Top 5 Fridays: My Top 5 Problems with Civil War II

Welcome back to another exciting installment of Top 5 Fridays! If you're a Marvel fan, you might have been like me when Civil War II was announced: Excited, but confused. What could cause this war so soon after All-New All-Different Marvel? Could it be just as good as the original Civil War? Issue one was released and I loved it... But as the series went on, I began to question more and more things, and soon I ended up having more problems with the story... Don't get me wrong, if  you're enjoying it, that's fantastic! I just have a few pretty large issues with the storyline... Now if your ready... Let me explain...

5: The Ultimates believe Ulysses
Alright, I'll be real here, this one wouldn't be such a big deal if this was the AVENGERS on the change the future side. Why? Because unlike The Ultimates, The Avengers haven't seen the time-stream... Oh wait, did everyone forget that fact? Well, If you aren't reading The Ultimates series... First, you should take a look, it's surprisingly enjoyable. Second, the team's second mission involved them going to the edge of reality to fix the Time-Stream, which they believe is broken due to the Age of Ultron, Days of Futures Past, the All-New X-men coming from the past, etc. When they arrive and nearly die, Galactus shows Captain Marvel how the timestream always shifts, so there's nothing to 'fix'. See where I'm going with this? The leader of the Changing the Future side of this whole war saw the timeline and probably should be able to piece together that Ulysses, the Inhuman who has the future sight, is just seeing a future that could happen but also have a chance of it NOT happening. If Iron Man thought, "Hey, this guy sees the future, let's trust him!" It would make much more sense because he would still think the timeline is just A line, not a web like the good Captain saw. 


4: The Future of the Marvel Universe
Iron Man loses. Did I just ruin it for ya? Did I just ruin the suspense of who will win this huge event? Your answer should be no because Marvel has already done that with their announcements for Marvel Now. The entire Marvel Universe is divided and by the looks of the promotional art for this new phase, it stands behind two different Iron 'Men'. On one side, we have the new Invincible Iron Man: The 15-year-old RiRi Williams, who was able to get into MIT at a young age and make her own Iron Man suit out of spare parts found on the campus. On the other side, we have the Infamous Iron Man, Victor Von Doom, who has turned over a new leaf after the events of Secret Wars. I get that Marvel wants to promote NOW as much as possible, but revealing not only that Tony Stark isn't Iron Man anymore, the new identities of the two new Iron Men and the fact that the entire universe is split down the middle would have been friggin awesome reveal at the end of Civil War II. "But Jody," you might be saying, "Solicits come out months in advance! We would have known while the War is going on!" This is True, but my rebuttal is this: DC hid the identity of Batman Beyond when his series was announced for the DC You. Now while I'm not saying I enjoyed the Batman Beyond series, DC did a good job hiding the fact it was Tim Drake until Terry died in Future's End. Marvel could have done the exact same thing, but decided to get people talking instead.


3: The Hulk Family
What did the Hulks ever do to Marvel for this unnecessary beat down? I mean I expected deaths and devastation, it's a war, after all, but in Civil War, the deaths were expected and actually meant something that shook the core of both sides... THE SIDES AREN'T EVEN DRAWN YET FOR THIS WAR! Sorry, bit off topic. The death of Bruce Banner is shocking... but entirely pointless. In the grand scheme of things, all his death showed was that there is a conflict between the sides. So why Bruce Banner? So we can continue to push this now Totally Awesome Hulk? 

What about She-Hulk? What called for her... death? War Machine's death alone would be perfect to kick off the War, as he played a very important part in the lives of Carol Danvers and Tony Stark... But "killing" off She-Hulk as well? For what?! Just to have that depressing Carol panel?! I use quotes for death because in the most recent issue of Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat(Review coming Monday!), It turns out she is alive and in a coma... Even though she flatlined. At the moment I don't know whether it's a death that was lost in translation, or she really is still in the coma, but either way, we lost both of our favorite Hulks for no reason. 

2: The Leaders 
Anyone remember when the two leaders of Civil War debated over the Registration act? How they felt like equals and you were sad to see them torn apart? Well, these two don't act like these actual titans and spent more time trying to justify their actions through bickering. A prime example of this is actually a part of number 3. When Ulysses tells the heroes of the Hulk destroying them all, BOTH sides converge... Yes, even the side against using Ulysses is there too... WHY?! Bruce may not be the greatest hero, but Tony founded the Avengers with him you'd think he'd trust him more! Then what happens when he dies? Tony blames the whole thing on Carol! DUDE, YOU HAD JUST AS BIG A PART IN THIS AS HER! If you didn't show up, he might have been just fine! In the recent issue of Sam Wilson Captain America, Nick Spencer put in two scenes that I best use to describe our leaders at this time. Captain Marvel explains to Sam she knows that she's the bad guy and that the entire thing with Ulysses is sketchy...but if she saves lives it doesn't matter. Iron Man, on the other hand, is just like, "Yes, I'm right, and I'll pay you for being on my side." Alright internet, choose your leader: One that knows that what she's toying with is sketchy or a huge egotistical jerk. YOU DECIDE!


1: Ultima-natti
Picture if you will a group of heroes that was able to make the decisions to protect the world. They consist of some of the most powerful people on the planet ranging from leaders to the world's smartest men... No, I'm not talking about Ulysses power being used. I'm talking about the Marvel Illuminati. How hasn't ANYONE made this connection yet? This topic. This is something the Illuminati, A GROUP THAT EVERYONE AGREED WAS MORALLY WRONG, would be using. So what's the difference between what the Ultimates are fighting for and what the Illuminati stood for? Just that the Ultimates are doing it out in the open? No. It's just as bad then as it is now, AND EVEN CAPTAIN MARVEL ADMITS IT! Yes, they had a few close encounters, but the moment young Jean Grey couldn't access the boy's mind, a bunch of the key heroes should have just walked out, including the Ultimates who have gone on saying they aren't trying to be the Illuminati. This isn't some kind of fantastical debate where both sides are equal like the original Civil War that anyone can take either side and can still be considered right... This is clearly a bad idea to be messing with and every hero knows it.

That's it for this week's Top 5 Fridays! What's your opinion on Civil War II? Leave a comment and I'll see you next time!