Post by fragerella on Mar 9, 2007 15:57:03 GMT -5
Anyone else reading Marvel's Civil War series?
I got a late start, but I'm getting myself caught up (bye, bye, Captain America ).
There's a TON of tie-ins to the main series (I looooove the Spiderman issues), and even people who aren't comic book fans can appreciate the content.
The premise of the Civil War storyline is the introduction of a Superhuman Registration Act in the United States.
The act requires any person in the United States with superhuman abilities to register with the federal government, (which includes revealing his/her true identity to the authorities), and receive proper training. Those who sign also have the option of working for S.H.I.E.L.D., earning a salary and benefits such as those earned by other American civil servants. Characters within the superhuman community in the Marvel Universe split into two groups: one group advocating the registration as a responsible obligation and the other group opposing the law on the grounds that it violates civil rights and the protection that secret identities provide. Some compare the act to a form of slavery. Others compare it to the way police and soldiers must operate.
The genesis for this idea sprang from conversations between Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, and Bryan Hitch. Within the story the adoption of sides by characters builds into the titular "civil war". Although the series can be read as allegorical commentary in the wake of 9/11 and The Patriot Act, writer Mark Millar has noted:
“ The political allegory is only for those that are politically aware. Kids are going to read it and just see a big superhero fight."
I got a late start, but I'm getting myself caught up (bye, bye, Captain America ).
There's a TON of tie-ins to the main series (I looooove the Spiderman issues), and even people who aren't comic book fans can appreciate the content.
The premise of the Civil War storyline is the introduction of a Superhuman Registration Act in the United States.
The act requires any person in the United States with superhuman abilities to register with the federal government, (which includes revealing his/her true identity to the authorities), and receive proper training. Those who sign also have the option of working for S.H.I.E.L.D., earning a salary and benefits such as those earned by other American civil servants. Characters within the superhuman community in the Marvel Universe split into two groups: one group advocating the registration as a responsible obligation and the other group opposing the law on the grounds that it violates civil rights and the protection that secret identities provide. Some compare the act to a form of slavery. Others compare it to the way police and soldiers must operate.
The genesis for this idea sprang from conversations between Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, and Bryan Hitch. Within the story the adoption of sides by characters builds into the titular "civil war". Although the series can be read as allegorical commentary in the wake of 9/11 and The Patriot Act, writer Mark Millar has noted:
“ The political allegory is only for those that are politically aware. Kids are going to read it and just see a big superhero fight."