Nick Peron

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Civil War: The Confession #1

Nick Peron

Credits

Civil War continues from Captain America (vol. 5) #25…

The Confession

Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) is the newly appointed Director of SHIELD.[1] With the war over the Super Hero Registration Act (SHRA) now over, Stark arrives at the SHIELD helicarrier to speak with the surrendered Captain America (Steve Rogers).[2] Tony remarks how his new subordinates clearly miss Nick Fury’s command, before getting into what he had come to talk about.[3]

He starts by bringing up King Pyrrhus of Epirus, the man who defeated the Romans during the Pyrrhic War at Heraclea. It was a devastating conflict with a high number of casualties including the King’s friends and commanders. When assessing the aftermath he was quoted as saying “One more such victory would utterly undo me.” Meaning that his victory didn’t really feel like a win given the circumstances. It is where the term “Pyrrhic Victory” came from after all. That’s how Tony feels now and he wants to explain the circumstances that led to where they are now.

Tony says it was all because of King Arthur, the legendary ruler of Camelot. A few years ago, Iron Man and Doctor Doom found themselves thrown back in time to King Arthur’s England.[4] He got to fight side-by-side with Arthur when Doom allied himself with Morgan le Fay. It was during this conflict that he saw it: The superhero community at war with one another. While they had always viewed themselves as good guys fighting bad guys, in an actual war there aren’t these clear distinctions, just a conflict between two opposing forces. He saw that hero would eventually fight hero because he is a futurist that invents solutions for the problems of tomorrow. He saw this eventuality as clearly as when he invented his armor and when he helped form the Avengers.[5]

While he knew that there was a war coming, he had no idea what it would be over. He decided to be prepared for this eventuality by forming forming the Illuminati to assist him in this endeavor.[6] Unfortunately, all he got was compromise and half-trusts. So, Tony went about his regular business, but always kept a close watch for whatever the inciting incident would be. But eventually and, to his surprise, he didn’t see it coming. Nick Fury was the one who tipped him off, giving Stark a report on the proposed Super Human Registration Act. Upon reading it, he knew how people would react and what sides people would take.[7] He knew that all it would take was one slip up and this law would become a reality.[8] He knew that when that happened, Captain America would be against the new law and Tony would be forced into a position to stop him. However, Tony knew that someone would have to support the law and realized that he was the one who would have to suck it up and commit or else thousands of people could die.

By this point, Tony is choking back tears as he admits that through everything that happened, he managed to resist the urge to drink.[9] He knew that he had to end the conflict as quickly as possible, even if it meant that Steve would never speak to him again. Now, with the war over, he realizes that there was one thing he feels that he could only say to Steve himself and now he can’t, because Steve Rogers is dead.[10] Tony has been speaking to the corpse of Captain America this entire time and here he admits that this loss was not worth the price of victory.

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, SHIELD, Captain America (corpse), (in flashback) Nick Fury

Continuity Notes

  1. Tony accepted the role of SHIELD Director in New Avengers #25. He will hold this position until Secret Invasion #8.

  2. This story takes place in the aftermath of Civil War #1-7 which saw thew passage of the Super Hero Registration Act, that required heroes to register with the government. Captain America opposed this new law until he surrendered at the end of that limited series. This new law will remain on the books until Siege #4.

  3. At the time of this story, Nick Fury had gone underground when it was revealed that he launched an illegal coup in Latveria. See Secret War #1-5.

  4. The incident where Iron Man and Doom ended up in Camelot was chronicled in Iron Man #149-150.

  5. Iron Man built his first armor and later became a founder of the Avengers in Tales of Suspense #39 and Avengers #1 respectively.

  6. The Illuminati were a secret group of superhumans who banded together to plan against global threats, as seen in New Avengers: Illuminati #1.

  7. Except for Spider-Man, Tony says that Peter’s actions surprised him. At first, Spider-Man showed his support in the SHRA in Civil War #2. However, after the death of Goliath (Bill Foster) in issue #4, he defected to Captain America’s side in the following issue. Here, Tony refers to Peter Parker by name because he had revealed his true identity to Tony in New Avengers #1-5. Parker also revealed his identity to the public in Civil War #2. This will be walked back via magic, and Tony will forget as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #545/610.

  8. That slip up would turn out to be the New Warriors causing the Stamford Disaster by going after villains in a populated area all for boosted ratings for a reality TV show. See Civil War #1. Their actions caused the death of over 600 people.

  9. Tony Stark is a recovering alcoholic. His history of addiction was first addressed in Iron Man #128.

  10. Following his surrender, Captain America was seemingly assassinated while being led to court in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. In reality, he was shot with a chronal bullet and is stuck in a time loop, living his life over and over again. He will be trapped in this purgatory until Captain America: Reborn #1-6.

The Confession

After conceding defeat, Captain America was arrested for resisting the Super Human Registration Act. Now he has been transported to the Raft maximum security prison where he will be held awaiting trial.[1] When some of the SHIELD Cape-Killers salute Steve, their commanding officer orders them to stop, saying Rogers is no longer Captain America. After he is locked in his cell, he asks one of the guards stationed outside how old he is. The SHIELD agent is 22 years old. When Steve tells the young man how old he really is, the agent is in awe and suggests that Steve write a book.[2]

Cap morosely tells him that he wouldn’t have the time since he’s likely going to be tried for treason and hung. The soldier tells him that they don’t do that anymore. Steve also notices that they aren’t using traditional firearms. The SHIELD agent tells him that they are pulse chargers that only operate with the finger prints of the person it is assigned to, preventing a prisoner from using one to facilitate their escape. Steve grimly muses that Tony Stark has thought of everything.

That’s when Stark — the newly appointed Director of SHIELD — arrives in his suit of Iron Man armor. Tony asks the guards to give them some privacy to talk. Once they are gone, Steve asks Tony what he wants. Iron Man explains that he warned Steve to stop. Steve retorts that he thinks Tony is mentally ill to go along with this plan. He suggests that maybe Tony’s new powers and armor have affected his mind.[3] Tony corrects him by saying that he has powers that Steve doesn’t understand. Rogers disagrees with this, and that his imprisonment doesn’t mean that Tony has won the war.

Steve then accuses Tony of selling out their principals to defend and protect. That people can’t be programmed like a machine and that at least he knows what freedom is. He knows what it means because he has fought and bled for it, while Tony only knows compromise. He then starts quoting Mark Twain’s “The Lowest Animal”, how man is the only animal that that deals in the atrocities of war and after washing off the blood from battle preaches about the brotherhood of man with their mouth. Steve accuses Tony of doing just that, saying that he made this war happen. He demands to know who made Tony the moral compass of the world and if, after all the people he has laid down with, if he thinks it was worth it.

After a moments consideration, Iron Man tells Cap that he is a sore loser and walks away. Steve’s response: “You bet”.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Iron Man, SHIELD

Continuity Notes

  1. This story takes place between Cap’s surrender in Civil War #7 and his apparent assassination in Captain America (vol. 5) #25, obviously.

  2. Captain America’s age and date of birth are complicated. Captain America #255 states that he was born in1922 per Adventures of Captain America #1, Avengers: Roll Call #1, Captain America (vol. 11) #7. Although they can’t agree on the specific date, but that’s neither here nor there as far as this note goes. What’s important is Steve’s age, which listed here should be considered a topical reference (see below). The reason why Steve doesn’t look his age is because he spent decades in suspended animation as per Avengers #4.

  3. Steve is referring to Extremis, a fusion of man and machine that has made Tony and his armor an extension of each other. See Iron Man (vol. 4) #1-6.

Topical References

  • In this story Steve Rogers states that he is 85 years old. Which would have been age around the date of publication (2007) as 1922 was 85 years prior. That said, his actual age should be considered topical as the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe operates on a Sliding Timescale which constantly pushes events forward in time. As such, the length off time between this story and Cap’s date of birth will continue to grow over time. For example, I am writing this in November, 2024 which is considered “Year 16” of the Modern Age. This story would take place in year 12, or 4 years prior to stories published in 2024. From the perspective of when I am writing this, Steve would actually be 98 years old in this story.

… Civil War continues in Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1.

Civil War Reading Order:

Road to Civil War:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Chapter 3:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

Chapter 7:

Epilogue