What If? Civil War # 1 - The Stranger; What If Captain America Led All The Heroes Against Registration?; What If Iron Man Lost The Civil War?;

SPOILER ALERT

If you are one of the many Marvel fans that was disappointed in the ending of Civil War then you have to pick up a copy of this What If? book. Quite honestly, this is the way Civil War should have ended.

When Ed Brubaker wrote Sharon Carter as a brainwashed servant of the Red Skull and sent her off to murder the love of her life Captain America, readers, fans, the average Joe at the diner – everyone in America was shocked and dismayed. It’s too bad this one-shot daydream of a story couldn’t be a retcon because it’s not only well written, the story just makes more sense. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers would have talked and things would have been different between them. This What if? shows Tony being visited at Cap’s memorial gravesite by a supernatural stranger who explains that there are different dimensions and in one of them, Civil War played out differently. This stranger tells Tony about an alternate version of himself where he wasn’t such a jerk; the change in tone and what he says at one crucial point turned the whole tide which opened up negotiations with Captain America rather than launching a bloody battle and witchhunt.

There are also other interesting elements to this version of the tale such as the accidental release of Project Lightning which activates not only one but an army of Thor clones. Not only is Cap’s life saved in this story but Iron Man puts himself between “Thor” and Goliath saving the life of a friend and fellow Avenger. Originally Goliath’s death sealed the anti-establishment stance for some while others began questioning if life was really worth the risk of fighting superhero registration. Without Goliath’s death, fans get teary-eyed from the expression of loyalty and friendship instead of remorse; Iron Man saves Goliath by blocking “Thor’s” blast and while the iron suit takes a brutal beating and needs a few moments to recover, Captain American protects him from the Norse clone. It’s that wartime male bonding experienced by few in real life that is illustrated and written boldly, beautifully, and with more sense than the original story.

Incidentally, Brubaker who is responsible for the true canon of Civil War and the deaths of Goliath and Captain America, is part of the creative team on this book. The change in artists from current time stream to story telling about this alternate dimension works really well by using moody colorless paintings for Tony Stark and The Stranger in the cemetery to a more Golden Age feel of bright colors and sheen. There are two different covers and the Marc Silvestri version is one that was leaked months ago giving rise to speculation that Iron Man would incorporate the Captain America persona into his own because it shows a red, white and blue iron suited man with a shield; however, this is a clever part of the story where Cap uses a suit built for him by Tony which Cap wears in many victorious battles (this actually happened in Captain America issue 438).

Fans should bombard Marvel and demand that this version of the universe become the true story and replace the dreadful facts we have had to deal with in 2007. Swapping dimensions couldn’t possibly be that difficult to write, could it?