Civil War: Front Line #2

Oct 17

Oct 17 Civil War: Front Line #2

Civil War continues from Thunderbolts #103

Embedded, Part 2

Following the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA), Spider-Man unmasked on national television to show his support for the new law.[1] While Ben Urich knew the truth,[2] this public revelation is a bombshell because Spider-Man is Peter Parker, someone who had worked for the Daily Bugle for years as a freelance photographer.[3] Leaving the newsroom for the day, Ben is swarmed by reporters who have come to get reactions about Peter Parker’s big public reveal. Ben tells them that he is still reeling from Iron Man’s recent unmasking and tells them that if they want more comment, to go find Parker hismelf.[4] As he enters the elevator to leave the building, Ben is given the idea to call Peter to get comment, after all, he too is a reporter. When Ben calls Peter he gest the voice mail and leaves a message. Peter then responds to him because he had been clinging to the ceiling of the elevator the whole time.[5]

Meanwhile, Alternative reporter Sally Floyd, is out getting comment from other heroes following the passage of the SHRA. At a local bar,[6] she interviews Firestar (Angelica Jones), who is not happy about the new law. She explains that she had a secret identity because it could put her friends and families at risk. She is also mourning the loss of her teammates in the New Warriors who died in the Stamford Disaster.[7] She also tells Sally that she has a life outside of being a superhero. She is currently going back to school and works a job and now that being a superhero could possibly derail those aspects of her life, she decides that she no longer wants to be a super hero. As she leaves, Firestar discards her mask and flies off into the night sky.[8]

The next day at the Daily Bugle, Joe Robertson meets with publisher J. Jonah Jameson to tell him that Ben Urich spoke with Peter Parker. Joe sees this as an opportunity to get an exclusive interview for the paper. However, Jameson refuses to follow through with this because he feels that Peter made a mockery out of his newspaper after all these years. Jonah tells Joe that he treated Parker like a son (which Joe refutes) but regardless, he’s done with Spider-Man and wants to focus on a real hero.

Later that evening, both Ben Urich and Sally Floyd go to the scene of a superhero related incident. It is the costumed hero known as Prodigy, who is drunk and ranting and raving from a rooftop. He has refused to register with the government and challenges Iron Man to come out and fight him. When Stark does show up, he tries to reason with Prodigy, but the younger hero is spiling for a fight. When Tony doesn’t give him one, Prodigy lunges at him leading to a fight between the two. As the other reporters run for cover from falling debris, Sally wants to stay and watch and calls Iron Man a fascist. Ultimately, Iron Man incapacitates Prodigy who is then taken into custody by a team of SHIELD Cape-Killers.[9] Writing about it later and seeing all the confliction opinions and emotions about the SHRA, Ben Urich believes that there will be a heavy price to pay for the new law and it looks like civilians will be the ones picking up the bill.

Recurring Characters

Ben Urich, Sally Floyd, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Firestar, Prodigy, SHIELD

Continuity Notes

So a few things right off the top of this story. They are:
- The SHRA was in response to the Stamford Disaster in Civil War #1 and was passed into law in the following issue. It will remain on the books until Siege #4.
- Peter Parker was convinced to publicly unmask to show support for the new law in Civil War #2/Amazing Spider-Man #533.
- Peter will eventually walk this back shortly thereafter after making a deal with Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545 to save the life of his Aunt May. This will alter the timeline in various way. In this instance, per Amazing Spider-Man #610, Peter will get Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will make everyone forget Peter’s secret identity. They’ll remember that he umasked during the Civil War, they just won’t remember who was under the mask.
2. Ben Urich had deduced that Peter Parker was Spider-Man because of his skills as a reporter. He first revealed to Peter that he knew the truth in The Pulse #4.
3. Peter Parker had gotten work as a freelance photographer at the Daily Bugle by selling them photos of Spider-Man way back in Amazing Spider-Man #2. He worked for the Bugle on and off for years. At the time of this story, Peter hadn’t been working at the paper since Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #31 when he became a teacher at Midtown High.
Iron Man publicly revealed his identity last issue. As of this writing (October, 2025), his full identity is known. Per Daredevil (vol. 2) #49, his first name is apparently Lester.
When leaving a message for Peter, Ben remarks that he can’t even imagine how his Aunt May is handling the news. At the time of this story, May had known Peter was Spider-Man for quite some time, having discovered the truth in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #34-35.
On the TV, a late night talk show host is making suggestions as to the real identity of the assassin known as Bullseye.
Firestar was a founding member of the New Warriors in New Warriors #1. Some of her teammates seemingly perished fighting Nitro in Civil War #1. What she doesn’t know is that two survived, Speedball (who we saw last issue) and Night Thrasher (who was pulled forward in time in Contest of Champions (vol. 2) #5).
Firestar’s retirement will prove to be short lived as she will come out of retirement in Marvel Divas #1.
From here, Prodigy is locked up in Prison 42, as seen in Civil War #6. After the Civil War he’ll be tossed into the Initiative as part of a plea deal, as seen in Avengers: The Initiative #13.

Topical References

One of the reporters in the scrum swarming Ben Urich is depicted as being part of CBS News. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world news network.
Ben Urich and Peter Parker are depicted as having flip style phones with physical buttons. These were still quite popular when this series was originally published in 2006. However, they have since fallen out of common use after the advent of the smart phone.
Some of the TVs in this story are depicted as CRT model televisions. This should be considered topical as this is now an obsolete technology.
The late night talk show host makes a list of the possible true identity of Bullseye. It’s a bit, so its not serious, but he names a number of real life references that should be considered topical. They include:
- Tony Sorpano: The main character of the HBO crime drama The Sopranos, which aired from 1999 to 2007. He was portrayed by the late James Gandolfini who died in 2013.
- Adam Vinatieri who was a placebacker who played in the NFL for 24 seasonsfrom 1996 until 2019. He announced his retirement from the NFL in 2021.
- Conan O’Brien, a comedian and long time late night talk show host. At the time this comic was published he was the host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien from 1993 to 2009. He ended his talk show career in 2021 and has since pivoted to podcasts, time of this writing.
- Richard Simmons was an American fitness instructor and television personality. His career was from 1968 to 2014. He died in 2024 after a long battle with skin cancer.
- Michael Jackson, the so-called King of Pop, who started his career as part of the Jackson 5 in 1964 and later went on to have a wildly successful solo career from 1975 onward. His legacy was tarnished due to accusations of child molestation. He died in 2009 from accidental overdose.
- Dick Chaney who was the Vice President at the time of this story. He held that role from 2001 to 2009.

The Accused, Part 2

At an undisclosed prison somewhere in the United States, Robbie Baldwin — formerly Speedball — is being interrogated by Eric Marshall part of a superhuman terrorist taskforce run by both SHIELD and the NSA. When Eric enters the interrogation room, Baldwin demands to speak with a lawyer. He complains about his rights being violated and reminds Marshall that he is an American citizen. Eric has no patience for this diatribe and tells Robbie to shut up and listen.

Marshall tells Robbie that the Super Human Registration Act has been passed into law and how he has been found in violation of it. Eric then tells Robbie that the President wants to make an example of him and gives him a one-time chance to get out of punishment for his crimes. Robbie, however, doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. They have already sent Robbie’s true identity to the press and placed blame for the death of everyone in the Stamford Disaster — including his teammates — at his feet.[1] His only option to avoid jail time is to register with the government and work with SHIELD in tracking down and subduing unregistered individuals. Robbie once again refuses to sign until he speaks to a lawyer and goes into another speech about his rights. Eric Marshall gets up and leaves, telling Robbie that as an unregistered combatant, he gets to choose what rights Baldwin has.

Soon, Robbie is being escorted back to his cell by two guards. He tries to get them to see his point of view and begins joking with them. Once they get into an elevator, one of them finally responds to Robbie by punching him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He is then kicked while he is down and slammed into a wall. As it turns out that two guards had family that died in the Stamford Disaster and are less than happy to be dealing with him and rough him up some more.

Robbie is then transported to a prison along with another representative with the government who tries to get him to sign the plea deal. However, Robbie gives him the silent treatment and when they land at the prison somewhere in the lower 48 states. There he is subjected to the humiliation of being screened in and given before being brought down to the general population. He is greeted by the other prisoners who know who he is and call him a baby killer. Once he crosses into the general population, one prisoner — named Toomey — trips him and makes it known that he is going to make Robbie regret every day of the rest of his life.

Recurring Characters

Speedball, Eric Marshall

Continuity Notes

As I said above, the New Warriors were responsible for the Stamford Disaster in Civil War #1. At the time of this story, everyone believes that Robbie is the lone survivor. I’ve mentioned the other survivor above as well. Namorita and Microbe (as of this writing in October, 2024), are still considered among the deceased. However, in the case of Namorita she has been replaced by a version of herself from the past, as seen in Nova (vol. 4) #32.

Civil War: The Program

At a press conference, Peter Parker has revealed his true identity to the world, telling them that he has been Spider-Man since he was 15 years old.[1] After giving the reporters a vague explanation as to how he got his powers and why he called himself Spider-Man, one reporter asks him about his long relationship with Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin. The reporter astutely deduces that the two are mortal enemies and asks way. This makes Peter wince and he explains how Osborn once killed someone very dear to him a long time ago and that they didn’t deserve to die. Osborn knew that, and that’s why he killed her.[2] He concludes his answer to this question by saying that Norman Osborn deserves to be locked away in prison for the rest of his life.[3]

Watching this from an interrogation room, Norman Osborn is furious that Parker revealed his identity to the world, as he believes this is against the rules. He is so furious, he crushes the shoulder rest on his chair and throws it at the TV with enough force to shatter the screen. In this room are two SHIELD agents who ask Norman if he wants to play by a new set of rules.[4]

Recurring Characters

Green Goblin, SHIELD

Continuity Notes

Peter got his powers way back in Amazing Fantasy #15, but you knew that already. If he was 15 at the time, per the Sliding Timescale, that would make him about 27 years old at the time of this story.
Norman Osborn learned that Peter Parker was Spider-Man way back in Amazing Spider-Man #39. Eventually, he used this information to murder Peter’s then girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, in Amazing Spider-Man #121. “A long time ago” is about 8 years per the Sliding Timescale.
At the time of this story, Osborn was only recently incarcerated following the murder of a reporter and his public unmasking. See The Pulse #1-5.
As we’ll see throughout the rest of Civil War: Front Line, Osborn ends up being used by SHIELD to assassinate high profile targets.

Topical References

The TV in Norman Osborn is watching is a CRT television, you know the deal with these.

Crossing the Rubicon*

The preface to this story is about the history of Roman ruler Gaius Julius Caesar and how he went to war against the Roman senate on January 10th, 49 BC. The accounts of this battle were recorded by Greek historian Plutarch. While neither side wanted war, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River leading to one anyway.

The accounts of this historical significant battle are juxtaposed with Ben Urich’s coverage of the battle between Iron Man and Prodigy.