TITLE: Civil War II Issue #1
YEAR: August 2016
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Marquez
Banner Conservation Artist: Olivier Coipel
Color Artist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: VC;s Clayton Cowles
Designer: Victor Ochoa
Assistant Editor: Alanna Smith
Editors: Tom Brevoort with Wil Moss
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso
I have not read a newer major Marvel crossover feature that tied-in to many other Marvel comic books in two decades.
And while there are a few major ones over the years, I decided that I would pick up a copy of “Civil War II” issue #3 as I heard it was a major issue.
I remember reading an issue from the “Ms. Marvel” about an Inhuman named Ulysses that had a special gift of predicting the future and I know that Ms. Marvel has utilized this Inhuman to act on his visions before any harm could be done. And in the process, the heroes ambush Thanos, She-Hulk is left in a coma, Jim Rhodes (War Machine) was killed in battle and it has put Tony Stark against Ms. Marvel.
And now, it’s pitting heroes against each other, some who believe Ms. Marvel is doing the right thing, others who agree with Tony that he is right.
And with issue #3, Ms. Marvel is acting on another prediction that Bruce Banner (Hulk) is up to no good and is planning to experiment with himself and Ms. Marvel and Tony Stark go to confront him.
The story is told through a court hearing, indicating that something bad has happened.
And sure enough, as The Beast hacks into Bruce Banner’s files, he finds out that Bruce was injecting himself with treated dead Gamma cells and Bruce pleads that his experiment has kept the Hulk away. But when S.H.I.E.L.D comes to arrest Bruce Banner, Bruce Banner pleads that he hasn’t done anything wrong and is mad that people have come to his home to accuse him of wrongdoing.
But while Banner makes his plea, an arrow comes out of nowhere and goes through Bruce Banner’s heart, killing him.
Clint Barton (Hawkeye) comes out and reveals himself as the person who killed Bruce Banner. During the court hearing, Clint explains that Bruce Banner had asked him to kill him in case he turns into the Hulk. And Clint tells the court that during the heated argument in front of his home, he saw Bruce Banner’s pupil turning green and knew he had to make his move.
Needless to say, this act has divided the heroes even more. Which side will these heroes choose?
It’s interesting to see Ms. Marvel in a leadership role, unlike how she was treated back in the ’80s. While it’s hard to see Bruce Banner dead, considering someone should have offed him earlier on if that was the only way to stop Hulk’s destruction, it was more interesting to see the person responsible was Clint Barton (Hawkeye). And to see how the act has made other heroes contemplate who is right and who is wrong and whether or not they are on the right side is quite fascinating.
Overall, I found myself enjoying this issue a lot! Brian Michael Bendis knows how to captivate readers and the artwork by David Marquez and Justin Ponsor is fantastic. Looks like I may need to find these back issues and read the rest of this storyline!