Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Civil War ====== ===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary ===== * **Core Identity: A catastrophic ideological conflict that pitted hero against hero, forcing every super-powered individual in the Marvel Universe to choose a side between government oversight and personal freedom, forever altering the landscape of power and trust.** * **Key Takeaways:** * **Role in the Universe:** //Civil War// serves as a fundamental turning point in modern Marvel history, shattering the unity of the heroic community and questioning the very nature of what it means to be a hero in a world that fears them. It forced the implementation of the [[superhuman_registration_act|Superhuman Registration Act (SRA)]]. * **Primary Impact:** The event's most profound consequence was the schism between its two central figures, [[captain_america|Captain America]] and [[iron_man|Iron Man]], transforming them from trusted allies into bitter enemies. This ideological divide had long-lasting repercussions, leading directly to events like the [[the_initiative|The Initiative]], the death of Captain America, and the rise of Norman Osborn's [[dark_reign|Dark Reign]]. * **Key Incarnations:** The Earth-616 comic event was a universe-spanning conflict involving hundreds of characters, triggered by a public tragedy and focused on a formal government registration act. The Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation, //Captain America: Civil War//, was a more intimate, personal conflict centered on the [[sokovia_accords|Sokovia Accords]] and driven by the Avengers' internal history and Bucky Barnes's role as the [[winter_soldier]]. ===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution ===== ==== Publication History and Creation ==== The //Civil War// limited series was a landmark publishing event for Marvel Comics, conceived as a way to explore complex themes of security versus liberty in a post-9/11 world. The core seven-issue series was written by Mark Millar with art by penciler Steve McNiven and inker Dexter Vines. It ran from July 2006 to February 2007. Millar's concept was built upon years of narrative groundwork laid by other writers, particularly Brian Michael Bendis in //New Avengers// and J. Michael Straczynski in //The Amazing Spider-Man//. The idea of superhuman registration had been a recurring plot point in the Marvel Universe, most notably in the X-Men's long-standing fear of the Mutant Registration Act. However, //Civil War// was the first time this concept was applied to the entire superhuman community, forcing every character, from street-level vigilantes to cosmic powerhouses, to take a stand. The event was a massive commercial success, becoming one of the highest-selling comic book events of the decade. Its impact was amplified by an extensive marketing campaign and a vast number of tie-in issues across nearly every ongoing Marvel title. This "crossover" approach ensured that readers could see the war's impact on their favorite characters, from the Fantastic Four's internal collapse to the fate of the Runaways. The series was deliberately designed to be controversial, with neither side presented as unequivocally right, sparking intense debate among fans that mirrored the characters' own conflict and continues to this day. Its success heavily influenced the direction of the Marvel Universe for years and provided the narrative foundation for the third film in the MCU's Captain America trilogy. ==== In-Universe Origin Story ==== The seeds of the superhero Civil War were sown long before the first punch was thrown. Both the comic and cinematic universes built towards this schism through a series of escalating events that eroded public trust and strained the relationships between heroes. === Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) === The road to the Superhuman Registration Act in Earth-616 was paved with a series of public relations disasters for the superhuman community. Events like the [[scarlet_witch|Scarlet Witch]]'s reality-altering breakdown in //Avengers Disassembled// and the Hulk's devastating rampage through Las Vegas (which led to his secret exile by the [[illuminati|Illuminati]]) created a palpable sense of public fear. People began to question whether these god-like beings could be trusted to police themselves. The tipping point was the **Stamford Incident**. The New Warriors, a team of young heroes starring in a reality TV show, attempted to apprehend a group of supervillains in Stamford, Connecticut. During the confrontation, the villain Nitro, whose power is self-detonation, unleashed a massive explosion. The blast obliterated a significant portion of the town, including an elementary school, killing over 600 civilians, 60 of whom were children. The public outcry was immediate and overwhelming. The Stamford Incident was the final straw, providing politicians and anti-superhuman lobbyists with the perfect tragedy to push through the **Superhuman Registration Act (SRA)**. The Act mandated that any individual in the United States with superhuman abilities must register with the federal government, revealing their secret identity and agreeing to undergo training to act as officially sanctioned agents of [[shield|S.H.I.E.L.D.]]. Tony Stark, haunted by his own past failings and a verbal dressing-down from Miriam Sharpe, the mother of a boy killed in Stamford, became the public face of the pro-registration movement. He argued that oversight and training were necessary to prevent future tragedies and restore public faith. Captain America (Steve Rogers), however, viewed the SRA as a profound violation of civil liberties. He argued that forcing heroes to unmask would endanger their loved ones and that placing them under government control would turn them into political weapons, compromising their ability to do what is right, regardless of jurisdiction. When S.H.I.E.L.D. forces, led by Commander Maria Hill, attempted to arrest Captain America for refusing to comply, he fought them off and went underground, forming a resistance movement known as the "Secret Avengers." The lines were drawn, and the war began. === Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) === In the MCU (designated as Earth-199999), the path to conflict was more personal and directly tied to the actions of the Avengers themselves. There was no single "Stamford Incident," but rather a "death by a thousand cuts" as the collateral damage from the team's battles mounted in the public eye. The key events that fueled the call for oversight were: * **The Battle of New York (//The Avengers//):** While the team saved the world from the [[chitauri]] invasion, the battle resulted in immense destruction and 74 confirmed casualties. * **The Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. (//Captain America: The Winter Soldier//):** The revelation that [[hydra]] had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. at the highest levels shattered global trust in established security organizations, including those associated with the Avengers. * **The Battle of Sokovia (//Avengers: Age of Ultron//):** The most significant catalyst. Tony Stark's creation of Ultron led to the complete destruction of the nation of Sokovia, with a death toll in the hundreds. This was a disaster directly caused by an Avenger acting without oversight. The final straw occurred in Lagos, Nigeria (//Captain America: Civil War//). While pursuing former HYDRA agent Brock Rumlow ([[crossbones]]), [[scarlet_witch|Wanda Maximoff]] redirected a suicide bomb explosion. Though she saved Captain America, the blast hit a nearby building, killing numerous civilians, including a Wakandan humanitarian outreach delegation. This incident, broadcast live worldwide, prompted United States Secretary of State Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross to present the Avengers with the **Sokovia Accords**. Endorsed by 117 nations, the Accords were a legal framework designed to place the Avengers under the control of a United Nations panel. The team would no longer be a private organization and could only be deployed when and where the panel deemed it necessary. Much like in the comics, Tony Stark, wracked with guilt over Ultron and confronted by a grieving mother (coincidentally also named Miriam) whose son died in Sokovia, championed the Accords. He believed accountability was the only way forward. Steve Rogers, having witnessed firsthand how S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council were compromised by HYDRA, was deeply mistrustful of ceding control to political bodies. He feared the Avengers would be prevented from helping people or, worse, be sent on missions with hidden political agendas. The ideological schism was violently inflamed by the re-emergence of Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Framed for a bombing at the UN that killed King T'Chaka of [[wakanda]], Bucky became a wanted man. Steve's unwavering determination to protect his friend, even from his own teammates, pushed the two factions from a political disagreement into a direct, physical conflict. ===== Part 3: Timeline, Key Turning Points & Factions ===== === Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) === The comic book Civil War was a brutal, sprawling conflict with multiple key moments that escalated the violence and deepened the ideological rift. ==== Timeline and Turning Points ==== - **The Stamford Incident:** Nitro's explosion kills over 600, creating the political will for the SRA. - **Captain America's Escape:** Steve Rogers refuses to enforce the SRA, defeats a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit, and goes underground, establishing the "Secret Avengers" resistance. - **Spider-Man's Unmasking:** In a stunning move to bolster support for registration, Tony Stark convinces [[spider-man|Peter Parker]] to publicly unmask himself at a press conference. This becomes the event's most iconic image but later fills Peter with deep regret as his enemies begin targeting his family. - **The First Major Battle:** An ambush orchestrated by Iron Man's forces against the Secret Avengers turns into an all-out brawl. The battle ends in tragedy when a clone of [[thor]], created by Tony Stark and Reed Richards, goes berserk and kills [[goliath|Goliath (Bill Foster)]]. This act horrifies both sides and causes several heroes, including the Invisible Woman and Human Torch, to defect to Captain America's side. - **Spider-Man Switches Sides:** After witnessing the brutal conditions of the Negative Zone prison (Project 42) where unregistered heroes are held without trial, and realizing the dark path Stark is on, Spider-Man defects. He is brutally beaten by pro-registration villains J.E.S.T.E.R. and Jack O'Lantern before being rescued by the [[punisher]]. - **The Punisher's Intervention:** Frank Castle briefly joins Cap's side, but is kicked out after he murders two supervillains (Goldbug and Plunderer) who were seeking to join the resistance. This highlights the moral lines Captain America refuses to cross, even in war. - **The Final Battle:** The Secret Avengers launch a final, desperate assault on the Negative Zone prison. The battle spills out into the heart of New York City. As Captain America is about to deliver the final blow to a beaten Iron Man, he is tackled by a group of first responders—police, firefighters, EMTs. Looking around, he sees the immense collateral damage their war has caused. Realizing they are no longer fighting to protect the people but are instead endangering them, Steve Rogers surrenders. ==== Factions ==== The war divided nearly every team and family in the Marvel Universe. ^ **Pro-Registration (Iron Man's Side)** ^ **Key Figures** ^ **Rationale** ^ | [[iron_man|Iron Man (Tony Stark)]] | Leader of the movement. || | [[mr_fantastic|Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)]] | Believed it was a logical, scientific solution to a chaotic problem. || | [[ms_marvel|Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)]] | Believed in the rule of law and working within the system. || | [[spider-man|Spider-Man (Peter Parker)]] | Initially, out of loyalty to Tony and a belief it was the responsible choice. || | [[hank_pym|Yellowjacket (Hank Pym)]] | Supported the initiative, later revealed to be a [[skrulls|Skrull]] imposter. || | [[she-hulk|She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)]] | As a lawyer, she supported the legality of the SRA. || | [[wasp|Wasp (Janet van Dyne)]] | Coined the name "Civil War" and sided with Tony. || | [[thunderbolts]] | A government-sanctioned team of villains tasked with hunting heroes. || ^ **Anti-Registration (Captain America's Side)** ^ **Key Figures** ^ **Rationale** ^ | [[captain_america|Captain America (Steve Rogers)]] | Leader of the resistance. || | [[luke_cage|Luke Cage]] | Refused to be treated like a criminal for being a hero. || | [[daredevil|Daredevil (Danny Rand)]] ((Matt Murdock was in prison; Danny Rand wore the costume.)) | Fought against government overreach. || | [[falcon|Falcon (Sam Wilson)]] | Unwavering loyalty to Steve Rogers and his ideals. || | [[hercules]] | Compared the SRA to edicts of ancient tyrants. || | [[invisible_woman|Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)]] | Defected after the death of Goliath, horrified by Reed's actions. || | [[human_torch|Human Torch (Johnny Storm)]] | Defected with his sister, was badly beaten by pro-registration crowds. || | [[punisher|The Punisher (Frank Castle)]] | Aided Cap's side, though his brutal methods were not condoned. || === Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) === The MCU's conflict was smaller in scale but no less intense, focusing on a core group of characters with deep personal histories. ==== Timeline and Turning Points ==== - **The Sokovia Accords:** Following the Lagos incident, Secretary Ross presents the Accords to the Avengers. The team is immediately split. - **The Vienna Bombing:** A bomb detonates during the UN conference to ratify the Accords, killing King T'Chaka. Security footage implicates Bucky Barnes. - **Bucky's Apprehension:** Steve Rogers tracks Bucky down in Bucharest, trying to bring him in peacefully. They are intercepted by both [[black_panther|Black Panther (T'Challa)]], who seeks revenge for his father's death, and a Joint Counter Terrorist Centre task force. This leads to a public chase and fight, further cementing the image of Captain America as a rogue agent. - **The Airport Battle:** This is the film's centerpiece. Tony Stark's team confronts Captain America's team at the Leipzig/Halle Airport as Steve and Bucky attempt to escape to find the true bomber. It's a spectacular clash of heroes, but notably, both sides are pulling their punches, trying to subdue rather than kill. The fight ends with [[vision|Vision]] accidentally crippling [[war_machine|War Machine (James Rhodes)]] and Steve escaping with Bucky, leaving the rest of his team to be captured and imprisoned in the [[raft|Raft]]. - **The Zemo Revelation:** Tony discovers that Bucky was framed by Helmut Zemo, the true mastermind. Zemo, a Sokovian colonel who lost his family in Ultron's attack, sought to destroy the Avengers from within. He lures Tony, Steve, and Bucky to a HYDRA facility in Siberia. - **The Final Confrontation:** Zemo reveals his final trump card: security footage from 1991 showing a brainwashed Bucky Barnes, as the Winter Soldier, assassinating Tony Stark's parents, Howard and Maria Stark. Enraged and grief-stricken, Tony attacks Bucky with lethal intent. Steve is forced to defend his friend, leading to a brutal, deeply personal three-way fight. It ends with Steve disabling Tony's armor and leaving his shield behind, symbolizing the complete and utter dissolution of their friendship and the Avengers. ==== Factions ==== The teams were smaller, based more on personal loyalties than pure ideology. ^ **Team Iron Man (Pro-Accords)** ^ **Key Figures** ^ **Rationale** ^ | [[iron_man|Iron Man (Tony Stark)]] | Believed accountability was essential to prevent future disasters. || | [[war_machine|War Machine (James Rhodes)]] | A military man who believed in the chain of command and government oversight. || | [[black_widow|Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)]] | Sought legitimacy and wanted to keep the team from fracturing completely. || | [[vision|Vision]] | A logical being who calculated that oversight was the only way to ensure public safety. || | [[black_panther|Black Panther (T'Challa)]] | Motivated by personal revenge against the man he believed killed his father. || | [[spider-man|Spider-Man (Peter Parker)]] | Recruited by Tony, who acted as a mentor figure. || ^ **Team Captain America (Anti-Accords)** ^ **Key Figures** ^ **Rationale** ^ | [[captain_america|Captain America (Steve Rogers)]] | Deeply distrustful of unaccountable authorities and loyal to his friend Bucky. || | [[winter_soldier|Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)]] | A fugitive trying to clear his name and escape his past. || | [[falcon|Falcon (Sam Wilson)]] | Unshakable loyalty to Captain America. || | [[scarlet_witch|Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)]] | Feared being controlled and treated like a weapon after the Lagos incident. || | [[hawkeye|Hawkeye (Clint Barton)]] | Came out of retirement out of loyalty to his friends, particularly Wanda and Steve. || | [[ant-man|Ant-Man (Scott Lang)]] | Recruited by Falcon, largely out of awe for Captain America. || ===== Part 4: Central Figures & Ideological Divide ===== At its heart, //Civil War// is the story of the dissolution of the friendship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. Their conflict represents a timeless philosophical debate: security versus freedom. ==== Captain America (Steve Rogers) - The Idealist ==== Steve Rogers's stance is rooted in his experiences during World War II and with the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is an idealist who believes in the individual's capacity and responsibility to do good. He sees any form of government control as a slippery slope toward authoritarianism. For him, the SRA and the Sokovia Accords represent a fundamental betrayal of personal liberty. His argument is that the safest hands are still our own. He fears that agendas change and that the people the Avengers are asked to fight today might not be the people who need fighting tomorrow. His loyalty is not to a flag or a government, but to the dream—the ideal of freedom and justice. In both versions, his unwavering loyalty to his friends, particularly Bucky Barnes, serves as a personal catalyst that hardens his ideological stance. ==== Iron Man (Tony Stark) - The Futurist Pragmatist ==== Tony Stark's position is born from guilt, trauma, and a futurist's pragmatism. In the comics, he is haunted by the Stamford tragedy. In the MCU, he is crushed by the weight of creating Ultron. He sees the increasing power of superheroes and the escalating scale of threats and concludes that self-policing is a failed experiment. He believes that without oversight and accountability, another disaster is inevitable, and the public will turn on them completely. Tony seeks to control the future, to put a system in place that can mitigate damage before it happens. He is willing to sacrifice a degree of personal freedom for the promise of collective security. His argument is that if they don't accept limitations, they'll have them forced upon them in a much harsher way. He sees registration and the Accords not as a leash, but as a necessary evolution for survival in a complex world. This fundamental difference in worldview—Steve's belief in the righteousness of the individual versus Tony's belief in the necessity of the system—is what makes their conflict so compelling and tragic. There is no easy answer, and both men make valid points, forcing the audience to question their own beliefs. ===== Part 5: The Aftermath: A Fractured Universe ===== The consequences of //Civil War// were immediate, profound, and long-lasting in both universes, setting the stage for years of subsequent stories. === Earth-616: The Initiative and a Dark Reign === Captain America's surrender did not end the division. In the immediate aftermath, a captured Steve Rogers was assassinated on the steps of a federal courthouse by a brainwashed [[sharon_carter|Sharon Carter]], a shot orchestrated by the [[red_skull]]. His death sent shockwaves through the universe and served as a martyr's call for the remaining resistance. With the pro-registration side victorious, Tony Stark became the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and launched **The Initiative**. This program placed a registered, government-trained superhero team in all 50 states. While it seemed like a victory for Stark's vision, it was fraught with problems. The training was handled by questionable figures, and many of the new "heroes" were unstable or outright villains in disguise. The true cost of the war became apparent during the //Secret Invasion//, where it was revealed that Skrull imposters had infiltrated every level of government and hero teams for years. The fractured hero community was unable to mount a unified defense, and public trust in Stark's leadership collapsed when he failed to stop the invasion. The man who ultimately saved the day was [[norman_osborn|Norman Osborn]], who fired the killing shot on the Skrull Queen. Hailed as a global hero, Osborn dismantled S.H.I.E.L.D., replaced it with his own organization H.A.M.M.E.R., and ushered in the **Dark Reign**. Osborn formed his own "Dark Avengers," consisting of villains posing as heroes, and hunted down the remaining unregistered heroes, including Tony Stark, who became a fugitive. The Civil War, in its attempt to create order, had ultimately paved the way for a villain to take control of the entire world. === MCU: The Fugitive Avengers and Infinity War === In the MCU, the aftermath of //Civil War// was the complete splintering of the Avengers. Steve Rogers broke his allies out of the Raft prison, and they became a team of international fugitives, operating in the shadows as the "Secret Avengers." Tony Stark was left with a fractured team, a paralyzed best friend, and the emotional wreckage of his parents' murder. The Avengers, as the world knew them, were finished. This division had catastrophic consequences. When [[thanos]] and the [[black_order]] began their invasion of Earth in //Avengers: Infinity War//, Earth's mightiest heroes were scattered across the globe and the galaxy. They were not ready. Tony Stark, stranded in space, couldn't call Steve Rogers for help. The heroes on Earth fought separate, desperate battles in New York and Wakanda but were unable to present the united front that had repelled the Chitauri. Many have argued that had the Avengers not been broken by the Civil War, they would have stood a much better chance of defeating Thanos before he could assemble all the [[infinity_stones|Infinity Stones]] and snap his fingers. The five years of devastation during "The Blip" can be seen as the ultimate price of their internal conflict. ===== Part 6: Variants and Alternative Versions ===== The core concept of "hero vs. hero" has been revisited in several other Marvel media. * **Secret Wars: Civil War (Earth-15513):** As part of the 2015 //Secret Wars// event, one of the domains of Battleworld was a reality where the Civil War never ended. In this world, known as the Warzone, the conflict had raged for six years. Tony Stark's side, "The Iron," controlled the west, while Steve Rogers's side, "The Blue," controlled the east, with a massive divide called "The Divide" separating them. The story follows a ceasefire that is broken by a Skrull imposter, showing a dark, militarized future born from the original conflict. * **Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2:** The video game's plot is a direct adaptation of the comic book storyline. The player is forced to choose a side—Pro-Registration or Anti-Registration—which dictates which characters they can play as and the missions they undertake for a significant portion of the game. It was one of the first interactive adaptations that forced players to make the same difficult choice as the heroes. * **What If... Civil War?:** A comic issue that explored two alternate outcomes. In one, Iron Man dies, leading to Captain America uniting the heroes to create a better world, but one that is eventually overthrown by a government that fears their power. In the other, Captain America dies before the war's end, and a guilt-ridden Tony Stark becomes president, creating a dystopian "Big Brother" state to ensure peace. Both scenarios highlighted that there was no easy "win" in the conflict. * **Avengers: Ultron Revolution:** The animated series featured a multi-episode arc adapting //Civil War//. The conflict is initiated by the Truman Marsh, a political figure who uses the Inhuman registration issue to push his agenda, creating a rift between the Avengers similar to the Sokovia Accords. ===== See Also ===== * [[captain_america]] * [[iron_man]] * [[superhuman_registration_act]] * [[sokovia_accords]] * [[the_initiative]] * [[dark_reign]] * [[spider-man]] * [[shield]] ===== Notes and Trivia ===== ((The original idea for //Civil War// was pitched by Mark Millar as "Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher," where Frank Castle would begin systematically assassinating heroes and villains, forcing the community to unite against him. Marvel EIC Joe Quesada felt the idea was too dark but liked the "hero vs. hero" concept, which evolved into the registration conflict.)) ((Steve McNiven's detailed, widescreen artwork was a major factor in the event's success. His design for Iron Man's "Civil War" armor (Model 13) and Captain America's scaled "super-soldier" uniform became iconic.)) ((In the comics, the final battle is stopped by civilians, demonstrating the human cost of the war. In the MCU, the final battle is intensely personal and hidden from the world, highlighting the film's focus on character over political allegory.)) ((The Negative Zone Prison Alpha, designated "Project 42," was a concept Reed Richards and Tony Stark conceived of years earlier. The "42" was a reference to the 42nd idea on a list of ways to make the world better. The prison's existence became a major point of contention and moral horror for heroes on both sides.)) ((The death of Captain America in //Captain America// #25 (March 2007) was a mainstream news event, covered by outlets like CNN and The New York Times, demonstrating the cultural impact of the comic storyline.)) ((The MCU film's title, //Captain America: Civil War//, was a point of discussion, with some feeling it should have been titled //Avengers: Civil War// due to its large cast. However, the story is framed firmly from Steve Rogers's perspective, continuing the thematic threads of his trilogy about individual freedom versus institutional control.)) ((The character of Miriam Sharpe, the grieving mother who confronts Tony Stark, exists in both the comics (her son died in Stamford) and the MCU (her son died in Sokovia), serving the same narrative purpose of personifying the collateral damage that motivates Tony's pro-oversight stance.))