Talking of Civil War, some people want to find new ways to enjoy it:

Remember the excitement about Frank Miller’s sequel to the Dark Knight Returns and how everyone thought it would kick ass, only to find out it was nothing like Dark Knight Returns (some even called it the worst comic book series ever)? Seems Frank Miller was attempting a postmodern satire of superheroes and nobody seemed to get it. Well, why would Mark Millar, who a vocal critic of the Bush Administration, especially with regards to foreign policy, pen a series that ends with what could be a vindication of those policies? Has he changed his mind? I doubt it. Then it hit me:

Civil War is, just like DK2, one big ironic joke. This time, however, it’s a satire on the post-911 mindset.

Maybe I’m overreading things or giving Millar too much credit, but the thing is that Millar got his start, not just as a comic book writer, but wrote political satire. And one way to be satirical and demonstrate absurdity by being absurd is to employ contradictions. Just look at the following:

Captain America, the living legend of World War II, the ultimate patriot, champion of liberty, freedom, and justice for all, is mobbed by his fellow countrymen–firefighter, police officers, and doctors no less–because they see HIM as a bigger threat, as though his stance against what he sees as an infringement on civil liberties is not patriotic but rather treasonous and criminal. Sound familiar? (Millar, on his own website, even said Cap and his side were wrong, but doesn’t that totally contradict the entire notion that there was “no right or wrong side?”)

Or how about the fact that registration was all about holding heroes accountable for their actions and that it would serve as a means of keeping superheroes under control, virtually NO ONE is holding Iron Man, Reed, or SHIELD accountable for the actions they used to achieve “peace” and that, with Iron Man now director of SHIELD, heroes have far more control over regular people’s lives than they ever did before Registration was even passed?

…What I’m getting at is this: if Civil War is analogous to what’s going on in a post 9/11 world, then the main series of Civil War, with all it’s pretty pictures and action is showing what’s going on a superficial level; but what’s actually going on is all the behind-the-scenes stuff, the far more “sinister” stories like Speedball put-on-trial and becoming disillusioned, the Green Goblin working with a “traitor” to stir up trouble with Namor and the Atlanteans, and two reporters investigating what Iron’s Man “real reason” for supporting registration as shown in Civil War: Frontline. Just as critics of the Bush Administration constantly scream about how people’s fears were exploited to support certain actions, so too have the fears of the MU populace in supporting Tony Stark creating what amounts to a police state. And Cap, who is on the verge of defeating the pro-reggers, who realizes he’s going about things the wrong way, decides to turn himself in for the good of the country in what can only be seen as a heroic gesture; and yet, it’s Iron Man and his bunch who are celebrated as the heroes. Interesting, no?

Much more in the link.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 9:17 am and is filed under Fandom, Marvel, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.