Reflections on "Infinity Crusade" and "Civil War"

[Fantasyartist]

I've just finished reading "Infinity Crusade" and "Civl War", both now collected in hardback.

The former was intriguing not least because it dealt with an often over looked aspect of the superhero community- religion and /or deeply felt moral/ethical values.
I especially liked the exchange between the Goddess and the Invisible Woman when the former notes that Susan Richards has endured some especially hard knocks in recent years- the worst being the death of her unborn child(FF#267)-and the only thing that has kept from depression or maybe insanity was her rarely spoken of faith. Sue whispers softly in reply,evidently on the verge of tears: "Yes, it's been SO hard!"

"Civil War" like the War Between The States began over a constitutional issue as significant as secession/slavery-does the Federal government have the right to order superheroes to become federal employees?(For the record I believe that Captain America and his band of rebels were in the right- infinitely more so than the Confederates of 1861-65 or the Axis powers of 1939-45). The sequence where Captain America,upon seeing innocent bystanders injured in the fight between his rebels and Iron Man's forces, unconditionally surrenders, proves the essential nobility of the man.

Anybody think as I do?

Terry

 

[JewishHobbit]

I've really enjoyed both as well. Religion itself is widely ignored in the Marvel Universe other than a few mentions of someone being Jewish or Mormon, etc. There's seldom any storyline have to do with it. It seems that if they want a religious story they do a quick deal with Nightcrawler and that sums it up. I'd like to see more of it becoming a deal with the characters myself.

 

[kguillou]

Eventhough Civil War gets criticized alot for mischaracterizations of certain characters, i thought it was a very well written story. Its a story that actually makes you think about the issues at hand and has relevance to the real world. When Captain America first surrendered i was real pissed off because i thought it was very anti-climactic, but after thinking about it, that was the only way the battle could end. Captain America screwed up by not being rational and trying to negotiate with Tony and the government, instead he chose to be arrogant and fight Tony for no reason with no real endgame in mind.The people want what the people want right?

 

[JewishHobbit]

And though some claim people were out of character (I can maybe see it with Reed, but not too much), it was written in a way that I was very excited for each issue. Most stories I just kinda read, think it was good or whatever, and forget about it until the next issue comes out. Civil War had me thinking on each issue the whole time until the new issue hit. It had me curious what would happen next. And I had no idea how it would end.

My only criticism, and I understand why they didn't do it my way, was that they should have had Cap's death in the pages of Civil War itself. That really was the end of the story (well, I'd say Confessions was the end) and it feels a bit out of place with it happening in Captain America and a random one-shot. Then again though, his death was a major Captain America story so it taking place in his own title written by his own writer does make sense. But I'm not a fan of the ongoing really, so for me I wish it could have been differant.

 

[kguillou]

You should read the ongoing Cap title JewishHobbit, its a damn good comicbook, brubaker has been kicking serious booty in it since Cap's death. Just a recommendation.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I actually read it from the issue before Bucky took the mantle and then straight through for maybe 7 or 8 issues, and while it was good, there's other titles I like more. And due to my spending more money than I have on comics, I had to start cuts and Cap was cut.

I think my main thing was that his stories are very long and drawn out. They were good but I felt like nothing was really happening... it was just kinda going. It was good but got old after a while.

 

[random_havoc]

I wasn't a big fan of Infinity Crusade, however Infinity Gauntlet is still my favorite mini series of all time.