Information-silk Official Name
Information-silk Universe
Event Details
Information-silk Protagonists
Information-silk Villains

Event Synopsis



Robert Hunter (Earth-616) Civil War Vol 1 1

Background and Casus Belli

Mutant Registration Act, Secret War, Hulk

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"[2] and the Hulk's destructive rampage in Las Vegas, which killed 26 adults, 2 children, and a dog[3] (unbeknownst to the general public, the Illuminati subsequently deceived the Hulk and jettisoned him into space following this incident).[4]

M-Day and Decimation

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. Many of the remaining mutants -estimated at first at 198 individuals- 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%.[2]




Growing Tension



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 politicians could control the heroes, they could decide who the villains were. When Cap refused to support the Superhuman Registration Act aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Hill attempted to arrest him. Yet, she had no right to do so, for the Act had not been passed yet, so Captain America was not yet a superhuman illegal combatant. So, Cap's actions in that case were in self-defense. After his escape, Cap 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, and Cable) 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 S.H.I.E.L.D. "cape-killer" 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.[7]


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 and Tony Stark, began work on designing a prison (nicknamed 42 because it was the forty-second idea on Tony's list of ways to improve the world) to detain superpowered violators.[7]


Civil War Files Vol 1 1 Textless

Civil War combatants

Mutant matters





Wolverine tracking Nitro



Operation: Justice Like Lightning


Criminals' reactions

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 gained shape-shifting 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 (consisting of the Ani-Men V, Answer, Aura, Bloodshed, Clown, Cyclone III, Discus, Electro, Great Gambonnos, Kangaroo II, Man Mountain Marko, Mauler, Mindblast, Override, Ringmaster, Stiletto, Spot, Squid, Trapster, and Will O' The Wisp) 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 S.H.I.E.L.D. into believing they were raiding Captain America's secret headquarters, while his double agent under Hammerhead, Underworld, made sure the usurper did not survive.[15]

Stephen Strange (Earth-616) and Uatu (Earth-616) from Civil War Vol 1 6 0001

Dr. Strange during Civil War

Civilians victims




Project: Lightning

The Secret Avengers were lured by a false emergency call into an ambush by the pro-registration forces, in an attempt by Iron Man to talk the conflict out. However, Captain America attacked Stark, leading to a direct confrontation between the two sides. 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.[2]

Spidey Switch Sides








Hercules (Earth-616) and Ragnarok (Earth-616) from Civil War Vol 1 7 0001

"Thor" vs. Hercules



Speedball's fate




Civil War Sneak Attack

Anti-Reg forces sneak attack

Final Battle





Two weeks later, the 50-State Initiative was officially launched and the Mighty Avengers assemble as a team. Tony Stark was appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., while Maria Hill is demoted to deputy status. Some heroes choosed 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 donned his black costume.[25]

Alternate Reality Versions

Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham

Earth-7231 from Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham Vol 1 1 0001

Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham

Alternate Civil War

Earth-10919 from Superior Spider-Man Vol 1 32 002

Alternate Civil War

A reality similar to Earth-616, whereas its Spider-Man was killed by Karn during the Civil War.[26]

Annihilation Reached Earth

Civil War (Earth-14026) from What If Annihilation Vol 1 1 0001

Annihilation Reached Earth

Unlike the event's Earth-616 counterpart, Matt Murdock of Earth-14026 participated to this event as well.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Back

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

A reality similar to Earth-616, whereas its Spider-Man was killed by Karn during the Civil War.[26] The story begins with the superheroes waging an unsanctioned attack on Castle Doom, Latveria due to the fact that the prime minister, Lucia Von Bardas, markets technology to the Tinkerer, who, in turn, markets them to supervillains in order to upgrade their suits. The President refuses to attack Latveria due to the fact that Bardas has established friendly relations with the American government. The attack on Latveria is successful, ending with Fury's squadron destroying Castle Doom, and Bardas being presumed to be dead.

One year later, Ms. Marvel is reported to be missing after being sent to recover intel on criminal activity. A team is sent to rescue her, and find her interrogated by the Shocker. They then discover that a cyborg Von Bardas has been leading Latveria in an assault on America for the attack on Latveria. Her plan is thwarted by the heroes, however, in the process, a portion of the city has been destroyed, causing the government to consider enacting the Superhuman Registration Act. Nick Fury disappears in light of the incident, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill is appointed to be the new director. In a television broadcast of The New Warriors, the supervillain Nitro creates a massive explosion, killing over 600 lives and causing the Superhuman Registration Act to be enacted. Captain America, in disagreement of the Act, rebels and forms a team of his own in order to battle those who support the Act. Another team is formed, led by Iron Man, in order to restore peace and thwart Captain America's rebellion. The story then is split into two separate branches depending on player choice: Pro-Registration and Anti-Registration.

The Pro-Registration then creates nanite technology which is used to control the minds of supervillains, aiding them in their quest to defeat Captain America. The two plotlines converge when the Pro-Registration team leads the Anti-Registration team to a chemical plant. Iron Man attempts to negotiate with Captain America, promising amnesty for the Anti-Registration team, but the Captain refuses, resulting in a battle between the two factions. The nanite-controlled villains, however, go haywire and plant bombs all over the chemical plant. Nick Fury returns to the plotline as he tries to defuse the explosives. As the final bomb is about to be defused, however, Venom thwarts Fury's intentions, causing an explosion which incapacitates the heroes. They are brought to a safe house by Nick, who unites the teams in order to defeat the out-of-control villains.

The heroes travel to the Negative Zone in order to bring samples of the nanite formula. The mission is a success and the team escapes, however, Fury's fate is unknown, as he was left behind right after he activated a self-destruct system. The Registration Act, as a result, is suspended, after it is revealed that the nanites have survived and have spread throughout the world. The reunited teams are then split into various groups, with the main group heading to the Black Panther's home, Wakanda. They defeat nanite-controlled agents, and it is revealed that the nanites are now under the control of the group known as The Fold. The team then also discover that Nick Fury has been taken over by the Fold. The groups then establish a base in Wakanda, as the country is safe from the nanite invasion. The team then travel to Iceland, a destination which contains a base under the Fold's control. They then transmit a signal which paralyzes the nanite-controlled villains and heroes, allowing them to be cured. The team then battle the Tinkerer, who is the ringleader of the Fold, and defeat him. However, the battle has not yet been won; a nanite-controlled Nick Fury then battles the heroes, ending with the heroes victorious.

The end of the game is then determined on which faction the player chose; if the Pro-Registration team has been chosen, the Superhuman Registration Act is amended, whereas if the Anti-Registration team has been chosen, the Superhuman Registration Act is repealed.[27]

Notable Participants

Confirmed proponents of registration
Registered heroes and villains:S.H.I.E.L.D. ForcesEnforcers
Detained and recruited heroes and villainsMajor government supporters:Major civilian supporters:

Opponents of registration
The Secret Avengers:Miscellaneous heroes and villainsUnregistered heroes and villains:
Registered opponents:Supervillain opponents;Major civilian opponents:
Casualties:Neutral parties:




  • Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 and Captain America: Civil War are based upon the "Civil War" event. While Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 closely follows the original storyline, the film adaptation borrows key events and elements such as a bombing killing innocent civilians caught in the crossfire and a grief-filled Miriam Sharpe blaming Tony Stark for the death of her son.

Comic Books with a Civil War Tie-in

See Also

Links and References

Recommended Readings

See also


  1. Civil War #1-7
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Secret War #1-5
  3. Fantastic Four #533
  4. Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #91-92
  5. Amazing Spider-Man #529-531
  6. Civil War #1
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Civil War #1-2
  8. Civil War #2
  9. Uncanny X-Men #495
  10. Civil War #3
  11. 11.0 11.1 Civil War: X-Men #1-4
  12. Wolverine Vol 3 #42-47
  13. Thunderbolts #103-109
  14. Civil War: Front Line #11
  15. Civil War: War Crimes #1
  16. Fantastic Four #539-541
  17. Civil War #5
  18. Cable & Deadpool #31-32
  19. Civil War: Front Line #3-9
  20. New Avengers #24
  21. Black Panther Vol 4 #18-22
  22. Civil War: Front Line #1-10
  23. Civil War: Front Line #1-11
  24. Civil War #6
  25. 25.0 25.1 Civil War #7
  26. 26.0 26.1 Superior Spider-Man #32
  27. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
  28. (representing the British government)
  29. (representing the Israeli government)
  30. (formerly opposed the act as a Young Avenger)
  31. (formerly opposed the act as a Secret Avenger)
  32. (mind-controlled)
  33. (no known connection to Marc Scarlotti)
  34. (unnamed wearer of a duplicate of the original's suit)
  35. (no known connection to Marc Scarlotti)
  36. Moon Knight Vol 5 #13
  37. Contest of Champions #4
  38. Siege #1
  39. Superior Spider-Man #26

