Customer Reviews

The Road to Civil War

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Walk away now" - Black Panther. Words that should have been heeded.

WARNING SPOILERS: The plot: Way back in the 70s after the first Kree-Skrull War on Earth; Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Professor X, Namor, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, and Black Panther met in secret to create an Illuminati to discuss emergencies. No families, no teammates, no one was to know. Black Panther refused, but the remaining kept going through the years (carrying out such things as marooning the Hulk to space, seeing him as out of control). With Professor X gone (see: House of M) and the recent anti-superpower fear gripping the nation, Iron Man learns of a bill to pass in congress requiring superheroes to register with the government and become S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. For which, Iron Man, Black Bolt and Mr. Fantastic agree with, and Dr. Strange and Namor find appalling and leave the group. Leading to the current Civil War of the Superheroes.

Because this is new, I won't spoil too much. The book is a collection of some key lead ups to Civil War (New Avengers Illuminati, Fantastic Four #536 & 537, and Amazing Spider-Man #529 - 531).

New Avengers Illuminati: The lead in story explains why the group met and introduces the "Registration Act"

Fantastic Four #536 & 537: The return of Thor's Hammer and Dr. Doom.

Amazing Spider-Man #529 - 531: Peter gets his super-powered Spider-suit, and travels with Tony Stark to Washington D.C. to speak before congress.

The story is very intriguing. Tony Stark (Iron Man) has never been one of my favorite characters. After reading this, my opinion has changed. Tony Stark as a character outside of Iron Man is awesome. Think Bruce Wayne with a sense of humor. Not only is he a calculating genius, manipulating Peter Parker, but also is truly willing to do whatever it takes to do the right thing. Reading and rereading the pages of dialogue concerning the arguments for and against the registration act are both compelling and thought provoking. I was even torn on it for a bit as reader, how would I deal with something of that magnitude if I were a superhero and, well, fictional? I can see why this is selling so well.

I will certainly be picking these trades up when they release the rest of the storyline

With DC pumping out a universe shattering, cataclysmic event (Infinite Crisis), Marvel answers them with Civil War. The Road to Civil War features various issues from various series' collected together that lead up to the Civil War series; and in turn feature many pivotal events. The Illuminati disbands, as Tony "Iron Man" Stark makes a decision that will alter the course of events to come regarding super hero registration. Not to mention that Spider-Man receives a new suit (designed by Stark) and forges a new direction for himself that many did not see coming. Dr. Doom is back as well, and there a hint of things to come regarding the return of the mighty Thor, as well as Stark's brewing war with Captain America. Despite containing different issues by different creative teams, Road to Civil War never feels uneven like many TPB's with varying writers and artists usually do. Featuring talent like Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, Brian Michael Bendis, and Alex Maleev; Road to Civil War's biggest con is that it leaves you wanting more, but in that respect, if this doesn't get you excited for Civil War, nothing will. Worth picking up if you missed these issues before Civil War, or are anxiously awaiting the TPB version.

I didn't feel this book was all that great. The Illuminati one-shot was the highpoint, setting up events that lead to Marvels upcoming World War Hulk event. If you want to find out who was responsible for banishing the Hulk from Earth I recommend it. However, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man stories collected here weren't all that great. Marvels Annihilation and Planet Hulk were much better stories than Civil War, but in all the Civil War hype Annihilation and Hulk seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Too bad.

The Road to the civil war is one of the best tie in's to the entire series. It sets the ground work and really pulls you into the story. make sure you have the road to the civil war Illuminati issue for a back reference so you know what was discussed when Tony stark and Peter parker discuss Tony's "Midnight Meeting". I originally read the Road to the civil war after i read the 7 major novels and it gave me greater insight on the plan and filled in gaps along the story; so i wish i had read it first. I recommend reading The road to the civil war followed by the civil war issue 1 then followed by Civil war Wolverine then the rest of the series as you see fit , if you want the best reading experience.
P.s. There is a Fantastic 4 story in there also that references Thor. Also there is a story about dr doom that takes place before this that left me lost but still a good read.

Avengers: Illuminati is really the only comic in this collection that I enjoyed. I was hoping for the entire collection to be more about them, however it was really a random story involving the fantastic four and Thor's hammer and Spiderman's falling into the hands of Tony Stark.
Absolutely not necessary for the Civil War storyline.

The Illuminati story is useful for the new World War Hulk storyline though.

Only three of the issues collected here (Amazing Spider-Man #529 - 531) are directly connected to the Civil War. Nevertheless, this issue sets up the status quo of the Marvel Universe for many years to come.

The Illuminati issue is a prelude to Planet Hulk/World War Hulk, while the Fantastic Four issues foreshadow the impending return of Thor (which was teased but never happened during the Marvel Civil War). Marvel fans will enjoy the entire package here, as long as you're not expecting every issue to be strictly a Civil War setup.

This book just cements what other books have already said about Civil War, that it's pretty much all Tony Stark's fault and that he blew it all out of proportion.

The parts that have Spiderman in it and have him trying out the new spider armor that lets him fly and do other cool things is pretty interesting. Also it's cool to see him cracking jokes in front of a Congressional hearing and having him try to be serious and teach senators that "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

Check it out, but the only real good parts are the Amazing Spiderman issues, you can safely skip the rest of the book.

I love the dynamic of this graphic novel. We have Iron Man and Spiderman working on what, it seems, is the same side but they represent such different kinds of superheroes. Spiderman is an angel compared to Iron Man and some of the things we see him do in this comic along with the way he carries himself in general. Iron Man, it seems, is a man who is no stranger to getting his hands dirty...even when he's trying to (is he?) do the right thing.

There is certainly a lot of testosterone coursing through this novel and as such, notably all female characters are left to the background as the men, supermen or not, decide what to do about the possibility of the Superhuman Registration Act.

After all, none of the superheroes seem keen to register, except for perhaps those whose identities are already public knowledge.

The graphics (and costumes) are great. The pacing is nice. The tone of the senate hearings (and the jerks, I mean, senators running them) made for some great scenes. Both Spiderman and Iron Man's dialogue is witty and well-written and the other superheroes are given their good quips here and there.

Altogether, a great lead-in to the epic Marvel Civil War.

Great story, great art. Terrific conspiracy twist on the Marvel Universe. It was as if Cigarette Smoking Man from X-Files was part of the Marvel Universe and this was the world from his point of view. Better than the actual Civil War series, in my opinion.

I had been hearing about the Civil War Series of comics and wanted to check them out. First they were delivered in a rapid fashion and well packaged. The story was fascinating and the artwork superb. The major players (Iron Man, The Submariner) provided a good framework for the development of the cause of the War.