Ten years ago, Marvel heroes were divided in two thanks to the Civil War storyline. A decade later, hostilities are about to begin all over again thanks to the sequel, Civil War II. This new mini-series will serve as Marvel's flagship event comic for summer 2016 and explore what happens when the Avengers come to blows over another conflict between freedom and security. And it all begins with the release of Civil War II #1 this week.
Civil War II is a massive crossover that encompasses nearly all of Marvel's ongoing comics and many of their most iconic heroes. It may seem too big and imposing, but that's why we're here to help. We've broken down everything you need to know about the origins of this latest Marvel event, why the Avengers are fighting and what you need to read to follow this epic conflict.
The original Civil War was unique in that it was a major Marvel comic predicated entirely on the idea of heroes fighting heroes. The disastrous loss of life in Stamford, CT sparked the creation of the Superhuman Registration Act, a bill that required all US heroes to register their identities with the government and submit to training and regulation. The SHRA split the superhero community down the middle, with Iron Man leading the pro-registration faction and Captain America spearheading an underground resistance movement. When the dust from their war finally settled, Cap turned himself in and registration became the law of the land (for a while, at least).
Naturally, there was a lot of bad blood left in the aftermath of Civil War. That conflict seemed to open the floodgates when it heroes battling heroes, as several Marvel storylines have dealt with similar conflicts. In Avengers vs. X-Men, long simmering tensions between the two teams finally boiled over when the Phoenix Force threatened all life on Earth. In Avengers & X-Men: AXIS, a psychic attack from Red Onslaught caused dozens of heroes to become evil, inverted versions of themselves and wage war on their friends. Most recently, Avengers: Time Runs Out showcased a huge rift among Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the build-up to last year's Secret Wars event.
No doubt those past feuds and disagreements will play into the Civil War II conflict. At this point, the world's heroes are all too prone to fighting each other when they should be banding together for the greater good. Time Runs Out was a particularly poignant example of the cost that comes when the Avengers are too consumed by in-fighting to confront the greater evils around them. That's why when this latest superhero civil war breaks out, there will be those whose on;y concern is putting a stop to the fighting, not choosing sides.
It may be called "Civil War II," but this crossover isn't directly connected to its predecessor. For one thing, it's a collaboration between writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Marquez rather than the original creative team of writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven. For another, while it also features an ideological conflict that will split the Avengers down the middle, this war has nothing to do with the Superhuman Registration Act. Instead, the catalyst in Civil War II is a new Inhuman named Ulysses. Ulysses has the power to see into the future and predict terrible disasters before they occur. Tensions flare when Ulysses predicts a major, planet-threatening disaster and the Avengers scramble to figure out how to deal with this latest threat.
This will eventually dovetail into a new conflict over the dueling needs of freedom and security. Some heroes believe that Ulysses' power should be used to prevent superhuman-related crimes before they happen. Others believe that free will must be preserved and that criminals can't be punished before committing a crime. We don't know if Marvel's creators and editors appreciate the comparisons between Civil War II and the movie Minority Report, but that's an easy shorthand for what Civil War II is about.
As with the original Civil War, this story will see the Avengers splinter and rally behind one of two leaders. Captain Marvel will spearhead the team that supports using Ulysses' power to stave off potential threats, while Iron Man will oppose them. We don't know the full lineups of both teams yet, but Marvel's early teasers and preview art have hinted as to where many heroes will fall in this battle.
Team Captain Marvel
- War Machine
- She-Hulk
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker & Miles Morales)
- Vision
- Medusa
- Winter Soldier
- Blue Marvel
- Spectrum
- Ant-Man
- Hawkeye
Team Iron Man
- Captain America (Sam Wilson)
- Black Panther
- Thor (Jane Foster)
- Luke Cage
- Star-Lord
- Hercules
- Daredevil
- Black Widow
- Deadpool
- Miss America Chavez
- Hulk (Amadeus Cho)
Expect some heroes to strive to remain neutral in this conflict. That includes Steve Rogers, who remembers all too well what happened in the original Civil War and is more interested in ending hostilities as quickly as possible than solving the complex moral dilemma Ulysses' power creates. And if the original story is any indication, don't be surprised if some heroes switch sides during the course of the war, especially as new tragedies unfold.
On the surface, it might seem hard to understand why Ulysses' future predicting abilities are enough to spark an all-out war between Earth's heroes. While there will surely be disagreements, is it really necessary for Avengers to start punching other Avengers? At first, this disagreement will be merely philosophical. However, the conflict will come to a head once Ulysses predicts that one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes will be directly responsible for a huge disaster. At that point, the kid gloves are off.
The war between heroes will only grow more heated when a major character dies in issue #3. Obviously, Marvel isn't revealing the identity of that character ahead of time, but their death will mark the point of no return for both teams. That death will likely be the major watershed moment of Civil War II just as Spider-Man's public unmasking was in the original Civil War.
Several months back we explored five possible theories for which character will die. As it turns out, more than one of them might turn out to be correct. Marvel released a Civil War II prologue issue as part of FCBD. In that story, Ulysses convinces the Avengers and Inhumans rally and stop Thanos from invading Project Pegasus and stealing a Cosmic Cube. Though the villain is defeated, both She-Hulk and War Machine are seriously (perhaps fatally) wounded. At this point it's unclear where in the context of the larger story the FCBD issue is meant to take place. It may simply turn out to be a chronicle of one of Ulysses' visions rather than something that has actually happened. But regardless, the future is looking bleak for both She-Hulk and War Machine.
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