Welcome back to Comic Booked’s Marvel Must-Read Mondays! Today we are spotlighting the epic Marvel comics event of 2006: Civil War! And with Captain America: Civil War still crushing it at the Box Office, what better time than now to revisit one of the coolest and most-intense Marvel crossovers!
Originally debuting in July 2006, Marvel’s Civil War event affected every nook and cranny of the Marvel Universe. Writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven handled the “through-line” of the entire crossover with seven issues that featured one team of heroes led by Captain America and another led by Iron Man, who are on diametrically opposed sides of the U.S. Government’s Superhero Registration Act, which has gained traction and considerable support in the wake of a senseless tragedy involving the teen heroes the New Warriors.
New readers will no doubt wonder how the comic Civil War compares to its cinematic counterpart. They are very different – and that’s actually a good thing. While it takes a lot of inspiration from the comics and incorporates a lot of its elements, Captain America: Civil War is more a continuation of the themes explored in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and a way to address the fallout of Avengers: Age of Ultron than it is a direct adaptation. And it works – wonderfully!
Where the Civil War comics shine is that they show us two of our favorite Marvel superheroes – and those that have joined them – pushed to the very limits of their character. Tony Stark becomes a maniacal imitation of himself, going so far as to build a prison (with help from Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards) in the Negative Zone to hold those of his superhero friends who don’t join his side. And when I say hold them, I mean indefinitely. Yeah, Stark’s pretty crazy here. And Cap’s not much better. As the war between superhero brothers escalates, Cap loses more and more of what makes him, well, Cap, leading to a crazy finale as Cap realizes just that and…well, you’ll have to read to find out.
If you think Captain America: Civil War had a ton of superheroes in it, you ain’t seen nothing yet: the Civil War comics are chock full of Marvel heroes, offering team-ups and throw-downs previously only dreamed of. For instance, without Civil War, we would never have been able to enjoy this awesome confrontation between Daredevil and Tony Stark. Thank you, Mark Millar!
Do yourself a favor and pick up Civil War today – it’s one of the most fun crossovers you’ll ever come across. Be sure to hashtag #MarvelMRM to let us know what you think, and stay tuned for this week’s edition of DC Comics Throwback Thursdays!
