Is anyone else reading Marvel’s Civil War event who would like to speculate on some of the possible outcomes of the story? I don’t rummage around the web for comics info or discussion, nor do any of my friends read comics, so it’d be nice to chat about what I’m reading with anyone else here who may be reading the same thing.
As for the ultimate big consequence of Civil War, I’m leaning towards Spider-Man being the most impacted in the end. I look for either Mary Jane or Aunt May to be killed/seriously hurt/whatever by one of his enemies. Spidey will then snap, go a little crazy, blame the bad guy and the government/Iron Man, join Captain America’s rebellion, do some serious damage to the other side, and end out the event putting the pieces back together.
That may be completely unplausible, though. I’ve just very recently started reading comics again, so I’m still a little out of touch with the Marvel universe and what’s been going on in it for the past decade.
I’m in the camp of “Will be revealed to be big supervillain plot to turn world against heroes/mind control” and will end in a big fight against Thanos. Or maybe Fin Fang Foom.
I’m thinking the Hulk is going to return at some key juncture looking for revenge on the Illuminati who betrayed him and sent him through that wormhole. I’m also thinking that Namor, who damn near killed Tony Stark upon hearing his arrogant and cold-blooded plans, may be backing the Hulk up. And I’m hoping that Dr. Strange will also throw in with them, making it a Defenders reunion and a truly decisive shift of power, but that’s just my love for the Defenders talking.
But I don’t see what could ever reconcile Cap and Iron Man, or heal the rift developing within the FF, short of some cosmic-level turn-back-time thing. Also, I hate Stark and pretty much everyone who’s unambiguously on his side, and I don’t see how they’re going to be rehabbed as heroes in readers’ hearts. (Or maybe many readers are on their side; I dunno.)
Maybe Zemo will turn the Thunderbolts’ role in rounding up supervillains into a plot for world domination, and the two groups of heroes have to combine to save everything?
For once in a long time, I have no idea where this is going to go.
Comics, in general, return to status quo (or something very close to it) after big events. I am failing to see how the quo can be returned.
Marvel isn’t into the whole “reboot” thing like their distinguished competition, and they just did one, and so I doubt a reboot will happen. Joe Q has said several times that these changes are permanent for the foreseeable future.
If it’s some mind control business, there are physical records of everyone who reigstered sitting in Shield file cabinets and computers. These (and all of their backups) would have to be destroyed, along with the memories of everyone involved. Not likely to happen because this macguffin was used in Iron Man already.
Sue and Reed will have their first real fight over this, and if Sue is the “traitor” as thing have been hinted towards, it will be a long time before that would is healed. Betrayal is the hardest sin to forgive. It cannot be cleared up quickly, and if it is, it’s poor writing.
Even if all of the heroes have to band together to stop the Annilihation wave from consuming earth or some such wacky hijinks and registration is repealed, the end result will still remain that there are those who chose to hunt down the heroes who didn’t sign up, and those who were hunted, and there will be bad blood between them.
The only thing I see coming is the creation of a new status quo, one radically different that the existing one. Will it return to the old one over time? More than likely, but in the interim I hope that we get some good stuff out of it.
Zemo’s plan has something to do with the grandmaster, and building a team powerful enough to confront him. The Oct solicits have the book out of Civil War crossover land and into this storyline. I don’t follow the book tightly enough to know all of the details.
These are all interesting theories, and I’m getting some indication of the “recent” (relatively speaking, in terms of when I left comics and now that I’ve come back around) history concerning the Marvel universe.
I really hope they don’t stoop to any reboot tactics or some cheap explanation and resolution. Taking just the Civil War event on its own and my limited recent experience with Marvel, I’m not inclined to believe that would be the route they are planning. I think they’re looking to make a statement, both political and sociological, with Civil War. They’re wanting to divide the fans as much as divide the heroes, I think, while keeping indications of their creators’ own beliefs to a minimum.
For the event to have any sort of social impact at all, it has to be permanent and important. I wish they’d spend a bit more time showing just how much the supporters of the registration act believe in it as the right thing to do so that when we reach the turning point, as we inevitably will, we’ll have a nice landscape of grey on which to fight it out.
Personally, I want to see both ideologies depicted earnestly and with passion by those who support either one in the books with any shifts (like Spider-Man turning and siding with the rebels, or a rebel doing the same thing in reverse) coming from a personal crises of some sort that causes the two ideologies to clash in an individual first before events begin to play out on the whole. For example, I want to see someone who truly believes in the registration act have something happen to him or her personally that is so devestating it forces them to change sides while the conflict remains within them. You know, a sort of “I know this is right in the big picture sense, but the effect on me is too much to bear.” Then I’d like to see the same thing in reverse for the other side (I used supporter-to-rebel above, but rebel-to-supporter would be equally effective). I’d like to see the hero who says “I know the price is high for me, but I see now that the big picture is more important and I need to step up to that.”
They can get both of these from Spider-Man pretty easily, since he already did the latter (with a dose of loyalty and I-owe-Tony thrown in) with him already. That’s why I’m leaning towards something throwing him to the other side on a personal level, and the only thing I can think that would do that with sufficient impact and resonance (not to mention book sales!) would be the death of either Mary Jane or Aunt May. Personally, I’d rather see MJ go than Aunt May, but that’s just me.
When this is all over, could someone kindly provide a TPB list of all relevant storyline materials? I chased the Infinite Crisis comics, but I’ll be damned if I’m doing it again for Civil War, even if the premise is more interesting.
I’m just happy to see Tony Stark finally written at a level that makes sense. He not only beat the crap out of Captain America, he knocked a tooth out in the process. I don’t know how they’re going to turn him back into the second-rate “smart guy” he’s been for the past X years. In fact, I hope they don’t, otherwise I’ll have to go back to rooting for Ultimate Stark.
The Extremis storyline (beautifully done, btw) was the best thing I’ve ever seen come out of Iron Man. Though I have to admit I haven’t followed it closely.
The crossovers haven’t done much so far, in my opinion. Amazing Spider-Man is the only one that really advances the story (not counting Civil War and Frontline).
FF also has, but not so much yet. I suspect next issue will push that book into the forefront of things as well.
That’s why I’m leaning towards something throwing him to the other side on a personal level, and the only thing I can think that would do that with sufficient impact and resonance (not to mention book sales!) would be the death of either Mary Jane or Aunt May. Personally, I’d rather see MJ go than Aunt May, but that’s just me.
Joe Q, as much as he is against the Spider-Man marriage, has also said that he is loath to kill MJ because it “ages” Spider-Man even more. And he doesn’t want him to get any older.
Not to discourage the debate thus far, but if you want a community devoted to this sort of thing almost professionally, Zcult has been my go-to resource. They have an excellent comic community, probably best taken in small doses, and numerous additional bonuses like useful torrents in this field. Ahem.
I’m not sure I’m brave enough to jump into that fray just yet, but I’ll certainly go lurk there and see what they’re talking about, so thanks for the link. I’ve found that comics folks can be a little…passionate about their hobby, and I’m just warming up to you guys. I’m not sure I could withstand the inevitable assault I’d receive if I tried to jump into a certified fanboy mosh pit.
Internet folk are scary. I only lurk there because it’s not like a career for me. But the torrents alone are worth the entry (free), as they allow you to be exposed to random recommendations a lot more than you’d think would be useful.
I’ve just finished last week’s and this week’s batch of Civil War books (the ones I buy, anyway) and they’re really starting to tighten things up and get the event really going.
If Spidey’s not going to lose MJ, I’m certain that something big and bad is going to happen to him. There’s just too much of an air of importance hanging over him and his book to ignore. I’m sure that the whole The Other event, especially with one of its consequences being Spidey’s alliegence to Tony Stark and especially especially the new costume Tony gave him, were pieces being put into place specifically for Civil War.
They said from the beginning that the new costume was temporary, and with a couple of revelations in this month’s Spidey Civil War tie-in, it’s obvious that he’ll ditch the suit and change sides in the conflict. I suspect his turn will be THE turning point for the whole Civil War arc in general, so it’s going to have to be something very impactful.
Anyone have any guesses or insights into what that might be, or if you think I’m completely wrong in my own guessing?
Short of killing MJ and Aunt May, which I don’t think they will do. I suppose that the pro-regs people might cause some accidental damage and kill off more people, or a particular hero. Since Parker is set up to be the conscience of the entire dilemma, this might make him reconsider his position.
Then again, they might as well kill off MJ or Aunt May, i don’t really know.
What I find odd though, is how everyone willingly resorts to violence at the drop of a hat. It’s strange that Stark isn’t even willing to give anyone here a chance. When the clock strikes 12, everyone who isn’t registered, is hunted down. No apologies, no talks, nothing. It’s very Nazi like and something I thought beyond Stark, or at least, his allies like Richards.
It’s great to get the story moving, but it seems the one single story element that bugs me in its implausibility.
It’s really bugging me that the registration act is so much more reasonable than it’s been made out to be. As I understand it, the deal is that if you’ve got powers and want to fight crime, whether with a secret identity or not (though especially with), you have to register and work for SHIELD. That sounds like a completely reasonable anti-vigilante stance, with plenty of room to paint both sides sympathetically. I have yet to see sympathetic characterization of anyone pro-registration yet though. I can’t believe they’ve made things so one-sided. The setup was stupid, and the execution has been stupid so far. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it’s still interesting, and I’m hooked despite my misgivings.
You guys have covered most of my other thoughts. I don’t know how Iron Man could realistically reconcile with just about anyone after all of this, even if he comes to his senses later. I certainly couldn’t imagine him as part of the Avengers.
Between the new arrivals on the scene in the most recent Civil War and today’s Wolverine, it looks like things are about to escalate in the confrontations, so that should be interesting.
Also, what’s up with Daredevil? Do we know who he is yet? If you guys have heard rumors from the web or if it’s been spoiled in some upcoming solicitation, I don’t want to know, but if it’s been revealed in some book I’m not reading, I’d like an update on who’s running around in the costume at this point.
Just following up with my impressions; the crossovers I’m reading are Wolverine, New Avengers, and X-Men.
Wolverine is actually a lot of fun, and doesn’t feel at all like they had to screw up his solo title to make it fit with Civil War continuity*. It’s every bit Wolverine, and it makes complete sense with Civil War at the same time. Not essential reading yet for the main plot, but we do have some new characters showing up on the scene this issue. I’m not sure how much effect they’ll have on the main story.
New Avengers is neat on a gimmickly level, different hero and art team each week. It’s just going through each Avenger’s take on Civil War, which provides a little more insight each week, but brings nothing really new to the table. Interesting if you’re reading NA, completely unessential (so far) if you just want the main Civil War stuff.
X-Men I don’t have a clue on yet. Just read the one issue, and I haven’t been following the X-Men in a while (outside of Astonishing, which barely feels like continuity at this point). I just thought “Hey, Bishop was cool, maybe I’ll read this!”
From what I hear, the Spidey and Front Line titles are the ones you’ll want to follow if you want the best handle on what’s going on.
