I Know Whose Side I'm On: Thoughts on Marvel's Civil War

Gentle Reader, I actually enjoyed the Civil War series, despite its flaws and delays. And while I'm not as familiar with the Marvel Universe as I am the DC Universe, I felt that the characters were handled with care and, surprisingly, a lot of joy. I felt that the writers enjoyed working through these events, the same as I feel the writers of 52 are really having a blast playing with these characters and plotlines. If they're not, Friends, please, please, don't tell me! Let me live in My Fantasy World a bit longer.

But here's the thing: Marvel kept asking me the same question, over and over, in every issue I opened. Whose side are you on? My side, as it were, was never in doubt. I was, from issue 1, on the side of the Secret Avengers, or the Rebels, or merely those Anti-Registration. Why? Because the logic of Registration is, for me, deeply, deeply flawed.

Why, you ask, Gentle Reader? Or perhaps, you don't ask, but merely nod your head and agree that indeed, Registration is many things: anti-hero, anti-American, anti-freedom. Yes, all of those things are true, but even more so, I read the Registration Initiative as the early stages of Forced Removal, or Ghettoization, or other such government initiatives to forcibly remove--or mark--certain racial, religious, etc. groups from the general public. First, they mark them, those superheroes. Then, when they refuse to be marked, they are imprisoned. When they do register, they are forced to work for the government, regardless if they want to or not, or are even relocated away from their homes and families. All in secret, mind you. But even when Prison Number 42 is revealed to the public, as it is in #7, Reed Richards remarks that the public met the Negative Zone Prison with resounding applause and support.

This argument, that people must be locked up not only for the good of the citizens, but for their own good, as well, has deep roots in Humanity's deepest pits of racism, hatred, xenophobia, anti-specific-religious sentiment, sexism, the list goes on and on. But that's not all. The *roots* of the Civil War, the New Warriors' tragic accident that killed hundreds of people, including children, scared the World At Large. Suddenly, those with powers were too scary to exist side-by-side those without powers. Those-with-powers, that is, refused to let themselves become public. "But they are dangerous!" the populace screams. "They can Kill Us All! Look, there's evidence. They killed children, indiscriminately."

You see it, don't you, Gentle Reader? The same argument that has perpetuated some of the worst racism in America? The "ones" who play the game-—live their lives according to the dominant status quo—-are okay. They are "just like us." But the "ones" who don't? They're deemed *dangerous*. Even worse, the idea that because a black/white/red/green person committed a crime against someone's family, then *all* black/white/red/green persons are Evil Incarnate continues. Then *all* black/white/red/green persons must be locked up, for "their own good," for the Good Of The World.

I don't mean to be so deeply sarcastic, Friends. I believe in a reformative prison system. I believe that, given enough money and caring, the majority of criminals can be reformed. I believe that, intentionally or unintentionally, Speedball committed a crime and therefore should receive a Trial Of His Peers. I do *not*, however, believe that everyone who looks/thinks/acts/breathes the same as Speedball should suffer the same. Not because it's "anti-American," or "unconstitutional," but because it's *wrong*.

Gentle Reader, because a small group of people who look and/or act similarly commit a crime, that does not mean that all the people who look and/or act the same should suffer the consequences, as well. We are seeing reverberations of this kind of thought across the world at the moment, as we have seen it since The Dawn Of Time. "Witches" were burned at the stake, Jews were expelled from every European Country, Africans and Caribbeans were plucked from their homelands and forced into slavery, Women were denied control of property, money, their children, even their very bodies, American Indians had bounties placed on their heads, racism against the Romany, or Gypsies, is still publicly acceptable, the list goes on and on. We did not begin the cycle, but we still suffer under it, as I'm sure our children, and our children's children, will, so very unfortunately, suffer under similar cycles, as well.

That is to say, what Marvel's Civil War does is thumb its nose at people who say Comics Are Just Comics, or Books Are Just Books, or TV Is Just TV. Well, no, they're not. Civil War used a glossy, colorful medium to offer the repercussions of racism, sexism, homophobia, meta-ism, etc. to The Reading Public. Because Speedball committed a crime, accidentally, the viewing public sees his face in the face of every potential powered person. Suddenly, everyone is A Secret Red. That is, A Potential Superhero. Neighbor turned on Neighbor, Friend turned on Friend, and even, in the case of She-Hulk, Alter-Ego turned on Alter-Ego (or at least disagreed with).

Looking at the complexity of these thoughts sprung out of Civil War, how is it possible that there are still people in the world who believe that That Which Entertains Us can never, not even in its wildest imaginations, Challenge Us? That Which Entertains Us challenges us, every day. The Victorians used the wacky new medium, the novel, to write about the travesties of social issues—-child labor, The Woman Question, racism, anti-Semitism, even homophobia. Jane Eyre is a blast to read (for This Humble Author, anyways!), but further, it talks about deep, dark issues like slavery, the Woman Question, and children's rights. Civil War was a blast to read, but further, it talked about the deepest –isms under which our society suffers.

I think I'll call it "not-us-ism."

Not-us-ism is perhaps the broadest –ism we can think of, and it encompasses every –ism in the world. Because in the end, isn't that what racism, sexism, classism, etc. is all about? Sexism—-"I'm not a man or a woman, so I can't believe that men or women need or want these things." Racism—-"I'm not black, green, purple, brown, white, or red, so therefore I can't believe that black, green, et al persons need or want the same things I do." Even further, "because I'm not black, green, et al, that is, because I'm Not Them, and They're Not Me, I don't think they *deserve* the things I have."

I'm not denying that a very real tragedy was committed in Civil War by accident, or by accident brought on by arrogance. But how many times has very real tragedy been committed in the world? In Marvel's Universe? Why now? Why demand Superhero Registration now? There is Something Else Going On, Gentle Reader. Something scary. Something like A Plan.

Perhaps? Perhaps not? Well, we shall see, Friends, the continuation of Civil War throughout the Marvel Universe. I am upset with Cap, but I understand why he did what he did. I understand the need for peace, for the end of violence. But I can say, with Great Certainty, that as of now, Tony Stark scares me more than any other person, hero or villain, on the comic book stage today. I don't trust him, and moreover, I don't think this is over.

Not by a long shot.

So thank you, Mr. Millar, for a great read, a thoughtful read, one that reminded me of one of my favorite DC books, Superman: Red Son. You made This DC Girl like even more Marvel, and that's saying a lot.