Marvel Civil War: What the Heck Everybody?
So here I am watching a video and going through reviews and it all says Marvel's Civil War is one of the worst things to happen to the Marvel Comics universe. But what do I see when casual readers and sales go up? What do I say to all this... Look below.
Welcome to Dude, What the Heck?! a segment that delves into why opinions are divided. For the starting point we will be looking at Marvel's Civil War event.
The Reaction Civil War
Despite Goodreads.com's reaction to the book, the series has little in common with the Marvel Cinematic film, Captain America: Civil War. As the above linked video shows; the Civil War event is a lazily constructed series of dong-wagging where the heroes fight each other. Many notable characters like Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and even Captain America act out of character. Whenever they are not fighting, they are usually drama queens or jerks. In fact, it's like one side completely inverts.
Marvel's In-House Civil War
Marvel's already divided creative teams certainly do not help Civil War. One side had a more mundane approach acting more as a background element; while another was more totalitarian for the sake of cheap thrills. Unlike earlier events in Marvel's history as envisioned by Stan Lee, there was no communication between anyone. In fact it was like Mark Millar and J. Michael Straczynski were leading a civil war in the House of Ideas. There is essentially no point to be made despite some arguments for and against registration; it is just a bare reflection of the Patriot Act.
Marvel's Original Sin
Despite the event being hated by both fans and critics, the general public just eat the whole thing up. Civil War was even advertised on programs like Comedy Central's Colbert Report. Reading through the praises and feedback on the Goodreads page; it is obvious that people like the concept of Civil War more than the story it is attached to. It was just Marvel's way of getting attention; almost like a celebrity couple going at each other's throats.
The worst part of it is, the biggest shockers make it obvious that everything is just a publicity stunt. From Iron Man's many morally questionable actions, to Spider-Man's rise in pro-registration to his falling out; it is all just shock and awe. Even the other characters think his public announcement is stupid. And Captain America acts more like a disgruntled general who is little more than what the editorials want him to be.
The Horrible Results
As it turns out, Civil War was planned to be in the Ultimate Universe hence the characterizations; Mark Millar however was called in to be the writer of an event. In fact the planned ending Millar developed was more satisfying but Joss Whedon wanted a winner on one side. Even worse, a better written event in the form of Annihilation takes place in the background while Civil War gets all the attention. And the casual readers, they didn't even care until everything gets so bad it punches them in the face with stuff like Inhumans vs X-Men or Secret Empire.
At the very least, Captain America: Civil War fixes the flaws of the event by showing how stupid both sides are acting; while actually having reasons for going through their actions. The only flaws come in the form of Helmut (Baron) Zemo.
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