Civil War II #5 Review

Civil War II #5 Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Marquez
Art Assist: Sean Izaakse
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover: Marko Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
In Stores: Sept. 21, 2016

Marvel’s epic summer blockbuster continues to roll on, decimating the bonds between its heroes and making the future uncertain.

This is the ā€˜big battleā€ issue, where tempers have reached the boiling point and chaos rules the day. Sides have been drawn and Carol Danvers calls in the Guardians of the Galaxy to trump Tony Stark’s squad. What else can I say, ā€œBring it on!ā€

David Marquez does a phenomenal job rendering so many glorious battle scenes, creating panel layouts that are extremely creative and in some cases, ones I have never seen before! He takes the concept of a ā€œbattleā€ book and bends the rules, creating pages that not only look fantastic but are synonymous with the characters fighting on them. It is something quite special to look at!

While this is the ā€œbig battleā€ book, nothing much goes on. Yes, characters punch and shoot each other. Yes, there a few well conceived moments, Magik vs. Cap Falcon, but this has been the least impressive issue of what has been a well done series so far. Nothing new comes of this tale and yes, while the final splash page is ā€œnew,ā€ the concept is exactly the same as previous issues. Yet again, we are given a hero that Ulysses has ā€œseenā€ killing another hero, and Carol Danvers places them under arrest. Nothing new or exciting and certainly not as jaw dropping as what has been before. For all of the destruction, both physical and emotional, that has been occurring throughout the book, Bendis doesn’t give us a true payoff.

Although this is a fun read that pits hero against hero, it is nothing more than that. Unfortunately, this issue wraps with a lackluster punch to the gut that fans deserve more from.

About Chris Bushley

Chris Bushley is known as the ā€œgrandfatherā€ of Cosmic Book News, as he first introduced Publisher/Editor Matt McGloin to comics. A lifelong friend of McGloin, Chris is CBN’s street-level comics expert, covering titles such as Daredevil and X-Men. His reviews have been quoted in Marvel press releases and used as cover blurbs, with Mark Millar once saying Chris’ reviews might be the best he has ever read.

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