Culture Shock 2

Marvel Comics

The most important comic book story in the decade is the “Civil War.” A villian named Nitro met and battled a young band of heroes known as the New Warriors, in Stamford, Connecticut. The battle ended with both sides dead, along with a good chunk of civilian casualties.

The tragedy whipped up public fears of superhumans and their powers. The United States government decided that the best way to make sure Stanford event never happened again is to push forth the Superhuman Registration Act. This Act required superhumans to register with the federal government as a sign of loyalty and publicly reveal their identities. This idea brought much fear from the superhuman society at large, for if their identities became public knowledge, their enemies could track and kill their families.

Those metahumans siding with the government were the Pro-Registration, and those opposed to were dubbed The Anti-Restration; led by Iron Man and Captain America respectively. The conflict divided superhuman society in half. Pro-Registration heroes hunted down their former colleagues and initiate the group called Thunderbolts, a team compraised of villians such as Green Goblin and Venom. Their loyalty was supposively guaranteed by injecting nanites into their bloodstream, which would act as a GPS signal and neutralize their abilities instantly. The Green Goblin was given the deactivation process of the nanites by an as-of-yet-unknown figure.

As time passes the casualities mount up and new initivities are put into effect. Reed Richards and Tony Stark build the “42″ prison, a place designated specifically to contain superhumans. Later on as things spiraled out of control, the 42 was dubbed insuffinct, and a prison was commissioned in the Negative Zone, a sub-dimension parallel to Earth’s. Eventually the rampant destruction takes it’s toll on Captain America, who freely gives himself up to the Pro-Registration forces. However, during his trial an assassin kills Captain America.

The Civil War’s battle accrued a high cost. Superhumans opposed to the government are forced into hiding or move out of the US. Hundreds more are dead, and unregistered superhumans are mobbed without mercy. Tony Stark becomes the Director of SHIELD, a law-enforcement agency whose authority approaches global standards. Perhaps most damning of all is Norman Osborn’s leadership of the Thunderbolts, building the foundation for his ever-increasing authority. The conflict may be over, but the consequences are still mounting. Each superhuman must make his/her own path, and with the authority figures watching their every move, the path will not end well.