Marvel's "Civil War" brings real world politics to comics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/arts/design/20marv.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin ^

[Shade2]

The Battle Outside Raging, Superheroes Dive In

By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES Published: February 20, 2006 Embedded reporters on the front lines of war. The search for weapons of mass destruction. An attack on civil liberties. Sounds like a job for ... Spider-Man?

America's current real-world political issues will wind themselves into the lives of the heroes of Marvel Comics in "Civil War," a seven-issue limited monthly series set to begin in May. In the series, the beliefs of many well-known Marvel characters, including Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Spider-Man, will be challenged.

Marvel will also publish a related series, beginning in June, that is to appear biweekly. Plans for that series, "Civil War: Front Line," are to be announced by the company on Saturday at the first New York Comic-Con, a consumer and business trade show.

Joe Quesada, editor in chief of the Marvel Comics division of Marvel Entertainment, said the idea for "Civil War" came out of one of the company's creative summits, which are used to assess the state of the heroes. "Stagnation means death," said Mr. Quesada, adding that Stan Lee, the creator of many of Marvel's characters, often advised piling problems onto heroes to keep them fresh.

"Civil War" provides problems in spades. The story opens with a reckless fight between a novice group of heroes (filming a reality television show) and a cadre of villains. The battle becomes quite literally explosive, killing some of the superheroes and many innocent bystanders. That crystallizes a government movement to register all super-powered beings as living weapons of mass destruction. The subsequent Registration Act will divide the heroes into two camps, one led by Captain America, the other by Iron Man.

[LS]

Gay Lantern? The Green Lesbian?

[Shade2]

Yea, but Stan no longer has any creative input. They just like to stick his name on the books. Not to say that his successors are not mostly liberal.

[Phsstpok]

Many are simply the equivalent of normal citizens who are well armed, but who always carry their powers in a concealed way. I can't imagine why the government would find that threatening.

Tell me that was sarcasm?  I mean there's subtle and there's dry, but I had to read that 3 times!

[0siris]

Reminds me of the Squadron Supreme miniseries from the 80s, an excellent "before its time" tale about Superheroes benevolently taking over the world and ruling mankind for its own good. It was written by Mark Gruenwald, who (I believe) had a bit of a Libertarian streak in him. The politics in his stories were surprisingly unpredictable and balanced, as opposed to the dogmatic Leftism that makes up so much of current comics (which, I know longer collect, and am glad so). Roy Thomas seemed to have a conservative side to him, I remember some of his Invaders stories from the 70s, he'd have Hitler rant against Jews AND Capitalism, something you would NEVER see a leftwing writer put into Hitler's mouth--after all in the Leftwing orthodoxy, Hitler was a laissez-faire American conservative capitalist, dontcha know?!? And Chuck Dixon was a well known dittohead (wrote Punisher and Detective comics for many many years).

Iron Man and Hawkman were always portrayed as right of center, albeit Tony Stark wasn't too fond of religion. But most characters have been written every way imaginable because of the hundreds of writers who have interpreted them in the past. Batman's been a friend of gun control and a brutal punisher of criminals, Captain America has been an anti-Communist patriot and also a megaphone for leftwing Anti-American claptrap. Wonder Woman, from a woman in distress to a war monger to a Marxist feminist. Punisher has hilariously gone through the biggest political change, from a far-to-the-right winger to a left wing Green Party anarchist.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

I don't know about "Infinite Crisis", but the starting premise of "Civil War" (fight between heroes and villains goes out of control leading to lots of deaths) is taken directly from DC's Elseworlds GN, "Kingdom Come" (1996). The idea of super-heros having to register with the government and operate with government permission goes back to DC's "Watchmen" (1986) and "The Dark Knight Returns" (1985), not to mention Marvel's own Mutant Registration Act, which was first mentioned in Uncanny X-Men #141 (the "Days of Future Past" story) back in 1981. "House of Ideas", indeed.

Yeah, I'm a comic book geek, but it turns my wife on, so there's that.

[GreatOne]

. . . but it turns my wife on

Turns mine completely off. Thank God for DC++ or I'd never be able to read them any more.

[Steel Wolf]

That was sarcasm, fast and inside. I even worked the words 'concealed carry' in.

[Phsstpok]

That was sarcasm, fast and inside. I even worked the words 'concealed carry' in.

thankyou.  That was my conclusion, but it's always nice to have confirmation that I'm not totally misreading things... <g> 

[JackQuickFrost]

Given that this is the same company (Marvel) that, only recently, had Nazi ubervillain the Red Skull working as GWB's Secretary of defense: I'm not even remotely optimistic insofar as they're concerned.

Sick, sick, sick.

[Optimus Prime]

Amazing how some people can blather on as if they're experts, when they in fact don't know squat about what they're talking about.

Yes, Crisis on Infinite Earths came out eight months after Secret Wars. However, it wasn't Secret Wars that led to it coming out. After all, it was announced at a comics convention in 1981! FOUR YEARS before Secret Wars even had a single issue published. It just took so long because Marv Wolfman, the writer, had to take a lot of time researching DC's long history before he wiped the slate clean. On top of which, 1985 was DC's 50th Anniversary, so they decided to wait til then. So unless DC was planning on ripping off Secret Wars four years before anyone even heard of it, it's safe to say you don't know what you're talking about

Secret Wars, on the other hand, WAS created in response to DC. DC licensed a line of super-hero toys which became a huge success, so some other toy company went to Marvel to license their characters. In addition, they wanted an editorial reason to tie the characters together, and Marvel came up with Secret Wars. So in the end, Secret Wars was just a great big advertising gimmick for an upcoming toyline. A toyline which, incidentally, bombed.

[DCMxyzptlk]

Marvel has revived the Squadron Supreme concept as "Supreme Power"...a very anti-US version written by Babylon 5 creator J Michael Straczynski, the same guy working hard to single-handedly destroy the Spider-man franchise..

[0siris]

"
Secret Wars, on the other hand, WAS created in response to DC. DC licensed a line of super-hero toys which became a huge success, so some other toy company went to Marvel to license their characters. In addition, they wanted an editorial reason to tie the characters together, and Marvel came up with Secret Wars. So in the end, Secret Wars was just a great big advertising gimmick for an upcoming toyline. A toyline which, incidentally, bombed."

Ah, what a great time, the early/mid 80s, for a little boy to grow up. I loved the Super Powers line AND the Secret Wars line. Sure Super powers had more characters and those gadget action features, but there was something simple about the rudimentary Secret Wars toys. There will always be room in the chambers of my heart for Dr. Doom's Action Doom Fortress, with its slam-door cell and second level slab for superhero infiltration.

And then you throw in Star Wars, GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, Sky Commanders, Transformers, MASK, and early Nintendo right around the corner...

[0siris]

And that would be the exact panel that got me out of around 14 years of comic collecting.

[discostu]

Just re-released last year:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078511873X/sr=8-1/qid=1141323635/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-7017359-6822512?%5Fencoding=UTF8

That's Secret Wars 1 of course on the planet the Beyonder made for the battle, not the uber lame Beyonder on Earth SWII which primarily existed to get less popular titles sales.

[discostu]

Not anymore, that was one of the first big changes when Joe took over at Marvel: bring back the rivalry no more playing nice with DC.

[escapefromboston]

Its weird that comics always use that "superpowered beings have to register with the government" story line (besides xmen, watchmen, kingdom come you forget that was the premise for the break up of JSA). I say its weird because the comic always tries to make this a bad thing (making it an allusion to McCarthyism and/or Racism) However because its a comic its full of violent hugely destructive fight sequences. It always makes the registering superheroes look like a good idea.

Oh they think Mutants are dangerous and should be registered with the government?? Ill show these chumps, I'll blow up this building, bub. That'll teach'em about equality.

[escapefromboston]

Superheroes are weird, they are basically violent reactionary maniacs with a very black and white morality yet they are all written by emotionally stunted whiny liberals.
(no offense to any comic book writers who are not emotionally stunted whiny liberals).

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

you forget that was the premise for the break up of JSA

You're right, I did forget that. That retcon first appeared in the late 70s/early 80s, I think. I wasn't reading a lot of DC back then, so I'm not sure. But, one of my favorite stories featuring those heroes was "The Golden Age", by James Robinson and Paul Smith, which appeared in 1993-94. The theme of heroes being forced to obtain government sanction or retire was central to the plot of that GN.

[escapefromboston]

Any comic with Hitler as the main bad guy is going to be great.

[Dominic Harr]

Oh, dang!

Just read the last issue of the civil war series, #7.

THE BAD GUYS WIN!!

The govt won! All super heroes must now work for the govt!?