Marvel’s Civil War ambles towards it conclusion as heroes change sides, Spider-Man jumps ship, the Thunderbolts prepare to bring the pain, and the Punisher finally arrives. While McNiven’s art never fails to impress, this feels like a rather uninspired transition to the climax waiting in the final two issues. Everyone knew Spider-Man would change sides, so I didn’t drop the comic in surprise or anything. After the hype about the Punisher’s return to the Marvel Universe, his entrance felt underwhelming. Mark Millar writes Frank Castle with a welcome shred of humanity that Garth Ennis largely jettisoned with the character’s MAX counterpart, but it only boils down to a couple of moments left unresolved until next issue.
I give Millar credit for fleshing out the pro-registration side’s position in this issue. Civil War presents the reader with a somewhat damning problem. In real life, any sane person would endorse superhero registration, or oppose the idea of costumed vigilantism altogether. And yet, Millar has largely demonized the pro-registration side as a bunch of neo-conservative fascists. In this issue, he writes a fairly credible explanation for their position via Stark’s conversation with Peter Parker before they fight – that registration served as the only viable alternative to the outlawing of superheroes. Similarly, Nighthawk and Stature change sides for the same reasonable concerns. A good friend of mine remarked that Millar writes the pro-registration side not as wrong in their intentions, but flawed in their approach. They hold the moral high ground, but they invalidate themselves by quarantining heroes in the Negative Zone, cloning Thor, and enlisting the Thunderbolts. Whether the rest of the series bears that out remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, with this seventh issue of Civil War, the series has started to meander. With the exception of Spider-Man’s rejection of Tony Stark and those heroes in favor of the Superhuman Registration Act, most of this issue feels like a halfhearted follow-up the various plot threads. Marvel could’ve contained this series to fewer issues with greater impact. I’m glad to see Frank Castle in the fray, but his entrance could’ve been handled better. McNiven’s art looks brilliant as always, but this series needed more preparation at the outset.
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