Girls of Geek Book Review: Civil War

Written by Scotty

Working together as a team can be one of the hardest things for people to grow accustomed to.  Having to put your trust into someone that you may barely know or someone that has let you down in the past can leave some wanting to work alone.  Establishing trust with others is just the beginning to building a team and when that comes together, there is nothing better than having everyone on the same page and working towards the one united goal.

Tony Stark is now the leader of the Avengers and is looking to add as much power to his ranks as possible.  With the loss of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Director Nick Fury, Tony understands that the more he can do to keep the power agency away from the streets, the better.  Building young Peter Parker a new Spider-Man suit with all of the Stark advancements, Peter is more than willing to join the charismatic leader.  Without the help of the recently deceased Thor, Tony needed to find someone that had enough power to fill the gap, along with someone he could control and Peter would fill both roles.

Across town, the New Warriors are trying to get their ratings up while taking on whatever evil doers they can find.  Running into some unsuspecting super villains, the group pulls together and gets their cameras ready and attack.  Although the New Warriors are armateurs, they have always come out on top and they did not anticipate that their new foes would put up much of a fight.  In this thinking, they were grossly mistaken.  As the battle started, the New Warriors were winning and to their amazement, very handedly, but the super villains do not lose gracefully.  Nitro welcomed the New Warriors to the big leagues with a bang that took out the armateur Super Heroes, the villains along with a blocks worth of pedestrians in Stamford, Connecticut.

The people no longer feel safe in the presence of the so called Super Heroes and take to the streets with their anger.  It does not matter to the masses if a Super Hero is trained or able to take on the threats that are put in front of them, what matters is the loss of life that happens around the event, more importantly, civilian life.  A new bill is on the Senate's table, the Metahuman Registration Act.  This bill is designed for the safety of the normal citizen while people with super abilities are limited, controlled by S.H.I.E.L.D. and given direction to what they can and cannot do when taking on the community’s threats. Even though this seems very extreme, Tony Stark sits in during all of the hearings and has come to the conclusion that this is the best way to keep himself, his team of Avengers and the citizens of America safe after the latest disaster. 

Captain America on the other hand is none too keen with the events that are unfolding in front of his eyes.  Not believing in the registration act, the Captain lets acting Director Hill know that he will not be fighting alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. on this new mission and moves underground.  Some of the current Avengers believe this is the right thing to do and stay with Stark and register, while others follow in the footsteps of the Captain and move underground but continue to do their work to keep people safe.  This causes a rift between friends and families as every super human has to register or be considered a threat and will be hunted down by S.H.I.E.L.D. and their teams.  With a new detention facility being set up by Reed Richards and Tony Stark that can keep these unruly super humans contained, Project 42 is in full effect and the Negative Zone is now open for the business of keeping anyone with super powers contained.

Civil War, by Stuart Moore, follows two of the most powerful Avengers as they square off on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Tony Stark believes that a Super Hero Registration act is necessary for the safety of the country due to the recent events that took place in Stamford.  Captain America is on the opposite side of the fence, comparing the registration act to something that he saw in Germany many years ago.  No matter if it is right or wrong, S.H.I.E.L.D. is enforcing the registration and anyone that tries to use their powers outside of their control is considered a hostile and will be treated as such.  Now former friends and allies are fighting each other, defending their own beliefs and trying to change the stance of the other side, but once a clone of a fallen god enters the picture and kills a fellow hero, both sides recognize that there is no going back.  Captain America and Tony Stark face off in a battle for the ages which both recognize they can never win, but are willing to die trying.

A hard look at the Marvel universe as you have hero fighting hero, trying to prove that their way of thinking is right.  With countless Super Heroes, some X-Men and Super Villains being incorporated in this novel, it is a great look at how the universe has grown.  Two extremists going head to head defending their beliefs and beat the ever loving hell out of each other but once they understand that things will never be the same again, they try to let off.  Having Tony Stark leading the Avengers and trying to protect his new foes from the wrath of S.H.I.E.L.D. is my favorite part of the story as Hill has been appointed acting Director with Fury’s death.  Director Hill has little compassion for the situation and is very good at getting the job done with any means necessary and Stark knows he needs to salvage the situation before his former teammates are killed.  Hill has too much power in Stark’s eyes, and Stark has too much power in Peter Parker's eyes as Spider-Man is the most powerful character in the book and has to make up his own mind and stop giving into the spot light.  Happy Reading!

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