Civil War

I honestly don't read comics that much. Being a nerd, I know a lot about the universes and see a lot of the movies, but I really don't actually read the comics. When I was younger, I read The Spectacular Spider-Man for a few years until it ended, enjoying it but not really realizing it was a very secondary book and the important stuff was happening elsewhere. I have a stack of a couple dozen random other issues, mostly Marvel, but that's about it. Recently I began reading some trade paperbacks of stuff by Jhonen Vasquez and Garth Ennis, and I wanted to maybe try some Marvel but wasn't sure where to begin. I had an opportunity to read a friend's copy of Civil War, so I figured I might as well, there's no reason not to.

Seeing as I had almost no context with what was happening with the characters, it could have been impenetrable. The book doesn't exactly explain everything for the uninitiated, probably since they don't expect many people who don't read comics to jump into a big event like I did. I didn't recognize a lot of the characters or know some of the circumstances (Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman have kids?), but it's not like the storyline hinged on understanding these nuances or anything. There's a clear arc; they introduce a conflict, have it play out, and more or less resolve it. It was a fairly entertaining book, although some of it seemed kind of ridiculous, and from what I've heard from some fans who know more, a lot of the characters' decisions don't make any sense at all.

It starts when some crappy bit characters cause an accident that kills hundreds of children in a school, which causes a general backlash and call for all superheroes to register with the government. Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, is the main guy for registration, pushed forward by an unlikeable mother of one of the dead; Captain America is the leader of those against the idea. I understand the pro-registration perspective. Just because they're gifted doesn't mean they should be able to operate outside the law, and they should be held accountable for their actions. Plus, they'd be getting paid for their work, and what's wrong with that? Some anti-registration folks are worried about the risk to those close that comes with their identity being easier to find out, but some are just stubborn about things staying how they've always been. I think pro-registration is probably more justified, as you can always take measures to ensure the protection of your family, but Stark's methods to subdue the rebels are absurd. The main reason the sides are so even is that even people who would tend to agree with Stark are driven away by his insane plans to win the war.

Iron Man's ideas wouldn't work without Mr. Fantastic creating the necessary technology, so he's also to blame. First, they engineer clones of heroes to try and take down the rebels, but fail to ensure that they use less-than-lethal force, leading to the death of a beloved character I've never actually heard of. WHOOPS, SORRY ABOUT THAT. He then lets a bunch of villains out of jail and recruits them to do his dirty work, because there's no way releasing super-powered, highly insane criminals to catch your friends could backfire. He also creates a gigantic prison in another dimension to prevent escapes, which really isn't too bad, just kind of an idiotic use of money.

Anyway, there's a lot of changing sides and secret moles and traps and stuff, before it all climaxes with a gigantic battle in the streets of New York. It's a cool scene with a lot of turns and moments but, honestly... comic books are not a very good medium for conveying a big action scene. Simpler scenes can work well and look nice with the art, but a few pages of still drawings just doesn't get it done for a huge fight. It ends abruptly when some normal people take down the Cap'n and make him realize what he's done. Honestly, the American people are collectively the worst character in the book. They're unreasonable and act like complete douche bags to good heroes who had nothing to do with the accident, even attacking them on the streets. There are so many stupid moves and ridiculous reactions across the board that it brings down an otherwise enjoyable story quite a bit. I don't really care about the ramifications, since I don't really read Marvel. I don't feel like I wasted my time though. Maybe I'll read this summer's World War Hulk when it's released in convenient TPB form later.