As the Terrigen Mists return, a question is raised. Proactively stop crimes or not?
Creative Staff:
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Olivier Coipel
Color Artist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
From the Team that brought you House of M and Siege comes a blistering first chapter in Marvel’s new explosive event. Watch as the players are introduced and the table is set for a storyline that fans will be talking about for years.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
This #0 issue of Civil War II serves to set us up for the beginning of the event coming in the #1 issue in June. We are introduced to a few major plot points and characters here. Bendis reintroduces the concept of the event, differentiating it from 2007’s Civil War event. The premise is explored in a few locations in the book and with a few different words or actions. The whole thing seems to be in the Ultimate Universe since we see the Triskelion quite a bit, which is the headquarters of the team known as The Ultimates. The opening scene of this issue is quite powerful, It shows Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk, standing as a lawyer representing Jonathan Powers, who was formerly the villain known as the Jester. Jen is offered the chance to make a few closing statements, where she talks about how they indeed live in a crazy world, but that all Powers is guilty of at the most is talking. It’s a powerful scene that shows off both Jennifer’s skills as a lawyer and her willingness to defend those she believes innocent, regardless of if they used to be criminals. It shows off the character of She-Hulk rather well, and despite her name, she never becomes stressed or angered here. It’s a great showing of the character.
Another poignant moment is War Machine being offered some lofty positions. The president personally upgrading him to the position of Secretary of Defence and even hinting that he should pursue the presidency. It gives a good view to the reader of just how much the people in this universe respect James Rhodes. As War Machine, Rhodes gives a good idea of what he does for the country, and we get a view of how he operates. I think, however, that the big part of this book may be the Terrigen Mist scenes. The students at the Ohio State University and excited when it appears, wondering who will be shown as Inhumans. Two students, Michelle and Ulysses are taken and become what appear to be cocoons. This is a pivotal scene this issue, as Ulysses’ powers may be important later. Here, we cut to probably the best and most important conversation in the issue. Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, is met by Doc Samson, who inquires about the Ultimates’ mission to preemptively stop crimes before they happen. In what I believe is the most powerful scene in the book, Captain Marvel suggests that they need to think preemptively because there might just be that one thing they miss if they don’t. Samson takes a different tack and suggests that maybe the final defense is them. He suggests that stuff like this may be why they are who and what they are. This was what I believe may be the most powerful thing here. It may also show us what the battle lines may be when Iron Man eventually comes to blows with Marvel about this issue. Samson’s idea of the heroes being the way they are as the final defense mirrors Captain America from the old Civil War in a way. Cap believed that the heroes needed to be a force against evil by themselves and that having the government tell heroes who the bad guys were was trampling on civil liberties. Samson suggests here that sure, things may get bad, but the heroes themselves need to be the last line of defense, and that maybe the heroes just ARE the last line. Both suggest that the status quo way of doing things is the right way and is there for a reason. Whether Samson will fight for that idea is up in the air at this point, though.
Continuing the idea of event carrying moments is two of the last scenes. First, She-Hulk learns that her client, who apparently was sent to jail, was wrongly killed by a guard. Maria Hill points out that he was a repeat offender and would have done bad things again, but Jen sticks to her beliefs, knowing an innocent man was killed. It gives more of a look into what a great character she is. Sure, Jen knew that the Jester was a former villain and had done bad things. But here, she knew that the authorities had set him up, and she was not going to stand by and see an innocent man suffer, even mentioning before the bad news broke that she was going to, “Appeal the holy hell out of this”. If nothing else, I loved how stand out and amazing all these scenes made She-Hulk look. She was strong, she was smart, and she had her priorities where she wanted them. Next to the scenes with Carol Danvers and Doc Samson, She-Hulk’s scenes were the best part of this issue. If asked to pick a side based on this issue, I actually might have a bit of a harder time choosing one here than last time. Both sides present great points, and I’ll have to see whether I end up sticking with my original assessment of being on Iron Man’s side in the war. Samson made great points as well, and I loved how his character was portrayed here. He is both hero and civilian, and his words about the last line of defense really spoke to me.
In Summary:
Both sides present their cases wonderfully. A good amount of the characters stands out in fantastic ways that highlight how awesome they are. The art is a good mix of bright and dark colors, with the ability to easily distinguish the characters and backgrounds from each other. Bendis’ story flows well and is pretty easy to understand. He shows us just what the issue will be going forward and talking points for both sides. He gives us great characterization for many of the characters and gets the right tone for the coming events. Something big is going to happen, and it’s going to split the community down the middle again. Some may call this Marvel capitalizing on the success of the recent Captain America: Civil War, but Bendis definitely proves he’s not rehashing or cashing in with this issue. Some may criticize the fact that the issue is mostly just dialogue, but it honestly works to the comic’s advantage, utilizing the fact that it’s a #0 issue to set up the conflicting ideas for Issue 1. A great read overall, even if a bit slow.
Grade: A-
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 18th, 2016
MSRP: $4.99
