Civil War II: Issue #0 Review

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Marvel sets up their Summer Event by Framing the Debate.

Ten years ago, Marvel split their stable of superheroes into two teams and war erupted between them in Civil War. Now, history is set to repeat itself in Civil War II. The theme of the original Civil War series was freedom of choice.

Civil War II: Issue #0

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis | Artist: Olivier Coipel | Color Artist: Justin Ponsor | Letterer & Production: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Cover Artists: Coipel & Ponsor

On one side of the fight was Tony Stark—Iron Man. He endorsed the government’s plan to require all heroes to register with the government and accept accountability and control with the passage of the Superhuman Registration Act. His position was justified by the tragedy that befell a small town when a young team of heroes, the New Warriors, inadvertently caused a super villain, Nitro, to cause an explosion that destroyed a school. On the other side was Steve Rogers—Captain America. He believed in the freedom of choice and refused to register.

This time, the central theme of Civil War II appears to be the conflict between freedom of thought and the need for security. More specifically, if you knew someone would commit a crime or an attack, could you punish them before they acted? Could that person be punished for the crime they have not yet committed? Issue #0 of Civil War II establishes both sides of this argument.

First, Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk, literally presents the case that one should not be punished for a crime they have not yet committed. When she is not fighting super villains, Jennifer Walters is an attorney. At the opening of this issue, she is defending a client, Jonathan Powers, from charges that he had conspired to commit criminal acts. Mr. Powers is a villain known as the Jester. Ms. Walters argues that Mr. Powers cannot be guilty of any crime because all he did was “talk shop.” In other words, he merely considered committing a crime at worst. She argues that Mr. Powers is being prosecuted for his thoughts. She tells the jury that this is unacceptable because Mr. Powers is entitle to “freedom of thought.” So long as he commits no crime, takes no actions on his thoughts, he cannot be found guilty. Ultimately, the jury disagrees, and Mr. Powers is found guilty.

On the other side, Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, makes the case for profiling future crimes and prevention. Captain Marvel is the leader of Alpha Flight, which is “the first line of defense against extraterrestrial attack.” She receives a visit from Doc Samson, who is checking up on her. Ms. Danvers expresses frustration that her life is lived in a state of panic. She and her team are constantly defending the Earth from one threat after another. What if, she asks, what if they could identify threats before they became threats and could deal with them before they posed an imminent risk? Her position is sympathetic. She is under a lot of stress to protect the world. All she wants is a way to do so that risks the fewest people.

The argument having been framed—the right to freedom of thought versus the need for preemptive security—it is now ripe to be tried in the pages of Civil War II. And tried it will be. On the campus of Ohio State, a student named Ulysses is mustering the courage to talk to his current crush, a young woman named Michelle. However, Michelle and their classmates are preoccupied by the arrival of the Terrigen Mists. For those unfamiliar with this aspect of the Marvel universe, the Terrigen Mists reveal the powers of the Inhumans. This probably needs additional explanation. The Inhumans are–as their names suggest, not entirely human. They have latent DNA that resulted from ancient, alien experimentation. Not everyone is aware that they are an Inhuman until they are exposed to the Mists.

The students on the campus of Ohio State are exposed to the Mists as they float through the school grounds. Ulysses and Michelle are both revealed to be Inhumans and as their latent DNA is activated, their bodies generate cocoons to protect them while they transform. Michelle, unfortunately, emerges from her cocoon as something that is distinctly non-human. Ulysses emerges looking much like himself. However, as Michelle emerges, he experiences a vision of a decimated cityscape.

In another storyline, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, War Machine, reports to the White House Situation Room after de-escalating a rising threat in Latveria. The President has big plans for Rhodes. The Commander-in-Chief has read the tea leaves and he believes it is only a matter of time before someone with super powers–or someone that runs in that community–runs for President. Therefore, he asks Rhodes to become the new Secretary of Defense as a stepping stone to eventually becoming President. He would rather scope the future Presidential race he sees coming and mold a successor rather than allow the superhero community to select its own candidate. How this relates to the larger story remains to be seen.

The theme of this story undoubtedly has its roots in real world politics. American society is grappling with the need for security versus the privacy rights of individuals. On an international scale, there is a conflict between security concerns and due process concerns. The treatment of prisoners alleged to be terrorists or enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay highlights the debate. The ability of the NSA to set aside privacy rights in order to monitor phone calls to find potential threats is another real life example. More recently, the debate between the Justice Department and Apple over whether a corporation may be compelled to create tools that allow the government to investigate crimes and the impact of any such measures on privacy has been a hot topic in the news. It is easy to see where the editorial staff at Marvel got their inspiration.

Beyond this Issue: In solicits and other information that has been released for Civil War II, it has been said that a new character, likely Ulysses, will emerge that can calculate the future the future consequences of actions to a precise degree. This character will be able to tell that certain people are likely to commit crimes or cause certain events to happen. This power is ripe for exploitation. Captain Marvel would be able to better predict the attacks as she expressed a hope to do. However, this does not set well with other heroes. Should they be permitted to apprehend and incarcerate individuals that have not yet committed any crime? This is the issue that will once again split the heroes of the Marvel universe into teams. The “teams,” such as they are, for Civil War II are said to be led by Iron Man on one side and Captain Marvel on the other. It is reported that Iron Man stands against those that wish to impose punishment before a crime is committed. On the other side, Captain Marvel leads the charge to profile attacks before they occur. Marvel asks, “Which side are you on?”