The first shot has been fired. In the Marvel Universe, the Civil War has begun. Civil War #1 hit shops today, kicking off Marvel’s summer event which will turn hero against hero, friend against friend. By the time the seven issue miniseries is over, the Marvel Universe will have changed….dare it be said? Well, if not forever, then at least for a very long time. During the run of Civil War Newsarama will be running monthly Civil War Room discussions, talking to Civil War editor Tom Brevoort and writer Mark Millar about the week’s issue. The installments will normally run on Thursdays, but hey, we wanted to get the ball rolling early this week for the first issue. Also, Millar is currently swamped finishing up the miniseries, but plans to join us for the remainder of the War Rooms (c’mon – like Millar would miss out on a chance to talk about his own stuff?). That said, and of course THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD, onward with Brevoort. Newsarama: Since we’re talking to you today Tom, can you try give us the perspective of someone who got to read the issue for the first time like the rest of us. Did you find anything particularly interesting or did something stand out for you? A moment that surprised you? Tom Brevoort: The Civic ad was pretty surprising… NRAMA: Ba-dum-bump! He's here all miniseries, folks. Try the veal... TB: I’ve read Civil War #1 in all its myriad forms close to a hundred times at this point, so there’s no way I can come to the final product fresh, like a first time reader. I can tell you, though, that virtually every page, virtually every scene, is different from what was in Mark’s first draft—and hopefully for the better. But it’s been six or seven months since that first draft came in, and at this point I can barely differentiate between fantasy and reality. So maybe it was that scene with Gwen Stacy dancing the hula in front of the volcano… NRAMA: In that vein then, how has the story evolved from original conception at one of the editorial retreats to the finished product readers finally read today? TB: I think the idea at the core of it is very much the same as what was initially discussed at that long-ago retreat. What’s hopefully been refined is the overall intensity. Oh, and it was originally going to be eight issues, but Mark found that he needed more pages for the first chapter, so we restructured the thing and took it down to seven with a double-sizer on the front end. On the surface, though, everything’s changed. In the initial virgin draft, the opening sequence was a hold-up in Bellport, Long Island that’s foiled by Speedball working alone, during which Happy Hogan is felled by a bullet gone awry. At one point, we were going to be creating a new agency that would be responsible for administering the Registration Act, called HAMMER. But that ended up being more complicated than it needed to be, so we defaulted back to SHIELD. Many, many details shifted around as we tried to distill the story to its essence, make it as dramatic as possible, and make it interesting and understandable to a novice reader while giving a long-timer enough Easter eggs to make them feel satisfied. NRAMA: Something that long, and even relatively short term readers will probably notice as well is that the story fits. That is, as it’s set up, it’s the logical evolution of where the Marvel Universe had gotten to. That said, the beats that were mentioned in the issue that were external to Civil War proper – the Hulk trashing Vegas, Wolverine threatening the President – were those fortunate coincidences that were able to be included, or were they mapped out that far in advance? TB: Some from column A, some from column B. At that meeting, we planned out the Illuminati Special, and we knew that JMS was going to be doing a Hulk arc in Fantastic Four, so it made sense for those dots to connect. Wolverine threatening the President came from “Enemy of the State”, Mark’s last Marvel Universe work, so that was fresh in his mind. And the line about Philadelphia being bombed in Captain America was a contemporary reference not crucial to the underlying structure of the story, but one that got added in literally at the last moment after Mark let a friend read the lettered book, and realized that he needed to spell out a bit better what the big, destructive events that had brought the public to this point had been. As we’ve moved along, we’ve tried to incorporate as many story elements occurring across the line into the fabric of Civil War as we could. NRAMA: But what about daredevil? Isn’t he in jail? Yet there he was, with the rest of the heroes… TB: Well, for those who seem very disturbed that we have Daredevil at the heroes meeting while Matt Murdock is in prison in his own book, don’t worry, we’ve got this all figured out. NRAMA: Fair enough. Background info time…in your view, why does this come now? Surely there have been bad things go down - either seen or unseen - in the Marvel Universe prior to this. What was it about this time that pushed things through the breaking point? TB: Well, events have been escalating within the Marvel Universe over the last two or three years, starting with the destruction of the classic Avengers, extending to the decimation of the mutant population, Manhattan being taken over by Magneto/Xorn/whatever the heck that was, and so on. The average citizen in the Marvel Universe has to feel like he’s been getting hammered pretty hard, and at the same time the institutions he might look to for a feeling of safety either aren’t really there anymore, or are under suspicion themselves. It wasn’t so long ago, for example, that the Fantastic Four were considered traitors to the United States when Reed took over Latveria. NRAMA: Not to make light of it necessarily, but how important was the government’s action in light of the fact that it was kids that were killed? After all, as the morbid joke goes, if you want a law written, a child or old lady has to die to get the ball rolling…did the age of the victims play a role? TB: I think kids being killed played a part in it, but just as big a role was played by the fact that the New Warriors were shooting a reality television program at the same time they were engaging in this mission. So not only was there great footage of the whole event that could be played back over and over and over again on CNN, but there’s also a feeling that maybe these kids were more concerned about getting ratings than saving lives. Even if that wasn’t the case, the available evidence sure makes it seem that way. And these were, if not out-and-out teenagers, then irresponsible young adults. Exactly the type of people exhibiting exactly the type of behavior that makes people nervous. NRAMA: It’s probably safe to say that prior to the blast; the Marvel Universe was at a balancing point in regards to public sentiment about the heroes. Has it always been at such a point, or is this razor-edge balance a relatively recent thing? TB: There’s always been an undercurrent of uncertainty within the Marvel Universe as regards its heroes. There’s a lot of suspicion—fueled by outlets like the Daily Bugle, but also by a general level of cynicism and distrust that mirrors the world we live in. By any measurable standard, if men in masks were flying around Manhattan and at their whim attacking people they’d decided were criminals, and doing millions of dollars in property damage in the process—the world would be a pretty scary place. But as I said earlier, I think we’ve seen an escalation over the last few years, and those institutions that have traditionally been looked to for stability and support have either crumbled or been tarnished. But who’s to say? If what was televised had been another daring rescue, an instance of super heroes risking life and limb—or losing life and limb—to protect normal people, maybe the pendulum would have swung back the other way. NRAMA: Speaking of the deaths – can we get a specific body count for the initial accident? TB: In excess of six-hundred. That’s as specific as we’ve gotten so far. And that doesn’t count the New Warriors on the scene, nor the villains, nor the camera crew. NRAMA: What about the New Warriors? Is it safe to saw that Namorita, at the very least, is toast? Any others that you’re willing to confirm as being really, seriously, very much so dead? TB: It’s still just a little bit too early of this question, I’m afraid. We’ve already revealed that one of the ongoing threads in Civil War: Front Line is the saga of the one New Warrior who survived the explosion—so I don’t want to narrow an already sparse field any more than it already is. NRAMA: Gotcha. As things are progressing, along with the Congressional action taking place, is there any other kind of judicial process going on? That is, a criminal or civil case? Would/is Miriam Sharpe bring action against Tony Stark (or others) for negligent homicide as she’s convinced they condoned the New Warriors’ actions and methods? TB: This is the sort of question that might play out in Front Line. I don’t know that she’d really have a case if she went after Tony Stark for negligent homicide in this instance, but the public backlash would undoubtedly hurt him. But we will be seeing other aspects of this explored in other titles. In She-Hulk #8, for example, there’s an Anti- New Warriors Hatespeak Website that’s set up, which is attempting to out the true identities of the remaining New Warriors. Is this covered by free speech? And what happens if, say, Aegis is mobbed by people who got his personal info from such a site—are they in any way legally responsible? NRAMA: Moving things on to the scene with the New Avengers – a lot of the anti-government argument mentions “tradition.” Really? That’s the best they’ve got? “We should keep our masks on and not register because we’ve always done it this way”? TB: I think the anti-Registration position is best summed up by Cap: they’re worried that this is only the first step, that tomorrow the government is going to try to tell the heroes which bad guys to go after - or which bad guys to leave alone. But while reader sympathy is inevitably going to be more heavily on the side of the anti-Reg heroes, it’s a position that’s truly much more difficult to defend. It’s like the pro-gun lobby without a Second Amendment to back them up. If you buy into the argument that possessing super-powers is the equivalent of carrying a concealed weapon, then it only makes sense that the majority of people are going to want to know that you have that weapon, and that you’re skilled in the use of that weapon, and that there’s some method of accountability if you use that weapon in an inappropriate way. NRAMA: So what is the basis of the anti-Registration side? TB: Super heroes are vigilantes, by and large—even the ones who up till now have been government-sanctioned bend or break the rules all the time. So the crux of the anti-Registration position seems to amount to, “Please let us keep policing ourselves. We know better than you.” It’s a very arrogant presumption—even if there’s some truth to it. We know the good guys are the good guys because the stories let us get right into their heads. It’s a lot tougher to know that for sure without that insight, though. NRAMA: At this point, how much do we know about the government’s proposal? Is it just train and register all heroes, and if you don’t register, you’re a villain? TB: Villain is perhaps too strong a word. If I drive an automobile without a license, I’ll be arrested. If I carry a weapon without a permit, I’ll be jailed. Same thing. If you’re in possession of superhuman abilities, the government wants you licensed in the use of those powers, and sanctioned in the way that they’re to be used. NRAMA: If you had to guess, how long has SHIELD been training anti-hero soldiers? And also, if you had to guess, was there any precipitating event that made SHILED realize they needed forces able to stand up against superheroes? TB: SHIELD has a long history of preparedness when it comes to dealing with superhuman threats, going all the way back to the original ‘60s series. So this is nothing new for them. If I had to guess, I’d say that the knowledge that Nick Fury fielded his own unsanctioned team of superhumans to overthrow the government of Latveria, an operation that had serious repercussions for the United States and for Fury’s role in SHIELD was probably the touch-point at which SHIELD began to get more serious about this. Certainly Maria Hill hasn’t had very good relations with the New Avengers so far. NRAMA: Good point, but as far as the soldiers, Cap mowed through them. How well were they trained, really? TB: They were the best-trained soldiers money can buy. But Cap is the Super-Soldier. He’s been doing this for decades. NRAMA: So they had no chance? TB: Not a one. NRAMA: The last page, Iron Man's very ominous statement regarding Cap. To draw a parallel, Superman knows Batman is no "match" for him, but he's also probably the last guy in the Universe he'd ever want to take on. Shouldn't Tony know better than to think now matter how much power they amass, you don't "take care" of Captain America of all people? TB: It depends on what Tony means by “take care of”, really. Cap has been one of Iron Man’s closest friends and allies over the years—he can’t be relishing the prospect of throwing down with him on any level. By the same token, he’s got to realize that it’s likely to come to that, in that Cap is not likely to be swayed off of a position he truly believes in by words alone. There’s also a measure of posturing involved. Iron Man is in a room with the President and his closest advisors. In a negotiating session like that, you want to give the impression of strength. How much worse would things be for Iron Man, Cap and all the rest if the government turns outside their community in an attempt to rein super heroes in? Tony knows that he has the best chance of controlling how all of this plays out if he’s at the head of the pyramid. NRAMA: Just a curiosity factor question - a few relatively obscure heroes had a few speaking parts in issue #1 - Goliath and Nighthawk come to mind. Unless we've missed some recent appearances, is there any particular reason these guys showed up? Was it just to show a couple of different faces, or will we see then play a fairly substantial role in the series? TB: Both Goliath and Nighthawk have been appearing more and more over the last couple of months—Goliath in Spider-Man during “The Other”, The Thing and Black Panther, and Nighthawk in The Thing and Thunderbolts. So they’re maybe not as obscure as you might think. NRAMA: We stand schooled. But why bring them to the forefront during a major event? TB: The reason for involving them is twofold: first, we wanted to include as wide a spectrum of Marvel characters as possible in Civil War, and not simply focus on the same three or four big names. Believe me, you’ll be seeing characters much more obscure than Nighthawk before we come to the end of the ride. Secondly, Mark Millar is old and crusty, so he tends to be most familiar with the characters who were prevalent in the books in the ‘60s and ‘70s. You mention “Gambit” or “Bishop” to Mark, and you can watch his eyes glaze over. NRAMA: So why these characters, specifically? TB: One’s a large black man with a ‘G’ on his belt, and the other’s a white guy in a bird suit. What could be better? NRAMA: Well played. Finally then, #1 is wrapped, and on the shelves. What's coming up in issue #2? TB: The Act is passed, sides begin to form up, and it’s not a good day to be one of the Young Avengers… Discuss this story Homepage

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