Here ya go' -
Synopsis
The New Warriors members (Night Thrasher, Namorita, Speedball, and Microbe) battle a group of villains (Cobalt Man, Speedfreek, Coldheart, Nitro) in Stamford, Connecticut while filming a reality television show. Nitro explodes, killing more than 600 people (including school children and all of the New Warriors except Speedball). The rest of the superheroes appear in Stamford to search for survivors.
Public opinion turns against superhumans. Even the inactive members of the New Warriors are branded as "baby killers". Hindsight Lad (desperate to distance himself from the team) releases their secret identities online, and several are attacked. (The She-Hulk shuts down the site, and he is arrested by John Jameson.) Angry civilians attack the Human Torch outside of a club.
Guided by Iron Man, Congress quickly passes the Superhuman Registration Act [9] (SHRA), 6 U.S.C. S. 558, requiring the registration of all persons with superhuman abilities with the U.S. government, and the enlistment and training of those wishing to operate as superheroes. The law applies to those with naturally-occurring superhuman abilities, those with abilities acquired through science or magic (including extraterrestrials and gods), and non-super powered humans using exotic technology, (such as Iron Man). Enactment of the federal law led to revisions of state criminal codes (such as Chapter 40, Article 120, Section 120 of the New York Penal Code, and Section 245(d) of the California Penal Code). [10]
After Captain America refuses to join a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force hunting superhumans in violation of the act, he becomes a fugitive and forms an underground resistance movement calling itself the "Secret Avengers". This team includes Hercules, Falcon, Danny Rand (who is acting as Daredevil),[11] Luke Cage and the Young Avengers.[12][11] Iron Man, Reed Richards, Henry Pym, and the She-Hulk come down in favor of the Act. Spider-Man unmasks at a press conference as a show of support for the Act.[11] Doctor Strange wants no part of the Act and tells Iron Man and Mister Fantastic that they are never to call on him again. (The government declares Doctor Strange exempt from the Act.)
The X-Men, on behalf of the mutant community, declare neutrality.[13] Acting leader Cyclops feels that the mutants have already been through too much during the Decimation to take a stand either way and survive. Individual X-Men have their own opinions: Wolverine feels that the act is every bit as racist and oppressive as the Mutant Registration Act, while Bishop feels it's necessary to embrace the act and make sure mutants can continue to police themselves (lest the truly oppressive regime of his own time line come to pass). All members of the 198 and X-Men are already listed in government databases, and were registered by default when the act passed. 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 have recently set up shop in Mutant Town, and with the passage of the Registration Act Jamie Madrox, the team's leader, called a press conference announcing that Mutant Town was officially off-limits and X-Factor would protect its residents.
Wolverine begins tracking Nitro the moment rescue efforts cease; he traces Nitro to a cabin in the woods. S.H.I.E.L.D. has also intervened: a team including Wolverine was sent to capture him. Predictably, Nitro incinerates everything within a wide radius of the cabin. The agents die, and Wolverine was reduced to an adamantium-plated skeleton. While regenerating Wolverine overhears Nitro talking to a contact over the phone, informing him of the latest kill. The conversation reveals Nitro's use of Mutant Growth Hormone to enhance his power. Finally regenerated, Wolverine goes 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 is interrupted by a trio of Atlanteans who prevent Wolverine from killing Nitro. The Atlanteans seek to bring Nitro back to Atlantis in order to try him for the murder of Namor's cousin, New Warrior Namorita. Wolverine goes to Atlantis to confront Namor, and ultimately decides to leave Nitro to face Atlantean justice. (Wolverine focuses on those who supplied Nitro with MGH, determining that the distributor was the corrupt head of Damage Control, a firm that benefited from the massive government contracts generated by the civil war.)
Villains Doctor Doom, Red Skull, Arnim Zola, the Mad Thinker, and the Puppet Master all have insidious plans in the works. The Thunderbolts are invited to spearhead operation "Justice Like Lightning," in which they will capture, and, if possible, reform supervillains. Baron Helmut Zemo has already been collecting supervillains into an army to confront the mounting threat of the Grandmaster and his new Squadron Sinister. The captured villains swell the team into three large squads; more are being trained in a secret mountain camp. Numerous other villains are released under more direct government supervision, including the Green Goblin, the Vulture, the third Jester, and Jack O'Lantern. The villains are kept in check by nanites in their blood which monitor and can also disable them. Norman Osborn, however, has learned the secret to deactivating them.
Crime mistress Ricadonna assists some supervillains in avoiding the act by grafting Skrull tissue onto their bodies in exchange for their assistance in freeing her from prison. The survivors of the experiment — Ferocia, Kingsize, Flame, and a new Blue Streak — gain shape-shifting abilities. Ricadonna later undergoes the same process herself. Hammerhead, on the other hand, sees the tumult as an opportunity to usurp Wilson Fisk as the Kingpin of Crime. A number of super-criminals rally to him, but the Kingpin orchestrates Hammerhead's capture and death.
The government-backed heroes track down unregistered superhumans and subsequently detain or register them. Captain America's Secret Avengers are public enemies. The Secret Avengers operate out of a series of secret safe houses set up by Nick Fury. Cap's team continues to apprehend supervillains (usually leaving them bound for the authorities), and launches a series of well-coordinated attacks on prison transports carrying captured superhumans. During one such raid, a convoy is diverted onto Yancy Street, a hotbed of civilian opposition to the Act. The Thing, who was only visiting the old neighborhood, gets roped into crowd control. However, when a young member of the Yancy Street Gang is killed in the violence that ensues, Grimm, disgusted with both sides, leaves the country for France. (The US government freezes his assets, his baggage is held up, and he is lucky to board his flight before being added to the national "no-fly" list.
The Secret Avengers, responding to a false emergency, are lured into an ambush by the pro-registration forces. As the battle turns against them, a new weapon is brought into play: Project Lightning, Thor. (This is not actually Thor, but rather a clone created from a few strands of Thor's hair and empowered by a technological copy of Mjolnir.) When confronted by Bill Foster, Thor sends a bolt of lightning through the hero's chest, killing him. With both sides in shock, Cap orders a retreat.
Bill Foster's tragic death shakes up both sides, with Stature and Nighthawk surrendering and registering, while the Human Torch and Invisible Woman decide to oppose the act. In turn, Pym drafts the Thunderbolts to their cause.[14]
After contemplating the death of Goliath at the hands of Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic's Thor Clone, Spider-Man demands to see the concentration camp-styled prison facilities "42" in the Negative Zone [15]. After expressing his disdain for the prison and asking Iron Man how long they expect to hold them, Iron Man reveals that once imprisoned, those captured will spend the rest of their lives in the Negative Zone unless they register. Realizing that he has made a huge mistake by siding with Stark, Peter conferences with Mary Jane and Aunt May, only to find out that Iron Man has been secretly listening to them and attacks Spider-Man (who has barely had time to get into his costume, which Peter has hacked so as to prevent Stark from shutting it down). After a brief battle with Tony, Spider-Man escapes After being hunted down, and nearly killed, by the Jester and Jack O'Lantern (two of the newest members of the Thunderbolts), Spider-Man is saved by The Punisher and brought to a Secret Avengers safe-house. After recovering from his injuries, he joins Cap's forces[14]. Spider-Man interrupts a news broadcast and makes a statement about the horrors of the act's enforcement, and pledges to fight it.
Meanwhile Punisher seeks to join Captain America's side, pointing out that Iron Man's decision to employ infamous mass murdering super-villains as his henchmen to keep his allies in line has convinced Punisher to come out of hiding. Captain America, knowing the risk of using the Punisher, reluctantly accepts Punisher's offer of help.
An ambassador from the kingdom of Atlantis, on a mission of peace backed by the European Community, is the target of an unsuccessful assassination attempt. Norman Osborn, bearing a fake press pass and handgun (and none of his Green Goblin paraphernalia), fired once at the statesman, striking his shoulder. The ambassador returns to the ocean, and Osborn collapses to the ground claiming he was framed. 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 government, still refusing to return the Terrigen Crystals originally stolen by Pietro Maximoff, is in the midst of a cold war with the Inhumans of Attilan. Unaware of the war, the Sentry travelled to Atillan, where he was at first attacked, then brought before the royal family. Upon learning of his hidden past, the Secret War, House of M, Decimation, and Civil War, many of the Inhumans were moved to tears by the tragedy of it all. When Iron Man arrives to retrieve Robert Reynolds, he is informed that war would not be allowed to come to their land again. US government relations with Wakanda and its superpowered monarchs, the Black Panther and Storm, are also strained, and it seems inevitable that the Civil War will spill out of US borders.
Robbie Baldwin is found alive, the Stamford blast had hurled him miles away. Robbie's powers protected him from the sudden force, but burned out their biological mechanisms in the process, rendering him temporarily powerless. Held without trial in a foreign country for a time, he was eventually returned to the US and provided access to counsel (Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk). Walters argues that he was unconscious when the registration act was passed, and thus never had the opportunity to register. Instead of following her advice, Baldwin refuses to register. Although powerless, he is placed in the prison's general population. He is regarded as a "baby killer" and beaten regularly. Baldwin challenges the largest detractor to a boxing match; in the midst of getting pummeled when his powers return, destroying the ring and rendering everyone in the vicinity unconscious.
Baldwin agrees to testify before Congress on the Stamford incident, but is shot as he is being escorted to the hearing chambers. As he bleeds in the ambulance, his powers are again activated with enough force to hurt even the She-Hulk (who is accompanying him). Upon his recovery, Baldwin is held at the Raft super-prison, where he is deployed as the focus of an escape by a group of supervillains (Razor Fist, Crimson Cowl, and Diamondhead). They distract the guards and take Baldwin hostage, ultimately killing several guards while Justine Hammer opened the gates. While Baldwin is being used as a human shield, he activates his powers, burning many of the escapees beyond recognition. In an about-face driven by his guilt over the Stamford deaths, Baldwin now eagerly registers upon realizing that his powers are back, though require physical pain to activate.
Reporters Sally Floyd and Ben Urich are embedded on opposite sides of the war. Sally is one of the most vocal opponents of the act, decrying it as violation of civil liberties. Her opinion is reinforced by SHIELD's constant surveillance of her movements, nor her arrest after attending a meeting of unregistered heroes. However, after she is bailed out by Senator Sykes, one of the authors of the registration act and a frequent target of her articles, she controversially begins to support the registration act, ultimately verbally attacking Captain America when he attempts to convince her that she is being manipulated through straw-man arguments that fail to address Iron Man's corrupt abuse of power. Ben Urich, on the other hand, has been mostly quiet on the act itself, but has been cataloging inconsistencies as he researches a series of fires and murders. 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 assassination attempt on the Atlantean ambassador, the more evidence Urich gathers, the more the missing pieces point to a conspiracy.
Confronting the now fugitive Peter Parker, they also discover that Reed Richards and Tony Stark have used the Registration Act to line their own pockets via "no-bid contracts" regarding anti super-hero weapons and armor for SHIELD and the construction of the Negative Zone prison. When he confronts J. Jonah Jameson that he has discovered a dark conspiracy in Iron Man's agenda, he refuses to allow Jameson to know what exactly he has discovered. Knowing that Sally Floyd has become corrupted by Stark's underlings and aware of how far Stark will go to silence those who will oppose him, Urich simply tells Jameson that the truth can not be told, lest Stark uses his powers to destroy the Daily Bugle.
As the Punisher makes his way through the Baxter Building to retrieve plans for the Negative Zone prison, Sue Richards travels to Atlantis to persuade Namor to join the Secret Avengers: he refuses. The supervillains Goldbug and Plunderer arrive at the Secret Avengers' base to join Captain America's team, but the Punisher immediately kills them, leading Captain America to attack him and kick him out of the group.
The Secret Avengers (along with Storm and Black Panther) break into the Negative Zone prison, where Hulkling, who has been disguised as Hank Pym, releases the imprisoned heroes from their cells to join the fight.[16]
While meditating, Doctor Strange speaks with Uatu the Watcher, who asks him why he doesn't use his immense power to end the conflict. Doctor Strange informs Uatu that the Sorcerer Supreme has no business in mankind's internal struggles, but promises to pray for an outcome that will benefit mankind and spill the least amount of blood.
As the final battle begins Cloak teleports the combatants to New York City, where Namor and an army of Atlanteans arrive to fight alongside the Secret Avengers; the Champions, the Thor clone, and Captain Marvel reinforce Stark's team. Mister Fantastic saves Invisible Woman from a bullet launched by Taskmaster, and Hercules destroys the Thor clone. The Thing returns to protect the citizens from harm of the battle. As Captain America is about to deliver a final blow to Iron Man, policemen, EMTs, and firefighters try to restrain him. Realizing how much damage the fight has already inflicted upon the very people whom he wishes to protect, Captain America surrenders and orders his team to stand down. Afterwords, Sally Floyd confronts Captain America in prison, mockingly gloating at him for his defeat and calling him outdated, citing NASCAR, Myspace, and Youtube in her allegation that Captain America can not speak for the American people due to his ignorance on such trivial mattters.
Meanwhile after Ulrich confronts Stark with his knowledge that Stark used Norman Osborn to try and start a war with Atlantis in order to scare the Anti-Registration side into joining his side against Namor. He agrees to keep silent about this information, as well about Stark using the Civil War to restore his personal fortune. At the end of the story, Tony Stark is made the new Director of SHIELD. While celebrating his acceptance of his new job with Miriam Sharpe, Stark reveals the secret behind his Negative Zone prison's name: "42" is number 42 in a list of plans that Tony Stark and Reed Richards have conceived to "save" the world and that the "Civil War" was but an excuse for Stark to move on to "number 43" on the list: clean up SHIELD. The story ends with ominous Stark and Sharpe celebrating their victory, oblivious to the fact that as they celebrate, the Red Skull has Captain America murdered while leaving a courthouse for his arraignment.
[edit] 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, is arrested (and subsequently assassinated).
* Tony Stark is appointed director of S.H.I.E.L.D.; 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[17]: Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Ronin (actually a resurrected Clint Barton), Echo, and Wolverine.
* Goliath, Bantam, Typeface, Stilt-Man have been killed during the conflict.
* Mutants roam freely, overseen by the Sentinels posted at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning; Bishop leaves the X-Men and is offered a position with the Office of National Emergency (O*N*E).
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man is fired by J. Jonah Jameson, who sues him for fraud. The Kingpin places a contract out on Spider-Man and his loved ones. An assassin misses Spider-Man, but strikes the "secondary target" of Aunt May.
* 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 timeline.
* Speedball's powers (and sanity) are drastically altered, and he becomes Penance II, a member of the Thunderbolts.
* A reconstituted 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 destroying the Annihilation Wave with the Nova Corps Worldmind in him) and realizes that his former team The New Warriors are dead and has to decide whether or not to be on the Initative and he battles the Thunderbolts
[edit] Trade paper backs
[18]
* Straczynski, J. Michael; Bendis, Brian Michael (February 2007). The Road To Civil War, Illustrated by Alex Maleev, Marvel. ISBN 0785119744.
* Bendis, Brian Michael (February 2007). New Avengers Vol 5: Civil War, Illustrated by Howard Chaykin, Olivier Coipel, Marvel. ISBN 0785122427.
* Reed, Brian (March 2007). Ms. Marvel Vol 2: Civil War, Illustrated by Roberto De La Torre, Mike Wieringo, Marvel. ISBN 0785123040.
* Gray, Justin; Palmiotti, Jimmy (April 2007). Heroes for Hire Vol 1: Civil War, Illustrated by Billy Tucci, Marvel. ISBN 0785123628.
* Millar, Mark (April 2007). Civil War TPB, Illustrated by Steve McNiven, Marvel. ISBN 078512179X.
* Nicieza, Fabian (April 2007). Civil War: Thunderbolts, Illustrated by Tom Grummett, Marvel. ISBN 0785119477.
* Jenkins, Paul (April 2007). Civil War: Front Line, Book 1, Illustrated by Ramon F. Bachs, Marvel. ISBN 0785123121.
* Straczynski, J. Michael (April 2007). Civil War: Amazing Spider-Man, Illustrated by Ron Garney, Marvel. ISBN 0785122370.
* Hine, David (April 2007). Civil War: X-Men, Illustrated by Yanick Paquette, Marvel. ISBN 078512313X.
* Fraction, Matt (April 2007). Punisher War Journal Vol 1: Civil War, Illustrated by Ariel Olivetti, Marvel. ISBN 0785127755.
* Straczynski, J. Michael (April 2007). Civil War: Fantastic Four, Illustrated by Mike McKone, Marvel. ISBN 0785122273.
* Wells, Zeb (May 2007). Civil War: Young Avengers and Runaways, Illustrated by Stefano Caselli, Marvel. ISBN 0785123172.
* Guggenheim, Marc (May 2007). Civil War: Wolverine, Illustrated by Humberto Ramos, Marvel. ISBN 0785119809.
* Brubaker, Ed (May 2007). Civil War: Captain America, Illustrated by Mike Perkins, Lee Weeks, Marvel. ISBN 0785127984.
* Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto (May 2007). Civil War: Peter Parker, Spider-Man, Illustrated by Clayton Crain, Angel Medina, Marvel. ISBN 0785121897.
* Jenkins, Paul (May 2007). Civil War: Front Line, Book 2, Illustrated by Ramon F. Bachs, Steve Lieber, Marvel. ISBN 0785124691.
* David, Peter; Nicieza, Fabian (May 2007). Civil War: X-Men Universe, Illustrated by Dennis Calero, Staz Johnson, Marvel. ISBN 0785122435.
* Tieri, Frank (May 2007). Civil War: War Crimes, Illustrated by Staz Johnson, Marvel. ISBN 078512652X.
* Hudlin, Reginald (May 2007). Black Panther: Civil War, Illustrated by Scot Eaton, Manuel Garcia, Koi Turnbull, Marvel. ISBN 0785122354.
* Various (May 2007). Civil War Companion, Illustrated by Various, Marvel. ISBN 0785125760.
* Brubaker, Dan; Slott, Dan; Jenkins, Paul; Fraction, Matt; Oeming, Michael Avon (June 2007). Civil War: Marvel Universe, Illustrated by Lee Weeks, Tom Raney, Paul Smith, Leinil Francis Yu, David Aja, Phil Hester, Scott Kolins, Ty Templeton, Marvel. ISBN 0785124705.
* Brubaker, Ed; Knauf, Charlie; Knauf, Daniel; Hudlin, Reginald (June 2007). Civil War: Iron Man, Illustrated by Mike Perkins, Marvel. ISBN 0785123148.
