Civil War (Marvel Comics)

This is one of the worst excuses for storytelling I've ever had the misfortune to slog through. In the wake of a super-villain-related disaster, the US...See more » This is one of the worst excuses for storytelling I've ever had the misfortune to slog through. In the wake of a super-villain-related disaster, the US Government passes an incomprehensible "Superhero Registration Act" that is alternately portrayed as (a) no more intrusive or unreasonable than licensing doctors or training police officers and (b) so significant that "failing to register" (even if you're retired) is now the worst possible crime imagineable, justifying immediate incarceration courtesy of dozens of heavily-armed government agents. Needless to say, nobody in the story comments on this bizarre dichotomy, and instead, characters who have fought side-by-side for decades as friends and teammates immediately begin assaulting each other using all the deadly force at their disposal. There's no attempt to explain why these superheroes are suddenly acting (and speaking) like sovereign nations at war -- the fact that the word "War" appears in the book's title is, presumably, justification enough (how metatextual!) -- and at the drop of a hat, the heroes are pounding on (and killing) each other as surely as if half of them had been hypnotized by a Magic Space Wizard out of some '60s JLA/JSA crossover. Worst of all, though, virtually every character in this book is uniformly dislikeable. Characterization was once considered Marvel Comics' strong suit, but everyone in this book acts like a jerk from the first panel to the last. Throw in some truly ham-fisted attempts to relate the story to current events ("The Stamford disaster is like 9/11! The Negative Zone prison is like Guantanamo!") and wince-inducingly bad dialogue straight from the Big Book of Action Movie Cliches ("This is the nightmare scenario!" "What are you waiting for? Finish it!", etc.) and you have one of the most mind-bogglingly awful works of "graphic fiction" ever inflicted upon an unsuspecting public. Comment | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)See less »