After a month-long delay, the fourth issue of Marvel Comics hit series "Civil War" finally hit the stands this Wednesday. To quote Jim Ross, "business has definitely picked up."
To recap for those unfamiliar, "Civil War" is a seven issue miniseries from Marvel Comics that began when a group of immature superheroes called the New Warriors fought a group of super villains as part of a reality show. The villains were out of the group's league and the fight caused the destruction of most of Stamford, Conn.
The rash actions of these heroes put pressure on the U.S. Government to pass the Superhuman Registration Act, which requires any person with superpowers to divulge his or her true identity and be trained and sanctioned by the government. Anyone who refused to register would be considered a criminal.
Several heroes agreed to this policy, including Iron Man and the Fantastic Four. Others, such as Spider-Man, were undecided because of concerns for their families. However, some were downright against it, most notably Captain America, who formed a resistance group called the Secret Avengers to combat pro-registration attacks on unregistered heroes.
Marvel has been hyping the series in the media, promising big changes to their fictional world in its wake, and so far they've delivered. In the span of three issues, Captain America went rogue, Spider-Man unmasked in front of the media, and Thor returned after a two-year absence.
"Civil War" has done more than live up to its hype. The big question now is if it can maintain its momentum.
Issue four proves that it can. Thor comes back as Iron Man's secret weapon and battles Captain America's Secret Avengers. In the battle's wake someone is killed, and the death makes members of both sides question the choices they've made.
Writer Mark Millar delivers with this issue. There's plenty of action and it's balanced out with great character moments where decisions are made that change the course of not only the series, but the Marvel Universe as a whole. He answers several questions that have been plaguing readers' minds over the months such as "How does the U.S. government expect to control a god?" and "What about the super villains?"
The artwork by Steve McNiven is beautiful. The characters have a fluid realism that puts readers neck-and-neck with the action while conveying the character's emotions even when they're behind masks. The art alone is worth it.
If "Civil War" has one enemy, it is itself. It has an amazing premise and has built up a lot of momentum over the past four issues, but the question is, can it sustain itself? Too often stories like these have gone so well only to fall flat on their face (case in point, "Dark Knight Strikes Again"). If Marvel is willing to let their creators go all the way with this series, they will have a classic along the lines of DC's "Identity Crisis." If they cop out at the end they will have a dud like last year's "House of M"
