Civil War II #1 Review

Civil War II #1

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Marquez
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Reviewed by David Hildebrand

WOW! One word sums up my feelings as I read the final page of the first issue of Civil War II. After reading the FCBD and issue #0, I figured there would be at least one more calm issue before all hell breaks lose, but Bendis proved my speculation wrong.

The story in Civil War II is simple. There is a new Inhuman named Ulysses, he has the ability to see into the future and his visions are preventable.  The issue begins with assembled heroes from the Marvel Universe coming together to stop an enormous cosmic threat from another universe. After they defeat the threat,  the heroes are introduced to Ulysses by the Inhumans. Once they explain that he is the one that had the vision and was the sole reason they had all the vital information to stop the threat, the other heroes’ curiosity peaks.  The conflict begins between Captain Marvel and Iron Man.  Captain Marvel wants to use Ulysses’s power to predict future encounters, while Iron Man is opposed to it, using an example that Ulysses could see one of the heroes performing a wrongful act but if it is stopped before hand, how would they know for sure that it would have even happened.  A hero does end up dying in another mission where they use Ulysses’s power and that is where the line is ultimately divided between the heroes.

I like what Bendis has done so far.  He has shown both pros and cons to the use of Ulysses’s power and has also taken a wise direction in using two similar teams that have different outlooks. The Avengers are playing the role of the defensive force and the Ultimates are the offensive force. The big power play here is using the death of a hero during the second mission to get the emotions out of the other heroes for them to push what they think is the correct answer once they have lost a close friend.

Marquez’s art works well with the story.  He does equally well with the dynamics of battle and facial expressions during conversations.  The opening battle with the cosmic threat is easily one of the best scenes he has drawn and adding Ponsor’s talent to the book was an excellent choice. His colors are vibrant and brings each one of your favorite heroes to life.

The Verdict
Buy it! Civil War II starts out with a bang and has a couple of dark twists that I didn’t think would happen in the very first issue of this mini-series. These developments have me already asking “Is this going to be real?” or “Is this being used to just sell books and at the end of this event, everything will be back to normal with unicorns and rainbows?” Not to sound like a bad guy, but I would be fine if things stay how they are at this moment.  Sacrifice for the greater good and all that heroic madness.  I am a fan of Bendis and his writing and I am curious to see what transpires in the second issue. Bottom line is, if you are a Marvel fan, you have to at least check out this issue to see if captures your attention. So far, it has mine!