Review – Civil War II #1

It’s here, it’s here! Marvel’s big Summer event series has arrived. Time to find out if it lives up to the hype.

After the Avengers are able to preemptively stop a massive attack from happening due to some information from the Inhumans, Iron Man hosts a party in Stark Tower and invites all of the heroes who helped save the day. The heroes learn just how the Inhumans learned about the attack and the revelation immediately causes some skepticism and dissension among the costumed adventurers. The conflict is presented immediately, the battle lines are drawn, and the casualties begin to mount a lot quicker than you might expect.

As previously mentioned, writer Brian Michael Bendis wastes no time in getting right into the the conflict for this series, and honestly, I’m okay with that. We don’t really need grand introductions to these characters’ mentalities and reasons for why they feel their way is best. If you step back and look at each side, you ultimately have to admit that both make valid arguments. I also have to give proper kudos to Bendis for coming up with a genuine, morally thought-provoking conflict for the heroes to fight over. That couldn’t have been easy following the landmark Civil War series from the last decade. What I was very surprised by were how quickly the casualties arrive. I would not have expected that kind of action for at least another issue or two.

David Marquez’s artwork is very clean. There isn’t a lot of huge action in this issue, but the little bit that we do get is well drawn. However, I think Marquez’s true talent is in the up close and personal scenes, of which we do get quite a few here. He has a real talent for wringing emotion and drama out of character faces. For an issue where the last few pages are both emotional and dramatic, that talent came in quite handy.

Admittedly, I’ve been pretty critical of Bendis’ ability to write a solid event book in the past, but this one seems to be off to a pretty good start. Which is equally impressive considering the long shadow of the previous Civil War event series and this Summer’s blockbuster MCU movie as well. The interesting premise combined with Marquez’s solid artwork should hopefully make for a series that can live up to it’s name. I look forward to reading the next few issues.

The Verdict for Civil War II #1:
4 out of 5

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Review – Captain America: Civil War

So, the second big superhero faceoff movie of the summer is here, and it is an overwhelming experience. Does that equate to a cinematic success, or an overburdened stumble? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!

Captain America: Civil War begins with an operation in Nigeria to capture Brock Rumlow, aka Crossbones. The plan goes south and results in the deaths of many civilians, and in the wake of the previous destruction New York (Avengers), Washington, DC (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Sokovia (Avengers: Age of Ultron), the United Nations drafts a resolution to keep powered individuals in check and hold them responsible for their actions. This film is the culmination of eight years of Marvel Cinematic Universe story lines. I sincerely mean that. There are story threads here that started in the very first Iron Man movie and have worked their way through most of the films since.

The Russo brothers craft an intense action epic here. The fight set-pieces are over the top and everything that I would expect from a large-scale superhero film. But it’s not all fighting, there’s a deeper emotional element to the movie as well. Captain America (Chris Evans) stands firm on the idea that the Avengers are best left alone, and not at the mercy of a UN task force who picks and chooses where they should and should not intervene. On the other hand Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), suffers from immense guilt after the events of Age of Ultron and argues that the heroes need some rules and guidelines to live by. It’s so difficult to pick a side and deem one as the “bad guy” because both of their arguments have merit, and that’s where the true conflict of this story lies.

Evans and Downey give solid performances as the two leads, and the personal conflict between their two characters is realistic. However, the true standout performance in this movie is Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther. The character gets a fitting introduction, and Boseman plays him well, often stealing scenes from some of the other heavy hitters in the film. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is a fun and light-hearted take on the character, and the young actor plays it well, even if the character’s inclusion in the film feels just slightly tacked on.

I do have a couple of complaints about the movie. For one, I feel the writers played the story a little too safely. I almost wish they would have taken a few more risks and made the stakes for these characters a little higher. A little more uncertainty would definitely make the future of the franchise a little more fun to anticipate. Secondly, while I feel the movie worked as a whole, parts of it did seem a little overstuffed. Not nearly to the extent of certain other superhero movies this year *cough*BatmanvsSuperman*cough*, but crowded nonetheless.

At the end of the day, Disney, Marvel, and the Russos prove that a big budget hero vs. hero movie can work, but it’s not something that can be done overnight.  As I mentioned before, Civil War is the culmination of nearly a decade of story lines. These characters have known and interacted with one another frequently in that time span, tensions and relationships have been built, and that makes a whole lot more sense than these icons just instantly hating one another. It’s not without its flaws, but it sure was a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

The Verdict for Captain America: Civil War:
4 out of 5

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Quick Review – Moon Knight #1

Marvel took it upon themselves to relaunch one of their not-so-recognizable characters in Moon Knight #1, but is it a fitting introduction of the character to a new generation of readers?

Admittedly, I am one of that new generation of readers, as I have had only the most limited experience with the character prior to this issue. I more or less knew there was a Moon Knight… that was about it, but I heard good things about this issue and was curious, so I gave it a shot.

Jeff Lemire writes Marc Spector as a sympathetic character, trapped in an asylum where he doesn’t feel he belongs. We get a brief introduction as to how Marc became the Moon Knight, but we’re never quite sure if that’s just a story he made up in his mind, or if it actually happened. Lemire does a great job dangling the carrot of Marc’s sanity without ever letting the readers know which version of the events is real.

Artist Greg Smallwood illustrates a stellar first issue. The art has an indefinite, almost hazy, feel to it that keeps you constantly wondering if what you’re seeing is really happening, or if it might be some corrupted memory. When paired with this particular storyline, it works beautifully.

I went in to this with little to no expectations, and I think I came out a new fan of the character. Pretty sure I’ll stick with this one through at least the first story arc.

The Verdict for Moon Knight #1:
5 out of 5

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Quick Review – Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1

Marvel’s comic event of the Spring kicks into high gear as former Captain America, Steve Rogers, learns a secret so devastating it could shake up the Marvel universe in a very big way.

Writer Nick Spencer delivers on the mystery and intrigue in the opening book of this mini-series. For fans who read the prelude book, Welcome to Pleasant Hill, we already have a pretty good idea of what’s going on, but it is fun to watch as the writer strings Steve Rogers along, leaving little breadcrumbs for him to find that eventually lead him to the bigger reveal. The story is definitely not heavy on the action, but I don’t think it needs to be. Based on the titles slated to be a part of this event, this issue seems like it’s more of a bookend, and most of the action will probably happen in the tie-ins.

The artist here is Jesus Saiz, and he does a solid job. As previously mentioned, there wasn’t a whole lot of action in this issue, so he had to do a lot of expression drawing, and close in shots. Fortunately, Saiz seems to be pretty good at those, which made reading through this issue a lot more pleasant than it could have been.

Overall, I like this story and where it seems to be going, but I still wonder if maybe the conceit was revealed a bit too early. I can’t help but ask what else the creators have in store for us. One thing is for sure though, I will be along for the ride to find out.

The Verdict for Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1:
4 out of 5

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