Civil War II #3 Comic Book Recap/Review

Civil War II #3 The Rage of Bruce Banner

Civil War II #3 Comic Book Recap

In the Manhattan Federal Court House, Matt Murdock calls his first witness – Col. Carol Danvers. She approaches the stand, and is asked if she remembers the events of July 19^th this year. She does… she was part of a group of representatives from the super hero community that traveled to Alpine, Utah. Their purpose was simple – to confront Bruce Banner. He was surprised to have visitors at what was supposed to be his secret lab, but pleased to see some familiar faces. Tony and Carol asked him come outside, promising everything will be okay. Tony told Banner to stay calm, no matter what. He believed in Bruce Banner.

Sadly… not everyone else agreed with that sentiment.

In the courthouse, Tony’s testimony further filled the gaps. Bruce was confused at everyone being there, so they explained who Ulysses is and the content of his latest vision. Banner was hurt at these words, worried and all too aware of the Hulk’s incredible power. Stark, however, still wasn’t convinced, so the group struck a deal to get proof one way or another. After all, Banner was their friend. He deserved the benefit of the doubt. That being said… they’d already done some investigation, and things weren’t looking good.

Hank McCoy was able to hack into Bruce’s systems and found evidence that Banner had been experimenting on himself. Bruce confirms he was doing this, but insisted his new work was keeping the Hulk at bay. Still, the heroes were worried, and Maria Hill placed the man under arrest. This frustrated Banner, who insisted that thanks to his experiments, he hadn’t turned in almost a year. And now, they come into his home, accuse him of – of – who the hell do these people think they –

And then… all hell broke loose. The Avengers closed in on the attacker, only to find Clint Barton, ready and willing to surrender. Steve Rogers demanded to know why he would do this. He had one answer – because Bruce Banner asked him to. In the court, Clint tells of an earlier meeting he had with Banner. The scientist gave Barton the tech needed to make a bow capable of killing Banner, in the hopes that if his experiments ever went wrong, Clint would do the right thing, and take him down. Banner chose Barton because Bruce was certain that Hawkeye is one of the few people who will eventually be able to live with this. Bruce insisted this was not an insult… rather, Banner was willing to trust Hawkeye with his life. And though it had been a full year… he still dreamed as the Hulk. He dreamed of rage… and blood. If things ever got out of control… well, at least Banner knew he tried everything else, and nothing worked.

These words cause a stir in court, and Matt Murdock points out that Clint’s criminal past makes it hard to believe him. Hawkeye hopes his more recent, heroic behavior would count for something, and it does, to a degree, but things only really turn around in the courtroom when Beast takes the stand. He is able to confirm that the arrow was clearly based of the work of Bruce Banner. More still, Hank found video testimony of Banner clearly saying he asked Clint to do this if he ever Hulked out.

The question then becomes whether or not Banner was really about to turn into the Hulk. Tony insists he wasn’t. He was standing right there, and all he saw was a man betrayed by his peers… by his friends. Clint, however, argues that his eyes are much more acute than the average person. It’s why he is such a good shot. He could see Banner was getting agitated… and his eyes had a flicker of green. The vision was coming true… and Hawkeye had to act.

Carol says that Banner’s own wishes were granted in all of this. Nobody but him got hurt, which is what he would have wanted. She didn’t know what Barton was going to do… nobody saw him sneak off… but in her heart, she knows he saved lives because of his actions. She also points out that thanks to Ulysses, her team and SHIELD have been stopping threats all over the world. Tony, on the other hand… has a different view entirely.

At the time, and now in court, Stark insists this is not what they should be doing. They’re supposed to be guardians… protectors… avengers… defenders… this? This is something else entirely. He blames Carol for pushing this madness, insisting none of this is right. They just killed a man in cold blood, and all Stark can wonder now, is who’s next. Their friend, and a founding member of the Avengers is dead because of Carol and her followers. In Utah, these words echoed with many of the heroes on site, who began to see what Stark has been saying this whole time.

Later, in his home, Tony did not need to hear the verdict for Clint’s trial. He already knows it. But Friday has an additional piece of information – Tony’s scan of Ulysses’ brain is far from complete, but the AI thinks she has figured out how the Inhuman’s powers work. Tony asks to see it… and what he sees shocks him. Mary Jane asks what they are looking at. Tony only replies it is their future.

Civil War II #3 Comic Book Review

Hello and welcome to Comic Island! My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Civil War II #3.

Wow, so here we have another big issue with as much emotional impact and strength as the first comic in this series. I’m serious, this one really hit home for me. I think the writing was on point. I like how Bendis used the courtroom setting to frame the story, and I think he has a really good handle on all these characters. I like how the writing is so fixed on making this war about personal issues over political or philosophical ones. That makes this event feel much more character driven and easier to relate to because of it.

David Marquez is also continuing his trend of legendary art. The way this guy does facial expressions adds so much to the ongoing events, but he is also a master at setting up awesome panels like this one showing all the heroes gathered together, or this one, showcasing the sudden and pretty graphic death of Bruce Banner. He’s just so good at this. I really can’t get enough of it and I cannot tell you just how much his work adds to the quality of the comic.

Meanwhile, yet another hero has fallen. Marvel is really upping the stakes here. And while I’m sure this will garner the usual reactions – fans upset that a character is gone even though he’ll probably return sooner or later, or people who think they are clever pointing out this death in a comic book is a comic book death. But honestly? I think that these deaths lend this series a lot of strength. It’s about… consequences and casualties, both of which are real things that happen in war and I’m glad this comic doesn’t shy away from this fact. These events justify a lot of Tony’s actions, but don’t go so far as to make Carol a bad guy, either.

I get that most people, myself included, are going to be leaning towards Tony’s side, especially now, but I totally get where Carol and her group are coming from. Lives are on the line, and it feels like a waste to just ignore Ulysses and what he can do. That being said… I’m increasingly looking at this kid with suspicion. His mind can’t be read, so right now we’re really only going by his word. So I’m very interested to see what Tony found in the boy’s brain.

In fact, that’s another great thing about this event – I have no idea where things are going. Oh, sure, there’s going to be some heroes fighting heroes, but right now, this comic keeps going in directions I think it wouldn’t. I was expecting a big battle against the Hulk this issue which would cement the divide and kick off the war. Instead, we got something much more morally ambiguous. It still seems to be the final straw, but I did not expect it to play out like this at all.

And I like that this comic keeps challenging me and has me guessing. I don’t think we’ll ever find out if Banner was really going to turn into the Hulk, and I don’t think we should. That’s something we’re going to have to decide for ourselves. I believe that Clint believes he saw something he was already looking for, but beyond that… I’m not sure. It’s unsettling and not obvious, which I really like. It made for a good read, so this comic comes recommended. Civil War II hasn’t let me down yet, and at this rate, it’s not going to.

But boy, between HYDRA Cap, Tony apparently on his way out, and this, the Marvel universe sure seems to be unraveling. It reminds me a lot of what happened during and after the first Civil War, where things descended to a pretty dark place before the heroes eventually turned things around during the events of Siege. I’m not sure if that’s what they are going for, but if so… I don’t object. The great thing about Siege was that after years and losing the big three – Thor, Cap, and Iron Man, it was a really big deal seeing them together and back in action. Are they heading for the same direction here? Well, it sure seems interesting that Thor isn’t Thor, Cap isn’t Cap, and pretty soon, we’re going to have a new Iron Man.

Whatever you make of all this, Marvel is being pretty bold, unapologetic, and different. They have my attention right now, and that’s a good thing. Today I once again woke up to a Marvel universe a little bit more different than what we had yesterday. And until I see the effects of these changes… well, for now, I’m approaching it all with cautious optimism. Who knows what the future will hold? Well, aside from Ulysses, I guess. But whatever it may be, I hope you stay tuned as we find out together.

Civil War II #3 Comic Book Recap/Review

Civil War II #3 The Rage of Bruce Banner

Civil War II #3 Comic Book Recap

Civil War II #3 Comic Book Review

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