Civil War II #7 Review

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Ulysses has another horrifying vision of the future in Civil War II #7.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Civil War II #7 and related tie-in issues.

Civil War II #7

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis | Artist: David Marquez | Color Artist: Justin Ponsor | Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Designer: Victor Ochoa | Cover Artist: Marko Djurdejevic | Assistant Editor: Alanna Smith | Editors: Tom Brevoort with Wil Moss

Another Horrifying Vision

The young Inhuman Ulysses brought the Marvel universe to the brink of war with his visions of potential futures. Civil War II #7 begins with another vision. This time, Ulysses finds himself in a more distant future. New Jersey lies as a desert wasteland. Old Man Logan, also known as Wolverine, rescues Ulysses from one of Hulk’s offspring. Pressed for an answer from Ulysses, Wolverine cryptically reveals that this potential future resulted from Tony Stark pushing “her” too far. The story returns to the present as Ulysses frantically begs his Inhuman family to help his warn Captain Marvel to stop fighting Iron Man.

Who is “Her?”

An open issue from Civil War II #7 is exactly who is the “her” Wolverine referenced. Ulysses begged Wolverine for answers in his vision. However, Wolverine never answered him. Instead, Ulysses snapped back to reality under the demands of Karnak to answer Medusa’s questions. Therefore, the unidentified “her” might not be Captain Marvel. There are other candidates. First, there is Maria Hill. She is in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. She grows tired with this fighting between the heroes. Previously she tried to arrest Iron Man and his allies. She also warned Captain Marvel against any conflicts at the Capitol.

Second, there is Medusa. As the queen, she diligently protects the Inhumans from humanity. Tony Stark already kidnapped Ulysses once. Stark only studied Ulysses, but the Inhumans didn’t take this action kindly. Perhaps Tony provokes her one too many times. This remains to be seen. Further support for Medusa as the unidentified “her” comes from Ulysses’s vision. Wolverine said the Inhumans left Earth. Medusa is in charge. She could have made that call.

Proving His Innocence

While Ulysses struggles with his visions, Miles Morales (the younger Spider-Man) arrives at the Capitol Building. The police react by surrounding him on the steps and demanding his surrender. Miles refuses. Maria Hill and Captain Marvel learn of this and call off the police. Hill makes it clear to Danvers that no confrontation on the Capitol will be tolerated. However, before they can arrive, the Steve Rogers Captain America arrives.

Miles and Steve have a common goal. They each desire to prove Ulysses’s vision wrong. Spider-Man sincerely believes he won’t kill Captain America. Steve Rogers believes it too. Miles is befuddled. He still doesn’t understand why he would kill Steve Rogers. They ask each other this question. However, Captain America might know why it could happen. Readers may be aware that Steve became an agent of Hydra in a plot twist from his own series. He engineered some of the events of Civil War II. However, the other heroes have no knowledge of this.

Sympathy and Frustration for Marvel

Before Miles and Steve resolve the mystery, Captain Marvel arrives. Captain America agrees with her that she is not Satan, but argues things have gone far enough. To her credit, Captain Marvel concedes the point. However, she states she must act. She cannot rely on hope.

This issue and the last are the most sympathetic to Captain Marvel. Her obsession with the visions is frustrating. Readers know she wants the best for everyone. Despite this, she ignores the limits of the visions’ power. The evidence demonstrates the visions are imperfect. They only predict a potential future. Furthermore, prevention requires punishing innocence. In addition, the prevention frequently results in unforeseen and tragic consequences.

Despite this, Captain Marvel focuses on the future of the vision. If that future is avoided, she has been largely content. This willful blindness is frustrating to say the least.

The Final Battle

Once Captain Marvel makes her plea for Miles to surrender, Iron Man arrives. Tony places Miles behind a protective barrier out of the reach of Captain Marvel. Iron Man gave Captain Marvel a chance. According to Tony, she wasted it. What appears to be the climactic battle ensues. However, Tony powered up. He relied on a tainted blast to take down Captain Marvel in the previous issue. In this issue, he improves his arsenal. This time he dons armor similar to the Hulkbuster armor most recently seen in Avengers: The Age of Ultron.

If Tony wanted a fight, Captain Marvel is perfectly willing. Despite Maria Hill’s admonishment, a battle begins on the steps of the Capitol. Civil War II #7 concludes as a shocked Steve Rogers and Miles Morales look on. The frustration between Iron Man and Captain Marvel is palpable. Both believe in their causes, and both fight fiercely for what they believe. Iron Man looks imposing in his hulking armor. Captain Marvel brims with power. Issue eight should conclude an epic battle.

Conclusion

At first glance, the necessity for this issue isn’t immediately apparent. Previous issues make this issue somewhat redundant. Ulysses already had a vision to set up the conflict. Captain America and Miles Morales arrive at the Capitol, but did it need as many panels to tell the tale? Then Iron Man and Captain Marvel arrive.

Upon reflection, this issue may not be so straight forward. Steve Rogers’s betrayal remains an unknown in this series. In attempting to prevent Ulysses’s vision, Captain Marvel may have just set events in motion to cause the very future she seeks to prevent. Perhaps Captain America’s actions in battle between Iron Man and Captain Marvel prompt Miles to take drastic action.

Unfortunately, the biggest surprise of the final issue is likely already lost. Issues of other series have moved on from Civil War II. The conclusion to Civil War II may contain surprises, but at least part of the end seems to have been revealed already.