Nick Peron

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Civil War: Front Line #8

Nick Peron

Credits

Civil War continues from Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #1….

Embedded, Part 8

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]

Ben Urich has been sent to the ruins of a bombed out warehouse that has been ruled an accidental fire by authorities. He has come with his friend within the NYPD’s Costume Unit, Danny Granville. Ben has called in this favor so he can get the real story and promises to keep Danny’s name out of the newspaper. However, he can’t give him any more insight into what happened as SHIELD is being tight lipped about it while they and his department argue over who has jurisdiction. Danny figures his unit will win out, but Ben reminds him that that laws have changed.

What Danny does know is that the bodies recovered from the warehouse were all Atlantean, part of a sleeper cell of terrorists that were preparing for an all out attack on the surface world.[2] Based on what was found, Granville figures that this was going to be in retaliation for the death of the Sub-Mariner’s cousin, Namorita, in the Stamford Disaster.[3] He points all the orange evidence flags — which denote advanced weapons of unknown nature — and says that whatever they were planning, it was going to be something big. Danny has also hear a rumor, but won’t talk about it unless Ben offers him something in return. Urich agrees and is told that he had heard some SHIELD radio chatter that suggested that the one responsible for killing the Atlanteans was none other than the Green Goblin.[4] Ben then confirms that Danny is still single and gives a call to his friend, Sally Floyd.

Sally reluctantly agrees to go on this blind date, mostly because she is in the middle of meeting up with a lead into her investigation of Captain America’s Secret Avengers resistance. This lead come by way of Doug and Jerry, mutant brothers who are conjoined twins.[5] Doug introduces Sally to a homeless man named Stevie who has some information she might be interested in. While scarfing down chicken wings, Stevie was hanging out down by the docks and saw some men tossing a body into the river. He overheard them talking about Sally and an undercover meeting in a market, and a name: Nick Fury.[6] He is willing to show her where for $50, but Sally — after getting assurances from Doug that Stevie is on the level — talks him down to $30.

Meanwhile, Ben and Danny have stopped to get some ice cream and talk. Danny asks about what Sally is like, but it is clear that he has something else on his mind. Ben presses him and Danny explains that he’s been thinking about the stock market. When Urich inquires why, he says it has something to do with what his SHIELD liaison told him recently. It was about how the pro-registration side of the conflict has resorted to using super-villains to boost their ranks, using nano technology to keep track of them and in line.[7] Apparently, Norman Osborn has gone through this nanite treatment, but has recently gone AWOL. Apparently, someone within SHIELD has gone rogue.[8] This is some high tech stuff and that got Danny wondering who was profiting from all of the government contracts. Sure enough, it turned out to be Tony Stark himself, who has made quite a large sum of money already. Given what’s going down, Granville wonders if this whole war was cooked up just to make profits.

By this time, Stevie has taken Sally to the pier to show her where he saw Captain America’s underground. She warns him that she has mace in case he has any ideas, and he tells her that it won’t be necessary. As they enter the shack, Sally points out that “Stevie” had made some pretty old baseball references as they were talking. She calls him a bad liar and he doesn’t deny it. Thinking that she is being led into some kind of trap, she turns around, prepared to mace the man in the face. However, she stops because Stevie has unbuttoned his shirt revealing Captain America’s costume underneath. Behind him, hanging on the back of the door, is the Cap’s trademark shield.

Recurring Characters

Ben Urich, Sally Floyd, Danny Granville, Captain America, Big Wheel

Continuity Notes

  1. 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.

  2. The Atlantean Sleepers have been gathering since Civil War: Front Line #3. Last issue we saw that they were all eliminated by the Green Goblin, who is being controlled by SHIELD with nanites.

  3. Namorita was among the New Warriors killed in the Stamford explosion in Civil War #1. As of this writing (October, 2024), she remains among the deceased. She has since been replaced by a version of herself from the past in Nova (vol. 4) #32. While this has made her coming from a divergent reality, she is treated as though she is the original Namorita.

  4. Norman Osborn had, until recently, been incarcerated following the events of The Pulse #1-5. He was released in Civil War: Front Line #2 to be used as an operative for SHIELD and threatened Ben’s life in issue #4. Urich has been investigating Osborn’s release on top of everything else he’s been covering.

  5. Doug is a fan of Sally’s columns in the Alternative, as we saw in Generation M #2.

  6. This mystery man in the market covertly confronted Sally and told her to stop looking for Captain America’s resistance in Civil War: Front Line #5. It is mentioned here that Fury has gone missing. He went underground after it was revealed he staged an illegal coup in Latveria as seen in Secret War #1-5.

  7. The Pro-Registration side started using nano-chipped supervillains since Civil War #4. They are part of a growing army captured for that side by Baron Zemo, as seen in Thunderbolts #103-105.

  8. We saw last issue that someone cut Osborn loose. In Civil War: Front Line #11, Ben and Sally’s investigations lead them to compelling evidence that it might have been Tony Stark. However, as pointed out in the Osborn profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8, these are merely allegations. As of this writing (October, 2024), these claims have not been proven. .

Topical References

  • Ben and Sally are depicted as having “flip” style cell phones that were still quite popular when this story was published in 2006. However, they have since fallen out of common use following the invention of the smart phone, as such their depiction here should be considered topical.

  • When agreeing to go on a blind date with Danny Granville, Sally tells Ben that he better be “Brad Pitt’s sexy evil twin”. Brad Pitt is an American actor who was at the height of his popularity and still somewhat in his prime when this story was published. He was also considered a bit of a sex symbol since 1995. That said, Pitt is now more on the brown side of ripe (if you catch my drift). As I write this he is in his 60’s and not quite the symbol he once was. As such, this should be considered a topical reference as you can replace his name with that of a younger actor.

  • While posing as “Stevie”, Captain America makes references baseball player Joe Dugan. He played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics and later the New York Yankees. His career spanned from 1917 to 1931 and he subsequently died in 1982. Sally later brings up Babe Ruther and Lou Gehrig, two baseball players who played the game around the same time as well. Since this was a clue that Stevie was Captain America in disguise and the fact that his mother would have seen Joe Dugan play, as he says here, this wouldn’t be considered a topical reference as Steve Rogers’ early life is rooted in the mid-1900s.

  • Stevie also states that he gathers up glass Coke bottles for change. Coke used to be package in glass bottles. They still are in some places but they are not as common place now. However, this isn’t a topical reference for the same reason the Joe Dugan reference was.

  • Danny states that Tony Stark has made over 80 million dollars in government contracts. This value should be considered relative to the date of publication. Adjusting for inflation, this would be worth around $125 thousand in 2024, for example.

The Accused, Part 8

Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, has been made the scapegoat for the Stamford Disaster. Robbie found himself in Prison 42, in the Negative Zone, where unregistered superhumans are incarcerated.[1] When scheduled to testify before a Congressional hearing, Robbie was shot in the stomach by a would be assassin. As he was being rushed to the hospital, his seemingly inactive powers flared to life, causing the ambulance to crash.

Now, at a SHIELD medical unit, Director Maria Hill questions She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Baldwin’s lawyer, to find out what happened. Jennifer doesn’t know what happened, but Hill doesn’t believe it and tells her to go over her story again. Walters explains that as they were driving to the hospital, Robbie was delirious with pain when suddenly his powers flared up unexpectedly. She-Hulk’s eyes can withstand looking at an atomic explosion from two miles away, but this burst was powerful enough to temporarily blind her instantly. This doesn’t explain how She-Hulk sustained minor injuries in the accident when she shouldn’t have. She-Hulk doesn’t have any answers for that, or why the officers on the scene reported seeing a flash of light from above the ambulance.

While She-Hulk has no idea what happened, Maria Hill is convinced that somebody attempted to liberate Speedball from custody and that Jennifer is covering for them for some reason. She then threatens to keep Jennifer in custody for another three days if she needs to. As she walks out of the room, Hill also threatens to make her an accessory of this alleged attempted break-out, as well as involuntary manslaughter for the two EMTs that died in the crash. Outside of the interrogation room, Maria is told by her assistant some more bad news. There is to be a congressional inquiry into how a would be assassin was able to get close enough to Baldwin to shoot him. This is to determine if the lax security was intentional. Hill is told that the shooter, one James Stricker, is the father of a child who died in the Stamford Disaster and has been charged with attempted murder. The assistant also has received word that Hickey, Baldwin’s former cell mate, has somehow gotten out of prison. Hill wants this man captured to see if he knows anything. As they walk down the hall, the pair pass by Hickey who is disguised as the janitor.[2]

Hill then heads down to the lab provided by the Sentry to check on the status of Robbie Baldwin in the hopes it gives them answers.[3] In the lab, Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is giving Speedball a full body scan with the equipment. He is expected to survive, but will be in great pain for quite some time. He details the nature of his injuries which have caused an interesting development. The pistol that was used in the assassination attempt was old and had not been fired in some time. As a result, the slug from the bullet fragmented on impact and fragments of it are lodged in Robbie’s spine. To remove them would require an great deal of skill and one wrong move could kill him. Looking at the x-ray, Hill notices strange white patches all around the spine. Reed explains that they appear to be two things: A kind of bio-electrical activity surrounding his nerve endings and he has no idea what has caused this.

He turns it over to CLOC, the Sentry’s artificial intelligence for analysis. It cannot determine the cause of this, saying that Baldwin’s neurotransmitter receptors are functioning improperly. When asked to speculate the cause, CLOC believes that given the recent physical traumas that Speedball has endured have triggered a mutation of his kinetic powers in such a way that they are only activated by extreme stimuli.[4] Hill wants Baldwin woken up from his medically induced coma and given morphine for the pain. When Reed complains that this will make him incapable to answer their questions, Hill says that she doesn’t plan on questioning him at all. She intends to tell the President that they saved Baldwin’s life and that he is fine and needs no special treatment. This will be in turn used as a political issue to remind the public that unregistered superhumans are treated fairly under the law. It will be talked for about for a few years until the next election and everything will start all over again. In the meantime, she wants Baldwin back in prison where he belongs.

Recurring Characters

Speedball, She-Hulk, SHIELD (Maria Hill), Mister Fantastic, Hickey, CLOC,

Continuity Notes

  1. Speedball was among the New Warriors who were involved in the Stamford Disaster in Civil War #1.

  2. When Robbie was first incarcerated in Civil War: Front Line #3, his cell mate was a silent guy named Hickey. As of this writing (November, 2024), this is the last we see of Hickey, leaving him forever an enigma. Why he broke out of prison is never explained.

  3. Maria wishes that the Sentry would play a more active role in the civil war. In Civil War: The Return #1, we get a peek into what the Sentry has been up to through this whole conflict.

  4. Speedball has had a rough go of it recently: He was caught in the explosion that killed everyone else in the Stamford Disaster in Civil War #1, which seemingly burned out his powers for good. He experienced a beating from guards in Civil War: Front Line #2 and 3, suffered a broken leg in issue #4 (causing a power flare up), he was shot by the would-be assassin in issue #6, and was in a car accident in the following issue.

Sleeper Cell, Part 6

Latest news coverage on the superhero civil war reports how SHIELD has apprehended the unregistered hero known as Cybermancer.[1] While Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is recovering in the hospital after a mysterious warehouse fire.[2] Meanwhile, civil rights advocates have appeared in protest outside of the White House to show their opposition to the Super Human Registration Act. This is on the same day that an Atlantean delegation is scheduled to make an appearance. The Super Heroes of Europe (SHE) have been summoned to meet with the delegation given the United State’s strained relationship with the aquatic nation.[3]

At the meeting place, Red Dragon speaks on behalf of SHE, telling the gathered reporters that they are there to facility a the meeting as the Atleantean delegation wishes to air their grievances with the United States. When one reporter asks if there is any truth to the rumors that there was an Atlantean sleeper cell plotting terrorist attacks in the country, Red Dragon responds by saying the Atlanteans have claimed that these “sleepers” were a fact finding mission and that they want the return of their citizens. That’s when the Atlantean delegation arrives from the nearby waters. Red Dragon then greets their leader, Ambassador Govan.[4]

With the Belgian Brain acting as translator, Govan addresses the audience and reiterates the purpose of the sleepers and that they had peaceful intentions. As he begins taking questions, Norman Osborn appears and shoots Govan in the shoulder. Osborn is quickly restrained as the Atlantean delegation flees back into the water. Red Dragon tries to explain that this wasn’t intentional but her explanations fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Osborn is a surrounded by SHIELD agents who put him under arrest. Restrained by the nanobots in his body, Norman swears he didn’t do it.[5]

Recurring Characters

Atlanteans (Govan), SHE (Amazon,Belgian Brain, Oracle, Red Dragon, Strongman, Weisse Kreuz), Cybermancer, Wonder Man, Comet Man, SHIELD

Continuity Notes

  1. Cybermancer’s arrest turns out to be a mistake because she is not a US citizen, and she will eventually be released from custody, as we’ll see in War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD #33-35.

  2. As we discovered in Civil War: Front Line #3-7, Wonder Man was sent to track down an Atlantean sleeper cell. When he found them, their base of operations was attacked by the Green Goblin.

  3. The members of SHE have their codenames are and some real names are given in Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1. They are: Amazon (real name unkown), Belgian Brain (Marcel Deflandre), Oracle (real name unknown), Red Dragon (also unknown), Strongman (Gunnar, last name unknown), and Weisse Kreuz (which is German for White Cross, their real name is also unknown). Red Dragon mentions her predecessor, Gareth Thomas, who was killed in Sentry #4. She states here that he was killed a year prior. Per the Sliding Timescale, it was closer to two and a half years. Either she is mistaken on the length of time, or the original Red Dragon’s injuries in Sentry #4 were not instantly fatal and he actually died at a later date.

  4. One of the reporters mentions that even the Inhumans are pissed off at them. This likely stems from a failed attempted at getting asylum on Earth in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #51-54, which forced them to return to their home on the Moon.

  5. Osborn has been secretly used as a SHIELD asset in Civil War: Front Line #2. Last issue, we saw him drink a serum from a mysterious benefactor that was supposed to negate the nanites in his body. As of this writing (November, 2024), this mystery person has never been positively identified. Civil War: Front Line #11 and the Norman Osborn profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8 allege that it was Tony Stark, but this has yet to be proven.

Topical References

  • One of the reporters on the scene is depicted as using a pocket tape recorder to document the meeting. These were still commonly used by the press when this comic was published in 2006. They have since fallen out of regular use thanks to proliferation of smart phones and other digital recording devices.

Into Battle*

Preface: The opening narration talks about the Battle of Edgehill, the first and bloodiest battles of the English Civil War on October 16, 1642. The clash was between Royalists and Parliamentarian armies near Kineton, Warwickshire. Mostly armed with pitch forks and bludgeons those who died in the battle were later looted for clothes and money. The battle was so bloody, that there were rumors that the conflict replayed itself in the skies over Kineton. This intrigued King Charles enough that he sent senior officers to investigate. When they returned they confirmed that this was apparently true and were horrified to see friends and countrymen fighting their bloody battle in the sky. It is said that this battle in the sky occurs every year on the anniversary of that battle.

This is followed by portion of the poem Into Battle by Julian Grenfell. In this instances, scenes of the Battle of Edgehill are juxtaposed next to a fight between the Falcon (Sam Wilson) and Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), who have found themselves on opposite sides of the superhero civil war. Both battles are depicted as being witnessed by horrified bystanders.

Recurring Characters

Falcon, Ms. Marvel

* This story was not given a title, I have added one to differentiate it from the other stories in this issue

… Civil War continues in Civil War: X-Men #4.

Civil War Reading Order:

Road to Civil War:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Chapter 3:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

Chapter 7:

Epilogue