Civil War: X-Men

Comic Info

Civil War: X-Men #1

Reprints Civil War:  X-Men #1-4 (September 2006-December 2006).  The Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man is rocking the world, but the mutants are fighting for survival after the events of M-Day.  When Domino and Shatterstar liberate members of the 198 from Xavier’s School, the original X-Men Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, and Beast defect in an attempt to reach them before Bishop and his team of Micromax and Sabre.  Unfortunately for the X-Men, there is a snake in the grass in the form of General Lazer who wants all mutants destroyed once and for all.

Written by David Hine and illustrated by Yanick Paquette (with help from Aaron Lopresti on Civil War:  X-Men #3), Civil War:  X-Men is a limited series that ties in with Marvel’s big event storyline Civil War.  The events in the comic also stem off of House of M and the Decimation storyline.

Civil War was a series that had moments but ultimately in my book failed.  This series doesn’t even really feel like a Civil War tie-in despite a few appearances by Iron Man and Captain America.  The events of the Civil War are shaping this limited series, but you could argue that this storyline didn’t need to be a stand-alone limited series.

It used to be that a story like this would just be incorporated into the main storyline of the comics.  The “no more mutants” story was dominating the X-Men which was a problem for me as a reader.  I feel this series would have best been served as a four issue storyline within X-Men or Uncanny X-Men with a little indicator on the cover that it was a Civil War tie-in.  I was familiar with what was happening in X-Men at this point with the The 198 limited series, but if I hadn’t been, the book would have been rather confusing as a standalone despite a quick summation at the beginning of the collection.

The story itself is alright, but is nothing spectacular.  It has been awhile since I read anything from David Hine, but I do remember liking his District X series with Bishop (pre-M-Day).  That series kind of got eliminated by the House of M and Bishop also feels rather neutered in this book.  It has a lot of the X-Men acting out of character and also suffers from not having enough direction (nor enough issues to really develop any of the X-Men’s particular views on the Civil War and how it relates to the events).  The ending of the book with the bunker feels like a bit of a letdown with the potential battle that the series built up to.  While Civil War’s final battle was too much, Civil War:  X-Men wasn’t enough.

Civil War : X-Men is a rather bland entry in a so-so big Marvel event.  Civil War started out with a lot of potential and I felt collapsed on itself.  Civil War:  X-Men was a plain with no highs or lows through the short four issues…it was just mundane like most of the X-Men issues at this point (and following it).  I wasn’t a big fan of the “no more mutants” period of the X-Men and X-Men:  Civil War is an example why Civil War and House of M put the X-Men into a dark age which has helped alienate me as a reader to this day.

Related Links:

Civil War

Civil War:  Front Line

Civil War:  Wolverine

Civil War:  Fantastic Four

Civil War:  Thunderbolts