Marvel’s Civil War crossover was one of the most anticipated sagas in comics in recent years. The build up was huge, the material comprehensive and full of intrigue. But despite having all of this it was a monumental failure. Financially, yes, it did great, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Ironically, it can be summed up with the words that the battle ended with:
“Why are we surrendering? We’re winning!”
“Everything but the argument.”
Captain America always was a wise one.
Civil War’s tag line was “Whose side are you on?” Unfortunately, Mark Millar didn’t write it like that. He gave you the side to be on: Captain America’s anti-registration side. Cap became a freedom fighter battling the tyranny and oppression against superheroes. Iron Man became an evil entity hatching scheme after scheme involving lying, betrayal and criminal activities, all of which are completely out of character for him (but that’s Millar for you). Every action pointed to Cap’s side being right and moral, while Iron Man’s was wrong at every turn, caring more for the bottom line than showing any human decency. Millar wrote the whole story skewed, and the tag line would have been more fitting as “You’re on Cap’s side, see what happens!”
Mark Millar said: “The political allegory is only for those that are politically aware. Kids are going to read it and just see a big superhero fight.” Congratulations Mark, you once again proved why you are one of the worst writers in comics today. You just don’t get it. Comics are not about politics, especially your own political views. And that big fight you’re talking about? I think it’s referenced under “anticlimactic” in the dictionary now. Imagine if Rocky Balboa had beaten Ivan Drago with a few punches in the first round of Rocky IV: all build up and no substance. Civil War went out on a whimper and I felt outright robbed at the ending. Millar failed to create a politically impartial story and paired it with weak fights. Yes, Civil War had a few moments, but nothing that stuck out as particularly memorable.
Millar followed up on Civil War with this quote, saying it was “accidentally political because I just cannot help myself.” Well Mark, if you can’t help yourself, either 1) learn some damn control or 2) don’t write the damn thing. Personally, I’d rather the latter because that’s less tories for you to ruin. Good writers are able to set aside their bias and wants for the sake of the story, something Millar obviously isnt even remotely capable of doing.
Millar also ignored what characters were truly like in the process of butchering this event. Tony Stark was the bad guy, but Tony Stark wasn’t even in Civil War. Yeah he looked like Stark, he wore the armor, but the personality was nothing like Stark because Millar didn’t bother to get to know Stark. And also Reed Richards and Hank Pym, all whom had a major role on the pro-registration side, also ignored their principals and created clones and used criminals to hunt other heroes. I can’t picture any of these three ever doing these things, but because Millar wanted his side (yes, I do mean Millar’s side because of his own political views) to look good he ignored their characters and just wrote.
Millar did two idiotic things with the Civil War saga. His first was mistaking that people who read comics actually want them to be about politics. Look Mark, if we want politics we’ll pick up another magazine or follow the debates going on now. Comics are about fantasy, not politics. Second is that he completely ignored what the characters involved were really like. In addition to the aforementioned three, did it really seem like Cap in the saga? Would Peter Parker have revealed his secret identity (that they’ve already had to retcon because it was so idiotic and created so many problems)? The answer is no. But that doesn’t matter to Millar because he has his head so far up his own ass he’s blind to the fact he is a terrible comic book writer.
Finally, and possibly the worst aspect of Civil War when you think about it is this: Civil War is not about the Marvel Universe dealing with super hero registration. Civil War is about what our, the readers, the real world would do if there were super heroes. Civil War doesn’t take place in the Marvel Universe, it’s meant to take place in ours. Do you know why Civil War hasn’t been done in all the decades of Marvel despite this fact being in the back of everyone’s minds? Because Marvel is a world of fantasy. It’s a world where a gamma bomb turns you into a green monster instead of killing you. Where a simple injection turns you from a scrawny kid into a super soldier. Where being bite by a radioactive spider gives you it’s powers instead of putting you in the hospital. Do these things sound realistic? Not at all, yet Millar tried to make a story based on realistic political responses.
“Why are we surrendering? We’re winning!”
“Everything but the argument.”
Captain America always was a wise one.
Civil War’s tag line was “Whose side are you on?” Unfortunately, Mark Millar didn’t write it like that. He gave you the side to be on: Captain America’s anti-registration side. Cap became a freedom fighter battling the tyranny and oppression against superheroes. Iron Man became an evil entity hatching scheme after scheme involving lying, betrayal and criminal activities, all of which are completely out of character for him (but that’s Millar for you). Every action pointed to Cap’s side being right and moral, while Iron Man’s was wrong at every turn, caring more for the bottom line than showing any human decency. Millar wrote the whole story skewed, and the tag line would have been more fitting as “You’re on Cap’s side, see what happens!”
Mark Millar said: “The political allegory is only for those that are politically aware. Kids are going to read it and just see a big superhero fight.” Congratulations Mark, you once again proved why you are one of the worst writers in comics today. You just don’t get it. Comics are not about politics, especially your own political views. And that big fight you’re talking about? I think it’s referenced under “anticlimactic” in the dictionary now. Imagine if Rocky Balboa had beaten Ivan Drago with a few punches in the first round of Rocky IV: all build up and no substance. Civil War went out on a whimper and I felt outright robbed at the ending. Millar failed to create a politically impartial story and paired it with weak fights. Yes, Civil War had a few moments, but nothing that stuck out as particularly memorable.
Millar followed up on Civil War with this quote, saying it was “accidentally political because I just cannot help myself.” Well Mark, if you can’t help yourself, either 1) learn some damn control or 2) don’t write the damn thing. Personally, I’d rather the latter because that’s less tories for you to ruin. Good writers are able to set aside their bias and wants for the sake of the story, something Millar obviously isnt even remotely capable of doing.
Millar also ignored what characters were truly like in the process of butchering this event. Tony Stark was the bad guy, but Tony Stark wasn’t even in Civil War. Yeah he looked like Stark, he wore the armor, but the personality was nothing like Stark because Millar didn’t bother to get to know Stark. And also Reed Richards and Hank Pym, all whom had a major role on the pro-registration side, also ignored their principals and created clones and used criminals to hunt other heroes. I can’t picture any of these three ever doing these things, but because Millar wanted his side (yes, I do mean Millar’s side because of his own political views) to look good he ignored their characters and just wrote.
Millar did two idiotic things with the Civil War saga. His first was mistaking that people who read comics actually want them to be about politics. Look Mark, if we want politics we’ll pick up another magazine or follow the debates going on now. Comics are about fantasy, not politics. Second is that he completely ignored what the characters involved were really like. In addition to the aforementioned three, did it really seem like Cap in the saga? Would Peter Parker have revealed his secret identity (that they’ve already had to retcon because it was so idiotic and created so many problems)? The answer is no. But that doesn’t matter to Millar because he has his head so far up his own ass he’s blind to the fact he is a terrible comic book writer.
Finally, and possibly the worst aspect of Civil War when you think about it is this: Civil War is not about the Marvel Universe dealing with super hero registration. Civil War is about what our, the readers, the real world would do if there were super heroes. Civil War doesn’t take place in the Marvel Universe, it’s meant to take place in ours. Do you know why Civil War hasn’t been done in all the decades of Marvel despite this fact being in the back of everyone’s minds? Because Marvel is a world of fantasy. It’s a world where a gamma bomb turns you into a green monster instead of killing you. Where a simple injection turns you from a scrawny kid into a super soldier. Where being bite by a radioactive spider gives you it’s powers instead of putting you in the hospital. Do these things sound realistic? Not at all, yet Millar tried to make a story based on realistic political responses.
So what should have been a gut wrenching saga that made you think and choose who you sided with was nothing more than the writer’s idea of how he think things should have been. This story had so much potential it was ridiculous, but all in all wasn’t a whole lot better than what happened in the Crossing. Millar took an idea that hadn’t been sued for a reason, and showed exactly why it should be. It’s not about how our world react to a situation like this, that’s non-fiction. Millar and anyone else involved with writing and approving the story, apparently doesn’t know the difference.
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