Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #8
For the Best
Credits
Civil War continues from Civil War: X-Men #4…
Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) and Wonder Man (Simon Williams) have been assigned to bring in the Shroud (Maximillian Coleridge) and Arachne (Julia Carpenter) for violating the newly passed Super Human Registration Act (SHRA).[1] While Carpenter managed to escape, they captured Max and brought him back to Avengers Tower for questioning. They have him strapped into a device that injects him with truth serums in the hopes he will reveal where Julia was going and where to find her. Watching these proceedings are Añya Corazon (aka Araña), a new register that Carol has taken under her wing. Añya asks if this is interrogation is normal, and Simon admits that things have changed a lot in recent times.
The first thing Ms. Marvel wants to know is how Julia regained her powers and mobility as SHIELD records had indicated that she had lost both her spider abilities and her mobility in the recent past.[2] Max explained that his company was able to synthesize the formula that originally gave Julia her powers and used it in treating her paralysis.[3] It had worked and Julia not only regained the ability to walk, but her powers also returned as well. During Julia’s recovery she and Max grew close and eventually fell in love with one another. Max then chastises Carol for hunting down a friend and fellow Avenger like a criminal. However, Carol isn’t moved by this, saying that Captain America also crossed the line of the law and she thinks of him as a father figure.[4] He tries to argue that the SHRA is sending them down the wrong path and judges Carol for following the law like a pawn. This line of talk really hits home for Añya who begins feeling doubts over registering with the government. However, Carol claps back at Coleridge by pointing out that Julia — the supposed hero — has put two dozen SHEILD agents in the hospital while helping him flee from justice. Then there was how Carpenter fought back against Ms. Marvel’s attempt to apprehend her in the middle of a busy highway. Carol concludes that Julia recklessly put lives at risk, making her a disgrace to the Avengers and a criminal.
Later, Ms. Marvel is leading a SHIELD Cape-Killer unit to the home of Julia’s parents in Denver, Colorado. With her is Wonder Man and Araña. This is Añya’s first field mission and Carol reminds her to follow orders to the letter. She reminds them that Julia is coming for her daughter, Rachel, who is in the care of her grandparents. The most important part of this mission is to make sure that Walter Cornwall, his wife Elisabeth, and their granddaughter are taken to safety. As they deploy from the SHIELD helicopter, Walter notices them and tries to run back into the house. However, Simon quickly bars the door and Carol asks him about his daughter. Overhearing this, Elisabeth rushes upstairs where Julia his helping her daughter pack so they can flee to Canada. Julia’s mother is frightened by all the soldiers outside, but Julia insists that she is going to fight no matter what, because that is the right thing for her to do.
As they interrogate her father, Julia comes out with Rachel in front of her. She walks the girl to a truck and tells Carol that she is going to Canada and none of them are going to stop her. Ms. Marvel, refuses to allow this and reminds her of the danger she caused fleeing the law. When it becomes clear that neither Carol nor Simon are going to let her leave, Julia attacks them. As she fights, she says she wants to make a stand to teach her daughter right from wrong.
While the three adults fight it out, Araña tries to coax Rachel out of the truck but her spider carapace frightens the little girl and she runs off in a frightened panic. Hearing her daughter scream, Julia fights back even more savagely in an attempt to get to her daughter. Unfortunately, Carol proves the stronger fighter and beats Julia into submission. When Rachel tries to rush to her mother’s side, SHIELD agents grab her. Julia pleads with them to let her daughter go and surrenders.
Watching Julia being dragged away from her daughter deeply upsets Araña. Later that evening, Añya tells Carol about how this mission made her feel as though they were the bad guys. She also says that she doesn’t want to separate anymore little girls from their mothers, because she herself lost her own mother when she was little.[5] Carol tells the young girl that what they did was hard, but it was right and comforts her the best she can. While Carol speaks with confidence to Añya, when she speaks privately about the situation with Simon she admits that she isn’t quite as steadfast in her support as she thought. It has hit her hard that no matter what she does to do the right thing, the fact remains that she was responsible for separating a mother from her daughter.[6]
One Week Later
Carol has finally returned to her apartment and is relieved she doesn’t have some surprise waiting for her. However, this relief is gone after she hears a thud coming from the kitchen. Wondering if it is her cat, Chewie, Carol goes to investigate. There she is ambushed by the X-Man known as Rogue. She tells Carol that both of them have a problem that they need to fix it![7]
… Civil War continues in Wolverine (vol. 3) #47.
Recurring Characters
Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man, Araña, Arachne, the Shroud, Walter Cornwall, Elisabeth Cornwall, Rachel Carpenter, SHIELD, Rogue
Continuity Notes
This story takes place shortly after the SHRA was passed into law in Civil War #3. It requires superhumans to register with the government. It will remain on the books until Siege #4.
Julia’s powers were stolen from her by Charlotte Witter, who had become a villainous Spider-Woman by stealing the powers of her predecessors. The incident left Julia paralyzed from the waist down and she required a wheelchair for mobility. Witter’s stolen powers were eventually transferred to Mattie Franklin, who had succeeded Julia as a heroic Spider-Woman. See Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #5 and Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #1-4.
Per Spider-Woman (vol. 2) #2, Julia was recruited by the Commission on Superhuman Activities who injected her with a serum derived from spider venom and exotic plants.
Captain America has been in opposition of the SHRA as he believes it violates the Bill of Rights. He has been fighting against the new law since Civil War #1.
Añya’s mother Sofia died under mysterious circumstances that are somehow linked to the conflict between the Spider Society and the Sisterhood of the Wasp. See Araña: Heart of the Spider #1-12.
Julia will remain incarcerated until Captain America’s anti-registration resistance breaks her and other prisoners out in Civil War #6-7.
As we’ll learn over the next two issues, Rogue was attacked by a version of Carol from another reality. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2, this version of Carol comes from Reality-7192.
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
