Entertainment, Books - Marine Corps Times

Hero vs. Hero

During World War II, the U.S. unleashed more than just its military against the Axis powers. In the pages of comic books, a new and timely generation of superheroes -- Captain America, the Submariner and the Human Torch -- took on the enemy as well.

Every GI who thumbed through the dog-eared pages of a comic knew exactly where the superheroes stood. With him.

But in “Civil War,” a seven-part comic book series that pits Captain America, Iron Man and other heroes against one another over issues grown out of today’s war on terrorism, Marvel Comics is throwing out a challenge not only to its pantheon of superheroes, but also to its readers: “Whose side are you on?”

The question is not about the hot war in Iraq but the battle being waged at home over warrantless wiretaps, watch lists, data mining and loss of privacy.

And while these questions in the real world are being argued in the courts and through legislation, in the Marvel universe they’re also being debated by muscle -- and web, shield, claw and ray.

The plot

In a nutshell, popular and government fear of superheroes comes to a head in “Civil War” after a group of second-rate heroes who star in a reality-TV show bungles the takedown of some supervillains in Connecticut. The battle triggers an explosion that kills as many as 900 people, many children among them.

Faster than you can say “campaign donation,” the superhero registration act is hammered out in Congress and Marvel’s great heroes and antiheroes break into two camps.

Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, billionaire industrialist and arms manufacturer, takes the government side.

“Becoming public employees makes perfect sense if it helps people sleep a little easier,” Iron Man tells a roof full of superheroes gathered at Fantastic Four headquarters to discuss the pending legislation.

Captain America, who has been wearing the Stars and Stripes as a uniform and fighting America’s enemies for more than 60 years, comes down on the other side.

“Superheroes need to stay above [politics] or Washington starts telling us who the supervillains are,” he tells the government’s heavily armed “superhuman response unit” sent to sign him up or take him down.

Whose side?

With only the first two of seven “Civil War” issues released so far, and with the third set to hit shelves in mid-July, no one outside Marvel can say with any authority how this story is going to unfold or end. And those on the inside aren’t talking.

But the plot -- which already is developing beyond the core seven-book series into existing Marvel comics and new spinoff comics -- has generated buzz among comic book enthusiasts, including many in uniform. (If you haven’t seen it yet, you can get up to speed on the quickly growing world of “Civil War” online at www.marvel.com/comics/22.)

In Fayetteville, N.C., home to the Army’s Fort Bragg and also to Dragon’s Lair, a 25-year-old comic book shop, owner Bernie Mangiboyat said he quickly sold his 200 copies of the first issue, and people are still asking for it.

He said about 75 percent to 80 percent of his customers are service members, and so far, most are lining up with Captain America.

“The big thing is Captain America,” he said. “He stands up for the ones who don’t want to give up their names [to the government]. ... Ninety percent of the customers coming in say they look at it in the Captain America way.

“They’re kind of against Iron Man because they feel that he’s like the corporation going in with the government. He’s kind of falling in line.”

Stan Lee, the creator of some of the comic universe’s greatest heroes, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, said he expects service members likely will respond to “Civil War” much like civilians will, notwithstanding its politically charged plotline.

“I think that any area is OK to go into if you do it tastefully and present both sides of a story and let readers decide how they feel,” said Lee, who served in the Army during World War II as one of nine men whose military occupational specialty was playwright.

“I can see soldiers who are in combat, maybe, feel perhaps they have a different view of things, but even here I don’t think all soldiers feel the same way,” Lee said. “Some will be thinking, ‘When the hell are we gonna be sent home?’ Others will say, ‘Man, we gotta stay here and finish this.’ They don’t all feel the same.”

Arnold T. Blumberg of Baltimore, who has written extensively on comic books and teaches a course in comic book literature at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, said “Civil War” is a valid way to get people to look at important issues such as those now facing the country.

“I think the very fact that the story [line] exists at all, whether they come up with a twist and speak to both sides of the debate or not ... is interesting,” he said. “That many of the superheroes -- including Iron Man and Spider-Man -- reserve their loyalties and powers for the government is less important than the fact that any of the heroes have to square off against the U.S. government.”

The question, Blumberg said, is whether Marvel is going to stick to “this really heavy subject matter.”

The writers could, for example, take the plot to a point where those promoting the superhero registration act in government turn out to be “Skrulls,” an advanced intergalactic race that has clashed with Earth’s superheroes, he said, calling such a notion “a cop-out.”

But, he said, “if this really is the U.S. government in the Marvel universe saying superheroes are too dangerous not to regulate, this is a really potent story.”

Not about the troops

One thing “Civil War” is not about, said Joe Quesada, editor in chief and chief creative officer at Marvel, is the war in Iraq.

“This has nothing to do with our soldiers abroad,” he said. “This has to do with social issues, which they have to deal with as well.”

As an example of those social issues, he cited the recent theft of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee’s laptop and other computer equipment containing data on more than 26.5 million veterans.

“‘Civil War’ poses questions about identities, people’s privacy,” Quesada said. “We live in a very dangerous world today.”

The Marvel bullpen is playing its cards close to its collective vest over how much “Civil War” relates to current events and whose side it is on, at times appearing to send mixed signals.

Mark Millar, writer of the “Civil War” series, plays down analogies between what’s happening in America and what’s happening in the America of the Marvel universe.

“I think it’s a mistake to write a book as an analog of a real-world situation,” he said in “Marvel Spotlight: Civil War,” a supplement to the series. “I just write what’s relevant to the world I live in, and this is why, I think, the book resonates with the mainstream audiences.”

But Quesada, along with another Marvel writer, Paul Jenkins, acknowledged in a May 2 interview with National Public Radio that the story was born of the government’s response, domestically, to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“Civil War” parallels post-Sept. 11 America -- questioning curtailments on civil liberties and asking why they are happening, Jenkins said, while Quesada explained that the story grew out of discussions within Marvel over the issue.

“It had a polarizing effect in our own office, so we knew we were onto something,” he told the interviewer.

In an interview with Army Times, Quesada said: “We all live in this country. There are a lot of hot-button topics. Our staff comes from all backgrounds and beliefs. ... But the Marvel universe was founded on real-world principles.”

There is no Metropolis or Gotham City, the stand-ins for New York City in DC Comics, he said. “Spider-Man swings past the Empire State Building, and he used to swing by the Twin Towers.”

“Civil War,” he said, “has some real-world echoes to it, but it’s really a fantasy story and uses the real world as a backdrop.”

And, according to Quesada, the story does not have an identifiable villain for readers to condemn.

“It’s just two groups of people, with their own points of view,” he said. “Our job at Marvel is not to point a finger and say ‘this is right or wrong.’ Our job is to pose questions and to let the reader interpret and decide.”

Still, Quesada promises that one side will come out on top at the end of “Civil War.” He just won’t say whether it’s Captain America’s or Iron Man’s.

“One side does win,” he said. “Nobody wants to see a draw.”