Civil War - Front Line #11 - Marvel

This issue is all about Ben and Sally putting together their ultimate story and then trying to figure out what they're going to do about it. We're in the sidelines of the aftermath of the Civil War, and the world is trying to pick up the pieces and put itself back together. Sally and Ben have each left their respective newspapers, and have start a internet newspaper, frontlines.com. And now that the Civil War is over, and Captain America is in custody, they want to interview the 2 principle opponents, Cap and Tony Stark. What I'm starting to realize after reading this issue, and I think what Ben & Sally have put together, is that both of these "heroes" were basically fighting for the same thing. To try to make America a better place to live. However, Cap was willing to fight and stand up to whomever he had to, to try to get them to see his dream. While Tony was willing to give up whatever he had to, to try to make America a better place for all. Cap had an over simplistic view of the American ideal. When he really was clueless as to what America currently stands for, and holds dear. While Iron Man was going to, and actually he did, give up friends, colleagues, reputation and anything else he had to, to shape the whole event. He calculated what the public opinion would be behind every event that he manipulated, and turned it in to a renewed faith in a new America. In the end though they decided that they would never publish the story. " . . . the hero's true sacrifice is that he can never tell . . . . we've already decided this story will never see print. We'd never jeopardize what you're trying to accomplish." This was a fantastic book, and a fantastic series. I actually like this part of the epic storyline better than the Civil War books. But, that's just me.

Civil War #7 - Marvel

Well, this is it. The final issue of the Civil War. But you know what they say, any ending is just someone else's beginning. And that seems to be what they're doing here. We have a whole bunch of stories that come after Civil War #7, and they are the Initiative books. As Tony says at the end of this issue, " . . . . we called our prison Number Forty Two . . . . because it was number forty two of a hundred ideas Reed, Hank and I wrote down . . . . a hundred ideas for a safer world, and we aren't even at number fifty yet . . . cleaning up SHIELD is number forty three . . . the best is yet to come . . . . that's a promise!" So now, in the coming months, we get to see what effect this is going to have on the rest of the Marvel Universe. As I said with the first issue, I just hope it's a lasting one. They always give us this hype, things start out . . to change, but then a year or so later, right back to the status quo. So I'm hopefully excited, and reluctantly optimistic at the same time. I'm hoping for the best, but in the back of my mind . . . there's a voice that says . . . . "it's all going to go back to the same 'ol, same 'ol." But, with Joe Quesada as the Editor in Chief now, maybe things will shake up. And maybe they'll stay that way. But that's assuming that Joe stays in his position for a while to. But, this is all speculation, only time will tell. We'll have to see if history writes Joe Quesada as a Hero, or a . . . . ??. We'll see.

Civil War : The Return #1 - Marvel

There really is no cover to this issue. I don't know why. It's just a white page with the title. I know it's probably a marketing ploy by Marvel, or some off the wall idea by somebody who wants to say "I thought of that!", but really, it sucks! We like the cover art! We like to get a sneak peak at what's going to happen in the issue. It's kind of like the previews at the movies. You think you know whats going to happen, but then you're pleasantly surprised, when it goes a different direction. Well anyways, enough ranting. This book actually has 2 stories. The first one it the return of Captain Mar-Vell. Ok, I don't know if I can explain this adequately, but I'll try. CM was in the Negative Zone, meditating. He saw an anomaly and went to explore it. The anomaly brought him to today. Well, not today per-se, but sometime in the last month or so. Anyways, he showed up at Fantasy Island. Knowing him, and what he was capable of, they asked him to watch and run the facility for them, in case anything went wrong. Well, it's all going wrong. There's a breach between the positive and negative zones, and their whole world, as they know it, is about to come crashing in on them like crushed can of soda pop. This is where CM's dilemma is because in order to save them all, he'll have to let the whole world know that he's back. Also, he still died of cancer, previously. How he did that, and is here . . . . . I don't quite get. It's explained, but it really doesn't make a lot of sense. So, if he heads back to the real world, most likely he'll still die of cancer. But, the cancer he got was from Nitro. And Nitro's dead now . . . so . . . maybe no cancer? Like I said it's all a little bit confusing. So anyways, on the last panel he's headed out to save the Island, and this is the prequel to CM #1. Like we didn't see that coming from a mile away. So hopefully when the series comes out, we'll get this explained a little better. The second story is about the Sentry. Basically, it's the story of what made him make up his mind to register. It's interesting, but kind of . . . . . ho hum . . . yawn! Seriously, it's basically just filler. Unless it's setting up some future fight, between him and Creel, I really don't see the point. The best part about this whole book is Tom Raney's art. I really don't think this guy gets enough credit. Maybe he's not as flashy as some artist, but that doesn't make him any less talented. Anyways, it was a decent prequel for Mar-Vell, and a boring meaningless story for Sentry. If you have $3 extra, go ahead and buy it.

Civil War - Front Line #10 - Marvel

Sally and Ben are getting closer and closer to figuring out the truth about why this war was even started in the first place. Carol Danvers is feeding Sally information, but all it's doing is cooberating what she thought she already knew. They're all kind of upset, after Tony declared to his team that he has know that they've had a traitor in their midst for quite a while. He won't tell anyone who it is, not even Reed, so everybody is on edge and pointing fingers at each other. I think the actual traitor is Tony. But that's just my guess. Ben has come to his own conclusions, but from a different angle. He's looking at who would make money off the war, and who would gain the most. He's so immersed in his story, that he quits the Bugle. He knows that the Bugle would never print his story. His rational? "When the truth has to be compromised because by telling it we jeopardize the newspaper, then the system itself is flawed." So, I'm sure he's going to get the story out there, he just can't do it through the Bugle. Ben and Sally finally get together to compare their notes, but they're caught literally in a skirmish between the two sides. They escape one harrowing attack after another, but finally end up in the Subway together, and have a chance to catch their breath. They compare notes, and realize that they both have the same answer. In the second story, we get yet another look at Robbie Baldwin. He's been let out of prison, because he's agreed to register. I think the reason he's chose to do so, is because he's no longer going to be Robbie, or Speedball. He's got a new identity that he's sinking his whole soul into, Penance. And it doesn't seem like he's planning on being a very good guy. It's really all wrapped up in a letter at the end to his mom, "Dear mom, I now know how to pay for all the pain I've caused. Six hundred and twelve people died at Stamford. So every day I'll carry with me six hundred and twelve points of pain. Sixty of those people were innocent children who burned to death in a schoolyard. Those are the sixty points of pain that will hurt me the most. There is a little girl named Sarah Stricker who will live forever next to my heart. Two innocent men died when they found me in upstate New York. Two innocent emergency workers perished because of me. Their blood is on my hands. I'll feel their pain every time I throw a punch. Every single point of my pain will be a reminder until the day I mercifully die. And all of the pain is fuel. One last thing, mom . . . . . you won't ever see me again. " This turned out to be a lot better story than I thought it would be. Great series. And thanks again to www.milehighcomics.com for the cover.

Civil War #6 - Marvel

It's the wrong cover over here, but, whatever. Great story by Mark Millar. He's fantastic with these multi-faceted stories. Maintains control and direction at all times, while keeping a smooth flow. Now easy to do. Dexter Vines is also great on the pencils. I hadn't really seen a lot of his work before this series, but what I've noticed here is that he gets better every issue, and he really seems to be putting his all into it. The final product really shows fantastic talent and determination. Now, the problem I have with this series, and it's neither Mark's or Dexter's fault, but Marvel's, or the Editor's, I believe, is that they're using this series to make the broad brush strokes, and the individual series to fill in all the details. Now, in theory, that should work just fine. But, especially with this series, we're dealing with almost every title in the Marvel universe. They we're very smart to leave the X-men out of it. The problem comes in, I'm sure, that with this many titles contributing to the overall story, you're dealing with a lot of coordination of effort and time. And while that should be possible, this is the real world. People run behind, get sick, have personal issues, holidays, whatever. So, it seems to me, that as we get farther along in this series, we wait longer and longer between issues. The stories have to be told in all the individual titles before this title can paint the next step. And, what I'm seeing at least, is that the titles that run on time, all the time, are doing a lot of fill in issues, while the other titles are playing catch up. Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong, but as a reader, that's what I'm seeing. I would like to be more positive about it, because I really do like the story, but it's frustrating to us, as I'm sure it is to all the individual creative teams. The other problem I have is, I don't really see how they're going to be able to write their way out of this. There's going to have to be a lot of changes, which is good, but Marvel has a history of changing things, and then, a year or two later, changing them back. Some of the changes here are not going to be able to be undone. And they shouldn't be. But, if the fans don't like it, Marvel will change it back. And, when that's done, this whole series loses it's purpose. I hope that's not the outcome, but, it's more than probable that it will be. I invite you to prove me wrong. But, time will tell. In my future blogs, I'm sure this will come up more than once.

Civil War - Front Line #9 - Marvel

This book tells the Civil War story, from the outside looking in. Sally and Ben are trying to figure out what's really going on behind the scenes. Sally has worked out a little exclusive with Cap, but she's not getting the answers she wanted. "Cap promised me 15 minutes. I took five. And left early for my date at nine . . . . feeling pretty hacked off, and with no particular story to write. Couldn't work out why." Ben is working a different angle with Peter. He was told that the whole thing was a set up to make money for someone. Their first, and most obvious, suspicion is Tony Stark. They hack in to his computers, and find out that he made a whole bunch of money, 2 days before the act was put into effect. Insider trading, maybe? So, with the Cap angle not panning out, Sally has dinner with her detective friend, Danny. She's trying to get him to get her in with Osborne for a few minutes. It'll probably work, because Danny's pretty smitten with her. And finally we see, inside Avengers tower, that Reed is getting suspicious also, because someone who knew what they were doing had to get in to reprogram the nanites that he and Tony had planted in Norman. Tony tells hims in confidence that he knows who the traitor is. It's . . . . . . . . . . . all for this issue. We then see Robbie Baldwin getting taken into his new home, the Raft. A maximum security prison. The prisoners, knowing how the guards do transfers, want to use his arrival as a distraction for an escape attempt. What they don't know it that Robbie has some kind of new power. It seems to be activated when he's under extreme stress. So when they hurt him, he flashes and takes them all out. The guards are trying to figure out what happened, when the find Robbie sitting in his cell. Alone, and with some lights or electricity bursting around him, he says "Been doing a lot of thinking. About the registration act, I've come to a decision. Where do I sign?" We then see the police dept. trying to interrogate Norman, before the FBI come to pick him up. But he's more afraid of the person he's working for, than going to jail. Other than that, they don't get anything out of him. And then the FBI comes and takes him away. And finally we get to read the letter of a man who served in world war two. I don't know how long this series is going to go on, but I do like it. The Civil War thing though, seems like it's starting to drag. Maybe they'll wrap it up this year. We'll see.

Civil War - Front Line #8 - Marvel

Ok, I have to admit, I'm getting into this book more than I thought I would. These are stories from the "sidelines" of the Civil War. Paul Jenkins is doing a good job writing this first story about Ben Urich and Sally, two reporters for the Bugle. I'm not thrilled about Ramon Bachs pencils, but the story makes up for it. Ben has a detective, Danny, who is feeding him inside information. They're investigating the warehouse that blew up with the Atlanteans in it. Wonder Man was also there, so they're trying to delve out his involvement. They also know that Norman Osborne had something to do with it. But, Norman was supposed to be in custody with Tony, as a member of his squad that's going to chase down unregistered "metas". But they think that somebody let him out, on purpose. Sally is chasing down her own lead. She's trying to find the opposition, as she feels that she owes them since SHEILD followed her to their other gathering. She gets information from a couple of her homeless informants, and after following one to their hideout, discovers that it's Captain America. Our second story, about Robby Baldwin, Speedball, is kind of sad. Last issue he got shot on his way to court. Then on his way to the hospital, he had some kind of energy surge and took out the ambulance. Which, may have, inadvertently killed a couple of people. Now they're questioning She-Hulk, who was his counsel and accompanying him, thinking that she may somehow be involved. The accident also temporarily blinded her. Now Robby is in the care of Reed Richards, and seems to be in stable health, other that the gaping bullet hole in his gut, and the odd electrical aura surrounding him. Again, not great art on this story either, by Steve Lieber. The third story is about the Atlanteans. They have sent a delegation up to the surface to retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades. Whom they claim were just studying the human culture. But they're soon scared off when Norman Osborne shows up and starts shooting. Finally they compare a battle in the English Civil War to this one. With docudrama from the earlier battle, and comparing it along side of visions from the current one. I like the idea of the final pages of each issue. However, I find them very boring. Overall I like the stories in this book. I just feel like I'm being cheated on the art because they know that anybody following the Civil War will pick this one up. To bad, because they're pretty decent stories.

Civil War #5 - Marvel

Ok, the Civil War is heating up. We start out with Johnny Storm and Sue Richards trying to elude a SHIELD team that is trying to capture them. We then have Nighthawk and Stature at the Stark Towers, ready to make a public announcement that they are ready to switch sides. But Tony's not coming. Why? Wouldn't he love to show the media that there are people rethinking their stance on the issue, and coming over to his side? Well yes. But, he and Spider-man are currently busy at the top of the tower, kicking the snot out of each other. Of course Spider-man breaks out of the building, but SHEILD already has a team of agents ready for backup. But, Tony wants to deal with Peter on his own. He still thinks he can win him over. But, Maria Hill, Fury's replacement, already has a plan in place. It's called operation Thunderbolts, and basically is a team of every villain, lunatic, and homicidal maniac that registered and are now ready to do whatever they have to to make the Govt. happy. To me, this one has trouble written all over it. The Jester and Jack o Lantern catch up with Peter in the sewers and give him a pretty thorough beating. The only thing that stops them from killing him is Maria Hill, who orders them to bring him in. But then they are immediately taken out by a mysterious benefactor. It looks like the Punisher has come to Peter's rescue. He then takes him to Captain Americas headquarters for immediate medical attention. Johnny and Sue have also found their way to Caps hideout. Nobody's happy about the Punisher being there, but they are happy that he rescued Spidey. Then we also see She-Hulk, Mr. Fantastic and Tony carting Daredevil off to the Negative Zone prison. The issue ends with Matt telling Tony, "Sleep well, Judas!". Great story, and fantastic art. Nobody can say they aren't getting enough action with this book. Enjoy!

X-Men Civil War #4 - Marvel

It appears that the whole reason behind this mini-series was to get Bishop alligned with the O.N.E.. Much in the way that he was with the X.S.E.. It's all altruistic right now, but you just know that there's going to be some point that's he going to have to cross some line, and he'll become a mutant hunter again. After last issue the battle has come to a halt, first because Micromax has been seriously hurt, and also because it was found out that Gnrl. Lazer has been manipulating everyone. And now, he has set the arsenal of weapons buried deep in the bunker to explode, and he has locked the 198 in. So, everyone is trying to make a concerted effort the break down the bunker door, and get the people, mutants, to safety. While they're all trying to bulldoze their way in, Valerie is back at the base, trying to persuade the information out of Gnrl. Lazer. Well, as much persuation as she can accomplish with a crowbar. But, the joke is one Lazer as he is betrayed by the doll man. He touched him, so he makes a likeness of him and twist his head around. Eventually with the combined power of Cyclops, Bishop, Iron Man and Ms. Marvel, they blast the door open. In the after math of the mellee, Valerie debriefs Bishop. She lets him know that some changes are going to be made in the way that the mutants are handled. Most of the changes are actually to the benefit of the mutants. And that is when she offers him the job. If nothing else, the X-men are constantly changing. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here.

Civil War : Front Line #7 - Marvel

I like this book because, where the regular Civil War title is the grand super hero mega war book, this book tells the inbetween story. And the story of the side lines, where the normal people play. Yes the main story is about Speedball. But, it's not really about him. It's more about the system that he has fallen into because of his association with the tragedy in Maine. It's not that his guilt in the incident is wrong. But, his complete involvement, the underlying circumstances, have not been fully disclosed. Also, that this incident was orchestrated to cement the general publics opinion and desire for the registration act to become a law. Without the huge dispay of contempt and remorse, they might have realized what such an act would eventually do to their own civil liberties. And that is what this book is really dealing with, the repercussions of such a blatant assault on a persons freedoms, whether they be homo-sapien or superior. The first story is about Ben Urich and Sally, two reporters that started out working together, but now have ended up in different places. And each of them are having to make a choice that they probably never thought they'd have to be in the decision to make. But again, that's the fallout of the Civil War. We're also starting to see how Norman Osborne is more involved in all of this than what we originally thought. Also Ben's story, and Robbie's story are starting to become intertwined. Robbie's story picks up right after he's been shot. We get to see his feeling as he's thinking about his past and friends, as he's being rushed to the hospital. But then on the way something happens. It appears that this trauma may be kick starting his powers back in. We'll have to wait until next issue to find out. In the "Sleeper Cell" story, we learn more about the Namor's involvement. Also, Wonderman is attacked by the Green Goblin. Which everyone thinks is dead. So now all three stories are starting to come together. And finally we have a glimpse of how the Civil War is mimicing another famous battle, the Somme Offensive. This book makes you think. Which, believe it or not, is a good thing.

Civil War : Front Line #6 - Marvel

Another great installment in this series. We have our ongoing story about Ben Urich and Sally Floyd. Both are equally dedicated at getting at and reporting the truth, but both have different ways of going about it. Which is probably why they make such a good team. There's like this automatic check and balance there when the two are working together. Anyways, Ben is stuck because Robbie wants him to work on the War storyline, but Ben wants to figure out what's going on with the Goblin, because he, and his family, was directly threatened by him. So, Jonah fires him and he's ready to leave. Robbie however talks him in to staying, by letting him cover the War story how he wants. If he wants to go at it through the Goblin connection, fine, as long as he reports it as witnessed and he expects nothing less than the truth. Sally, on the other hand, is stuck in a holding cell because of her involvment with the "Rebels". Her story ends with the Marshall and Mr. Fantastic offering her a deal. Ben is in the middle of the Melee at Oscorp and witnesses Goliath being taken down. Ben confronts Tony afterwards and really puts him on the spot. The hard hitting questions leaves Tony walking off with no comment, and Ben thinking, "I got you, Tony Stark. I got you. Hook, line and sinker." We then move on to Robbie Baldwin who is being moved to the holding facility in the negative zone. He's writting a letter to his mom, which is how we keep up with the history of the story. Mr. Fantastic feels for him and offers him an open hearing in Washington, to tell his side of the story. He goes there with Jen, She-Hulk, but of couse things aren't as anticipated. The final scene as they're going into the building looks like the image of the Lee Harvey Oswald shooting. Next we look in again at the story about the shop owner who was a sleeper agent. For Atlantis apparently. Wonder Man is ordered to follow him, which leads him to a warehouse of more Atlanteans, and heavily armed ones at that. Finally we get to review a poem from WWII and see the images of how that war compares to the current one. I really like the way this mini shows the War from the "everyman's" point of view. Very sombering.

Civil War #4 - Marvel

"Oh my God!!! Thor just killed Goliath!" Exsqueezeme? Oh, I forgot. This is Marvels all encompasing Thrillogy! So a cloned Thor is not out of the question. And said Thor, blasting a lightning bolt through Goliath's chest is not out of the question. And Iron Man beating the crap out of Captain America, is not beyond reason. Oh, and I can't forget Susan Storm coming to everyone's rescue, and having to become separated from her family in order to do so. Now, people in both camps, Tony's and Cap's, are starting to question whether or not they picked the right side. So how is Tony's team going to make sure they have the manpower to confront Cap's side in the future. They're crossing the line, that's how. Now they're recruiting people like Bullseye, Taskmaster, Venom, and some other nasties. This is going to get a lot uglier before it gets better. I started out a little skeptical when this series began. But, it's drawing me in more and more every month. Mark Millar is such an incredible writer. And, Steve McNiven gets better and better with every issue. I was recently reading some of the Marvel Knights "4" title, which Steve did the art in the first few issues, and he has come a long way since then, which was probably only about 3 years ago. My only criticism will be, will theses changes stick. It seems like we go through these all encompasing changes, only to have them all revert back to normal 6 months down the line. But, I'm willing to wait and see because the story truly is that good.

Civil War : X-Men #2 - Marvel

The Front Line, tells us how the normals in the Marvel Universe are handling the Civil War. This book tells us how the X-men are dealing with the repurcusions. First we see Emma brought in by a Sentinel, like a wayward puppy. She went out to say goodbye to Scott and his team, but the Sentinel saw her, captured her, and brought her back to the school. Valerie Cooper would like to know where they went and what their up to,but Emma isn't giving up anything. So the team of Cyclops, Beast, Iceman and Angel are travelling cross country to find where Domino and Shatterstar took the 198. It's not long before the Sentinel's catch up to them. But they do elude capture. Meanwhile the 198 are at an underground military base in the Nevada desert. They're trying to make the most of it, but while exploring, Caliban comes across a big bunker door that he doesn't like the smell of. General Lazer is using the mutant that makes the little dolls to help try to track his quarry. He doesn't get very far at first, but eventually he comes up with a Cyclops doll. Bishop is leading the Govt. sponsored team that's looking for the Mutants. For not wanting his future to end up like this, he seems to be taking to the role pretty calmly. So just as Cyclops team finds the bunker, Bishop and the Sentinels find Cyclops. And with General Lazer controlling Cyclops, he unleashes his full optic blast on Bishop. He starts to absorb the energy, but eventually he overloads and explodes. Is he dead? Probably not, but we'll have to wait till next issue to find out what happened. David Hine and Yanick Paquette bring us this yarn. It's ok. Predictable, but ok.

Civil War - Front Line #5 - Marvel

Yet another chapter in the continuing adventure of the Marvel Civil War. The first story has to do with 2 different journalists, Ben Urich and Sally Floyd. Ben hasn't decided what he thinks the story is yet. But, the story seems to be looking for him. Green Goblin corners him in an alley, saying that he going to get revenge for all the stuff "Benny Boys" written about him. But he seems to have some sort of siezure. So Ben escapes while he is incapacitated. Now Sally on the other hand is diving right in. She's already met with some of the underground, and barely escaped when they were attacked by some SHIELD "Herokillers". Now someone is trying to spoonfeed her the bigger story, but the Govt., SHIELD in particular, is not gonna' let it happen. Her and her editor, Neil Crawford, are both arrested. In the further adventures of Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, he is being sent to a special prison with all the other metas who refused to register. It's in the Negative Zone. The inmates call it Fantasy Island. In the Sleeper Cell story, we have Wonder Man shooting a promo spot for TV, supporting the registration. But, then he is strongarmed into going after "Joe", a sleeper agent the Govt. has been watching for years, and who blew up his shop a couple of issues ago so he could escape. And finally we have some letters from the real Civil War, between 2 brothers who fought on opposite sides, and the pictures compare how it relates to what's going on now. As I said, I was a little sceptacle of this appendum to the Civil War storyline, when it first came out. But, it's growing on me. It would be really good, if they could get some decent artists on it. But, that's just me.

Civil War : Front Line #4 - Marvel

This book is a view of the Civil War from a street level. Kinda' neat idea. Stories are well written, but art leaves something to be desired. But overall, a decent book. This one starts out with 2 reporters and their different takes on how to get the story. Sally Floyd is ready to jump right in with the underground movement, and report on what their doing, how their coping, what their planning, etc. Ben Urich, wants a story too, but he prefers to stay at arms length. He may not get the choice though. Sally goes to the secret meeting place. But, that means shes there when the "Cape-Killers" come crash in to round up all the insurgents. She gets away, but now she's on the run too. Ben on the other hand, trys to play it safe, but through some notes and cryptic messages ends up in an alley face to face with Hobgoblin, who's very mad at him for things he wrote about him. Next we have the continuing story of Robbie, aka Speedball, who is in prison for not registering. He's been goaded into a boxing match with Toomey, who's been doing all the goading. Everything actually is going well, until someone reaches in from the side and shanks his leg. But through this act, some of Speedball's powers manifest. It doesn't last long, and it creates some damage, but it's still there. He then has a little heart to heart with his mother. "Sleeper Cell" is about what appears to be an old man who blew up his corner store for no apparent reason. We, on the other hand, know that it was an agent of Atlantic that had been hiding. We haven't found out yet why he "woke", or what his plans are, but we are getting some more pieces of the puzzle. Finally the last couple of pages compare the "Civil War" to the Vietnam War, or any war really, to show the injustices that are being done to people in the name of the Govt. , kind of preachy, but ok. I wasn't sure about this book at first, but I like that it's giving us a different view of the Marvel Universe. It's still the same place, but like I said, you're seeing it from the street level.

Civil War #3 - Marvel

Ok first we have Mr. Fantastic in Wakanda trying to talk the Black Panther into joining up with his side. But he wants to remain neutural. Doctor Strange also has refused to be pulled in to the fray. We then see Tony Stark meeting up with Emma at the X-Men mansion, trying to get them on his side. Like the Black Panther, Emma express' that with all the hardship they've gone through recently, they would prefer to stay on the sidelines. But Bishop asks to talk to him. We then see Cap America, Hercules, Daredevil and Goliath in thier new civilian identities, compliments of Nick Fury. But soon they answer a call to a problem at a Petrochemical plant. Unfortunately it's owned by Tony Stark so obviously its a trap. There's a huge knockdown dragout fight by both sides, but it come to a thunderous conclusion, literally, when SHEILD calls in Thor and he blankets the area in thunder and lightening. Ok, I wasn't a believer when this all started, but I'm quickly getting there. I still have some reservations though on whether these will be lasting changes. But, I guess, only time will tell. Mark Millar is his usual magnificent self, and Steve McNiven, I think, will become a fan favorite after all this is done. This series has huge potential, but, like I said, we'll see when all is said and done, how many changes stick, and what doesn't.

Civil War - X-men #1 - Marvel

This book is set up to show how this "Civil War" is affecting the X-men, or the 198. And I have a feeling it is going to seriously tear them apart. First we have Domino and Shatterstar who infiltrate the command base set up on the mansion's grounds. This also means that since they are part of X-Force, that hopefully X-Force will be back. Maybe?They create a riot to form a diversion so they can blow the wall apart and escape with whoever will come along. The plan works perfectly, the O.N.E. and the Sentinels, are caught with thier pants down. Bishop is involved in the fray, but after Caliban puts the whammy on him, he is out until they've escaped. Cyclops and the X-men had them dead to rights, but they let them go because Scott doesn't want any more bloodshed. Bishop has a serious problem with this. So Bishop ends up with Tony Stark, planning on a joint initiative with the mutants and the O.N.E. But the only mutants Bishop could get to join him are Micromax and Sabra. I'm sure he'll gather up others though. But there's already rumblings in Tony's camp because General Lazer has serious problems with Bishop being in charge of this operation. Meanwhile, the X-Men, specifically Cyclops, Iceman, Angel & Beast are putting together thier own strikeforce to go after the 198. Emma goes along with them to say goodbye, but that leaves her outside of the grounds and at the mercy of a Sentinal that's targeted her. BOOM!!! End of book. That's alot going on for one book. But realistically, the Civil War should be tearing apart almost every camp or team. There's going to be alot of new alliances, and when all is said and done, I think we'll probably have to redefine who's the good guys, and who's the bad guys. Good luck with that.

Civil War - Front Line #3 - Marvel

Ok, I have to admit that I like this series. It's gives us a behind the scene look at what's going on to the "common folk" during the "Civil War". The first story is about Miss Floyd, the columnist who has been writing about the depowered mutants, and what they were going through. Well now she's writing about the "heroes" that have decided not to register and what they are going through. It's and inspiring couple of pages, the conversation that she has with these second stringers, who have decided to stand up for their rights. Some of whom's identities are public knowledge, but they still refuse to register because of the govt's insistance on stomping on their rights to privacy. We then see Ben Urich having an interesting conversation with Mr. Fantastic. Ben really is on his side, but in speaking his mind, and asking the hard questions, he really puts Reed on the spot. As she heads towards home, Miss Floyd runs across a confrontation between 2 more second stringers, Thunderclap and Bantam. Thunderclap gets a little over zealous and claps Bantam into a fuel truck ingiting it and Bantam. He is devastated, as this is not what he meant to do. The second story is about Robbie Baldwin again, Speedball, who has been incarcerated because he refuses to register. Of course he was unconscious in the hospital when the deadline came and went. But that, to the govt., is besides the point. So now not only is he in prison, but he has no powers, the other inmates know who he is, they are all calling him "baby killer" for all the people who died and the guards have no sympathy for him either because they know who he is and what he's done. And even through all this, he still refuses to register. The next story is about one of the bad guys, who through the use of drugs, has been masquerading as a normal human being. When the violence starts to hit close to his home, he decides it's time for him to do something about it and he changes into his powered form. Finally we have a poem that shows how what is going on in this "Civil War" is mirrored by our past Civil war. Or any wars for that matter. These are all meant to be moving stories that show the human condition during these trying times. It is very successful. Very well written stories. Check it out.

Civil War - Front Line #2 - Marvel

This is an appendum to the Civil War book. Where the Civil War book shows what the heroes are going through, this book shows what the supporting cast is going through. The difference in the 2 books is that the heroes choose their role. They either register and play along or don't and become criminals. That's how the sides are chosen. The supporting cast doesn't get to choose. They're stuck with whatever the heroes decide. Or they're just stuck on the sidelines trying to avoid the fallout. Either way they don't get to make much of a decision in the process. That's what this book is about. The first story is about the Daily Bugle, or more specifically Ben Urich. He decides he wants to write an expose on Peter, and show the world that he really is a good guy. But, then he comes across, literally, one of the first acts of the Civil War, where Iron Man has to bring down Prodigy. It's exactly midnight on the eve of the law and Prodigy decides to make a stand. Being caught in the perifery of that confrontation is when Ben decides that the it's the normal people that are going to suffer. I think that may change the slant on the piece he wants to write. The second story is about Robert Baldwin, Speedball. He is incarcerated and given his only option of getting on board with the registration, and SHIELD, or becoming a criminal. He is convinced that he has done nothing wrong, refuses to "play along", and is thrown into a penetentiary somewhere in the south. The criminals see him as a "baby-killer", because of the 60 kids that died in Stamford, and he becomes "fresh meat". We also see Norman Osborne's reaction to Peter's press conference. He is apparently being recruited by SHIELD. Interesting! I wonder where that storyline's going?? And finally we get a history lesson about Gaius Julius Caesar, and how his standing up to Rome, is parallel with the Civil War beginning to break out in the Marvel Universe. As I said many times before, these will be great storylines as long as they enact lasting change. If we get a year down the road and everything goes back to normal, we will have been severly cheated. Some of the changes so far I really can't see them recanting. But, with comics, you never know. So, I hope that the changes stick, and I hope that this series is ushering a new era for the Mighty Marvel Machine, and a new way of looking at our heroes. However, history shows us that something this ambitious will not be lasting. I'm going to be optimistic though. It'll be sad to see some of the things change, but it'll be good to see things from a new perspective.

Civil War #2 - Marvel

Ok, my criticism of the appendages to this maxi-series, may have been a bit negative. But this book, was right on the money. Mark Millar is an incredible author. First of all Captain America has gone underground. He's assembling a squad of mercenaries, used to be heroes, and is also taking some "Bad-guys" hostage. The registered heroes are putting on a show in the center of New York taking down a Doom-Bot. Rallying the average Joe's support. After the fight She-Hulk asks Iron Man, "Won't we just be S.h.i.e.l.d. Agens when we're all on the federal payroll?" To which Tony replys, "No, we're Super-Heroes Jennifer. The only thing changing is that the kids, and the sociopaths are getting weeded out." To which Tigra asks, "What category does Captain America fall into, Iron Man?" The Fantastic Four seems to be on board to, well at least Reed is. Later you see S.h.i.e.l.d. chasing after the Patriot, of the Young Avengers, across rooftops in a helicopter. And being the "Greenie" that he is, he leads them right back to their hideout. They're all loaded up in a carrier, but Cap and Falcon, are undercover as security, and they transport all the Y.A.'s to thier secret hideout. They're now enlisted in the underground. Also present are Cloak & Dagger, Daredevil, Luke Cage and some others. The issue ends up with Tony Stark's press conference in which Spider-man comes out, tells the world that he's been Spider-man since he was 13 and that his real name is Peter Parker. The funny part was Jonah passing out at his desk after seeing the TV. Awesome stuff. Hopefully there's more changes in store. And hopefully they'll be permanant. I already told you how I feel about that. So now we eagerly anticipate the next issue. By the way did I tell you Steve McNivens art is perfect for this book. I don't know where this guy came from, but he's got a serious future.