Civil War #4 - Marvel Comics

CIVIL WAR No. 4, October 2006

Absolutely pulverising the sales of “DC Comics” most successful title of September 2006, “Justice League Of America”, by almost a hundred and thirty thousand copies, this fourth instalment to the “Civil War” mini-series by “Marvel Worldwide” certainly must have stunned its 272,547 audience with its brutal depiction of Iron Man seemingly going to almost any lengths in order to defeat his old comrade-in-arms, Captain America. Indeed, in many ways it’s hard to reconcile Mark Millar’s incarnation of the ‘win at all costs’ billionaire industrial with that of the Golden Avenger’s character during the Bronze Age of Comics…

Fortunately however, Tony Stark’s single-mindedness undeniably leads to some sensational confrontations within this twenty-two page periodical, most notably his patronisation of a badly-beaten Captain America, who despite his jaw “practically hanging off”, still has enough steel inside of him to stand up against the fully-armoured “pampered punk”. Utterly oblivious to all the pain and suffering his sonic attack is causing to all those super-heroes around him, the “mechanical engineer” genuinely seems to enjoy watching the Sentinel of Liberty suffer, and even goes far as to demean the “tough old bird” for “still getting up” when other people’s brains would have simply shutdown due to the sound waves.

Easily this publication’s most shocking moment though, has to be the horrific death of Goliath at the hands of a scarily-deranged Thor. This tragic moment is clearly the tipping point for some of Stark’s less convinced followers, such as Invisible Woman and Spider-Man. But also goes to show just how coldly calculating Iron Man has apparently always been when it is subsequently revealed that the murderous Thunder God is simply a cybernetic clone created from a strand of hair Tony covertly acquired from his furniture following “the first meeting of the Avengers.”

Ably enabling this comic to additionally be a visual tour-de-force are Steve McNiven’s layouts and Dexter Vines' inks, which really help imbue even the more sedentary scenes towards the back of the book, with plenty of emotional energy. Bill Foster’s killing is tremendously well-drawn, and the sheer horror upon all those who witness his dreadful demise is clearly etched in everyone’s facial expressions; “I thought you said you knew what you were doing, Tony. I thought we were doing this so no one else got hurt.”

Writer: Mark Millar, Penciler: Steve McNiven, and Inker: Dexter Vines

Civil War #3 - Marvel Comics

CIVIL WAR No. 3, October 2006

Perhaps due to Mark Millar possibly prevaricating a little too much as to just which side of the Superhuman Registration Act each (and every) leading character within the Marvel Universe was on, some of this twenty two page periodical’s 290,672 readers probably felt this book’s narrative was a little bit too sedentary for a crossover storyline focusing upon “the conflict between freedom and security.” However, such lethargy is arguably easily forgotten once Captain America’s team teleport to Geffen-Meyer Chemicals and discover that the emergency distress calls emanating from the petrochemical plant are actually a well thought-out ruse by Iron Man and his iniquitous cronies; “Get the hell out of here, boys! It’s a trap!”

Indeed, the confrontation at the abandoned division of Stark Industries between the two wildly diverging ideologies is debatably one of the mini-series’ highlights, with Steve Rogers’ side deciding to momentarily stand and fight for what they truly believe in, despite facing both overwhelming odds, as well as the sudden loss of both Cloak and Wiccan to some tranquiliser darts. Furthermore, the scene also quite shockingly shows just how deceitful the Golden Avenger has become in siding with the authorities, by additionally depicting Shellhead co-operating with known Masters Of Evil members Radioactive Man and Atlas, presumably because there aren’t enough powerful super-heroes to follow his orders..?

Of course, the best part to the Coatbridge-born writer’s plot is Captain America’s flurry of fisticuffs with his former friend, and the sheer savagery of the conflict once Tony has rerouted his armour’s primary power systems so as to put the billionaire industrialist back on his feet. Initially, it seems that the Sentinel of Liberty is ‘content’ simply to floor his opponent for taking “down two of my boys” with a couple of shield blows to the chops. But something clearly snaps within Stark’s mind at such an effrontery, and his subsequent ‘attack from the rear’ is so villainously vicious that Hercules clearly fears for Rogers’ life.

Packing this comic’s action-packed sequences with plenty of pulse-pounding vitality is Steve McNiven, whose pencilling of the aforementioned battle between Tony and Cap shows just how much physical damage a swing from Iron Man can cause, even when its connecting with the jawline of a human whose super-strength has been significantly enhanced by the super-soldier serum. In fact, even this book’s less exciting scenes, such as Miss Frost’s interview at Professor Xavier’s Mansion in Westchester, or Goliath’s disappointment at being given the false persona Rockwell Dodsworth, prove riveting reads on account of the Canadian artist’s awesome illustrations.

Writer: Mark Millar, Penciler: Steve McNiven, and Inker: Dexter Vines

Civil War #2 - Marvel Comics

CIVIL WAR No. 2, August 2006

Actually outselling its first issue following "reorders”, Mark Millar’s script for the second part to this “Marvel Comics” crossover storyline is arguably a little more sedentary in nature than its preceding edition, thanks largely to the Scottish author’s focus upon the reasoning behind just why the likes of Iron Man and Mister Fantastic position themselves in direct opposition to Captain America’s disapproving stance on the Superhuman Registration Act. In fact, many of this best-selling book’s 253,868 strong audience in June 2006 probably remember this publication more for its depiction of Spider-Man revealing “his secret identity as Peter Parker to the entire world, during a meeting at Congress” than for its notable action sequences involving a clearly out-gunned Eli Bradley, and Steve Roger’s outrageous rescue of the Young Avengers from right under the noses of a heavily-armed S.H.I.E.L.D. transportation unit.

However, just because this twenty-two page periodical doesn’t provide a plethora of pulse-pounding punch-ups doesn’t mean for a second that it isn’t a thoroughly riveting read, with Tony Stark and Reed Richards’ fanaticism as to them being wholly in the right proving one of this comic’s most mesmerising attributes. The Golden Avenger in particular is penned as being especially devious with those super-heroes closest to him, one minute earnestly promising his fellow team-mates She-Hulk and Tigra that Cap is entirely wrong in his opposition to the Government’s legislation, and then in the next confiding to Happy Hogan that he has some serious doubts as to whether he’s “doing the right thing here” when the act becomes law.

Such two-faced haughtiness really does grate upon the nerves, and ultimately seems to show the industrial tycoon as little more than a master manipulator, who even when he himself isn’t entirely convinced by his actions, is perfectly happy for the likes of an impressionable young Peter Parker to unmask himself before his entire rogues’ gallery, simply to help the egotistical Stark appear supremely confident in front of the world’s press; “See the Registration Act gives us a choice: We can continue the trend that Captain America advocates and have people with powers completely unchecked or super heroes can go legitimate and earn back a little public trust.”

Adding enormously to this comic’s success is Steve McNiven’s pencilling, which really does a first-rate job of physically showing the emotions running through this book’s considerably-sized cast. The Canadian’s ability to illustrate an increasingly doubtful Sue Richards’ body language as she sceptically listens to her husband manically wax lyrical about revolutionizing “every meta-human in America” is specifically well-drawn, with Invisible Woman’s concerns about Reed’s viewpoint being obvious in each and every panel.

Writer: Mark Millar, Penciler: Steve McNiven, and Inker: Dexter Vines