Civil War: Front Line
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Civil War: Front Line is an 11-issue, limited series tie-in to Marvel Comics's Civil War event which started in August 2006.
Part of the story is told from the perspective of two reporters embedded in the opposite camps of the war. Ben Urich follows the stories on Iron Man's side with the pro-registration heroes, while Sally Floyd investigates the anti-registration faction headed by Captain America. Writer Paul Jenkins has been given carte blanche to have the stories reflect the current political landscape in the United States.
The other half of the series is told from the perspective of Speedball of the New Warriors. It shows Speedball's struggles with survivor guilt, imprisonment, and relations to the victims of the Stamford disaster.
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[edit] Plot Summary
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
[edit] Issue 1
Iron Man shows his support for the Superhuman Registration Act by , making the proposal for her to investigate the Pro-Registration faction on Iron Man's behalf while also hinting toward making a public declaration of his own secret identity. The conversation between Spiderman and Sally quickly gets awkward when Sally begins to hit on him. Spiderman tells her he is married and leaves through the window leaving Sally extremely embarrassed.
[edit] Issue 2
Peter Parker reviels his identity
[edit] Issue 3
Issue 3 opens with reporter Floyd being lead to a darkened warehouse containing several vigilantes in the trend of Captain America's private little group: Battlestar, Typeface and Solo, among others. They all defend their reasons for defying the registration act and claiming they'll meet up with Captain America one day and band together. Typeface mentions his brother dying for his right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and his right of privacy, where Battlestar cuts him off asking if the country even knows who the bad guys are.
In the meantime, Ben Urich meets with Reed Richards in the Baxter Building; Richards shows him a holographic projection of America's superhuman population on a map and its potential growth in 5 years. When questioned by Ben, Reed says that numbers don't lie. Urich throws in a baseball analogy, saying if Reed knew about baseball he'd know about statistics where one team dominates the stat sheet but the opposing team wins. Urich also points out that opinion polls and stock prices fluctuate according to perception. When Reed claims Ben is oversimplifying Ben says that numbers don't lie.
Somewhere else, Thunderclap is battling Bantam, the latter being pro-registration and determined to bring Thunderclap in.
After a battle of half an hour, Thunderclap launches Bantam with a sonic attack, straight into a gastruck, causing an explosion, and killing Bantam. He walks away in the chaos of the panicking crowd, saying it was never his intention to kill the man.
She-Hulk is attempting to help Speedball by giving him another offer from the government, trying to get him out of the prison where he's being held. Speedball steadfastly believes that while he was part of it, he didn't do anything wrong, Nitro did, and that he couldn't change the past. She-Hulk tells him to change the present.
When guided back to his cell, Toomey, another inmate, is heckling him. Robert then finally snaps and shouts back saying he'll need no powers to beat him up, and challenges him to a fight next gym session. Toomey agrees. Robert talks to his cellmate, who says nothing in return, and appears quite catatonic. Tired, he tries to sleep.
Jennifer Walters comes back once more, and gives him a last offer, telling him to sign for three years of community service for SHIELD. Robbie says if he signs he'll have admitted it was his fault, and claims he'll never sign.
The next section opens with a fire at a pet fish shop. The only presumed eyewitness is rambling on about how Joe, the owner, was such a nice old man and how she bought a fish of his today. The story then flashbacks to earlier that day, where Joe is selling her a Tetra fish. He and his wife close up the shop, and relax in front of the television. A news broadcast comes on, talking about a school of whales beaching themselves, and about an unusual new whale song, snippets of which are played on the program. Upon hearing this song, Joe suddenly stands up, goes to the bathroom, and picks up a syringe with a green liquid in it. He injects it into his neck, and hunches over in pain.
The next page, he is shown in the mirror -- having gained considerable muscle tone, as well as a distinctively Atlantean ear-point and deep blue skin. The title of the segment, "Sleeper Cell", appears beneath him...
[edit] Issue 4
In this issue, Ben Urich and Sally Floyd meet to discuss the ideological chasm between the two sides. Urich warns Floyd not to get too close to the story, but later receives a mysterious note saying "Closer than you think. Listen to her". Sally attends the undercover hero meeting, where the members bemoan the fact that Captain America's team is nigh-unfindable. Suddenly, they are attacked by Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, and a group of SHIELD 'Cape-killers'. Some of the rebels, described as 'unregistered combatants', are arrested, but Floyd is taken off the premises by the group before she can get in trouble.
Meanwhile, Ben Urich is following a lead when he is contacted via cell phone by Ms. Floyd. She describes the attack, and makes an attempt to warn him about something before the call cuts out. Continuing down the alley, he finds a small brown box tied with string. Opening it, he finds an inactive pumpkin bomb. The Green Goblin appears, saying "You wrote lies about me, Urich. We're going to set the record straight."
In the prison gym, Robbie Baldwin is in a fight with Toomey. All the prisoners think Toomey will win, except Baldwin's quiet cellmate, Hickey. Toomey thinks he can win easily, but Baldwin defends himself well. However, another inmate wounds him when he beats Toomey, at which point Baldwin's power spontaneously restarts, stunning many people in the room. Later, Baldwin receives a visitor: his mother, who begs him to accept responsibility for his part in the deaths of the Stamford victims. Baldwin counters by refusing to accept all the blame for the Stamford Incident. His mother agrees to respect his wishes, but then says she will not visit him again in prison.
In Sleeper Cell, two detectives are going over the crime scene. They develop a theory that Joe was a former undercover agent for a foreign government, who was reactivated for some mysterious reason. They suspect an Eastern European country, but the reader is shown images of Atlantis and Prince Namor. As the detectives go back to the precinct-house, the readers are shown that one of the firemen is Joe in disguise.
[edit] Issue 5
Ben Urich starts off the issue talking to Robbie and Jameson. Jameson can’t believe that Ben met the Green Goblin. The Goblin says he has been watching Ben and, 'he knows Ben, he knows what Ben does, and knows the people he knows.' Ben tells Jameson the Goblin mentioned him as well.
In Chinatown, Sally Floyd is walking when a man in a hoodie sticks a gun to her back. He tells her to act normal and keep doing what she was doing. He tells Sally that she is writing the wrong story and Captain America's Secret Avengers is just a myth. He also says there is no hidden motive behind the act, Sally thinks there is and is out to prove it. When she turns to see the man, he is gone. All that is left of him is a banana on the ground.
The comic cuts back to Ben, who is arguing with Robbie and Jameson. Ben defends himself about his meeting with the Green Goblin, Robbie wants proof, and Jameson doesn't believe it. When a Bugle employee tells Jameson that Iron Man confirmed the Goblin didn't leave his cell for the past hour, Ben can't believe it and Jameson now completely doubts Ben's word. Ben loses control of his anger and lashes out at Jameson. After Jameson asks if Ben is done, he fires him.
The comic switches back to Sally Floyd in her news room. She has some documents for her Managing Editor, Neil Crawford, when a man bursts through the news room's door looking for someone. He is looking for someone, referred to as 'him,' and Sally jokes about the event. Sharpshooters have their eyes lined on Sally's head as the man reveals himself to be S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Eric Marshall (the same man who arrested Speedball). 'The man' is of great interest to S.H.I.E.L.D. and they know that Sally had met him. Sally states that she doesn't reveal her sources and Eric arrests Sally and Neil.
Speedball is finally being transferred. She-Hulk is riding with him in an army bus during the transfer. She-Hulk doesn't like the transfer (she thinks it’s strange that so many big people are a part of it) and Speedball hears the angry crowds who hate him. This is a shock to Speedball, who can't believe all their anger is solely on him. They arrive at their destination, a gateway to the Negative Zone. Speedball and all the other captured heroes are sent to the Negative Zone where a prison was made for unregistered heroes. "Negative Zone Prison Alpha", Typeface tells Speedball, "Alphabetically it is accurate... for it is the first and only of its kind. The inmates have a better name for it. They call it Fantasy Island." A pan-out shows that they are not the only ones being sent to Fantasy Island.
Wonder Man is battling the Rat when police confront him. He presents his registration card, which can only show its contents by a special light. The lights come on and it is revealed that the confrontation was staged. When Wonder Man returns to his office, two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents state that they want Wonder Man's services. The agents show him the case file about Joe, the fish shop owner who they believe is an undercover operative for a foreign nation. Since Wonder Man is registered, S.H.I.E.L.D. has his records and is aware of tax problems that he's been having. If Wonder Man helps S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D. can wipe those tax problems clean. Wonder Man says that’s blackmail; the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives counter that they are trying to help.
[edit] Issue 6
Ben Urich is cleaning out his desk at the Daily Bugle. Robbie tries to talk him out of it, eventually getting him to agree to tackle the Goblin story after his Civil War assignments. Ben reluctantly agrees and his next posting is supposed to be about a "regular S.H.I.E.L.D. sting operation", but is in fact the superhero battle from Civil War issue 3. Ben is shocked when Thor (actually a cloned cyborg version created by the pro-reigstration faction) kills Goliath, and is further disturbed by the use of supervillains in the conflict. When confronted by Ben, Iron Man refuses to answer and Ben privately says "I got you, Stark. Hook, line and sinker."
In an undisclosed location in the contiguous United States, Sally Floyd is being held without charge. Reed Richards and the NSA want to offer her a deal, but she refuses.
In prison, Robbie Baldwin is thinking of the letter he will write to his mother when he is visited by Mr. Fantastic, who offers him the chance to explain his actions before Congress the next day. Robbie agrees. However, his lawyer is anxious: he is wearing his superhero costume in the mistaken belief that "public floggings mean more run-time, and more people listening to what I have to say". Baldwin is led through the crowd, against all proper convict handling procedure, as he begins to shout answers to questions the press are asking him. Suddenly, a man in the crowd shoots him.
'Joe' the Atlantean sleeper agent is talking among a school of jellyfish. Reaching a conclusion, he climbs out of the water and through some warehouses. He is being followed by Wonder Man, who resents that S.H.I.E.L.D. is using him as their 'reconnaissance monkey'. Wonder Man tracks Joe into a warehouse, where he joins at least twenty more Atlanteans, most armed, around a map of New York with a set of explosions pencilled in...
[edit] Issue 7
In Washington, Ben Urich has been assigned to cover Robbie Baldwin testifying before Congress and learns that his editor has asked multiple government sources about the Green Goblin, and none have said anything. Ben witnesses the shooting of Robbie.
In an undisclosed location, Sally Floyd is confident that her situation will resolve itself, but her alcoholic tendencies are surfacing. She is visited by a Congressman she dismisses as 'predictable', who gives her an envelope. The congressman tells Sally that he has always worked hard for freedom of expression and freedom of the press; that he believes the Registration Act is necessary; that her problem is not with the Act but with its implementation; and that he doesn't believe there is a conspiracy surrounding the Act. Sally accuses him of trying to trick her and he asks her to open the envelope, which contains a letter bearing these exact words. He asks, "Which of us is being predictable, Ms. Floyd?" He then offers his support in getting her unconstitutional apprehension ended.
In Oscorp's New York offices, Norman Osborn is meeting a mysterious benefector who can override the government's nanotech controllers. Osborn accepts the man's gift, in exchange for some future debt. The mystery benefactor then gloats, claiming that 'they have been betrayed by the one person they never saw coming. Never in a million years.'
In Robbie Baldwin's ambulance, Robbie composes another letter to his mother. In it, he expresses sorrow at the foolishness of his youth. He realizes that all of his attention-seeking - as a solo hero, in the New Warriors, and in their reality TV show - were due to his parents not paying attention to him. He acknowledges his complicity in the Stamford Incident, and says, "I couldn't admit that it happened, Mom. Because then I would have to admit that my friends were dead. Because of me. Everyone died... because of me." Around him, as he goes into shock, his powers spontaneously manifest again, blowing the ambulance's engine and causing it to crash.
In the warehouse, the two cops from issue 4 are shocked at the devastation. All the Atlanteans are dead and most of their gear is destroyed. Paramedics find one survivor: the comatose Wonder Man. In Wonder Man's memory, he sees himself on the roof of the warehouse, which suddenly gets attacked by the Green Goblin. Wonder Man tried to stop the Goblin, but was knocked unconscious. All the Atlanteans die of toxic pumpkin bombs. Wonder Man says 'Green Gob', but is hustled away by the paramedics before the detectives can get more answers from him. They acknowledge that, whatever convoluted explanation they can give for this outcome, the truth will be a lot stranger...
[edit] Issue 8
Ben Urich is taken to the factory remains (where the Green Goblin attacked the Atlanteans) by his friend Dan from the government's "costume division". Dan tells Urich about rumors of the Green Goblin. Urich promises Dan a date with Sally in return for the information. Dan and Urich believe someone altered the tracker nanobots in Norman Osborn's bloodstream so he could do whatever he wanted. Dan also thinks the arms manufacturers (Tony Stark) may be manipulating the events of the Civil War to make money.
Elsewhere, Sally Floyd is supposed to meet someone named Steve, who turns out to be an old hobo. Steve, claiming to have seen the Secret Avengers' hideout, promises to take her there so she can interview them. Steve takes her to an old shack by the Hudson River and closes the door behind them. Sally is prepared to mace him but Steve starts to unbutton his shirt, revealing the Captain America costume.
S.H.I.E.L.D. director Hill believes that She-Hulk tried to free Robbie Baldwin from the ambulance and is holding She-Hulk in prison since two people died when the ambulance exploded. The man who shot Robbie, James Stricker, is being tried for first degree murder and we learn his motive: Stricker's daughter died at Stamford. Robbie's old cellmate Hickey broke out of prison and is disguised as a janitor in the same building where She-Hulk is being held. It is revealed that Baldwin is still alive and being held in the same building as She-Hulk; the bullet that hit him shattered into pieces that lodged in his spine and can't be removed. Over the protests of Reed Richards, Commander Hill orders Richards to give Baldwin morphine and wake him up so that he can be sent back to prison.
With the European superhero Red Dragon as a mediator, the Atlantean Ambassador Govan comes to the surface to hold a press conference where he claims the Atlanteans were just on the surface to study human life. Norman Osborn, attending the conference, shoots the ambassador with a handgun. Govan and the other Atlanteans, now distressed, retreat into the ocean. Norman Osborn is surrounded, then collapses and claims he couldn't help himself... that he didn't shoot the ambassador.
[edit] Issue 9
Sally Floyd meets up with Captain America to interview him and realizes that he is misguided in his view of the Civil War.
Ben and Peter Parker hack into the computers of Tony Stark's accounting firm to discover that Tony Stark has used inside information to manipulate the stock market for personal gain.
Sally and Danny, Ben's friend from the "costume division", meet for dinner to discuss the Green Goblin actions. Their relationship takes a turn as Sally kisses him as he awkwardly tries to ask for a date.
At the Avengers Tower, Reed Richards confirms that the nanites in Osborn's blood were altered. Ms Marvel reports that Atlantis says "Go away." Richard concludes that there is a traitor and Tony Stark admits that there is and he has known it all along.
At the Raft, during a prisoner transfer, Razor Fist leads a number of super-powered inmates in a prison break using Speedball as a hostage. The plan is stopped by Speedball when he regains his powers.
Norman Osborn is interrogated by two homicide detectives but before they can get anything out of him, a shadowy figure arrives with a document that makes Osborn's case a matter of National Security.
[edit] Issue 10
Ben Urich resigns from the Daily Bugle because he knows they won't print what he's discovered. People begin blaming Tony Stark for the war with Atlantis. Reed Richards reassures Tony. Ben and Sally Floyd meet up to discuss their findings but find themselves in the middle of a superhero brawl. They retreat to the subway.
The newly released Speedball pays a prison visit to the man who shot him. He tells the man that's he's also negotiated for his release. The man is still upset. Speedball has an exchange with Reed as he leaves prison. He then burns his Speedball costume and meets with a costume maker who has his new costume. The costume maker says he can see it used for no means less than torture. Robbie (Speedball) reveals it is for himself and assumes his new identity as Penance.
[edit] Issue 11
The first scenes take place in a Times Square nearly leveled by the final battle of the Civil War, and we learn that the death toll of that battle was fifty-three, six of whom were powers. Heroes begin the work of cleaning up, and the fire and police departments move in to help the victims.
Some days later, Sally Floyd and Ben Urich visit Captain America aboard The Raft. Ben learns that Sally has left her employment at the Alternative for much the same reason Ben left the Daily Bugle - the story they have uncovered. She also comments that the Alternative, in her view, is not the defender of free speech she once thought it was - an encounter with Congressman Eugene Sykes convinced her she had become hidebound, like J. Jonah Jameson. The two reporters pass a security device and enter Captain America's cell. Captain America greets them, he knows they have received permission from the authorities to carry his version of events. Ben promises tough questions and Cap promises candor. The reporters explain their perspective will be a comparison and that they will visit Tony Stark after they speak with Captain America. Hearing the name of his old teammate, Cap's face shows sadness and he notes that he hasn't had a chance to speak to Tony Stark. He asks the reporters to convey his sorrow for what has unfolded.
Urich asks Cap to tell his side of the story for the American people, and Cap suggests Ben ask the Registration Act supporters the same hard questions. Cap further explains that he tried to bring both sides to a meeting, but claims the Act's supporters were not interested, and instead drew a line. Urich wonders to what degree pride drove what came next, asking if Cap stepped over that line. Cap denies that pride was ever a factor. He asserts that his actions were motivated by his belief in the Constitution against enemies both external and internal. But while contending this, he realizes now that he could have come to the table as easily as could have Tony Stark or Reed Richards. He saw the act as a basic violation of the rights of Americans. He concludes by apologizing to the country that he loves. Ben then asks why he couldn't reach that conclusion earlier, and Cap answers that sometimes one only sees a conclusion after examining a problem from all sides.
Sally Floyd asks Cap whether he knows what MySpace is, and he fails to see the relevance. She contends instead that he didn't understand the question, and she follows up with more questions probing Cap's knowledge of pop culture: does he know who won the last world series, who won the last American Idol, when he last watched a NASCAR race or The Simpsons or logged into YouTube. Cap cannot answer, and Floyd contends that he holds up America as a "shining beacon of perfection" - and that he knows nothing about it. Cap tells her she's being simplistic and she shoots back that when she and others must hide from superpowered battles they cannot afford complexity. She asks Cap what he accomplished and he reiterates that he did what he felt was right. She tells him that all he does is fight for an ideal, and suggests the America he knew has moved past him. America isn't Mom and apple pie any more - it's high cholesterol and Paris Hilton. She tells Cap that he has broken the country, and asks what he'll do to fix it. On their way out, Urich suggests she has lost some objectivity, and she says that she has changed her mind, and the article will now be an opinion piece.
Over the next several days the reporters put the finishing touches on the story they cannot tell, carry on their personal lives. The Sentry announces support for the registration act; this and other factors prompt an unsurge in recruitment to the pro-registration cause. The reporters stay in touch with others on the opposing side, notably Spider-Man. They establish a new media outlet entitled "Frontlines.com" And ten days after seeing Captain America, they pass security into Tony Stark's spacious office.
Tony ushers them to a chair where they briefly discuss the hundred things Tony and his people want to do to improve America, the hundredth of which was to think up another hundred - an ongoing project. And then they reveal that the story they have come to discuss isn't about the Initiative, but about Tony.
Sally begins with a recap - the events at Stamford that sparked the Civil War, and leading up to Norman Osborn's disastrous attack on the Atlantean delegation - an attack that nearly started a war with Atlantis. They have a documentation that explains how re-engineered nanites forced the Goblin to attack as he did. And they wondered why. Stark assures the pair that nanite infected individuals are under control at all times - and they believe him, because of what they have concluding: The Green Goblin never left Tony's control. HE is the traitor who unleashed Norman Osborne on the Atlanteans.
Tony denies this and Ben reveals more of what they have learned: background checks have unearthed a pattern of data: Tony's knowledge of events was used to manipulated the stock market to the tune of ninety million dollars, and this money found its way through a Swiss bank account to a charity endowing pension funds of firefighters, police - and registered heroes. They wonder aloud why someone would try to make things look so bad, and how they might persuade people to register their identities. Sally speculates that a prison, built in the negative zone, might put a scare into them. When the situation deteriorated, the unregistered heroes might be sent there as a test. And most importantly, why anyone would be crazy enough to coerce the Green Goblin to attack Atlanteans.
Tony suggests they have an exotic story, but that is all. Ben continues, musing as to why the Green Goblin, a man with enhanced physical strength, might use an old pistol with a warped barrel, a weapon useless against tough Atlantean skin. And why he could not speak of what had happened. Furthermore, considering Osborn's superhuman strength, the police had no problems at all in arresting him.
They reach their conclusion: Tony Stark engineered the entire event, having predicted (correctly) that the threat of war with Atlantis would unite the country's superhuman population and push them to register instead of fight amongst themselves. The Green Goblin had never been out of Stark's control, but rather that he was intentionally released to attack the Atlanteans, then put back under control after the deed was done. She concludes, suggesting that Stark has sacrificed his status as friend, colleague, and hero for the greater good of the country - and she applauds him for that act in a seemly mocking way. For a moment Tony just looks at his visitors, and then he tells them to get the hell out of his office. Sally whispers an aside to Ben: the hero's true sacrifice is that he can never tell. Ben assures Tony they won't publish the story, which would jeopardize everything he wants to accomplish, and the reporters leave.
For long moments Tony stares over the skyline at the smoke from Times Square. He makes a sound that might be a sob, and then in a fit of rage throws an Iron Man mask across the room. He collapses to his knees, one hand over his face, and does not rise for a long time.
[edit] Notes
- Each issue from #1 to #9 concludes with a short story comparing the events of Civil War to real historical conflicts. Each piece is accompanied by portions of a relevant text.
- Issue 1 - Anonymous poem from Poston War Relocation Center. Compares with Spider-Man web-swinging to the Statue of Liberty whilst considering his identity reveal decision.
- Issue 2 - Text by Plutarch. Compares Iron Man's arrest of Prodigy with Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
- Issue 3 - Futility by Wilfred Owen.
- Issue 4 - 'Goodnight Saigon' by Billy Joel. Compares an American action against Viet Cong with the government ambush of the rebels earlier in the issue.
- Issue 5 - Letters from two brothers during the Civil War, James and Alexander Campbell. They fought in a battle, each on opposing sides. They later find out they had fought each other. Compares the event to Iron Man and Spider Man attacking a group of unregistered heroes that were resisting arrest...
- Issue 6 - An epigraph by A. E. Houseman, taken from his collection 'More Poems', comparing the dead of the Somme offensive to the Atlanteans killed by the Green Goblin.
