Civil War II #3 Review

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Civil War II #3 is where friendships fail and the war begins.

Warning: This review contains major spoilers concerning Marvel’s Civil War II #3. The events in this book are most likely going to change the scope of the Marvel universe going forward; therefore, read this review at your own risk.

Civil War II #3

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis | Artist: David Marquez | Banner Conversation Artist: Olivier Coipel | Color Artist: Justin Ponsor | Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Designer: Victor Ochoa | Cover Artist: Marko Djurdjevic

Introduction and Spoiler Warning

Civil War II #3 is framed by a trial. Through the testimony of the trial, the reader is exposed to the narrative of one of the biggest moments in recent Marvel history. What exactly is this trial about? Before that question is answered it would be fair to offer another spoiler warning. In case you mentioned the spoiler warning at the top of this page, this is your second warning. Proceed at your own risk.

Marvel’s Trial of the Century

Clinton Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, is on trial. For murder. Not just any murder, but the murder of an Avenger. Bruce Banner. Clinton Barton has killed Bruce Banner. He admits it. The only question is whether this is murder or not. This is the issue for the jury. This issue lets the reader decide that for himself for the moment as the jury’s verdict is a cliffhanger. This issue is set up as a trial. The testimony of Carol Danvers (a.k.a. Captain Marvel), Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), and Cliff Barton give context to the events that are chronicled in the panels therein. After all witnesses have offered their testimony, the issues ends before the verdict is read by the Court.

Ulysses–The Character at the Heart of the Dispute

Anyone that has been following Civil War II understands the underlying conflict of the series. For those that have not, here is a brief refresher. A new Inhuman has arisen. His name is Ulysses. He is “blessed” with visions that show the future. Typically, these visions depict a catastrophe.

Previously, the Inhumans informed the Avengers and the Ultimates of an impending attack on Manhattan. However, they did not inform them they learned of this attack through Ulysses’s vision. The attack was thwarted and the source of the Inhumans vision was revealed. Tony Stark cautioned restraint against further use of this power, and Carol Danvers sought to take advantage of it in her quest to protect Earth.

Tony Stark argued that this power cannot be abused and proposed a hypothetical. In his hypothetical, one of the heroes is the subject of Ulysses’s visions. The hero has not committed a crime, but the vision shows this hero responsible for a catastrophe. What should they do? Take preemptive action or let the future run its course?

After Ulysses and the Inhumans inform the Ultimates of another vision, Carol Danvers leads a strike force. Their target is Thanos. With Ulysses’s warning to aid them, they ambush and defeat Thanos, but at great cost. James Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, dies in the battle. Jennifer Walters, a.k.a. She Hulk, is critically wounded. This is the scenario Tony Stark had warned them about.

The Vision that Sets the Stage for Catastrophe

After Stark kidnaps Ulysses, he is confronted by a combined force of heroes. The Inhumans want their brother back. Stark has sparked what could be considered an international incident. Stark had been attempting to get to the bottom of how Ulysses’s visions work. Then it happens: Ulysses experiences a horrifying vision, but this time it is different. All the heroes present experience the vision as well. It isn’t pretty. In this vision, the Hulk has attacked and killed everyone.

The Confrontation with Banner

Upon arriving at Banner’s lab, the heroes, led by Danvers and Stark, summon him and ask him to step outside. Immediately, Banner suspects that something has happened. That he must have done something. Except nothing has happened. Danvers and Stark have reached an agreement. They cannot do anything unless they have more proof. “Fair is fair,” admits Danvers. Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, produces that “proof.” McCoy hacked into Banner’s server and retrieved data that Banner had been experimenting on himself with treated dead gamma cells. The rest of the heroes are shocked.

Banner’s Reaction

Confronted by the rest of the heroes, Banner experiences a wide range of emotions. First, he is shocked. He believes that maybe he had done something as the Hulk and simply hasn’t realized it. Second, he is baffled. Stark and Danvers tell him he hasn’t done anything yet and explain Ulysses’s vision. Next, he is alarmed. Without permission or due process, Beast hacks into his servers and goes through his files. Banner accuses Beast of “stealing his work.” His privacy is violated. Finally, he is outraged. He has committed no crime. Yet, S.H.I.E.L.D. is placing him under arrest. He swears that his work has kept him from turning into the Hulk for over a year. Outrage is the last emotion he ever feels. An arrow flies from the tree line and kills him. Banner, the original Hulk and founding member of the Avengers, is dead. Clint Barton, another Avenger, has slain his comrade.

Carol Danvers’ Testimony

Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, is leading Clint Barton’s defense. He calls Carol Danvers to the stand to testify in Barton’s defense. Her testimony is that they have come to rely on Ulysses’s visions. In her view, the visions are reliable because they have been correct. It all started with the attack by the Celestial in issue one. Ulysses’s vision gave them the time needed to protect Manhattan. Then, it was followed up by the vision of Thanos attacking Earth. They were able to ambush him, and although an Avenger died in the process, she believes the damage was minimized.

In her view, lives were saved when Banner was killed. She can hold that view because she has evidence that Ulysses’s visions have proven to be correct. When he predicts a catastrophe, they intervene. There has been evidence of the impending catastrophe. The Celestial was there. Thanos was there. So, when Ulysses says the Hulk is about to kill everyone, there is no question in her mind the Hulk was about to do just that.

Tony Stark’s Testimony

Tony Stark doesn’t see it that way. At all. Keep in mind, Banner is another intellect, and Stark considers him a friend. Furthermore, Banner had not committed any crime. In fact, Banner hadn’t even turned into the Hulk much less attacked anyone. Stark has always insisted that Ulysses only saw a possible future. In this case, that was true. He blames Carol Danvers for what occurred. Tony didn’t see the Hulk. He “was standing right there.” “I saw a man being betrayed by his peers,” he testifies. He accuses Danvers of chasing this down and pursuing this to its tragic conclusion.

Barton’s Testimony and Defense

Amongst all of this, Barton testifies in his own defense. He drops something of a bomb on all those observing. In short, he reveals that Banner asked Barton to kill him. It is something of a “Snape kills Dumbledore” moment from Harry Potter. Banner had been free of the Hulk for most of a year. However, he still feared that he might become the Hulk again someday. Therefore, he designed an arrow that would kill the Hulk should that happen. He then gave the arrow to Barton and asked him to use it should Banner ever turn into the Hulk. This request is verified by McCoy, who found a video diary of Banner describing this.

Murdock questions Barton about this. After all, nobody saw the Hulk. Stark said he was standing right there and didn’t see it. Barton claims that his eyesight and observation are better than anyone’s. He claims that Banner’s eyes flashed green. He was about to Hulk out. So, Barton took the shot. This “flash of green” is not apparent in the comic.

The Heroes Divide

If the heroes hadn’t been divided over Ulysses’s visions before, they are now. One panel features Ms. Marvel, the Miles Morales Spider-Man, and Nova discussing what had just happened. They agree with Iron Man. Tony Stark had been playing nice with Carol Danvers before, but he blames her for what happened to Banner. He believes she drove the confrontation to his death and it could have been avoided. It looks like the next issue will see the “war” added to “Civil War II.”

Visions of the Future

Back at Stark’s tower, Mary Jane Watson interrupts Stark’s musings to let him know the jury has returned their verdict. However, Stark is not in the mood to watch. He already knows how it will turn out. The verdict is a part of the cliffhanger for this issue. The other half of the cliffhanger is that Friday, Stark’s artificial intelligence assistant, has finished analyzing the brain scan they took of Ulysses in the prior issue. Stark looks over the scan, and it appears he can see how Ulysses gets his visions. He is shocked. What exactly he sees is left to the next issue.

Impact of Civil War II #3

The Marvel Universe has gone through a major change. Bruce Banner has been a leading character for decades. He is gone now. Of course, what happens in a comic book is just waiting to be undone. Banner might return one day through some cosmic event that a clever writer thinks up. But, he is gone for now. His death, coupled with Rhodes’s death and Walters’s injuries, will have long lasting ramifications on the Marvel landscape. This issue was excellent. The story telling was first rate. The art was superb.

Civil War II #3 Final Thoughts

As for my personal take, I’m appalled by what happened to Bruce. I don’t know that I can ever be a fan of Captain Marvel after this. It seems as if she is talking herself into believing the “rightness” of what happened, and that lives were “truly saved” by what happened to Banner. She is clinging to the excuse that this was Banner’s wishes. However, Banner was not suicidal in that moment. He was desperately trying to explain that his work prevented him from becoming the Hulk at the moment he was killed.

In addition, he never actually became the threat that was in Ulysses’s vision. In the major visions that brought credibility to Ulysses’s powers, the villain appeared. The Celestial was attacking Manhattan. Thanos attempted to invade Earth. However, the Hulk never emerged. In fact, it appears that the Ulysses’s vision was almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The accusations, arrest, and lack of due process were what drove Banner to anger. Barton’s perception was that he was about to Hulk out, and therefore, he decided to put him down. His claim that Banner’s eyes flashed green is self-serving. I hate to say it, but it seems almost like he acted out of fear.

In the end, Banner was killed for something he didn’t do. It was merely a suspicion that he would turn into the Hulk and murder heroes that lead to his death. Danvers may not have ordered that he be killed, but she supported preemptive action. S.H.I.E.L.D. was placing him under arrest for experimenting and the belief that he could become the Hulk. Banner received no due process. He was killed over a fear of an imprecise vision of the future that didn’t come true. That is very hard to accept.