Civil War
Event name : Civil War PUBLICATIONS: Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover built around a
7-issue limited series written by Mark Millar,
and penciled by Steve McNiven. The storyline builds upon the events
that developed in previous Marvel crossovers, particularly Avengers
Disassembled, House of M, Decimation, & Secret War.
AFFILIATIONS: United States Government and SHIELD ENEMIES: Unregistered Heroes and Villains MAIN CHARACTERS: Captain America, Iron Man, The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, New Warriors, SHIELD
OTHER CHARACTERS: Spider-Man, The Thunderbolts, The New Avengers, The Entire Marvel Universe UNIVERSE : Marvel Universe, Earth 616, Negative Zone FIRST APPEARENCE : Civil War #1 (July 2006)
HISTORY :
The Superhuman Registration Act had been a long time in the making. The logical extension of the often-
proposed, never-passed Mutant Registration Act, the Superhuman Registration Act arose following the devastating
attack on Manhattan in reprisal for Nick Fury's "Secret War" and the Hulk's destructive rampage in Las Vegas,
which killed 26 adults, 2 children, and a dog (unbeknownst to the general public, SHIELD subsequently deceived
the Hulk and jetisoned him into space following this incident—see Planet Hulk).
Following M-Day, 90% of the Earth's mutant population found itself spontaneously depowered. With the mutant
population suddenly far less visible and extremist groups claiming the event marked a turn in the tide of growing
mutantdom (if not divine punishment against all mutants), sympathy for the group was near an all-time low. The
majority of the remaining mutants—estimated at 198—were gathered up and forced to relocate to the Xavier Institute
for their own protection. These events put public support for the registration bill at around 50%.
Tony Stark (Iron Man) was among those working to prevent passage of the act. He even hired a new Titanium Man to
attack him immediately after his testimony before the Commission on Superhuman Activities, hoping it would hammer
home that the act would make the nation less capable of dealing with rogue or foreign superhuman threats. The
anti-registration camp seemed to be making headway, and may have even defeated the bill by the narrowest of margins,
if not for the events that took place in Stamford, Connecticut.
Villains Nitro, Cobalt Man, Speedfreak, and Coldheart had been holed up in a house in Stamford when the New
Warriors located them. The Warriors were at the time the focus of a reality TV show, and although a number of
them felt the villains were out of their league, the network and others in the group thought it would be great
for ratings. When Namorita attempted to capture Nitro, he used his explosive powers and destroyed several city
blocks, including the elementary school at the epicenter. All of the New Warriors, the three villains accompanying
Nitro, and over 600 civilians, among them 60 children, were killed. Numerous members of the superhero community
arrived on the scene to search for survivors.
Public sentiment towards superheroes plummeted. The inactive New Warriors were widely regarded as "baby killers"
by association. Hindsight Lad, desperate to distance himself from them, began releasing their secret identities,
and almost as many were killed by lynching as by the explosion in Stamford. The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) was
beaten into a coma outside a Manhattan nightclub. Public opinion had been lukewarm for the Superhuman Registration
Act before; now it passed the tipping point. Although nominally a UN agency, SHIELD seemed to have assumed the
brunt of enforcing the act under acting director Maria Hill.
Captain America (Steve Rogers) balked at leading a force to apprehend rogue heroes. He felt that heroes needed to
be above direct government control, because when politicans could control the heroes, they could decide who the
villains were. He escaped the SHIELD Heli-Carrier and began organizing other anti-registration heroes into a group
the press dubbed the "Secret Avengers." Most of his core group—Captain America, Hercules, Bill Foster, Luke Cage,
Daredevil (Daniel Rand), Falcon (Sam Wilson), and Cable (Nathan Summers)—had to take on a series of identities to
avoid capture, literally becoming outlaws. The Secret Avengers apprehended a number of criminals while evading the
opposing heroes and the new SHIELD "capekiller" units. Other heroes joined them or were liberated after their
arrests. The Young Avengers, Cloak, and Dagger were some of these later heroes to join the group.
Iron Man, on the other hand, felt that it was reasonable that heroes have proper training and oversight, that
the casual self-policing the superhero community had enjoyed until now was insufficient, and (most importantly)
that it was now impossible to resist this change in the political landscape. He gathered his own pro-registration
heroes to bring in Captain America's group and other non-registered combatants. Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards),
with the help of Yellowjacket (Henry Pym) and Tony Stark, began work on designing a prison (nicknamed 42) to
detain superpowered violators.
Most of the pro-registration heroes, such as Mister Fantastic, Doc Samson, She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Ms Marvel
(Carol Danvers), and Wonder Man (Simon Williams), already had highly public identities. Even Stark unmasked himself
as Iron Man (for the second time in his career), and admitted to previous attempts to hide his identity. One
supporter, however, was not yet public: Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was reluctant to reveal his identity. He prepared
to liquidate his assets and flee the country with his wife and aunt to avoid revealing his identity and putting
them in jeopardy. They, on the other hand, were supportive and felt it was time for Peter to finally get some
recognition for his good work. During a live, nationally televised broadcast, he pulled off his mask and announced,
"My name is Peter Parker, and I've been Spider-Man since I was fifteen years old." (See Spider-Man Unmasked for
more information.)
The X-Men, on behalf of the mutant community, declared neutrality in the growing conflict. Acting leader Cyclops
(Scott Summers) felt that the mutants had already been through too much during the Decimation to take a stand
either way and survive. Individuals within the X-Men had their own opinions on the matter, however. Wolverine felt
that the act was every bit as racist and oppressive as the Mutant Registration Act, while Bishop felt it was
necessary to embrace the act and make sure that mutants could continue to self-police, lest the truly oppressive
regime of his home timeline should come to pass. As the last known mutants, all members of the 198 and X-Men
were already in government databases and were registered by default when the act passed.
The 198 have since chafed at the constant O*N*E surveillance, as well as their inability to leave the school
grounds without being tracked by monitoring chips. When it was discovered the chips could also deliver a powerful
electric discharge to assure the 198 could be subdued, they rioted. Mister M used his powers to remove the
chips and they left the mansion. Bishop, Sabra, and Micromax were given permission to apprehend them, threatening
to shatter Cyclops' neutrality. During the incident, General Lazer's thinly veiled anti-mutant sentiments and his
covert attempts to destroy them were uncovered. His neck was snapped by Johnny Dee (via his duplicate of the
general) and the mutants and heroes rallied together to prevent disaster. The more sympathetic director of O*N*E,
Val Cooper, now seems to have a free hand with regards to the mutant refugees.
The X-Men and the 198 were not the only voices of the mutant community, however. The now mostly-depowered
Morlocks and the residents of New York's once entirely mutant ghetto Mutant Town remained easy targets for hate
groups now that they had reverted to more-or-less normal humans. X-Factor Investigations, an independent group
of private investigators made up in part by members of the old superteam X-Factor, have recently set up shop in
Mutant Town, and at times have been the only ones protecting the former mutants and putting down hate-induced
riots. When the Registration Act passed, the group seemed uncertain how to react, and ultimately decided to go
along with whatever their leader, Jamie Madrox, decided. Jamie, being one of the least decisive on the issue,
was not happy to hear this. Initially conflicted, he happened to meet a fleeing Aegis (Trey Rollins), who was
being pursued by capekillers after stopping a purse-snatcher. After helping Aegis escape, Madrox made up his mind
and called a press conference to inform everyone that Mutant Town was now officially off-limits. From now on,
they would protect its residents, and the capekillers' presence would not be tolerated.
Into this chaotic scene comes Pietro Maximoff. The man once known as Quicksilver had lost his speed powers
during the Decimation event, but had gained new powers by inhaling the Inhumans' Terrigen Mists. He now has
the ability to restore lost powers to former mutants, though doing so usually ended badly for the recipient of
his "gift". He has also set up shop in Mutant Town, though the full extent of his activities has not yet been
revealed.
Meanwhile, Wolverine had begun tracking down Nitro the moment recue efforts ceased. He was able to track Nitro's
scent and determine he had skipped town hidden on a pick-up. Interrogating the driver, Wolverine then found Nitro
hiding in a cabin in the woods. By this time SHIELD had also intervened, and a team including Wolverine was sent
to capture him. Predictably, he incinerated everything within a wide radius of the cabin. The agents died, and
Wolverine was reduced to (seemingly) nothing more than an adamantium-plated skeleton. It was while he was
regenerating that he heard Nitro talking to a contact over the phone, informing him of the latest kill. The
coversation went sour: Nitro's use of Mutant Growth Hormone to enhance his power was mentioned, as was the fact
that he was now officially too hot to be useful. Finally regenerated, Wolverine went toe-to-toe with Nitro,
taking advantage of the small radius of safety around his body that prevents Nitro from incinerating himself or
anything on his person.
The fight was interrupted by a trio of Atlanteans before Wolverine could kill Nitro. The Atlanteans sought to
bring Nitro back to Atlantis, where he was wanted by Prince Namor for the murder of his cousin, Namorita.
Wolverine fought with them, then joined them to go to Atlantis to confront Namor personally. During the course
of debate over what to do with Nitro, the villain freed himself and tried to take an Atlantean woman hostage.
Wolverine subdued him, cutting off his hand in the process. He then decided to leave Nitro to Atlantean justice,
and focus instead on the ones who supplied him with MGH. He eventually determined the distributor was the
corrupt head of Damage Control, a firm that took clean-up and rebuilding contracts following superhuman fights.
It didn't take much detective work to determine that more powerful villains meant bigger fights, and bigger
contracts.
Meanwhile the government recognized that a war between superheroes left the country defenseless against the
remaining supervillains. Their fears are well-placed: villains such as Doctor Doom, Red Skull, Arnim Zola,
the Mad Thinker, and the Puppet Master have all been shown to have insidious plans in the works. The
Thunderbolts were asked to spearhead Operation: Justice Like Lightning, in which they would confront, capture,
and if possible reform supervillains. Little did anyone outside the Thunderbolts suspect that Helmut Zemo had
already been collecting supervillains for an army to confront the mounting threat of the Grandmaster and his
new Squadron Sinister! The captured villains willing to play along quickly swelled the team into three large
squads. Still more are being trained every day in a secret mountain camp. Numerous other villains have been
released since then under more direct (or less legitimate) government supervision, including the Green Goblin,
the Vulture, the Jester, and Jack O'Lantern. The villains are supposedly kept in check by nanites in their
blood stream which can monitor and disable them at any time. Norman Osborn, however, has learned the secret
to deactivating them from a mysterious benefactor.
Most villains sought to bypass the act. Crime mistress Ricadonna allowed some supervillains to escape the act
by grafting Skrull tissue into their bodies in exchange for freeing her from prison. The survivors of the
experiment -- Ferocia, Kingsize, Flame, and a new Blue Streak (Earth-616) -- gained shapeshifting abilities,
making registration easy to avoid. She later underwent the same process herself. Former Maggia-member Hammerhead,
on the other hand, saw the act as an opportunity to usurp Wilson Fisk as the Kingpin of Crime by rallying
criminals in opposition of the act. His reasoning was that it was only a matter of time before every super-being
was treated as a walking WMD, and then the criminals among them were as good as dead. A number of super-criminals
did in fact rally under him, but the Kingpin managed to orchestrate the capture and death of his rival from his
jail cell. He deceived Tony Stark and SHIELD into believing they were raiding Captain America's secret
headquarters, while his double agent under Hammerhead, Underworld, made sure the usurper did not survive.
Conflict among the heroes was constant, with the government-backed heroes tracking down unregistered superhumans
(and subsequently arresting or registering them) and trying to find Captain America's Secret Avengers. The Secret
Avengers operated out of a series of secret safehouses set up by Nick Fury, kept secret from everyone within
SHIELD. Cap's team continued to apprehend supervillains (usually leaving them bound for the authorities), and
launched a series of well-coordinated attacks on prison transports carrying unregistered superhumans. During one
such raid, the convoy was diverted when Iron Man became aware of Cap's plan, and ended up going directly down
Yancy Street, a hotbed of civilian opposition to the Act. The Thing, who was only visiting his old neighborhood,
got roped into crowd control. When a young member of the Yancy Street Gang named Cee died in the riot, Grimm
became so disgusted with both sides that he left the country for France (As a patriotic American he could not
act against the law, but as he felt the law was wrong, he could not support it either). Incidentally, the US
government made it very difficult for Grimm to get out of the country. His assets were frozen (too much money
to risk going untaxed), his baggage was held up (even shampoo could be a potential bomb), and he was lucky to
board before he was added to the national "no-fly" list. He has currently taken up with the Heroes of Paris.
Recently, the Secret Avengers were lured by a false emergency call into an ambush by the pro-registration forces.
They first attempted to disable Cap and his team with sonics, but as the battle began to turn decided to unleash
the secretive Project: Lightning: Thor. After the fight, it was soon revealed that this was not the true Thor,
but a clone created from a few strands of Thor's hair and empowered by a technological copy of the recently-
returned Mjolnir. The return of the long-missing god among them gave everyone pause, but the battle soon raged on.
When confronted by Bill Foster, Thor sent a bolt of lightning through the hero's chest, killing him. With both
sides in shock, Cap ordered a retreat. Bill Foster's tragic death dramatically changed the way both sides looked
at the conflict, and turned it into a true Civil War. The event shook up both sides in the war, with Stature and
Nighthawk finally surrendering and registering, while the Human Torch and Invisible Woman decided to oppose the
act's enforcement with Captain America.
The pro-registration side suffered another blow when Spider-Man became curious about many of the details of
enforcement. He came to realize that Stark was using the "Iron Spidey" suit to monitor his actions and reactions,
including his spider-sense. He found and added override codes for a number of Stark commands designed to subdue
the wall-crawler if necessary. At one point, he accompanied Stark on a visit to 42 after Sue and Johnny left to
join the Avengers. He learned that many of the most powerful captured superhumans were being held without trial
and without access to counsel in an enormous super-prison within the life-draining Negative Zone. Spider-Man
rebelled against the act, and was attacked by Iron Man when he tried to sneak away with Aunt May and Mary Jane.
During the fight the three escaped, and several "ex" villains were sent to capture him. Already weak, he was
found, drugged, and blasted half to death by Jack O'Lantern and the Jester. He was saved at the last minute
by the Punisher, who brought him to Captain America. Castle revealed he hadn't cared much about the superhero's
little war until the government started using killers like Bullseye and Venom. Now he was determined to take
down the scum, anyone supporting them, and anyone in his way. The Avengers knew the Punisher's skills were exactly
what they needed to wage their guerilla war, but also that accepting the convicted killer into their ranks
destroyed almost all of their legitimacy and moral high-ground. Later, Spider-Man would interrupt a news cast
to make a public statement about the horrors of the act's enforcement, and pledged to fight it.
Following the incident, the US government tried to discredit Cable, who was seen as a risk even before he
allied himself with the anti-registration camp. Cable opposes the registration act because he sees it as the
first step towards government-sponsored superteams, then towards a super-powered police force that will ultimately
lead to a global police state. Like Bishop, his concern for the future is driven by a knowledge of his timeline's
past. For the past few years, Cable had been promoting his island-nation of Providence as an intellectuall Utopia
of peace, cooperation, and advance technology. When Cable recently over-threw the Flag-Smasher as president of the
troubled nation of Rumekistan (with the help of the popular resistance), many in the greater world became convinced
the would-be mutant messiah was a threat to international stability. The mercenary group Six Pack (which
paradoxically included the very anti-registration Solo and Cable's pro-registration, sometimes-friend Deadpool)
was sent to disrupt the Rumekistan power grid as part of a larger plan to discredit Cable. The plot was thwarted,
and exposed before the international community.
Most recently an ambassador from the kingdom of Atlantis, on a mission of peace backed by the European Community
(represented at the event by the Super Heroes of Europe), was the target of an unsuccessful assassination attempt.
Norman Osborn, bearing an obviously fake press pass and handgun (and none of his Green Goblin paraphenalia), fired
once at the statesman, hitting him the shoulder. The ambassador was escorted back to the ocean by his people, and
Osborn immediately collapsed to the ground claiming he was framed. Police later recognized that an accomplished
menace like Osborn could have easily killed the ambassador, and that the events leading up to the shooting just
didn't make sense. Osborn attempted to tell police that his actions were being controlled by a third party through
the nanites, but was unable. He was turned over to the federal government before NYPD could learn much. Following
the attack, Atlantis has massed their troops and vessels along the US' east coast, as if preparing to attack
(though they have not yet done so).
The US is also still in the midst of a cold war with the Inhumans of Attilan over their refusal to return stolen
Terrigen Crystals. Since the now-deceased General Lazer has the first and last word on the matter, it's still not
clear if the US government even knew Lazer had taken possession of the crystals originally stolen by Pietro
Maximoff. Unaware of the war footing, the Sentry recently travelled to Atillan, where he was at first attacked,
then brought before the royal family. Informing the Inhuman royal court of his hidden past, the Secret War, House
of M, Decimation, and Civil War, many of the Inhumans were moved to tears at the tragedy of it all. When Iron Man
came to retrieve Reynolds, he was informed that this war would not be allowed to come to their land again, or else
the cold war between their peoples would heat up very quickly.
It should also be noted that the visit by the Super Heroes of Europe underscored the fact that no one has really d
ecided how the act applies to foreign superheroes, though several supervillains of foreign origin are already
being held based on previous convictions. Though not involved in the Civil War directly, relations with Wakanda
and its superpowered monarchs, the Black Panther (T'Challa) and Storm (Ororo Monroe), have also been strained
lately. It now seems inevitible that the Civil War will spill out of the US' borders.
Public interest peaked when Speedball (Robbie Baldwin) was found alive, hurled a state away by the force of the
Stamford blast. Robbie seemed to have lost his powers in the blast (the explanation being that his powers protected
him from the sudden force, but burned out their biological mechanisms in the process). He was held without trial
in a foreign country for a time, but was eventually relocated and given counsel in the form of Jennifer Walters
(She-Hulk), who attempted to argue he was unconscious when the act was passed, and thus never had the chance to
register. Instead of following her advice, he refused to register. Having no more powers, he was put in the prison's
general populace, where he was regarded by the rest of the prisoners as a "baby killer" and beaten regularly.
Hoping to set an example for those who would attack him, he challenged the meanest detractor to a boxing match.
He was in the middle of getting pummeled in the ring when his powers kicked in, destroying the ring and knocking
out everyone in the near vicinity. He was again put in solitary, where he learned his parents never wanted to see
im again. He jumped at the chance to testify before Congress on the Stamford incident, but was shot as he was
being escorted to chambers. As he was bleeding to death in the ambulance, his powers again activated with enough
force to hurt even She-Hulk. He was mended through Reed Richards quick action, but returned to prison once better.
This time imprisoned at the Raft super-prison, he was used as the focus of an escape opportunity by a group of
supervillains (Razorfist, Crimson Cowl, and Diamondhead in particular). They distracted the gaurds long enough
to take Baldwin hostage, then killed the guards while Justine Hammer opened the gates. With Baldwin being used
as a human shield, he was again able to activate his powers, this time intentionally, burning many of the escapees
beyond recognition. Having seemingly undergone a major and spontaneous and violent personality change, he is now
anxious to register and get back out into the world.
Trying to navigate this entire sordid affair are reporters Sally Floyd and Ben Urich. Sally started out as
one of the most vocal opponents of the act in the press, immediately decrying it as violation of civil liberties.
Her opinion was not altered much by SHIELD's constant surveillance, nor her recent arrest after she attended a
meeting of unregistered heroes. However, after she was bailed out by Senator Sykes, one of the authors of the
registration act and a frequent target of her opinion pieces, she began to realize that he too was concerned
with American civil liberties, and that she hadn't given the issue the full consideration expected of a good
reporter. After a dissappointing interview with Captain America, Sally now finds her self more conflicted than
ever. Ben Urich, on the other hand, has been mostly quiet on the act itself, but has slowly been cataloging
inconsistencies as he researches fires, murders, and attacks on himself. If Norman Osborn is really being
monitored, who attacked him dressed as the Green Goblin? Why would the Goblin attack a group of Atlanteans?
What were the Atlanteans doing hiding in a New York warehouse? From the shooting of Robbie Baldwin to the
shooting of the Atlantean ambassador, the more evidence he gathers, the more the missing pieces speak of a
conspiracy.
As the Punisher works his way through the Baxter Building to retrieve plans for File 42, Sue Richards goes to
Atlantis to persuade Namor to join the Secret Avengers, but to no avail. The supervillains Goldbug and Plunderer
arrive at the Secret Avengers' base to join Captain America's team, but the Punisher immediately kills them
(calling them killers and thieves after that), leading Captain America to attack him and kick him off the group
(he didn't raise a finger against Cap's beating). The Secret Avengers, joined by Sue Storm and the Black Panther,
reach the Ryker's Island penitentiary and head through the portal to the 42 complex, but the team is confronted by
the pro-registration supporters, revealing each team had placed a spy on the other. Hulkling is able to release
the incarcerated heroes from the cells of the 42 complex through the guise of Henry Pym, making the odds more even.
As the battle is about to commence, Captain America warns the pro-registration heroes: "Now close your eyes,
gentlemen. This might hurt."
As the battle begins in the Negative Zone, Cloak moves the battle to the center of New York City. Namor and an
army of Atlanteans join the battle alongside the Secret Avengers, followed by the Thor clone and Captain Marvel
on the pro-registration side. Vision disrupts Iron Man's armor and Captain America is able to subdue him. On the
battlefield, Mr. Fantastic is shot while trying to save the Invisible Woman from the Taskmaster and Hercules
crushes the skull of the Thor clone. As the battle rages on, the city is badly damaged. Thing returns to protect
the citizens from harm of the battle. Captain America's side seems victorious as Iron Man lays on the ground
waiting for Cap's finishing blow. Just before Cap can hit Iron Man, several standard cops, EMTs, and firefighters
hold him back.
Stunned, Cap realizes how much damage the fighting has caused to the general population that they all
want to protect. Wishing to avert anymore unnecessary bloodshed, Cap surrenders and the team follows suit, with
many of the Secret Avengers given amnesty by the government while Captain America is placed in jail.
Two weeks later, the 50-State Initiative is launched and the Mighty Avengers assemble as a team. Tony Stark is
appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., while Maria Hill is demoted to deputy status. Some heroes choose to move to
Canada, while some stay underground, such as the New Avengers. In front of his New Avengers teammates Luke Cage
and Doctor Strange, Spider-Man sorrowfully dons his black costume. At the end of the series, Tony Stark tells
Miriam Sharpe "the best is yet to come sweetheart... That's a promise".
Notable Participants
Confirmed proponents of registration
Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)
Doc Samson
Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Mister Fantastic
Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers)
Phone Ranger
She-Hulk
Tigra
wWasp
Yellowjacket (Henry Pym)
Wonder Man
Bishop
Micromax (representing the British government)
Sabra (representing the Israeli government)
Registered heroes
Great Lakes Champions
Sentry (Robert Reynolds)
Hellcat
Thor Girl
Two-Gun Kid
Araña
John Jameson
Stature (formerly opposed the act as a Young Avenger)
Nighthawk (formerly opposed the act as a Secret Avenger)
SHIELD forces
Director Maria Hill
Dum Dum Dugan
Agent 13
Agent Whitman
Gabe Jones
Cape-Killers
Superhuman Restraint Unit
Enforcers
Deadpool
Heroes for Hire
Thunderbolts
Noh-Varr (mind-controlled)
Detainees and recruits
Ajaxis
Aqueduct
Blacklash (no known connection to Marc Scarlotti)
Bloodstrike
Batroc
The Beetles (Three young people who stole Abner Jenkins' Beetle suits. Only one, Joaquim has been named)
Boomerang
Bullseye
Bushmaster
Death Adder
Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius)
Eel
Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)
Iron Maiden
Jack O'Lantern
Jester (Jonathan Powers)
Killer Shrike
King Cobra
Lady Deathstrike
Machete
Mongoose
Overmind
Ox
Porcupine (unnamed wearer of a duplicate of the original's suit)
Primus
Quicksand
Rattler
Red Ronin
Scarecrow
Silk Fever
Slyde
Smiling Tiger
Snake Marston
Taskmaster
Tatterdemalion
Texas Twister
Unicorn
Venom (MacDonald Gargan)
Vermin
Whiplash (no known connection to Marc Scarlotti)
Whirlwind
Zaran
Psionex
U-Foes
Wrecking Crew
Major government supporters
Vantage
Henry Peter Gyrich
Val Cooper
Major civilian supporters
Happy Hogan
J. Jonah Jameson
Miriam Sharpe
Sprite
Opponents of registration
The Secret Avengers
Arachne (formerly upheld the act)
Cable
Luke Cage
Captain America
Diamondback (Rachel Leighton)
Black Panther
Storm
Cloak (detained)
Dagger (detained)
Daredevil (Daniel Rand) (detained)
Falcon
Bill Foster (deceased)
Jane Foster
Nick Fury
Hercules (Heracles)
Night Nurse (Linda Carter)
Young Avengers (Wiccan detained, Stature later registered)
Ultra Girl
Triathlon
Living Lightning
Invisible Woman (formerly upheld the act as a member of the Fantastic Four)
Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (formerly upheld the act as a member of the Fantastic Four)
Silhouette (Silhouette Chord)
Firebird
Machine Man
Monica Rambeau
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (formerly supported the act)
Justice (Vance Astrovik)
Stingray
Miscellaneous heroes
Battlestar (detained)
Coldblood (detained)
Jack Flag
Gladiatrix and her resistance cell (detained)
Lightbright (detained)
Living Mummy (detained)
Network (detained)
Prodigy (Richard Gilmore) (detained)
Prowler (detained)
Shroud
Solo (detained)
Speedball (Robbie Baldwin) (detained)
Typeface (detained)
Digitek (detained)
Lectronn (detained)
Silverclaw (detained)
Unregistered heroes
Debrii
Firestar (retired)
Jessica Jones (relocated to Canada)
Punisher (Frank Castle)
Quicksilver
Rage
Runaways
Slapstick
Thunderclap
Timeslip
Sersi
Moon Knight (Exception due to unstable mental health)
Howard the Duck (Unrecognized existence)
Registered opponents
Arachne (formerly upheld the act; now a Secret Avenger)
Invisible Woman (formerly upheld the act; now a Secret Avenger)
Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (formerly upheld the act; now a Secret Avenger)
X-Factor Investigations
198
Supervillain opponents;
Goldbug (killed by Punisher)
Plunderer (killed by Punisher)
Kingpin
Major civilian opponents
Citizens of Harlem, New York
Neil Crawford
Sally Floyd
Yancy Street Gang
Foreign opponents
Black Bolt
Namor
Neutral parties
Black Panther (T'Challa)
Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)
Storm
Thing (Ben Grimm) (formerly upheld the act as a member of the Fantastic Four); later relocated to France)
Ben Urich
Thena and most of the other Eternals
X-Men (publicly)
Casualties
600 residents of Stamford, CT
Bantam (Roberto Valasquez) (killed in a fight with Thunderclap)
Bill Foster (killed in a fight with Thor)
Cee of the Yancy Street Gang
Cobalt Man (Ralph Roberts) (killed at Stamford)
Coldheart (killed at Stamford)
John Fernandez
Goldbug (killed by Punisher)
Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (severely wounded by anti-hero protestors)
Microbe (killed at Stamford)
Namorita (killed at Stamford)
Plunderer (killed by Punisher)
Speedfreak (killed at Stamford)
Slyde (killed by Underworld)
Night Thrasher (killed at Stamford)
Jester (killed by Punisher)
Jack o' Lantern (killed by Punisher)
Superhuman Restraint Unit
Aftermath
• The President of the United States grants general amnesty to all opponents of the Superhuman Registration
Act who turn themselves in or register. However, Captain America, the main opponent to the Act, is arrested
(and subsequently assassinated).
• Tony Stark is appointed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Maria Hill is demoted to deputy director.
The 50-State Initiative is set up to eventually place a superhero team in every state.
• The Mighty Avengers assemble as a new team.
• Some heroes choose to leave the country rather than submit. In Canada the third Omega Flight is gathered;
Firestar retires; and several heroes remain underground, including the New Avengers[11]: Luke Cage,
Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Ronin (actually a resurrected Clint Barton), Echo,
and Wolverine.
• Spider-Man's identity of Peter Parker is public knowledge, causing J. Jonah Jameson to sue Parker for fraud.
• Goliath, Bantam, Typeface, and Stilt-Man have been killed during the conflict. Tom Foster continues his uncle's
legacy, becoming the new Goliath.
• Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman take a break from the Fantastic Four to work on their marriage and are
replaced by Black Panther and Storm.
• Captain Marvel enters the present day.
• Speedball's powers (and sanity) are drastically altered, and he becomes the new Penance, a member of the
Thunderbolts.
• A reconstituted version of the New Warriors emerges, (bearing little resemblance to the original); most
of the former Warriors are a part of The Initiative Program.
• Nova returns to Earth (after destroying Annihilus and thwarting its annihilation wave with the Nova Corps
Worldmind in him). He finds out that his former teammates on the New Warriors are dead and has to decide
whether or not to be on The Initative as he battles the Thunderbolts. He chooses to leave Earth, heading for
the Kree space.
• An assassin hired by Kingpin misses Spider-Man, but strikes the "secondary target" of Aunt May. The attack
on Aunt May ultimately leads to Spider-Man striking a deal with Mephisto to save her life while "rewriting
history" and removing Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson from the memory of everybody in the Marvel
Universe. As a result, Spider-Man's identity is known only by himself, his powers are back to what they
originally were and Harry Osborn is resurrected from the dead.
• Captain America is assasinated while being taken to his trial.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES :
Amazing Spider-Man #529-538
Amazing Spider-Man: Decisions reprints #529-532
Black Panther #18, 21-25
Black Panter: War Crimes Trade Paperback reprints #21-23
Blade #5
Civil War: Heroes For Hire #1-8
Captain America #22-25
Cable & Deadpool #30-32
Civil War #1-7
Civil War: Casualties of War Trade Paperback
Civil War: Choosing Sides
Civil War Chronicles #1-8
Civil War Files
Civil War: Front Line #1-11
Civil War: Opening Shot Sketchbook
Civil War Poster Book
Civil War: The Confession
Civil War: The Initiative
Civil War: The Return
Civil War: War Crimes
Civil War: X-Men #1-4
Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1-4
Daily Bugle Special Edition: Civil War
Fantastic Four #536-543
Fallen Son: Death of Captain America: Wolverine, Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man
Ghost Rider #8-11
Heroes for Hire #1-3
Iron Man #13-14
Iron Man / Captain America: Casualties of War
Marvel Spotlight: Civil War Aftermath, Captain America Remembered, Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
Moon Knight #7-9
Ms. Marvel #6-8
New Avengers #21-25
New Avengers: Illuminati Special
Punisher: War Journal #1-3
Road to Civil War Trade Paperback
She-Hulk #8
Thunderbolts #103-105, 110
Thunderbolts: Swimming with Sharks reprints #103-105
Winter Soldier: Winter Kills
Wolverine #42-48
X-Factor #8-9
Civil War
