Today I looked at my disorganized pile of Marvel comics I had purchased in the past few months, and realised I've been ignoring my collection just a little. They deserve to be Wrapped In Plastic and put in a nice box with all my other comics, awaiting the day they'll all be worth a fortune. But they are already worth a fortune, in storytelling. In the past, I've been hard on American comics, when held to the radiance of Manga, but this is an old conceit I've carried since high-school. When I came back home from "Fraggle" Iraq (a little over a year ago) I took a few months off to reaquaint myself with my hometown, and spent time at the local comicbook store. I was immediately struck by how good the art is these days (compared to over a decade ago), and the quality of paper and printing. These comics transcended the simple, out-off-date assumptions I had been carrying around. So I dove head first into the deep end of the Marvel pool, grabbed a couple issues of each main title, and drove home as fast as I could to read them all. I was more than pleasantly surprised. I was learning that, in my absence, Marvel started a ball rolling with some huge crossover story arcs a couple years before, and the fruits of their labor was something called the "Civil War." If not Marvel's largest Crossover, than certainly the largest I had ever read. And I went back out the next day to get more issues until I was caught up. The Civil War is a brilliant piece of story telling that anyone who has ever read a Marvel title in their life owes it to themselves to read a few issues.
The Civil War didn't just spring up overnight. It was a long process of other plots that came to a head. It all started with "Planet X" at the end of 2003. Magneto (assumed to be dead but actually impersonating someone called Xorn) reappered, took over Prof. X's school, converted some mutants (younglings he could turn to the Dark Side with the help of a drug called Kick), moved to Manhattan, destroyed the city, murdered thousands of normal humans, raised an army of mutants, threatened to flip Earth's magnetic field, and went insane on a drug overdose. His followers labelled him a fraud and Magneto demanded to be executed when confronted by Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean. Magneto kills Jean, driving Wolvie even more insane, who then decapitates the big M once and for all. Prof. X comes to the conclusion humans will never accept mutants and its up to mutant kind what they want for themselves.
Two (2) new stories followed, the "Secret War" and "Avengers: Disassembled". In Secret War, Nick Fury (head of SHIELD) sees a threat from Latveria (home of Dr. Doom currently in hell) by the new Prime Minister, who plans to arm lesser villians with Dr. Doom's advanced tech and turn them into terrorists. The US President tells Nick Fury America sponsers Latveria and no pre-emptive action is allowed. Accusing the President of repeating pre-9/11 security blindspots, Nick rounds up Cap America, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Wolvie and a few others, then brainwashes them to keep the mission a secret. A year later Latverian PM with an improved-techno army of villians attack NYC in retalliation, trying to kill all of NYC's superheroes with a bomb. Nick saves the day, kills the PM, defeats the evil army, and deactivates the bomb. Sue Storm, Captain America, and Wolvie confront Nick with a big WTF! only to find out he's a clone (an LMD) controlled by the real Nick in hiding. Nick hopes all the superheroes understand the world is different now and to try to understand what just happened. An new head of SHIELD is secretly appointed, however Nick's clone is used in public.
Now it gets weird. "Disassembled" starts with an intruder that blows up half the Avenger's mansion, killing Ant-Man. Vision then flies a jet into the remains, pops out with a bunch of robots, attacks everyone in sight, and is killed when She-Hulk goes mental. Reserve Avenger's are called up to fill the ranks (like Spidey and Daredevil) when a Kree battlefleet attacks from orbit. Hawkeye is killed, but not before fending off the Kree. It turns out events were manipulated by the reality-distorting effects of chaos magic the Scarlet Witch was employing, getting revenge on the Avenger's for killing her children (which they didn't, she's just got issues). Dr. Stange helps whoop her ass into a coma and Magneto pops up to take her back, admitting he's a sucky father figure. What? Magneto? Isn't he dead? We'll (and here's the weird part), the X-Men encounter Shen Xorn, claiming his twin brother used to be at Prof. X's school. His name was Kuan-Yin Xorn, who only pretended to be Magneto for some reason and killed everyone in New York; not the real Magneto. Damn it. Sometimes these writers kill me. With the loss of so many Avengers they decide to break up, "Avengers, Disassemble."
Now for the good stuff. The Scarlet Witch had been trying to bring her children back, and using the wrong kind of magic that led to the whole Disassemble thing. In the "House Of M" saga Magneto had taken Scarlet Witch home to their island, Genosha. Dr. Strange & Prof. X have trouble keeping her unconscious so he holds a meeting of the X minds (I can just picture a Picard staff meeting) about what to do with here. Wolvie thinks they should kill her, but not enough agree and want to talk to her. (Huhn? weren't any of these mutants paying attention to the Avengers?) Back home Magneto thinks Prof. X wants Scarlet dead so he makes plans. When the X-Men and other superheroes arrive at Genosha, reality fractures and each person is living an ideal life, nearly parallel to the correct timeline. I hate this crap. Wolvie gains all his memories back and finds a mutant that can see through the reality distortion and brings enough mutants around to go after Magneto/Scarlet Witch for real. Magneto is holding a meating with the heads of other mutants/people/planets when Wolvie attacks with SHIELD. After lots of confusion and the disappearance on Prof. X, the muties corner Magneto & Scarlet Witch. In her insanity she tells her father, "No more mutants." She is so powerful at this point (don't ask me why) that a flash is seen around the world (known hereafter as M-Day) and 99% of all mutants loose their power immediately, including Magneto. Reality more or less goes back where it belongs. All the "missing" mutant energy is somehow converted into a large red energy ribbon that circles the Earth. And Wolvie still remembers everything.
"Decimation" picks up the mutant population problems, and a full scale search for Prof. X ensues (and is eventually located). Other things of note: O*N*E (a branch of Homeland Security) posts human-piloted Sentinels at Xavier's school to protect the dwindling number of mutants; The missing mutant energies revives an ancient evil in space named Vulcan that wants revenge for a past deed; Once Vulcan is forced back into space Cyclops banishes Prof. X from the school once a secret (dating back to 1974) is revealed; The remainder of the energy becomes an entity known as "The Collectice"; Vulcan takes over the Shi'ar empire; Quicksilver (now powerless) uses the Terrigan Crystals of the Inhumans to repower himself and others, but it doesn't work and US forces get the Crystals (citing national security) and Black Bolt (leader of Inhumans) declares war on the US; Fantastic Four breaks relationships with Inhumanoids, due to the war; Huge anti-mutant upsurge in human population and M-Day is considered God's wrath. The brief "198" story arc detailed the tension between the last 198 mutants left at the Xavier school and Sentinel Squad O*N*E left to protect them/keep them from the outside world.
During this time Bruce Banner/Hulk had been losing more and more control. During a fight in Las Vegas, which could be seen from orbit, Hulk was eventually brought down, and decides to lead a hidden life in Alaska where no one can bother him. This doesn't satisfy the leaders of the different superhuman factions (who form an Illuminati), Prof. X, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Namor, Black Bolt, and Iron Man, and the "Planet Hulk" plot is born. Stay tuned to tomorrow's broadcast to see how all this relates to the Civil War.
2 comments:
There are two words I think you should learn, Fox – Spoiler Warning. I kid, I think we all know I would have never gotten around to reading these actual storylines myself.
With nothing to add in the comic realm, I am left with measly recollections from the mid-90’s when an upstart company called Image bumped up the game for everyone. Marvel and the likes were running slave shops, and well-known names like Jim Lee and the bile-inducing McFarlane were being paid low rates for quantity while those same companies were making fortunes of character rights and printing on recycled sanitary toilet seat covers. A bunch of big names left their homes and made Image, with the aforementioned high-quality paper, more grown up story lines (i’m fairly certain they didn’t adhere to the comic code) and a style of art that I reckon started a movement. These artists were left creating true labors of love, running their own studios with complete ownership and control over their creations. I shall end the story here and gloss over the ensuing financial BS (since none of them had ever run a company) and unholy events – like when Image artists started showing up in Levis commercials. I’m no historian, I only remember what I experienced when Image came to town, but my opinion is that they started a revolution, and the big two were left playing catch up. I akin it to what happened to cinema when independent films became a force – not everything that resulted was good, but something that had been happening elsewhere for years was suddenly in the limelight and everything changed, for better or worse.
Last night I got to pummel through GH3, and sure enough it’s the same game I’ve been playing for a few years now. There isn’t much they can do to the game play, they are a little trapped in that sense. All they can do is keep adding VS modes and new songs, which is all most people want. Online play has been added for everything but PS2, and you’ve been able to download songs off Live since GH2. I’m left happy with the new game, but slightly empty, like when one eats McDonalds – there is that itching feeling that although there was chewing involved, it doesn’t quite feel like a meal. New songs are less the attraction that they once were, and while I’m sure there are people who live to play as Tom Morello or a giant robot, I don’t give a rats ass. There is a very Tony Hawk Pro Skater feeling to the game – perfection through repetition yields vanity rewards. The difference is GH is a game on rails, while THPS wasn’t.
I’m at the point where don’t want to pay $50 for new songs every few months. If the price point fell to $20 I would not be so sour, but seeing as MTV bought Harmonix, the magic 8-ball comes up ‘not fucking likely’ on that wish. I don’t want to sound like I don’t like the game – I do, very much so. I have the aching forearm to prove it – but this dead horse made of stone has been beaten and bled accordingly, and there should be considerable game-uppage in the next release. I stopped buying GTA games for this reason; At a certain point, the added ability to steal Vespa’s doesn’t warrant a $50 investment.
Yes, Spoiler Warning will be my watchword tonight. Odds are I will expose a plot point or two if it is something geeks of the field would know. There is much detail left out of the different stories, and I'm hoping anyone reading these will feel the need to scratch their comic itch and go track down the collected works, or the actual comics.
As a lover of the GTA series I've been fascinated by how the gameplay has evolved from III to San Andreas. They look the same but there is subtle tweeking of targeting or physics, as well as vehicle choices and multiple cities to find all 100 crack pipes or tagging walls or what not. My only concern is each game has trumpt the last in scale and freedom that newcomers may be overwhelmed by the choices. I can easily switch my thinking when I learn I can swim versus not because I understood the game first without swimming. Now that I can swim, moving around the world is easier. A noob could be so overwhelmed with graphical might, it may never occur to him to solve problems or explore using swimming.
If GH isn't broke, don't fix it. Maybe GH needs a "Sandbox" overhaul where in between jam sessions you have some RPG elements or practice with a band. Tony Hawk started with levels and goals, no plot. Now TH has both, and the plot oriented play is supposed to be good. Being an "old-schooler" I prefer the original gameplay, but I can't have everything.
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