Civil War II #1 (Marvel)

For any fans reading this who's like to see an alternate take on this same basic story, watch the movie Minority Report, or the Philip K. Dick story that inspired it.  In this second Civil War, Marvel is tackling the matter of punishing the offender before they commit the crime.

You could argue that this is also within the realm of the surveillance debate that various high-profile leaks in recent years have provoked, and maybe it would be a good case to make, but I'm not sure I would buy it.  In the end, this is another excuse to get superheroes to fight each other.  It's a comic book tradition, and Marvel has admitted to that.  It's the fan classic: who would win?  The question, when making an event out of it, is how to justify it?

DC Versus Marvel was to that point the biggest such answer, and then came the first Civil War, which tackled the classic question of accountability, and then AvX, which was about exploring the issue of too much power, and now we have Civil War II.

I've decided that it's kind of just an excuse to explore the new Marvel landscape, to meet the new power players.  This isn't a bad thing.  Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel, Nova, the Inhumans, these are all characters who have emerged in recent years as the new generation of Marvel icons.  It's Captain Marvel who is leading the charge to support the Inhumans and their new resident precog, Ulysses, while Iron Man leads those who think all this could end badly.

The Free Comic Book Day preview that baffled me did feature Ulysses, but gave no indication that he would have such a significant role in the event itself.  Interestingly, while the preview was filled with random action, Civil War II #1 itself leaves most of that action off-panel, so that it's the discussions and character conflicts that drive the plot.  That's typical Brian Michael Bendis, the king of conversation comics.  It's a little shocking when this means James Rhodes (War Machine) dies off-panel, or that a big event like the Thanos takedown was not in itself the big event of this big event (it's really, really odd how Marvel has been using Thanos, both in the comics and movies, considering his significance).  We also get the apparent death of She-Hulk, but that just seems like overkill (if you'll pardon me for saying that).

All of which means I still don't know why the two sides will, y'know, fight, but I can see this Civil War for what it is, which for once is fairly straight-forward.  I still have no idea what Secret Wars was all about, or what it accomplished, other than give Jonathan Hickman his big event. 

Bendis is reuniting with Ultimate Spider-Man artist David Marquez, and that seems like another indication that Civil War II is really about that next generation.  I don't know.  I don't know what I'll miss if I don't continue reading this one, but I'll at least keep tabs.  If the last Civil War proved anything, these things can take pretty dramatic turns...

Ultimate Spider-Man #200 (Marvel)

writer: Brian Michael Bendis
artist: Dave Marquez, David Lafuente, Sara Pichelli, Mark Brooks, Mark Bagley

via Inside Pulse

To reach this numbering milestone (as handily recapped in the back of the issue), Marvel counted: Ultimate Spider-Man #s 1-133, Ultimate Six #s 1-7, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #s 1-15, 150-160, Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem #s 1-2, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #s 1-28, and Cataclysm: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #s 1-3 (plus this one).  Strictly speaking, it's kind of sad, and completely indicative of the shenanigans typical in today's comics (although Marvel also celebrated a Nova anniversary that combined...a lot of very deeply spaced issues recently, so there's that as well, and DC's Detective Comics celebrations, that speak to the need for anniversaries in general...while trying to look "fresh" to newer readers; and all the ridiculous fake anniversary issues...).

When it started, Ultimate Spider-Man was a remarkably long-lived partnership between Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley that lasted a hundred-and-eleven straight issues (just breaking the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby streak in the original Fantastic Four).  Bagley returned for a number of additional issues, but soon gave way to other signature collaborators in Bendis's remarkable (and most and only remarkable Ultimate) run with this alternate Spider-Man saga.

Sara Pichelli has fifteen previous appearances, David Lafuente sixteen.  The only one missing from this reunion is Stuart Immonen, who logged in twenty-three issues but is perhaps tied up with another Bendis collaboration at the moment, All-New X-Men (which is kind of too bad).

David Marquez, it should be noted, is the one going forward.

Such are the other vagaries of this run that it celebrates a different Spider-Man than the one that's currently on record, Miles Morales, the ethnically diverse wunderkind who has been building his own legacy (and stars in the latest relaunch, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man).  The one you may know better, obviously, would be Peter Parker.  Except he's been dead since the Ultimatum event that basically radically broke the Ultimate line from the mainline Marvel universe (even more so, anyway).  

Bendis gets a lot of credit as far as his worth to Marvel in general is concerned, but he's rarely considered to be as good a writer as he is dependable.  Most of what you'll hear critically about him isn't all that flattering.  I've been somewhat guilty of that.  I haven't read him nearly as much as his DC rivals Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison, but he's as important as either of them, and his legacy is equally comparable.  The thing he has on them is his dedication to this title, no matter what form it takes.  

Every now and then, I try to make good and check in on what he's been doing, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.  Once again Bendis pleasantly surprises me.  While Morales certainly gets the short straw, Parker's enduring legacy is greatly exhibited, everything he accomplished just in these adventures, the remarkable supporting cast that surrounded him.  

A series of monologues reveals how each of these characters still remember Peter.  In a lot of ways, this is almost an ideal Spider-Man comic.  Peter Parker dead but living in the memories of those he left behind, with someone else struggling to follow in his footsteps (it should be noted that left out of the celebration numbers is a tie-in comic between Miles Morales and the "616" Peter Parker, Spider-Men, which is referenced here).  Peter, another boy who never grew up, which has certainly been a matter of some controversy elsewhere.  Bendis has been making as strong an argument as anyone ever has that Marvel could weather a reboot and be the better for it, although perhaps no one could do it as well as he has.  

Some of the art fails to distinguish characters from each other (notably dueling brunettes).  Maybe this is a problem for someone who hasn't been following the whole thing.  It doesn't really matter, though.  The impact is still considerable.  Unlike, say, Superior Spider-Man #30, you don't really have to have read anything else to fully enjoy and appreciate the proceedings.

If you've never read a single issue, just to make it clear, this would be a good place to start.