Civil War II #6 Review

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The debate between individual liberty and protecting the future continues to escalate in Civil War II #6.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Civil War II #6.

Civil War II #6

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

The Shock Sets In

Civil War II #6 opens with the heroes recovering from the shock of Ulysses’s latest vision. In that vision, the Miles Morales Spider-Man stands over the dead body of the Steve Rogers Captain America (there are more than one Spider-Man and Captain America in this timeline). Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel, immediately attempts to arrest Morales. Tony Stark (Iron Man) and other heroes object. After all, Morales has not actually done anything yet.

Arrested for What?

An argument ensues. Why should Morales be arrested? Stark argues that Morales committed no crimes. In fact, Morales is an exemplary kid and Avenger. Danvers relents to the extent that she asks Morales to surrender. Stark calls her on the subtle difference. Morales cannot surrender for something he hasn’t done. Danvers counters that she is trying to protect him and prevent the vision from happening.

Captain America Steps In

The potential victim of the vision steps in. Rogers asks Morales what he wants. In response, Morales states he wants to go home. Morales also protests that he’d never kill Rogers. That settles it for Rogers. He tells Morales to go home over Danvers’ protest. Rogers perhaps twists the knife a bit with Danvers though. He states Morales didn’t do anything wrong, just like Bruce Banner did nothing wrong, and like Rhodey did nothing wrong. Banner and Rhodey were the Hulk and War Machine respectively, and both died during the events of this series.

The Aftermath of the Confrontation

Thor assists Morales in leaving the Triskelion over Danvers’s objections. Tony Stark and his allies escape despite Maria Hill’s insistence they were under arrest. Most importantly, T’Challa, the Black Panther defects from Danvers’s team. T’Challa made his decision when Rogers defended Morales. Captain America represents a moral rightness in his eyes. In addition, he can no longer support the proactive measures that Danvers favors. In addition, T’Challa saw that many of Ulysses’s visions were incorrect. It is an imperfect power.

A Further Degradation of Trust

Miles Morales has allies. Included on his list of allies are Ms. Marvel, Riri Williams (the heir apparent to the Iron Man mantle), a young Cyclops, and Nova. They begin to sense that perhaps Miles Morales is a pawn in the struggle between Tony Stark and Carol Danvers. Therefore, they set out to find Morales themselves. This scene demonstrates that Danvers’s team isn’t the only one fracturing. Distrust among all the heroes intensifies as this struggle builds.

What You Need to Know About Steve Rogers

What exactly could compel Miles Morales to attack or murder Steve Rogers? There is a good reason Morales might, in fact, attack the original Captain America. To understand the next part of this review, it is helpful to have some knowledge of the Steve Rogers Captain America storyline. Therefore, this is an additional spoiler warning. From here, some details of that series will be shared.

In a prior storyline, a villain drained Steve Rogers of the super soldier serum in his body. How that happened is not important for this review. Thus, he lost his youth, strength, and other abilities. Thereafter, Sam Wilson took up the mantle of Captain America. As with many superhero storylines, Steve Rogers change wasn’t permanent.

Summarizing a longer story, a cosmic cube restored Steve Rogers’s abilities. Crossbones nearly killed an aged Rogers when Kobik, a sentient cosmic cube, restored him to his former self. However, Redskull manipulated Kobik. In addition to restoring Rogers, she also turned him into an agent of Hydra. This is, of course, very bad. Coincidentally, it was this same cosmic cube that caused Thanos to attack Earth in issue one of this series.

Rogers’ Secret Agenda

After Rogers’s transformation, he operates undercover. The rest of the superhero community is largely oblivious to his new “true” identity. From the shadows, Steve influences the events of Civil War II. Rogers caused the gamma radiation research to be sent to Banner that ultimately resulted in Banner’s death. The research triggered a vision in Ulysses and set off the chain of events that lead to the confrontation with Banner. Rogers and the Red Skull want Ulysses and his abilities.

Up until issue six, Rogers plays a minor role in this series. Unfortunately, any reader not current on Steve Rogers Captain America is unlikely aware of his larger involvement. The editors elected not to point readers to that series. Therefore, many readers won’t understand Steve Rogers’s motivations. Ulysses could expose him. In addition, Miles Morales might learn of Rogers’s activities. However, readers that are only reading this series won’t have that background. The question becomes: will Steve Rogers be outed as a Hydra agent in this series? That could be a major twist for many readers.

Miles Morales Takes a Stand

Morales told Thor to drop him off. Despite her offers to protect him, Morales wants to be alone. Finally, on his own, he reflects on the vision. The vision shattered him. He is clearly anguished. However, he decides to make a stand. He arrives at the location of the vision, which is right in front of the Capitol Building. Everyone knows where he is. This might just be the final stand of Civil War II.

Conclusion for Civil War II #6

Civil War II makes it difficult to side with Captain Marvel. The visions are unreliable. In addition, she steadfastly clings to them despite contrary evidence. Her position is sympathetic. Tasked with protecting the world, she desires to prevent catastrophes instead of reacting to them. However, her actions contributed to the death of Bruce Banner and James Rhodes. However, despite this, she refuses to consider the other side of the equation. She is rigid and unbending.

After the original Civil War event, seeing Captain America and Tony Stark on the same side is fun. Alas, readers now know it really isn’t the case. Rogers acts on behalf of Hydra, not liberty. The ultimate twist and climax of this series might rely on what happens with Rogers rather than the fight between Stark and Danvers. That seems odd given his minor role up until this point.

Civil War II #6  was largely reactionary and reflective. Indeed, there was little in the way of fighting between the heroes. Most of the issue was chatter and argument. It appears the stage has been set for the final act to play out in issues seven and eight.