Civil War: The Comics vs The Movie. Choose Your Side!

‘CIVIL WAR’ [2006-2007] / MARVEL COMICS

‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR’ [2016] / MARVEL STUDIOS AND WALT DISNEY studios MOTION PICTURES

Two Different Versions, One Awesome Story

In 2006, comic book writer Mark Miller shattered the world with a concept that changed how we see superheroes. Marvel released the comic series titled Civil War, which divided the Marvel universe into two sides, one which supported the new government-issued Superhuman Registration Act led by Iron Man, and another that opposed it led by Captain America.

Initially, the event was not well received, but over time earned its praise as a revolutionary piece in comics, even scoring IGN’s title as one of the greatest comic book events ever. With such an awesome and successful concept, it’s no surprise Marvel would want to make an adaptation for the big screen, which they ended up doing in 2016 as a conclusion to Cap's MCU trilogy called Captain America: Civil War. However, does the film live up to the legacy of the fabled comic? We will analyze plot, character arcs, and impact of both the comics and the movie to decide which is better. This goes without saying, but a spoiler warning for both adaptations is heavily advised.

‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR’ [2016] / MARVEL STUDIOS AND WALT DISNEY studios MOTION PICTURES

The Plot

Essentially, the whole point of the Avengers fighting each other in the film is to see who gets custody over the rogue Winter Soldier (a.k.a. Bucky Barnes). Yes, there are aspects that pay homage to the source material, but they pass by so quickly and are barely touched upon that it’s easily overlooked. In the comics, after a reckless act from inexperienced superheroes kills hundreds of people, the government takes action by announcing the Superhuman Registration Act, a law in which all superheroes become agents of the government, meaning only the government can deploy heroes in extreme circumstances, leaving low-income areas without their heroes to protect the neighbourhood. For many of us who read the comics before seeing the movie, it’s safe to say that many of us were disappointed over the absence of Millar’s amazing plot.

Character Arcs

For the most part, both the comics and the movie provide excellent character arcs for all characters on both sides. Iron Man and Captain America each have understandable reasoning for their sides; however, because of the downgraded magnitude of the film compared to the comic, Cap’s reasoning falls a little short in the film instead of both sides being right. Where the film falls short is with the introduction of Spider-Man. In the comics, as a show of support for the registration act, Spider-Man reveals his identity to the world, making the moment not only shocking but nerve-wracking for what else was to come. While it’s good to see Spidey in the MCU, introducing him in that particular movie not only destroys the chance to create a defining moment for the character, but it also destroys some of the stories Spider-Man had after Civil War.

‘CIVIL WAR’ [2006-2007] / MARVEL COMICS

Impact

Comparing the comics and film adaptations of the Civil War story arc is automatically an unfair battle. As much as Marvel wanted to bring Millar’s concept to the big screen, the harsh reality may be that a faithful adaptation would be next to impossible. To the film’s credit, it used the current characters in the best way it could; however, the scope and the scale for what the comics did far exceeds the film adaptation. Unlike the film, Millar’s comic is not an Avengers story; it’s a Marvel universe story. The list of characters includes Wolverine, The Punisher, Daredevil, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Thunderbolts, The New Warriors, and a good majority of the Marvel heroes. Because of the huge selection of heroes and villains, the story felt important. Every major character was in play—all fighting to protect the people of their world, but just like both The Punisher and Daredevil, each side wants the same thing, but they have different ways of achieving their goals. It’s a story that respects why Stan Lee created Marvel: to show heroes are human and make the same mistakes we do.

Final Thoughts

In the end, while Marvel tried their best to recreate Mark Millar’s classic comic book on the big screen, they only created a story loosely based on the source material, but sometimes that’s be expected. Sometimes classic stories like Civil War just aren’t meant for the big screen.

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Aidan Conners

Aidan Conners is a short story writer, currently taking the Professional Writing course at Algonquin College. He is also a fan of comics, animals, video games, 90’s rock, horror movies, riddles, and reading.