Now that we have a few nano-seconds of downtime between the conclusion of Infinite Crisis and the beginning of 52, let’s turn our attention to the other mega-series that threatens to shatter the fabric of reality itself.
That’s right Fortress Fanatics, the Keeper picked up a copy of Marvel’s Civil Wars last week.
From a purely dispassionate standpoint, the comic was a highly professional package that featured gorgeous artwork and a well-paced story that nicely balanced dialogue with action.
As promised, Marvel did not stack the deck in favor of one argument and the fight scene featuring Captain America is as over-the-top as advertised.
(Although, writer Mark Millar apparently couldn’t resist depicting a minister in a boorish light. The Keeper has never seen or heard of a funeral service where a call for prayer includes such inflammatory remarks.)
Yet, for a comic (or should that be “event”) so potentially rife with controversy, your humble host did not find himself all that excited. Nothing about the first issue elicited any true reaction beyond an intellectual appreciation for a job well done.
Part of the problem, in this reader’s eyes, is the topic is not as original as the hype suggests. Legislators have had bugs up their butts regarding Marvel heroes at least as far back as the Kree-Skrull War, and the possibility of a mutant registration act has haunted the X-books for decades.
The question of heroes answering to the government has also been broached in various runs of the Avengers, including one where Iron Man (That’s right, Mr. “Let’s Work With The government.”) objected to a bureaucrat naming the team’s roster.
One of the most notable looks at super-heroes and government oversight took place in Captain America #332, published in the late 1980s.
The issue, written by Fortress favorite Mark Gruenwald, dealt with a government commission ordering Cap to work directly for the U.S. government. After much soul searching, the Sentinel of Liberty declined and relinquished his costumed identity.
His rationale: The Captain America persona stands for more than government policy or a particular administration; it stands for the ideals of America itself as outlined by our Founding Fathers.
Troubled by the possibility of political corruption, Cap also feared he’d be forced to only battle enemies the government deemed advantageous to fight - a concern that has resonance in the real and well as comic-book world.
The arc, which included the introduction of John Walker as a more jingoistic Captain America, explored the nature of true patriotism, blind loyalty and government duty in a manner that was fairly complex for the super-hero genre.
In the end, of course, Steve Rogers’ concerns proved valid and he resumed battling evil as Captain America without government interference.
Of course, Gruenwald’s stories were published without the benefit of a multi-media publicity blitz and both creators - and fans themselves - are known for their short memories when it comes to promoting “mature concepts.”
The maturity angle also illustrates a problem that befalls most comics billing themselves as “adult-themed” stories. Like DC’s similar Identity Crisis, Marvel’s latest effort combines spandex with real-world concerns - in this case civil liberties.
So far, though, Civil War’s ambition has amounted to little more than “hey look, it’s super-heroes talking about civil liberties” - much as Identity Crisis boiled down to “hey look, it’s super-heroes talking about rape and, um, civil liberties.”
By the very nature of the medium - i.e. small illustrated pamphlets - super-hero comics can’t hit on such grave and complicated topics with any more weight than a Lifetime Originals movie.
Unless it’s a Brian Bendis comic, a story can only devote so much space to having costumed heroes sit around before it’s time for somebody to get in a fist-fight. That is, after all, what super-heroes were created to do, right?
So, a comic-book “event” like Civil War can never be quite sophisticated enough to attract the cross-over audience it craves. Because, as the Keeper has argued before, super-heroes don’t work in a true, “real-world” context. Men and women jumping around in brightly colored costumes is an unrealistic notion at its very core, and no “significant issue of the week” can disguise that fact.
The movie industry recognizes such truths, which is why no one will confuse “Batman Begins” with an Ingmar Bergman film. Like any movie, a super-hero film needs a superior script and cast to truly succeed. But for the genre to work, people also need to see larger-than-life characters blow stuff up.
That is also why the graphic novels that did cross over to the mainstream, Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns, succeeded. Both books definitively portrayed super-heroics as a crazy dream that can’t work - an admission neither DC nor Marvel can make in their mainstream books.
So, after the hype has died down in a year or two, Civil War will probably be regarded as a good, solid read. (Unless Marvel really drops the ball, that is.)
Nothing more, nothing less.
In the meantime, the Keeper will spend his money on comics that are a bit more fun and a bit less presumptions in their delusions of significance.
Nuff said, true believer.
