Why does Spider-Man have what looks more like a scorpion on his chest, Ron? What on Earth? Maybe it’s a good thing he’s wearing the armor in this story. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it’s time to look at this titanic status quo shift from a Spidey-centric point of view. Page one is Peter making the same announcement to the press as in Civil War 2, internally wondering what happens next.
What about when JJJ fell out of his chair?
Yes, yes, very dramatic, is he implying Robbie wasn’t always straight with him? The guy who’s put up with your crap all these years is right in front of you! The only time he ever quit was to go undercover to bring down Norman Osborn and get JJJ the Bugle back! Rude, is what I’m saying.
Well. A lot of people saying a lot of things they can’t take back. How did people have time to make signs? How long has it been? A guy threatens Peter as he’s getting in the car, the ramifications already becoming clear. He calls home, and May & MJ say they’re proud of him. They’re discussing the situation when Reed Richards calls to give Peter his vote of confidence, also.
Straczynski has really brought a particular sensibility to this book. This gag is very him. Next we see Peter landing back in New York, where a lawyer waits to inform him the Daily Bugle is suing him into a oblivion. For a thing he was told was so good and important by everyone, he’s having a rough day. As he later arrives home, which is swamped with reporters, we start to get some reactions. Flash Thompson doesn’t believe it for a second. We see Eddie Brock in his hospital bed (Still dying, remember?) watching in silence, and Doc Ock in a warehouse somewhere, also watching in silence as he learns Peter’s secret for a 2nd time. I think you coulda done more with that, but there’s only so many pages. The Vulture hears in jail, and is already plotting his revenge. Next is a 2-page montage spread of just villains, then heroes silently reacting. The villain page seems to have the Puppetmaster from FF as the biggest guy? What? If it’s not him, I’m not sure who it’s meant to be. Osborn looks evilly pleased, which seems like the wrong take to me, and Black Cat looks genuinely shocked, while all other heroes just have a steely resolve thing going on.
The other shoe drops. Peter is shocked, May & MJ are shocked. Aunt May can’t imagine her beloved boy having to fight Captain America. Peter’s already overwhelmed, and wants to get outside. MJ wants to go with him. Rather than doing the thing he would totally do and swinging her around town, they go out the back, through a service entrance, and GUESS WHAT, a mob of press is there, and so is a guy in a Captain America shirt who announces Peter is a traitor and levels a gun.
I don’t know if I think Janet Van Dyne would have sided pro-registration. I feel very confident Ben Grimm would not. That guy in white & blue with the goggles, he looks like the Flash villain Captain Cold, I have no idea who that is. Anyway, this is happening. And, obviously, Peter’s identity being public is a deathblow to the character. Bendis could out Daredevil. DD is a more flexible, less important property. And, in truth, it revitalized the character, and Matt Murdock’s identity stayed public for a pretty surprising ten solid years before it was awkwardly and messily reversed. But Spider-Man is the Cadillac of superheroes, and you can only go so far. So the clock has started ticking on how long til this gets reset. But how could you reset it? Answer: Just about the worst possible way imaginable. But that’s for later. Meanwhile, you know, it’s not called Civil Everyone Gets Along. Time for things to get messy. But first, here’s where this event gets extra bad for Spider-Man in particular: He’s got 3 monthlies. Finding 3 things for him to do OUTSIDE the main title would’ve been nearly impossible. But they couldn’t just stop production on the other 2. I think this would have been a great time for the other titles to tell stories that take place before Civil War. Or do some flashbacks like they did during Gang War. Hell, Peter David’s barely done stories taking place in the here & now BEFORE Civil War, why stop now? But instead, they tried to shoehorn even more stuff into Peter’s life during the story of Civil War. So Peter Parker has… a whole lot going on…