Way back in September, The Fortress of Soliloquy had this great post about how Marvel could have, and probably should have, set up Civil War to show reason for shifts in character personalities and the change in public opinion toward superheroes. He's absolutely right that to really show these changes things needed to be different. There needed to be something over time to show the major change in the public's opinion from cheering at television during the deadly antics of the X-Statix around the world to the loss of life caused by the New Warriors and that group of villains in Stamford. Maybe it did happen and I just missed it.
During the past eight months, I've had the nagging feeling that I've already read something that could have been the lead-up to Civil War, but just wasn't published by Marvel. Yes, people have compared the idea behind Civil War to Watchmen, but that's not where I found my lead-up. I found it in the first 37 issues of Powers.
Powers establishes a world where super humans have been around for at least as long as humanity. (For all I know, Bendis plans on revealing that there were super powered dinosaurs who have survived, hidden, for millions of years.) It was a world that loved its heroes. It cheered them. Lots of people wanted to have powers.
And slowly, everything changed.
Heroes started to get murdered. People associated with heroes started to get murdered. Heroes started going mad and killing people. And there was nothing that the police could do about it. Until it got so bad, so unbelievably violent that the only choice the people thought they had was to outlaw powers.
Specifics: Retro Girl was killed, shattering the illusion of invulnerability.
Kids pretending to be superheroes are killed, showing how dangerous wanting powers can be.
That whole Olympia debacle spreads from the shattering of illusions to a reason not to trust them.
Schizophrenic Boogie Girl goes on a rampage through the city and Walker tells the world that the government was behind everything.
And then comes the moment when the most powerful superhero in the world loses faith in the other heroes and in humanity and decided to take action by killing other heroes, killing the Pope, and pretty much destroying all of the West Bank.
Now that's the way to change a society from one that trust super-powered beings to one that doesn't. That, in my opinion, is how the lead-up to Civil War should have been done, could have been done. Of course, it takes time and planning, which would have been hard to do. (And delayed the series for a while so it never could have started just as Infinite Crisis ended and 52 started.)
Wasn't World War Hulk supposed to be the event of last year, but they delayed it to do the "Planet Hulk" and set up the company-wide cross over better? Wouldn't Civil War have made more sense if it had taken place after World War Hulk?
Who knows?
Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts
Friday, January 12, 2007
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Who Will Win Marvel's Civil War?
I don't read much Marvel. When it comes to Civil War, I only get the main series. (Although I really wanted the one with Howard the Duck. My LCS only bought a few and they sold out that Wednesday. Ah, well.) So, all my opinions here are based on what I've read in those five issues, the stuff often found at Newsarama, and my view, ignorant though it may be, of the Marvel universe. So, here I go:
Let's face it, Captain America's side will win.
Why?
Let's start with the obvious:
He's Captain Fucking America.
He's Marvel's representation of the American ideal. He represents, or at least tries to represent, all that is good about the USA. He fights for freedom and justice. He supports honesty and strong morals. He believes in the ideals on which America is based. And he probably bakes a spectacular apple pie. In other words, Captain America is what we (or at least I) want the USA to stand for in the world.
If Captain America's team loses, then it'll be like Marvel telling us that the ideals of America have failed, too. Sure, he'll probably keep trying to fight, but Captain America a fugitive from the country that made him that he took his name from, and a long term terrorist against that country just can't work.
If his team loses, what are the story possibilities for all the characters who joined him? They all become outsiders hounded by the law? They all move to France to sip wine with the Thing and gripe about how America was better once upon a time? They all go underground and their books get cancelled? They all get arrested and "rehabilitated" by Iron Man? They move to Latveria and join Dr. Doom in his constant quest for revenge against that fool, Richards?
It seems to me that if Marvel has the pro-registration side win, half of their heroes will become criminals and that will make for a boring line of comics.
When Captain America wins, though, his group can go back to being superheroes sort of like before, and Iron Man's side can continue being government lackeys, or whatever you want to call them.
Just because, after Civil War ends, the government won't be drafting all the superhumans, doesn't mean that they'll close down the programs they created. Why would they? They already have a, probably, large number of people registered and trained, why would they want to let them out just because Congress decided to repeal the Superhuman Registration Act? That would be like dismantling the armed services just because there's no draft, stupid.
In the newest Wizard, Dan Slott talked about something called The Initiative and suggested that this is where the registered heroes, who wanted to stick with the government, will be. Once the new Thunderbolts break out of their collars, the government's going to need someone to track down all the murdering psychopaths they allowed Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic to use.
Having the anti-registration side win won't limit story possibilities like having the pro-registration side win.
If the anti side wins traditional superhero with secret identities stories can be told. Stories about the government training a next generation of super powered people can be told. There can be a book about a government task force of superhumans who police the activities of those who aren't registered. And the few mutants can die in peace.
Let's face it, Captain America's side will win.
Why?
Let's start with the obvious:
He's Captain Fucking America.
He's Marvel's representation of the American ideal. He represents, or at least tries to represent, all that is good about the USA. He fights for freedom and justice. He supports honesty and strong morals. He believes in the ideals on which America is based. And he probably bakes a spectacular apple pie. In other words, Captain America is what we (or at least I) want the USA to stand for in the world.
If Captain America's team loses, then it'll be like Marvel telling us that the ideals of America have failed, too. Sure, he'll probably keep trying to fight, but Captain America a fugitive from the country that made him that he took his name from, and a long term terrorist against that country just can't work.
If his team loses, what are the story possibilities for all the characters who joined him? They all become outsiders hounded by the law? They all move to France to sip wine with the Thing and gripe about how America was better once upon a time? They all go underground and their books get cancelled? They all get arrested and "rehabilitated" by Iron Man? They move to Latveria and join Dr. Doom in his constant quest for revenge against that fool, Richards?
It seems to me that if Marvel has the pro-registration side win, half of their heroes will become criminals and that will make for a boring line of comics.
When Captain America wins, though, his group can go back to being superheroes sort of like before, and Iron Man's side can continue being government lackeys, or whatever you want to call them.
Just because, after Civil War ends, the government won't be drafting all the superhumans, doesn't mean that they'll close down the programs they created. Why would they? They already have a, probably, large number of people registered and trained, why would they want to let them out just because Congress decided to repeal the Superhuman Registration Act? That would be like dismantling the armed services just because there's no draft, stupid.
In the newest Wizard, Dan Slott talked about something called The Initiative and suggested that this is where the registered heroes, who wanted to stick with the government, will be. Once the new Thunderbolts break out of their collars, the government's going to need someone to track down all the murdering psychopaths they allowed Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic to use.
Having the anti-registration side win won't limit story possibilities like having the pro-registration side win.
If the anti side wins traditional superhero with secret identities stories can be told. Stories about the government training a next generation of super powered people can be told. There can be a book about a government task force of superhumans who police the activities of those who aren't registered. And the few mutants can die in peace.
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