Civil War II #8 Review

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The fight for a probable future is over. Did anyone win?

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Civil War II #8.

Civil War II #8

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis | Artist: David Marquez | Future Artists: Adam Kubert, Leinil Francis Yu, Daniel Acuna, Alan Davis & Mark Farmer, Marco Rudy, Mark Bagley & John Dell, Esad Ribic |Color Artist: Justin Ponsor | Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Designer: Victor Ochoa | Cover Artist: Marko Djurdjevic | Assistant Editor: Alanna Smith | Editors: Tom Brevoort with Wil Moss

Any Possible Winner

Civil War II #8 brings the second civil war among the heroes to a close. The obvious question is: who won? The answer is not simple. There are victors on the battlefield and victors of philosophy. In addition, there are plenty of losers.

The Little Inhuman that Started It All

Up for consideration first is Ulysses. Readers of Civil War II are aware that this is a new Inhuman. After exposure to the Terrigen Mists, Ulysses emerged from his cocoon with the ability to see potential futures. The utilization of his powers spawned this war. Captain Marvel capitalized on Ulysses’s gifts in preventing potential massacres. However, Iron Man realized his visions were only potential futures and fought for the prohibition of their use.

Ulysses’s visions prevented at least a few catastrophes. Unfortunately, not all his visions proved reliable. In fact, it is arguable and likely his visions merely replaced one disaster with another. For instance, Bruce Banner might still live had Ulysses not envisioned the Hulk destroying the heroes. Banner never became the Hulk again, because Hawkeye shot him to prevent the transformation.

By the end of this issue, Ulysses is no longer a concern. His powers caused him to evolve to a higher state of being. At the final stage of his evolution, he exposed the assembled heroes to several confusing possible futures. As the visions concluded, a galactic presence invited to Ulysses to join the greater universe. It is unclear what that means exactly. Ulysses eagerly accepted the invitation and departed.

The Final Battle of the War

Iron Man and Captain Marvel engaged in the final battle of Civil War II at the Capitol Building. Captain Marvel acted with righteous authority. Entrusted with the protection of Earth, she would not let anyone stand in her way from using any tool available. Iron Man opposed her. He feared profiling and knew Ulysses’s gifts begged to be misused by those less noble than Captain Marvel.

Central to their fight was Ulysses’s vision of Miles Morales (Spider-Man) murdering Steve Rogers (Captain America). Ulysses’s vision effectively profiled Morales. Captain Marvel was comfortable using that knowledge to arrest Morales to prevent Rogers’s death. However, Iron Man argued that Morales hadn’t done anything wrong. Captain Marvel was profiling no matter how she justified her actions.

In the end, their view points were irreconcilable. Iron Man arrived armored in his most powerful suit. Despite his technological advantage, Captain Marvel unleashed all of her power and won the battle.

Stark in the Balance

Stark lost the fight. After Ulysses’s departing vision, he laid unconscious in Morales’s arms. It appeared he might have died. In fact, readers of both Invincible Iron Man and Infamous Iron Man wouldn’t have been surprised if he did. Tony Stark went missing in those series, and an ominous fate was teased. However, all is not lost for Stark.

Henry McCoy (a.k.a. Beast) attempts to care for Stark. He makes some interesting discoveries. Stark experimented on himself for years. McCoy can’t make out what he did exactly. The result is that Stark’s physical body is alive thanks to one of Stark’s own inventions. Unfortunately, Stark is sealed inside this invention as Civil War II #8 and the series concludes.

To the Victor Goes the Guilty Conscience

Captain Marvel won the war, but at what cost? She nearly killed a trusted friend and ally. Along the way, Bruce Banner died at the hands of a fellow Avenger. War Machine (a.k.a. James Rhodes), the current love interest for Carol Danvers, died in action fighting Thanos. Captain Marvel’s reliance on Ulysses’s visions might have saved the lives of millions. However, those visions were only possible futures. In some cases, the results were disastrous.

Carol Danvers realized that in the end. First, McCoy informed her that Stark trusted her. He wasn’t fighting her. In fact, Stark believed Captain Marvel could save lives with those powers. He feared whomever came after Danvers. Indeed, he foresaw a time when someone with less noble intentions would use Ulysses to profile someone deemed unworthy whether they be mutants or Inhumans or someone else. That is what Tony fought against.

To her credit, Carol Danvers learned the lesson. As Spider-Man, the Peter Parker version, would say, with great power comes great responsibility. Captain Marvel learned another lesson. Ulysses’s visions were only possible futures. She told the President as much at the conclusion of the series.

The Golden Ticket and Other Consequences

The President asks Danvers what the state of the Super Hero community is. Of course, these are the consequences of another civil war among the heroes. Morales is overwhelmed, but he and other young heroes bonded together to form a new super hero team, the Champions. Danvers refers to Steve Rogers cryptically. He has a complicated storyline at the moment that is best explained elsewhere. The Inhumans are grief stricken over the loss of Ulysses as they prepare for conflict with the X-men. Black Panther returned to Wakanda, while Riri Williams donned the mantle of Iron Man.

The President rewards Carol Danvers with a “golden ticket.” He tells her that he once saw James Rhodes as the future, but now he thinks it is her. In response, she states she has some ideas about the future.

Conclusion for Civil War II #8 and the Series

Civil War II #8 brings the series to a close. Unfortunately, it felt anti-climatic. A large reason for that was the fate of Iron Man has been teased in both Invincible Iron Man and Infamous Iron Man. Therefore, it was no surprise that Iron Man lost the battle. However, he won the war. Captain Marvel came around to see his side.

In addition, aside from tie-in materials, Captain Marvel appeared unsympathetic throughout most of this series. She seemed overly stubborn despite the best of intentions. Admittedly, I haven’t followed her as closely as other heroines, but her stubbornness seemed a little extreme for her. It was hard to side with her in the philosophical debate.

On the positive side, Tony Stark’s fate was refreshing. This series already saw a couple of notable character deaths. There was an obvious desire to pass the mantle of Iron Man to others at Marvel. However, characters frequently die in the world of comic books. At some point, they are brought back, and in some cases serious retconning is necessary to resurrect them. Tony’s fate makes his return not only possible, but probable.

While Civil War II establishes new story lines, it likely won’t be remembered as a must read. The conflict dragged on over eight issues. Six issues likely would have sufficed. The over-sized issues featured replicated arguments concerning profiling the future. The point could have been made more succinct.

Final Thought: Duplication of Heroes

Unfortunately, Tony’s fate resulted in two Iron Men. Granted Riri Williams takes the identity of Iron Heart, but again there are two Iron Men with Doctor Doom as the other. Marvel currently has two Thors, two Captain Americas, essentially two Hawkeyes, at least temporarily duplicates among many of the X-men (their younger selves), and two Wolverines. The duplication of heroes is becoming unnecessarily confusing.

Marvel has had two Iron Men before. One was Tony Stark, and the other was James Rhodes. Although they both wore similar looking armor, Rhodes was War Machine. It kept things straight. Why can’t Marvel develop new heroes instead? Or, pass the mantle and don’t look back. Personally (and contradicting my last statement), I’ll enjoy Riri Williams and Victor Von Doom while they fill in for Tony Stark. However, I’m eager for the return of my favorite billionaire super hero. Get well soon, Tony.