Civil War: Front Line #10

Oct 17

Oct 17 Civil War: Front Line #10

Civil War continues from Civil War #6….

Embedded, Part 10

Following the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA), the superhero community has been torn in half. Reporters Ben Urich and Sally Floyd have been covering the conflict for their respective newspapers.[1]

Sally Floyd is meeting in secret with Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), who has been investigating who might have tampered with the nanites that were used to control Norman Osborn.[2] Carol wants to get this over with quick before she is accused of being the traitor in the pro-registration camp. She had decided to go to the press with this because after Iron Man (Tony Stark) announced to his team he said the culprit had been caught and is being dealt with. However, when pressed for the identity of the one responsible, Stark says it is top secret as a matter of national security. This deeply upset Yellowjacket (Hank Pym) who didn’t like that Tony is keeping this a secret as it doesn’t belay any fears that the traitor might still be among them.[3] Sally wonders who is crazy enough to work with Osborn, and Carol agrees that whoever it is has a lot to answer for.[4]

As Carol leaves, Sally wonders what Tony Stark is up to as she reads through the information passed onto her. That’s when she finally realizes who the traitor might be. She quickly calls Ben Urich to tell him what she just found about Tony Stark. Ben Urich has his own dirt on Stark and agrees to meet with her in Times Square at 6:15.[5] First things first, Ben has to go up to the offices of the Daily Bugle to tell his bosses what he has uncovered. Ben barges into an editorial meeting to speak with publisher J. Jonah Jameson and editor Joe Robertson about the information he found. He tells them that he has a political bomb shell that the Bugle will never publish and as such he needs to resign from his job immediately. When Jameson asks why his paper wouldn’t publish it, Ben says he knows from his 20 years of experience working the paper. Without getting into details, explains that while he believes that the Daily Bugle is a fair and balanced newspaper their ability to tell the news has been compromised by its financial obligations to keep operating.

Jameson orders everyone out of the room but Ben and once they are alone, Jonah holds out his hand to shake. He understands where Ben is coming from and wishes him the best of luck. Jonah knows Urich is a straight shooter and a hell of a reporter, but knows when his mind is made up. He also tells Ben that the door is always open and to call if he needs anything. Ben thanks his now ex-boss for being so understanding and leaves. Once Urich is gone, Jonah looks out the window and laments losing such a great reporter.

Meanwhile, Iron Man (Tony Stark) watches the latest news about the an increase in Atlantean military movements near the 70 mile total exclusion zone that is considered the sovereign seas of Atlantis. This has led to turmoil at the United Nations as both China and Russia have denounced the United States conflict with Atlantis.[6] The US Senate is also criticizing Tony Stark’s influence on Congress, laying blame for escalating tensions on him. Tony grits his teeth at this and that’s when Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder, reminding Tony that he chose to captain the ship and now he has to stay the course.

By 6:14 pm, Ben Urich is in Times Square looking for Sally Floyd. They have just found each other when suddenly there is a massive explosion atop one of the buildings. Suddenly, Pro and Anti-Registration forces end up spilling into Times Square turning it into an instant war zone.[7] As the fighting erupts all around them, Ben and Sally flee into the subway for cover.[8] Once they are safe, Sally hands Ben the story she just published for the Alternative that reports a traitor in the pro-registration camp. This confirms the information that Ben has uncovered himself, and tells her he thinks he knows the real reasons behind the civil war.

Recurring Characters

Ben Urich, Sally Floyd, Pro-Registration Heroes (Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Sentry, Thunderbolts (Radioactive Man, Songbird, Venom),“Yellowjacket”), J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Glory Grant, “Daredevil”, Typeface

Continuity Notes

The SHRA is a new law that was passed into law in Civil War #2. It requires all superheroes to register with the government. This law will remain on the books until Siege #4.
Osborn had been imprisoned for murder following the events of The Pulse #1-5. He was later became a conscripted supervillain by SHIELD in Civil War: Front Line #2. An unidentified individual then used Osborn to stage a failed assassination of an Atlantean dignitary in issue #9. Next issue, the evidence will point to Tony Stark, but per the Norman Osborn entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8, these are only allegations. As of this writing (November, 2024), they have not been proven.
This is some class A gaslighting on behalf of “Yellowjacket” since he’s not really Hank Pym, but a Skrull impostor named Criti Noll. Noll took Hank’s place prior to House of M #1, as seen in Mighty Avengers #15. This is ahead of a Skrull invasion of Earth that will primarily be chronicled in Secret Invasion #1-8.
Sally Floyd theorizes that the Sentry would be crazy enough to collude with Osborn. The Sentry has a long history of mental health issues. See Sentry/The Void #1, New Avengers #7-10, and Sentry (vol. 2) #1-8.
Ben Urich has been investigating who has been profiting off the Super Human Registration Act since Civil War: Front Line #5. Last issue he hacked into Tony Stark’s financial records and learned that his company has been making a mint since the SHRA passed.
Atlantis preparing for war with the surface world was as a result of Atlantean sleeper agents being eliminated by a SHIELD controlled Green Goblin in Civil War: Front Line #7. Osborn was then used again in a staged assassination of an Atlantean ambassador in issue #8.
The sudden war between anti and pro registration heroes in Times Square is due to the Secret Avengers breaking out heroes incarcerated in Prison 42, as we saw in Civil War #7. Here we see a hero dressed as Daredevil, however this is Danny Rand (aka Iron Fist) in disguise. Per Civil War: Choosing Sides #1, Matt Murdock asked Danny to pose as Daredevil for a time. This is because, Murdock’s double identity was leaked in Daredevil (vol. 2) #32. Just prior to the Civil War, Murdock was going off to prison and he wanted someone posing as him on the outside to obfuscate the truth about his double life. See Daredevil (vol. 2) #82-87.
Here we see Typeface getting slammed into a bus by Venom. Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1 will report that this killed Typeface. However, he will pop-up again no worse for wear in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #5. In lieu of an official explanation (as of November, 2024), we can assume that the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated.

Topical References

Both Ben and Sally are depicted as having “flip” style cell phones that were still popular at the time this story was published in 2007. Their depiction should be considered topical as they have since fallen out of popular use thanks to the advent of the smart phone.
In Times Square we see the iconic billboard advertising, some of which are advertisements for real companies or shows. I might be missing a few, but the ones I recognize are for LG electronics, an early Apple iPod advertisement, Kodak film, Liz Clayborn fashions, and the play Fiddler on the Roof. Any ads for real world things should be considered topical.

The Accused, Part 9

Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, has been made the scapegoat for the Stamford Disaster. After resisting registration for weeks, Baldwin has finally registered.[1]

At the Cumberland Federal Correctional Institute in Maryland, James Stricker — the man who attempted to assassinate Speedball ahead of his Congressional Testimony — is being escorted from his cell.[2] Unrepentant of his crime, he tells the guards that he has no regrets over what he has done and is willing to be executed for his crime if that what it boils down to. He is then shoved into a private room where Robbie Baldwin is waiting for him. Robbie assures him that he isn’t going to die.

James Stricker is shocked to see Baldwin standing before him as a free man. Robbie grimly explains that he was freed because he worked out a deal when he finally registered with the government and now he is a free man. James cannot believe that the man who killed his daughter is being let loose. Baldwin explains that he has always been a political prisoner, that they wanted to use him as a token to encourage other heroes to register. However, Robbie had a few conditions for his release, he wanted James to be released from prison as well. This angers Stricker who is furious that Baldwin is trying to wave away the damage he has done. He then begins hitting Robbie in the face, causing his kinetic powers to flare up. Robbie stands there and takes it all until James Stricker breaks down and collapses onto the floor in sorrow. He has had everything taken away from him until all he had left was hate, and now it appears that they are taking that away from him too.

James Stricker then explains that after ther death of his daughter, his every thought has been on Baldwin and how it was all his fault. It has been so all consuming that he can’t even picture his daughter anymore without seeing Speedball’s face. He promised to take care of his daughter Sarah ever since his wife died. He then reveals that on the death of her death, Sarah complained about having a cold, but insisted on going to school anyway. He could have had her stay home and rest, but he didn’t.

Hearing all of this, Robbie has little compassion for his would-be killer and says he doesn’t care. This is because when James shot him in the stomach, the bullet fragmented and shrapnel was lodged in his spine. Now everything he does is painful and eventually, those fragments are going to wear away the discs in his spine until he can feel nothing but pain. He accepts this pain because 612 people died on his watch an no amount of pain in the world uis going to be enough to make up for that. With that, Baldwin leaves the room and James Stricker behind.

In the hallway, Mister Fantastic tells Robbie that he doesn’t have to do what he plans next. Robbie points out that Reed had a choice as well but he made his own. Now that his true identity has been made public since his arrest, and Richards and SHIELD has put his family in danger for exposing his true identity. Reed tries to bargain with Robbie and asks him what he wants to make this right. He says he wants to go back in time and stop all of this from happening in the first place. Reed can’t do that and tells Baldwin that his next course of action is tantamount to committing suicide. When Robbie is still unmoved by this, Reed then tries to reason with him, saying that they don’t really know how the current manifestation of his powers work. This annoys Robbie, who believes this reveals Richards’ true intention: That he views Robbie as nothing more than a lab rat to study. All he knows is that his powers are now activated by pain and that’s all he needs to know as they will always remind him of what he has done. He then tells Reed that they are done and he’ll report for duty at 9 am, but first he needs to do one last thing.

Later that day, Robbie goes to an abandoned warehouse where he has set up a crude funeral pyre. Draped across it is his Speedball costume. He then dumps a canister of kerosine on it and lists it on fire and watches as it burns, the symbolic destruction of his old life.

That’s when a man arrives with a new costume for Robbie.[3] He used it with modified specs for a costume he once made for Electro. Robbie doesn’t care about that and is more interested in the armored plating. The costume maker confirms that the armor has a series of spikes that will dig in a half of inch. Not enough to be fatal, but cause the wearer constant pain. The man recognizes Robbie but can’t place him and he expresses his concern over the costume as it is clearly meant to torture somebody. When he asks Robbie who it is for, Baldwin tells the costume designer that it is meant for him.

The costume maker is horrified and suddenly realizes that he’s talking to Speedball and pleads with him to take his money back and not use the costume. Robbie refuses and then orders the man to put it on him. In a letter that he will later write to his mother, Robbie will explain that the new costume has 612 spikes, one for every victim in the Stamford Disaster. One spike in particular, which is over his heart, is dedicated to Sarah Stricker. He then closes by telling his mother that she will never see him again. With his body suit now on, Robbie tells the costume maker that Speedball is dead. He then puts on his new helmet and proclaims that he is now calling himself Penance![4]

Recurring Characters

Speedball/Penance, James Stricker, Mister Fantastic, Leo Zelinsky

Continuity Notes

Speedball was among the New Warriors who were involved in the Stamford Disaster in Civil War #1. Baldwin has been going from prison to prison since his arrest in Civil War: Front Line #2. He finally agreed to register last issue.
James Stricker shot Robbie in the stomach as he was being led to the Capitol Building in Civil War: Front Line #6. In issue #8 we learned that he was the father of one of the children who died in the Stamford Disaster.
Although he is not mentioned by name and looks different from past appearances, Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1 confirms that this man is Leo Zelinsky. Zelinsky first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #502. He has makes costumes for both sides of the law.
Robbie will keep his identity as Penance a secret to everyone he once knew until Avengers: The Initiative #35. He will operate in this role until he has redeemed himself, switching back to being Speedball once more in Avengers Academy #1.

Topical References

I think the reason why James Stricker mentions going to the gas chamber as punishment for his crime is because, at the time this comic was published, the state of Maryland still had the death penalty on the books. Although they used lethal injection rather than the gas chamber. That said, this should be considered a topical reference as Maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013. Modern readers could now interpret Stricker as being hyperbolic rather than literal, or perhaps he’s just an idiot who doesn’t know the law.

Unanswered Questions Surrounding the Penance Origin

There remains one unanswered question surrounding the Penance origin that (so far as I know) has not been mentioned at the time I write this in November, 2024. Namely, who the heck was Hickey and what was his motivations. First appearing as Robbie’s silent cell mate in Civil War: Front Line #3, we don’t see him after he breaks out of jail and is seen posing as a janitor at the SHIELD facility where Robbie is being treated for his gunshot wound. It seems to me that writer Paul Jenkins has something in mind with the Hickey character. However, we never see the guy again and other writers take over writing stories about Penance that this plot thread never gets explored. More over, I can’t get over the fact that artist Steve Lieber drew Hickey to look kind of like Baldwin. That couldn’t be a coincidence? Sadly, I have no answers for you dear reader. I’d try to reach out to Jenkins, but it seems that there is no way to pester him with my questions, at least not without compromising my boycott of X, but he doesn’t appear overly active over there anyway.

… Civil War continues in Amazing Spider-Man #537.