Civil War II: Choosing Sides #2 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Mondays

That’s the Way I Want to Go

War Machine
Written By: Jeremy Whitley
Art By: Marguerite Sauvage

Goliath
Written By: Brandon Thomas
Art By: Marco Rudy

Nick Fury: Post Prologue Part 2
Written By: Declan Shalvey
Art By: Declan Shalvey, Jordie Bellaire

Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 13, 2016
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoiler and Score At The Bottom*

*Due to this being a Civil War II miniseries, this review has SPOILERS for Civil War II #1 and Captain America: Sam Wilson #10*

The “Choosing Sides” title is a throwback to Marvel’s original Civil War event. It was a one-shot issue that had several different stories written by several different creative teams. It dealt with small stories that weren’t big enough for a series or miniseries and dealt with smaller characters. Thus, it’s not a surprise that they brought it back for Civil War II in the form of a miniseries. Each issue in this miniseries is separated into several parts to tell many more small stories that have been occurring during this event. The first issue was very disappointing across the board, but hopefully there truly are great stories to tell in this issue. Since this issue is separated into 3 parts, I will judge them all separately and then leave a combined score at the bottom. I’ll give the issue a .1 automatically so each of the sections are even. So, without further ado, let’s review issue #2 now...

Part 1 – War Machine

For those unaware, War Machine was killed by Thanos in Civil War II #0 and #1, so this section of the issue follows different members of the Marvel Universe in the aftermath of James’ funeral which took place in Captain America: Sam Wilson #10. The section starts off with Ms. America as she ponders upon Rhodes’ death. Kate Bishop joins her and the two talk for a while before leaving the funeral. The story then jumps to Monica Rambeau (aka Spectrum). Monica ponders upon the preacher at the funeral and if James really would have wanted that before she turns into light and leaves as well. While on her own, she cries about James because she wishes she could have been fast enough to save him. She even contemplates suicide but chooses to remain strong and vows to not let any of her friends die again while she can do something about it.

The story then changes to Misty Knight. Misty chooses to remember her past by returning to the dojo that she and Danny built together. There, she works with some of the children and realizes that she wants to be her own hero again. We then follow Storm as she decides to pay tribute to James by visiting his home city of Philadelphia. James always spoke very highly of it. She sees the sights and goes to a Phillies game. She praises the city for producing a man as good as James. Finally, we return to Ms. America and Kate Bishop. America talks about all the different universes and how, while James Rhodes is dead on their Earth, he is not on others. Since America spends so much time in the multiverse, she doesn’t really see James as dead. However, she honors the sacrifices that James made and remarks how she would want to go that way if she had a choice.

This part of the issue has something that few issues do. This issue has heart. It’s easy to type up a summary of the events and see that not a whole lot happened and even what did happen seems inconsequential. However, this issue brought a lot of heart to a crossover which, in my opinion, has been missing a whole lot of it. The art is beautiful and the writing is incredible. If the whole book were like this, it would be an easy 10/10

3.3/3.3

Part 2 – Goliath

Goliath was a big part of the original Civil War. For those that don’t know (SPOILERS) Goliath was one of the earliest big character deaths in the original crossover. Since then, the Goliath name was passed down to his son and his son made a lot of mistakes. This resulted in his incarceration. This section of the issue is about his release. The section shows us scenes from his past while a statement is being made for a parole board. He talks about his past deeds, about who he is as a person, and why he deserves to be released and at the end of the section, he does indeed get released.

This section is something of a head scratcher. I do like the initial idea behind it and the storytelling elements certainly do a good job. However, the art is a big problem. The art isn’t bad or anything but is certainly VERY stylized. This style will work for a lot of comics and will look great in it. However, for this section, which is showing us scenes of Goliath’s past, it doesn’t work at all. For the most part, I had no idea what I was looking at and that’s a problem.

1.1/3.3

Part 3 – Nick Fury: Post Prologue Part 2

The Nick Fury section of this series seems to be continuing through the entire miniseries. This part starts off with Moon Knight though. Moon Knight is fighting off a huge group of men while Nick Fury enters information into his covert log. As Moon Knight fights through the men, his image seems to be changing and we are seeing him in the many different outfits he has worn over the years. That is, until he reaches the boss. The boss is terrified of Moon Knight but at that moment he suddenly begins to disappear. It was Nick Fury the entire time. The boss gives Nick Fury the information he wants. Then, as Fury begins to call it in, he turns his back and the boss takes the opportunity to jump off the roof of the building and kill himself.

This section was fun to look at. Looking at some awesome Moon Knight action is always something I like. However, much like the last issue, the section feels very quick. For the most part, it’s just a lot of jargon that feels more like filler than actual storytelling.

2.0/3.3

Bits and Pieces:

One section of this issue was really well executed. Unfortunately, the other sections really failed this issue. It was certainly better than issue #1 though.

6.5/10