Civil War II #4 Review

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In Civil War II #4, The truth of Ulysses’s power is exposed and sides are drawn.

This article contains spoilers for Civil War II #4.

Civil War II #4

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

The Bearer of Bad News

Civil War II #4 opens with Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) returning to the Triskelion, which is the headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D. The Captain has returned to see an old friend. Jennifer Walters, also known as She-Hulk, has just awoken from her coma. Of course, she is confused and nobody will tell her much.

Give Captain Marvel this, she does not neglect her duty. After greeting her friend, she then delivers the bad news. Bruce Banner, the original Hulk, Jennifer’s cousin, is dead. Confused, Jennifer asks how. One cannot envy Captain Marvel here. She confesses it was a comrade, Hawkeye, that did it. However, Captain Marvel is clearly concerned, worried, and perhaps a little scared. She quickly notes that Hawkeye was arrested and put on trial.

Jennifer is not satisfied. She demands to know the verdict.

The Verdict

The first hint that the verdict will be upsetting comes when Carol remains silent. Then, Jennifer continues to demand an answer. Finally, in a full page the verdict is revealed. Hawkeye has been found innocent.

This is not particularly surprising. If Clint Barton, Hawkeye, had been found guilty, then acting on Ulysses’s visions would effectively have been condemned. After all, there are extenuating circumstances that include Banner asking Barton to kill him should he become the Hulk again. However, the “not guilty” verdict empowers Carol Danvers. You might look at it as a blessing and endorsement from the public. It gives her reason to believe she is in the right.

Without trying to sound political, Captain Marvel is the government actor. Bruce Banner was essentially executed without any due process beyond one witness’s statement that the Hulk would kill heroes. Again, forgive the political discussion, but the authority of the government to act without an indictment or warrant has been a contested issue for much of the current century. This issue is raised again later in Civil War II #4.

Stark’s Explanation

On the opposite side of the issue from Captain Marvel is Iron Man (Tony Stark). Distraught, Tony seeks counsel from the Avengers. He acknowledges that the deaths of James Rhodes and Bruce Banner might affect him. However, that doesn’t make him wrong.

Stark lays out his concerns about Ulysses methodically. First, time is a construct and it is living. It is not written in stone. Second, Ulysses just doesn’t see a vision. He experiences it. Therefore, the vision affects him. Third, if the vision affects Ulysses, then he must be affecting the vision. So, if Ulysses experiences all these horrors, how can those horrors in turn not affect his future visions?

Stark then admits that he scanned Ulysses’s brain to figure this out. He acknowledges that he did this without permission. Ironically, a man concerned with other’s rights has violated those of Ulysses. He has discovered that Ulysses’s brain absorbs energy and information and energy from around the world. Then his brain acts as an algorithm, and it creates a vision of the future. It might be a very possible future, but it is not “the” future. In conclusion, it is guesswork. In effect, Ulysses is profiling the future. Furthermore, Ulysses’s visions eliminate free will. Nobody has accountability.

Stark’s Plea for Moral Help

After explaining how Ulysses’s visions work, Stark continues to present his case to the Avengers. He fears that as Ulysses experiences more visions, his powers will become less accurate. He has a compelling case. After all, Banner never became the Hulk of Ulysses’s vision. Barton believed he was going to become the Hulk and killed him. No Avenger was harmed.

Tony has one place to turn for moral guidance. He has learned over the years when there is a moral divide he needs to listen to Steve Rogers (Captain America). To be fair, Rogers gives Danvers a chance to respond. She does so by asking Hank McCoy (Beast) to review Stark’s work. Beast does and admits Stark is not wrong.

Danvers’ Argument

Captain Marvel begins to make a sympathetic argument. She asks if someone told you a guy “over there” had a gun and was about to open fire, what would you do? Would you check it out? Or, would you wait until he opened fire and see what happens? This is the accountability she spoke of in the previous issue when Banner was killed. If she has reliable information that a disaster would occur, it would then be irresponsible not to act on it.

Stark counters by asking where the line is drawn. Eight percent probability? Sixty percent? Twenty percent? How certain does she have to be to act on one of these visions. Danvers responds that if there was a ten percent chance Thanos would get his hands on an infinity cube, she would act. She states that James Rhodes would agree. Stark essentially responds that they have no way of asking him now. It is an obvious dig. Stark still blames her for Rhodes’s death.

Carol announces that this meeting is over and crashes through the ceiling. Stark states to the assembled Avengers that he has to go public with what he has learned.

The “Innocent Bystander?”

Interwoven throughout Civil War II #4 is the arrest of Alison Greene. On the outside, she isn’t anyone special. She is a civilian banker working at a large financial institution. In addition, she is the daughter of a Chicago police officer and engaged to be married. She has never been arrested. That is, she was never arrested until Ulysses has a vision about her.

Then, out of nowhere, Captain Marvel, other heroes, and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. swoop down and apprehend her as she leaves an office building. Captain Marval seizes her brief case. However, there is nothing in it. Undaunted, S.H.I.E.L.D. takes her to the Triskelion for questioning. They examine every inch of her life, yet they find nothing sinister about her.

That doesn’t matter to Captain Marvel. Ulysses had a vision in which she was a Hydra terrorist attempting to overthrow the financial institutions of the world. The problem is there is no proof. This does not move Captain Marvel. She insists that Ms. Greene be held, and they will find the proof. With such a proclamation, Carol Danvers becomes Captain Ahab. World security is her elusive white whale. Ms. Greene is her harpoon of the moment. The analogy isn’t perfect, but you get the idea.

The Tragic Hero

In fairness to Captain Marvel, even though there isn’t proof that Ms. Greene is a Hydra agent, it is still a possibility. However, Captain Marvel begins to look like the tragic hero of this story. Her pursuit of perfect world security has left companions dead. Civil liberties are abused and discarded. Danvers is unmoved by Tony Stark’s discoveries. Hank McCoy’s confirmation does not deter her. She is driven by one goal: security. She wants to keep the world safe at all costs. Ulysses and his visions are a crutch. Her past success with those visions leaves her blind to their shortcomings. She won’t acknowledge that the visions are not infallible.

The Confrontation

Just when Ms. Greene’s case appears helpless, she is then teleported out of the room. Captain Marvel and Black Panther quickly surmise that it was Nightcrawler. They also know it was Iron Man that sent him. Subsequently, Captain Marvel declares that Tony Stark is to be arrested. However, she doesn’t have to go far to find him. He is on the roof of the Triskelion. And, he isn’t alone. He has a contingent of Avengers and other heroes with him. Captain Marvel is not outgunned though. She has her own super powered army. As Civil War II #4 concludes, one thing is clear. The war is on.