There have been a ton of crossover storyline leading up to this, but there is an all out war amongst superhero's and the lines have been drawn.
Basically, it works like this... there has been a growing anti-hero grumbling going around, the argument is anyone with a super power can put on a mask and fight crime, but they're not held accountable for the damage they cause. This comes to a head when The New Warriors swarm on some bad guys hold up in a house. They take them on, but one escapes and blows up damn near a city block, taking out a park with a bunch of kids.
The public outcry leads Washington to pass the Superhero Registration Act, requring all superhero's to be identified, trained and qualified if they would like to continue crime fighting.
In the meantime, hero's are getting mobbed by the public. Johnny Storm was jumped after being hit from behind. And it's not just a mutant thing, anyone with any kind of superhuman power.
The major players are:
Tony Stark (Iron Man) feels all resentful because he funds The Avengers and people are so angry at the hero's.
Captain America doesn't agree with what's happening and goes dark, starting an underground resistance with all those willing to join.
Hero's are splitting down the middle. Iron Man vowes to bring in Captain America and his crew with force if need be.
YEAH! I just read about something along these lines. I'm not sure if it was from a posting here, or if I was just doing some Marvel research. I don't even know if it's directly linked to this civil war, but it seems like it could be...
Iron Man secretly forms a superhero government with the likes of Professor X, Mr. Fantastic, and several others. The meetings are apparently hosted in Wakanda by The Black Panther, but he's not part of the government. He only supplies the meeting place. I thought this idea was pretty interesting on its own, but if it's accompanied by a freaking SUPERHERO CIVIL WAR, I'll be buying comics left right and center.
Yeah, they're calling that group the 'Illuminati'. The smartest minds or whatever getting together all secretly.
I can't wait until they start throwing down. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to take out Cap, he busted their asses and dove out their command ship, landed on a jet, broke the cockpit and made the pilot fly him away.
Civil War #1 was on shelves as of early May, so make sure you get it soon. The next one should be out soon I think.
