After a disappointing first issue I dive into issue #2 to deem it good or not. Hopefully, we find a gem of a story that was brewing last month…is it good?
Civil War #2 (Marvel Comics)
This issue is a nice surprise indeed. While the last issue felt very drawn out and boring, this issue kicks things into gear as we uncover how each side works and get closer to finding out who killed the woman that arranged the peace talks.
If you’re just joining us, there are two sides to America, the Blue and the Iron, and as we learned last month Captain America never died at the end of Civil War, but instead runs his own side of the country. His enemy is Iron Man, the president of the Iron, and he controls the food and is holding that over Captain America’s head. They’ve been at war for years, but the assassination was the last straw. Of course both sides didn’t do it—at least Cap and Iron Man weren’t aware of who did it—and this series is a mystery. Not only to solve the murder, but also to discover what has become of America and its heroes.
Fans will be studying this I’m sure.
Charles Soule writes a strong issue here, with a good pace and lots of reveals into this new world. Both sides are at war and Soule writes each character very well. It’s clear they’re war torn, angry and exhausted via their dialogue and actions. It’s fun to see Storm, Colossus and others pop up in this issue too and Soule very efficiently gets us inside their heads.
He’s so old yet so ripped. How is this possible?!
Meanwhile we get to see what Cap and Beast have been cooking up and it’s by no means a hero’s type of weapon. One might argue it’s worse than the registration act, but with war comes desperate times and desperate measures. Meanwhile Spider-Man is on edge because he wants to be reunited with Mary Jane and his daughter. This is an element that gives the issue a bit of urgency and will be interesting to see how Spider-Man plays out as the wild card with all his pent up anger and frustration.
Storm is pretty badass!
On a separate side of the coin is Iron Man, who is clearly just as stubborn and dedicated to being the hero he’s always been. It’s nice to see how he and She Hulk have crafted a relationship—they get some choice scenes together—and it’s clear this issue is developing him as the true detective of the series. Ultimately all of these elements reveal a much more detailed and robust world that wasn’t even slightly present last issue. A huge help in making this an interesting tie-in.
That said everything that occurs in this series doesn’t seem to be tied to Secret Wars in the slightest. At least not yet. It’s all self contained and does not go outside its Battleworld walls.
The art by Leinil Francis Yu is flat out spectacular, particularly his panels showcasing the Blue and Iron home bases. The detail he gives to technological elements is so interesting to look at. This is in part due to how they look real and might just work in the real world. There isn’t a lot of action in this issue, but there are dramatic beats that work incredibly well due to Yu’s ability to draw some haunting expressions. Storm in particular looks badass as hell and he really nails her scene. If you can make some lightning and clouds look awesome you’re doing your job right.
Iron Man Sentinels!
Is It Good?
This is a huge improvement on the last issue mostly due to the world opening up and being revealed to us. The art is top notch and does a fantastic job with the smaller moments and the bigger moments too. A really good issue all around.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
