The VERY FOUNDATION of the Marvel Universe WILL CHANGE FOREVER!!! Are you the only one who is tired of hearing that? Things will NEVER BE THE SAME – until they retcon everything and it all turns out to be a dream or an alternate reality or some other weak explanation why they brought back the status quo. The old saying “Only Bucky dies,” isn’t even true since they introduced the Winter Solider. Jean Grey’s death as the Phoenix was one of the most troubling, controversial, and touching moments in the Marvel Universe – until they brought her back…TWICE! Too often fans are promised real change only to be disappointed. But Civil War II looks to have some lasting consequences. How lasting is anybody’s guess, but already there have been some major bombshells and we’re only a little over halfway through the series.
The storyline explores the moral dilemma of judging someone for actions they haven’t taken. It’s similar to the plot of the movie Ghost Protocol but with a superhero twist. More than that, Bendis has moved beyond simply making this the stuff of sci-fi discussions and has defined the story in terms of profiling – a very real issue in our world today. And as a result there are consequences to what happens. There wasn’t just a threat of death – there was death. And surprising ones at that. First, War Machine was taken out by Thanos in a tough battle that also put She-Hulk in the hospital and that was even before the series began. Then the even more surprising death of Bruce Banner by none other than Hawkeye! What will follow in the wake of Civil War II?
Without much fanfare, Marvel Previews post-Civil War II showed readers some interesting images without a lot of explanations. They did share some insight into what we can expect after the chaos ends. One of the most exciting titles is Champions featuring the best and brightest of the younger class of heroes in the Marvel U. Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Nova, Hulk, Cyclops (the young one), and Viv, the daughter of the Vision, form the core of this new group of heroes. Mark Waid, the extremely talented writer who is helming the book along with superstar artist Humberto Ramos, said “the Champions see themselves as a movement as much as a super-team.” They are disillusioned by these people they considered to be heroes and how they behave and have instead formed their own team to battle for justice. Waid promises this isn’t just a Young Avengers type of book, but instead a fledgling super-team coming into its own.
Other books that caught my attention were U.S. Avengers, the new Iron Man books, and of course Death of X. Death of X looks to address what happened to mutantdom – and specifically Cyclops – after the end of Secret Wars. According to Previews, the four-issue miniseries asks the question “What the heck happened between the X-Men and the Inhumans?” Writers Jeff Lemire (who currently writes Extraordinary X-Men) and Charles Soule (who writes Uncanny Inhumans) join forces to sort it all out. Lemire promises some surprises to the story, “A lot of things people are presuming may not be the case, and that’s the fun of it.”
The Iron Man books look to be interesting! Invincible Iron Man will be relaunched (I know, “Again?”) with 15-year old MIT genius Riri Williams as the star who will give fans a completely new take on the armored hero. Bendis promises that Riri will offer some “new tricks up her sleeve that Tony would never have thought of.” To those who think they’ve seen it all, Bendis says, “Well, you haven’t seen her, and you haven’t seen what she’s going to do!” A new book, Infamous Iron Man, will star Victor Von Doom as the second armored “hero.” Von Doom has been trying to turn over a new leaf as readers have seen in the current Invincible Iron Man book, so will he be successful?
There are a ton of new books coming out so be sure to check out Previews for more info. Quotes and background info come from the post Civil War II issue of previews unless otherwise noted.
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