Civil War II

This article is about the comic book storyline. For other uses, see Second civil war.

Civil War II
Cover of Civil War II #1 showing Iron Man and Captain Marvel standing opposed to each other in the forefront with fists raised. Other superheroes, divided by a mysterious figure in a column of light, are standing behind them in the background.
Cover of Civil War II #1 (June 2016). Art by Marko Djurdjevic.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateJune – December 2016
No. of issues8
Main character(s)Captain Marvel
Iron Man
Ulysses
Creative team
Written byBrian Michael Bendis
Artist(s)David Marquez
Letterer(s)Clayton Cowles
Colorist(s)Justin Ponsor
Editor(s)Tom Brevoort
Collected editions
Civil War IIISBN 978-1-302-90156-1

Civil War II is a 2016 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in June of that year, it is the sequel to 2006's "Civil War" and consists of a nine-issue eponymous core limited series, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artists David Marquez and Justin Ponsor, and a number of tie-in books. Functioning as an allegory about the nature of determinism versus free will,[1][2] the story sees opposing factions of superheroes led by Captain Marvel and Iron Man come into conflict when a new Inhuman named Ulysses emerges with the ability to predict the future. The debut of the series was scheduled to capitalize on the release of the 2016 Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War.

The storyline was preluded by a series of comic books collectively titled The Road to Civil War II. Civil War II also ties into several new limited series including: Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man, Civil War II: Choosing Sides, Civil War II: Gods of War, Civil War II: Kingpin, Civil War II: Ulysses, and Civil War II: X-Men, the one-shots: Civil War II: The Accused and Civil War II: The Fallen, and numerous ongoing series. The storyline was succeeded by the one-shot Civil War II: The Oath.

Civil War II received mixed reviews from critics and modest yet declining sales figures from its high in June 2016 to its end in December. The repercussions of the storyline resulted in the new status quo of the Marvel Universe presented in the subsequent "Divided We Stand" storyline, which was released as part of the company's 2016 Marvel NOW! relaunch.

  1. ^ Simpson Browne, Kit (March 18, 2016). "Marvel's Opposing 'Civil War II' Teams Are Super Surprising". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016. In other words, it's the classic match up of determinism versus free will, only with more superheroes punching one another.
  2. ^ Helvie, Forrest C. (March 21, 2016). "C2E2 2016: Civil War II: Choosing Sides". Marvel.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016. With the conflict brewing between Captain Marvel and Iron Man, the question becomes one of pre-determinism.