(AfroGamers.com) One thing I’ve run into on occasion when hearing other Blerds and comic book fans in general discuss Marvel Comics is how much they disliked the first Civil War. Mind you, this isn’t a universal opinion. Some folks hated it, some loved it, some liked parts of it. It could be that it set the pace for heroes to fight heroes pretty often.
My Other Re-Introduction To Comics
Personally, I dug the hell out of the story arc and I actually plan to do a third re-read of it later this month. My personal attachment to the story arc comes from it being one of my re-introductions to western comics.
I first discovered Marvel and DC as a kid when my uncle gave me the dollar store value pack of comics. You would get a mix of three or four comics that were years old and sometimes not even the same company. You might have two DC issues, a Marvel, and—I don’t know, something from Malibu Comics—in this pack.
Sometimes, the years were all different but they were always great conditions of third and fourth pressings that probably had printing blemishes. I was rarely able to follow comics and the first story arc I was able to read all the way was the Age of Apocalypse that year. After that, anime and manga became a big thing, I found some that I enjoyed and American comics basically took a hike.
That is until 2007, while a found graphic novel of Ultimate Spider-Man piqued my interest in American comics, it was when I began checking out Marvel stuff from the library that the Civil War reeled me back in.
Why I Love The Marvel Civil War
The Civil War was my introduction to a shared, fictional universe in any media. I’d played the GTA game and while they all take place in the same universe, none really take place at the same time. As a matter of fact, the games are all sequels and prequels of each other with very few references made to the previous games.
In this story arc, I was introduced to a threat that would prove to be greater than anything the heroes had faced before: each other. The story gave you the first rumblings that not all was well among the Avengers when it came to this issue. Then one tragic event split the superhero community into taking definite stances on the Superhuman Registration Act.
Some figured it was a good idea and sided with Iron Man while others felt it was poor idea or at minimum poorly implemented and sided with Captain America. Other events occurred that drew a deeper wedge between the two sides.
This is what I loved about the comic book Civil War. There was a long simmering discussion to be had about the damage superheroes do and who is held responsible. You also had to worry about loved ones who weren’t in that line of work and didn’t have powers. It made me think about which side I’d go with.
I Sided With…
I ended up siding with Captain America. While I believed that superheroes should be held responsible for damage caused and I could see why the government would want a superhero’s secret identity, the government wasn’t going to post armed security at the house of every superhero in the U.S.
Superheroes in the Marvel Universe put their lives on the line to protect others because they feel they have a responsibility with the powers and skills they have. It’s not much to let them have secret identities to protect their private lives and loved ones.
Plus, the government gets compromised often in the Marvel Universe. If there’s a database with the secret identity of every cape—good and bad—and an organization with bad intentions manages to hack S.H.I.E.L.D or have a mole on the inside. There are heroes who are screwed. They might be able to protect themselves but not all of them can be everywhere at once.
This was something not explored in the film. It flowed from an act of terrorism to a discussion to revelations about one person to a fight over that one person between the two leaders. The Civil War was much more than that but the film was a great as an extremely loose adaptation.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.