Civil War II

Iron Man apparently can’t get along with anyone with the title captain.

In the first mega-Marvel crossover “Civil War,” Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, was pitted against Captain America. Stark wanted all superheroes to reveal their identities and register with the government in the wake of a massive super-powered disaster. Captain America stood against the imposed registration of super-powered beings. Each one led an army of superheroes.

The comic book crossover event led to the Marvel movie “Captain America Civil War, which also pitted Iron Man against Captain America.

Success breeds sequels. 

Marvel returned a few years ago to the superheroes vs. superheroes concept with the easy to title “Civil War II.”

Here, Stark is pitted against Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers. 

A new Inhuman can see the future. Marvel takes advantage of the ability to attack superbeings before they commit the crimes seen by the Inhuman Ulysses. Say the Hulk plans to attack, Captain Marvel can lead a team against Bruce Banner before the attack. Say Thanos plans to land on Earth seeking the Cosmic Cube, Marvel can lead a team before he makes his initial moves to stop him.

Stark, and several other heroes, believe it is morally wrong to attack or arrest someone based on what could happen in the future. Especially, as the preemptive strikes lead to the deaths of heroes. Heroes who are Tony’s friends.

“Civil War II” was a mega-event that affected most Marvel titles for months running. The premium hard-cover/trade paperback collection of the flagship “Civil War II” does not include every issue that contained a related tale but it does include the predominant issues that drive the storyline. Including the Free Comic Book Day issue from a few years ago that helped set the mega-event in motion.

Brian Michael Bendis tells an epic tale that is often intimate, with quiet moments of importance mixed within the large-scale battles, all folded into the morality tale of if you could stop a tragedy what would you be willing to do, or give up, to avert it?The art is gorgeous throughout the entirety of the run. 

People looking for a fulfilling story while waiting about a year for the follow-up to the Marvel movie “The Avengers: Infinity War” can slip into this collection for a full story of epic proportions.