Iron Man (vol. 4) #13
Civil War, Part 1
Civil War continues from Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #4…
Following the Stamford disaster, Iron Man has become the face of the new Super-Human Registration Act. This has led to a schism in the hero community between those for and against government registration.[1]
In order to encourage heroes to register, Tony Stark records a public service announcement. At the same time he is recording this PSA, he is remotely piloting his Iron Man armor who is assisting other registered heroes — Spider-Man, She-Hulk, and Doc Samson — in shutting down a rogue Dreadnaught robot, rampaging outside the Guggenheim. He simultaneously deals with a perfectionist producer and saves a bus full of children before destroying the robot.
After Tony is finished his recording, he and his assistants — Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan — head out to the next item on Tony’s itinerary. That’s when Secretary Kooning pulls up in a limo and asks Tony to get in so they can talk. Tony doesn’t like Kooning but decides to get in and hear what he has to say. Jack likes the work Tony is doing to support the Super-Human Registration Act and offers him the job as the new Director of SHIELD. Tony isn’t interested and when he tries to leave, Jack grabs him by the arm. Kooning reminds Tony of all the lives that were lost aboard the airliner Iron Man shot down when he was being controlled by Ho Yinsen’s son.[2] If it hadn’t been for the Stamford incident, Tony would have been the poster child for the SHRA. When he gets out, Jack tells Tony that the offer is still on the table if he changes his mind.
Meanwhile, at the World Islamic Peace Coalition building in Stockholm, Sweden, Karim Mahwash Najeeb is giving an interview with a reporter about his plans to bring peace to the Middle East. After explaining his philosophy, he tells her that he has no comment on the news about the SHRA in America. He then concludes the interview when he gets a call he has been expecting. It’s his man, Darius Faraz, who is in Bangkok, Thailand on the trail of someone. However, finding them is proving to be more challenging than they original thought. Darius suggests that they move ahead with using Spymaster. Karim agrees and tells Darius to keep in touch.[3]
By this time, Tony Stark is visiting with his former mentor, Sal Kennedy and Extremis creator Maya Hansen. Sal thinks it is crazy that Tony is passing up the opportunity to become the Director of SHIELD. Maya, however, is less than enthusiastic. She thinks that the government is just looking for a cheerleader to support laws that take away civil liberties. Seeing how Tony is conflicted over it, they ask if he he is having second thoughts. Tony insists that he isn’t. When the issue of if Sal supports the SHRA or not, all Sal will say that he thinks that Tony isn’t as sure as he needs to be to see the civil war through its end. Tony storms back inside and begins channel surfing where he stays for hours.[4] When Sal notices how Tony hasn’t moved off the couch he calls Pepper Potts for help. She has seen Tony like this and knows how to help get him out of this funk.
Pepper sends Happy to get Tony moving again. When Hap arrives, Stark has retreated to his bed. Hogan then makes Tony. Out of his fugue state Tony feels bad for dragging Happy out to his mansion on the night he is taking Pepper to the opera. As he gets dressed, Tony admits the fears he has regarding the registration act. If he asn’t personally involved, some government yes man would railroad the people he cares about, like Captain America. The reason why he is taking charge so his friends don’t get railroaded by an indifferent government system. He just doesn’t understand why those against him can see things from his point of view. Happy points out that as the only superhero that doesn’t have superpowers from some kind of accident, he understands what it’s like on the side of heroes and the general public. He bridges the gap and he is the only one who can make sure that everything is fair and balanced. Tony thanks Happy, saying that he is the only person in the whole world to make him feel dumb.
While they are talking, they are unaware that Spymaster has killed Tony’s chauffeur and taken his place.[5] The driver than takes Happy back to the airport to fly him back to Manhattan. When they arrive at Tony’s private hanger, Hap stops to call Pepper to fill her in and tell her that he is on his way back to the city. He tells her to go ahead to the opera and he’ll meet her there. When he gets off the phone, he notices that the driver dropped his cap and sunglasses on the floor. That’s when Spymaster ambushes him from behind. Spymaster then takes Hap’s phone and calls Tony Stark and forces Hogan to send a warning to Tony.
Spymaster then goes up into the hanger scaffolding and puts together a sniper rifle and loads it with Vibranium bullets that can pierce Iron Man’s armor. However, before Tony can arrive, Happy ambushes Spymaster from behind. Despite the fact that Happy is a trained boxer, Spymaster is the more skilled fighter. Breaking Hap’s leg with a single kick, Spymaster then tries to knock him over the railing. Happy manages to grab onto the catwalk. When Spymaster says that he’s going after Pepper next, Hogan manages to reach up and grab the assassin by the throat and pull him over the railing as he falls. The two hit the ground hard, and Happy manages to mouth an apology before blacking out. Meanwhile, Pepper arrives at the opera with no idea what happened to Happy.
… Civil War continues in New Avengers #25.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Spymaster, Sal Kennedy, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Doc Samson, Jack Kooning
Continuity Notes
The Stamford disaster when a fight between the New Warriors and a team of super-villains ended up in the death of hundreds of civilians, including children. This prompted the US government to pass the Super-Human Registration Act, which requires all superheroes to register with the government. This created a division in the community, with pro-SHRA supporters siding with Iron Man while those who are against sided with Captain America. You really ought to read Civil War #1-5 (at the very least) to know what’s going on. A complete Civil War reading order can be found below.
Recently, Tony had his entire body hijacked by the son of Ho Yinsen who wanted to kill everyone involved in the death of his father. See Iron Man (vol. 4) #7-12.
The man that Karim and Darius are looking for is the Mandarin, as seen in Iron Man (vol. 4) #16. The villain has been missing since Iron Man defeated him in Iron Man (vol. 3) #9-10.
Tony catches a news report about Speedball’s criminal trial. The hero was the only survivor of the Stanford disaster and, at the time of this story, is being put on trail to determine if he is criminally responsible for what happened. If you want to follow that story check out Civil War: Front Line #1-10.
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #11 a profile on Spymaster. It confirms that this Spymaster is Sinclair Abbot, the 4th Spymaster. His fate at the end of this story is left ambiguous. He turns up alive again in Invincible Iron Man #26.
Topical References
Pepper states that Tony is doing interviews with the following people/shows:
Larry King: Was a celebrated television and radio host. At the time of this story he was the host of Larry King Live on CNN. This should be considered a topical reference because the show ended its run in 2010. King subsequently passed away in 2021.
Bill O’Reilly: The polar opposite of King, O’Reilly was a conservative political commentator. At the time this comic was published he was the host of the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News. His show was cancelled after it became public that O’Reilly paid millions in hush money to keep accusations of sexual harassment under wraps.
The Daily Show: Is a satirical news comedy program that has run on Comedy Central since 1998. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world TV program.
When agreeing to go to the opera with Pepper, he promises to get a bottle of No-Doz. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a brand name of caffeine pills.
Tony Stark confuses scientist Albert Einstein with comedian Groucho Marx. This wouldn’t be considered topical because they are historical figures.
Maya figures the government is looking for cheerleaders for the Patriot Act. In response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Bush Administration enacted the Patriot Act. Essentially, it was supposed to boost security in the United States to defend it and its interests from terrorist activities by increasing the powers of law enforcement. Proponents of the new law argued that it eroded civil liberties and unjustly incarcerated non-residents of the United States. If you DoN’T tHiNk CoMiCs ShOuLd Be PoLiTiCaL, Civil War was all a big allegory about the dangers of the Patriot Act, sorry you’re too dumb to understand subtext. Anyway, this is a topical reference.
Happy is depicted as having a flip phone with physical buttons and an antenna. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.
Civil War Reading Order
Road to Civil War: Amazing Spider-Man #529, 530, 531, Fantastic Four #536, 537, New Avengers: Illuminati #1
Main Event: Civil War #1, She-Hulk (vol. 2) #8, Wolverine (vol. 3) #42, Amazing Spider-Man #532, Civil War: Front Line #1
Civil War #2, Thunderbolts #103, Civil War: Front Line #2, X-Factor (vol. 3) #8, New Avengers #21, Wolverine (vol. 3) #43, Amazing Spider-Man #533, Fantastic Four #538, Civil War: Front Line #3, Thunderbolts #104, Civil War: X-Men #1
Civil War #3, Cable & Deadpool #30, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1, Civil War: Front Line #4, X-Factor (vol. 3) #9, New Avengers #22, Wolverine (vol. 3) #44, Amazing Spider-Man #534, Fantastic Four #539, Civil War: Front Line #5, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #6, Civil War: X-Men #2, Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #1, New Avengers #23, Wolverine (vol. 3) #45, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #2, Cable & Deadpool #31, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #7, Civil War: X-Men #3
Civil War #4, Wolverine (vol. 3) #46, Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #2, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #3, Civil War: Front Line #6, Captain America (vol. 5) #22, Cable & Deadpool #32, Amazing Spider-Man #535, Civil War: Choosing Sides #1, Fantastic Four #540, Civil War: Front Line #7, Civil War: X-Men #4, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #8, Wolverine (vol. 3) #47, Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #3, Captain America (vol. 5) #23, New Avengers #24
Civil War #5, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #4, Iron Man (vol. 4) #13, New Avengers #25, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #1, Civil War: Front Line #8, Amazing Spider-Man #536, Black Panther (vol. 4) #22, Captain America (vol. 5) #24, Civil War: War Crimes #1, Civil War: Front Line #9, Iron Man (vol. 4) #14, Fantastic Four #541, Black Panther (vol. 4) #23, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #2
Civil War #6, Civil War: Front Line #10, Amazing Spider-Man #537, Fantastic Four #542, Civil War: The Return #1, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #3, Black Panther (vol. 4) #24
Civil War #7, Amazing Spider-Man #538, Civil War: Front Line #11, Black Panther (vol. 4) #25, Civil War: The Initiative #1, Iron Man: Director of SHIELD #15, Mighty Avengers #1, Captain America (vol. 5) #25, Civil War: The Confession #1, Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Fantastic Four #543-544, Avengers: The Initiative #1
