additional tie-in series, including All-New Wolverine, Captain America: Sam Wilson, Deadpool, Invincible Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, The New Avengers, Nova, The Totally Awesome Hulk, Ultimates, and Uncanny Inhumans.[13]
The following month, Marvel announced Civil War II: Kingpin by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Ricardo Lopez Ortiz. Rosenberg said, "Wilson Fisk is an opportunist, first and foremost. Under his selfish motives, his brutal exterior, or even the facade he puts up as a pillar of his community, he is a man who sees ways to benefit himself and he takes them... He wants to get whatever he can, however he can, and see how far he can push things. He is in the business of furthering Wilson Fisk, and the new Civil War will provide him a unique opportunity. He is a Civil War profiteer."[15]
In May 2016, Marvel announced a three issue tie-in series titled Civil War II: Ulysses from writer Al Ewing and artist Jefte Palo. The series focuses on Ulysses, the new Inhuman with the power to predict the future at the center of "Civil War II". Ewing described the series as "a prequel of sorts", explaining, "we're following Ulysses as he's taken to the Tower of Wisdom -- a sort of Inhuman temple of learning, for want of a better term -- to be trained by Karnak, whose Inhuman ability is to see the flaw in all things. Karnak's training methods might be more than Ulysses can handle, though."[16]
Plot
In New York City, defense attorney She-Hulk loses an entrapment case against Jonathan Powers. Elsewhere, War Machine is offered the position of Secretary of Defense by the President of the United States, and Captain Marvel, struggling with the pressures of her duties, is analyzed by Doc Samson. Meanwhile, Ulysses and Michelle, students at Ohio State University, are exposed to the Terrigen Mist. When Ulysses emerges he has a vision of a dystopian future.[17]
The Inhuman royal family arrives in Colombus and greets Ulysses. Weeks later, The Avengers and Inhumans defeat an invading Celestial in Manhattan. Afterwards, Captain Marvel questions how the Inhumans knew the Celestial was coming, and Ulysses reveals that he was able to predict it. Iron Man protests the logic of using precognitive powers to stop future crimes, and leaves in frustration. Three weeks later, Iron Man is summoned to the Triskelion after War Machine has been killed in battle against Thanos. When Iron Man learns that War Machine and The Ultimates used Ulysses' power to ambush Thanos, he goes to confront Ulysses.[18]
Titles involved
| Title | Issue(s) | Creative Team | Citation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road to Civil War II | |||
| All-New Wolverine | #8-9 | Tom Taylor (W), Marcio Takara (A) | [19] |
| Invincible Iron Man | #6-11 | Brian Michael Bendis (W), Mike Deodato Jr. (A) | |
| Ms. Marvel | #7 | G. Willow Wilson (W), Takeshi Miyazawa (A) | |
| Ultimates | #7 | Al Ewing (W), Kenneth Rocafort (A) | |
| Main Series | |||
| Civil War II | Free Comic Book Day | Brian Michael Bendis (W), Jim Cheung (A) | [8] |
| Civil War II | #0–7 | Brian Michael Bendis (W), David Marquez (A) | [19] |
| Tie-ins | |||
| Civil War II: The Accused | #1 | [19] | |
| Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man | #1–4 | Christos N. Gage (W), Travel Foreman (A) | |
| Civil War II: Choosing Sides | #1–6 | Various (W), Declan Shalvey & Various (A) | |
| Civil War II: The Fallen | #1 | ||
| Civil War II: Gods of War | #1–4 | Dan Abnett (W), Emilio Laiso (A) | |
| Civil War II: Kingpin | #1–4 | Matthew Rosenberg (W), Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (A) | [15] |
| Civil War II: Ulysses | #1-3 | Al Ewing (W), Jefte Palo (A) | [19] |
| Civil War II: X-Men | #1–4 | Cullen Bunn (W), Andrea Broccardo (A) | |
| A-Force | #8 | Kelly Thompson (W), Paulo Siqueira (A) | |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | #7-8 | Marc Guggenheim (W), German Peralta (A) | |
| All-New All Different Avengers | #13 | ||
| All-New Wolverine | #10-11 | Tom Taylor (W), Marcio Takara (A) | |
| Astonishing Ant-Man | #11 | ||
| Captain America: Sam Wilson | #10–12 | Nick Spencer (W), Angel Unzueta (A) | |
| Captain America: Steve Rogers | #4-5 | Nick Spencer (W), Jesus Saiz (A) | |
| Captain Marvel | #6–8 | Tara Butters (W), Michele Fazekas (A) | |
| Deadpool | #14-17 | Gerry Duggan (W), Mike Hawthorne (A) | |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | #11 | ||
| Invincible Iron Man | #12 | ||
| Mockingbird | #6 | ||
| Ms. Marvel | #8–10 | G. Willow Wilson (W), Takeshi Miyagawa (A) | |
| New Avengers | #12–15 | Al Ewing (W), Gerardo Sandoval (A) | |
| Nova | #8–9 | Sean Ryan (W), R. B. Silva (A) | |
| Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat! | #8 | Kate Leth (W), Brittney Williams (A) | |
| Power Man and Iron Fist | #6-7 | David Walker (W), Flaviano Armentaro (A) | |
| Rocket Raccoon & Groot | #8 | ||
| Scarlet Witch | #9 | ||
| Spider-Man | #6-7 | Brian Michael Bendis (W), Sara Pichelli (A) | |
| Spider-Man: 2099 | #13-14 | ||
| Spider-Woman | #9-10 | Dennis Hopeless (W), Javier Rodriguez (A) | |
| Squadron Supreme | #9-10 | James Robinson (W), Leonard Kirk (A) | |
| Totally Awesome Hulk | #7–10 | Greg Pak (W), Alan Davis (A) | |
| Ultimates | #8–10 | Al Ewing (W), Kenneth Rocafort (A) | |
| Uncanny Avengers | #13 | ||
| Uncanny Inhumans | #11–13 | Charles Soule (W), Carlos Pacheco (A) | |
| Venom: Space Knight | #11 | ||
Reception
| Professional reviews | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CBR | IGN | Newsarama | |
| Issue | Rating | ||
| 0 |   |
8.3/10 | 8/10 |
| 1 | |
7/10 | |
According to the review aggregator website Comic Book Round Up, issue #0 received an average score of 7.3/10 based on 23 reviews from critics.[20] Leia Calderon of Comic Book Resources (CBR) gave it four-out-of-five stars writing, "Overall, Bendis and Coipel's Civil War II #0 serves the sole purpose of laying out the foundation for the series. Despite being driven almost entirely by dialogue, it's never once boring, and the only real issue is the question on everyone's minds: Where is Iron Man?"[21] Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave it an 8.3 out of 10 saying, "Between the lackluster FCBD Special and Marvel's general track record with major crossovers, there's plenty of reason to worry about Civil War II. But the good news is that this prologue issue makes a strong case for the upcoming event. It clearly lays out the brewing conflict and makes a strong case for both viewpoints." [22] David Pepose of Newsarama gave it an 8 out of 10 and said, "Minor flaws in the premise aside, Bendis and Coipel deliver some surprisingly charming work with Civil War II #0, which — at least thus far — doesn’t feel like the shameless cash-in that you might expect from this summer event sequel."[23]
Issue #1 received an average score of 6.9/10 based on 7 reviews from critics on Comic Book Round Up.[24] Greg McElhatton of CBR gave it four stars writing, "Overall, Civil War II #1 is a good launching point for this miniseries, even as it integrates the information from Civil War II #0 and the Free Comic Book Day special. I'm curious to see if Bendis and Marquez can maintain this level of tension and what they'll add into the mix to keep the conflict burning strong. For now, though, it's more than enough to get readers coming back for more."[25] Richard Gray of Newsarama gave it a 7 and said, "At this early stage, Civil War II suffers some of the problems that have beleaguered similar narratives in recent years, principally in seeing heroes all too quick to take sides against comrades on a possible future. Yet this is also just the beginning of something much larger, and while it may seem attimes like this is an extended version of the 'zero' issue that preceded it, all the pieces are now in place for the 'war' proper to commence."[26]
In other media
The storyline was the inspiration for an add-on mission in the video game, Marvel: Avengers Alliance.[27]
References
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- ↑ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Coipel, Olivier (a), Ponsor, Justin (col), Cowles, Clayton (let), Brevoort, Tom; Moss, Wil (ed). Civil War II 0 (May 2016), Marvel Comics
- ↑ Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Marquez, David (a), Ponsor, Justin (col), Cowles, Clayton (let), Brevoort, Tom; Moss, Wil (ed). Civil War II 1 (June 2016), Marvel Comics
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External links
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