Civil War Unmasked #1: Tony Stark Redeemed

Tony Stark is a man always looking to the future. Bishop is a man from the future. They seem like a logical pairing, but the Marvel landscape being what it is, they interact very rarely. Civil War Unmasked #1 remedies that for one issue as Gage looks back at an unseen key moment during Civil War. The result is an issue that is as interesting from a plot standpoint as it is a character one.

The X-Men corner of the Marvel universe frequently travels to other times and other universes. It’s fairly common to see non X characters integrated into these stories. It’s extremely uncommon, on the other hand, for non X characters in the 616 present to know anything about them. Civil War Unmasked #1’s story effectively blends mutant concerns and non-mutant concerns in a very organic way to add an extra layer to Civil War. Gage takes the larger Superhuman Registration Act plot and folds in Bishop’s dystopic backstory. The suggestion is that the events of Civil War may directly impact whether Bishop’s future happens.

This idea works well as both a stand alone story and a component of the larger event. As a standalone concept, it’s a moment of universe cohesion as non mutant events are suggested to be contributors to future mutant dystopias. This kind of story could happen at any point–Gage just happened to set it during Civil War.

Civil War Unmasked #1’s larger implications is that it significantly reinforces the pro-Registration argument during Civil War. It also potentially changes how Tony is seen in the story. A common complaint about Civil War at the time was that Tony was written out of character and that his actions were very out of proportion. If he knows how much worse things could be without the Superhuman Registration Act, his actions make much more sense.

Salazar’s art is impressively detailed. Surroundings, even in the distant background, are complex in appearance. Objects implied to be further away have smaller and fewer details than those near. This creates a strong sense of depth. In the case of the ruined New York City, for instance, the city seems to extend for many blocks as opposed to being a more static background.

High levels of detail apply just as much to characters. Civil War Unmasked #1 only features three unmasked characters of consequence: Emma Frost, Tony, and Bishop. Emma is very aloof. Tony and Bishop at times have similar expressions, but Salazar’s art is nuanced. No matter how similar some of the details around the characters’ eyes, jaws, and cheekbones, Bishop always projects an undercurrent of anger that isn’t present with Tony.

Hollowell’s color palette is wide ranging but generally soft. It’s well suited to Salazar’s style. Overly vivid tones could blow out some of that careful detail, but the softer tones let the detail shine through. Soft tones doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of higher contrast between characters and settings, though. Hollowell’s work still helps big moments pop off the page.

This is an especially text heavy issue, particularly the first half which both re-establishes the early events of Civil War, brings Bishop and Tony together, and explains the entire plot. Lanham does a good job keeping everything organized, out of the way, and easy to follow.