Investigating "Civil War II": Which *Other* Marvel Hero Will Fall?

[CBR News]

Another Marvel hero is poised to fall in "Civil War II" #3, and the list of probable casualties is an intriguing one.


Full article here.

[Holt]

Hawkeye is gonna kill Banner.

[Supermutant2099]

I wish comic web site would stop pushing that she-hulk could die. Your not helping fans nerves at this point. Not like bendis or marvel given us one reason one way or another why she be dying. They refused to explain. Oh hell she written off in two lines issue two. You really think its going to be resolved in the series?
Wasp? I rather see the fake wasp die. Yes I know they just made her but Janet's treatment I rather see her continue comic then this stupid all new one.
Bruce Banner? I rather see Cho die. Again he is just annoying hulk.

[Cth]

All the clues are out there and spell it out clearly if anyone really wanted to write an article with actual facts backing it. Instead it can come across as clickbait.

I mean, there's an article that rules out Human Torch explicitly.

IE:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...icle-1.2491020

As the story unfolds this new seer predicts the hero in question will be the cause of a major incident of destruction in three days, requiring the other good guys to make a tough call. The writer just hasn’t figured what or how bad that cataclysm will be.

“It has to fall somewhere between Hitler and self-defense,” Bendis says.

[..]

“What if the pressure causes (the hero) to commit suicide,” suggests James Robinson, another Marvel writer, adding that it could be a good way to draw attention to the scourge of cyber-bullying.

[..]

After hours of occasionally heated debate, Bendis and Alonso reveal they had a eureka moment during a 10-minute break and came up with the perfect superhero to sacrifice and an even better candidate to murder him. The answer actually gets a loud ovation from the crowd.

“That’s like an epic,” says Robinson. “I’m genuinely shocked.”

[..]

And sure enough, Parker is saved a grim fate by the afternoon as mass opinion shifts attention to other characters.

Another candidate is the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, but Bendis extinguishes that idea quickly.

“He burns people and that’s so horrible (to illustrate),” the scribe says.

Clearly spells out that Banner is the one in the crosshairs and also rules out Human Torch/Spidey.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/...-just-revealed

"Later, Bendis said that “something very unique” will happen to the Hulk in that issue. "I'm probably going to have to unplug my computer for a few days. Something big happens in each issue, but this will probably be the most debated," he said."

Which coupled with this quote about having to unplug his computer..

http://comicvine.gamespot.com/siege/...bendis-526990/

IGN Comics: Last question – anything you can and want to tease regarding next issue?

Bendis: Big death. Big, scary death. A I'm-going-to-unplug-my-computer death. I wrote it and we had a serious conversation about it at Marvel. For some reason Olivier enjoyed drawing this more than anything else he's ever done for me. It is the craziest drawing I've ever seen. And Laura went nuts on it. When I saw it I was like, "Ooooh boy…" –laughs- Again I'm not trying to piss people off but I might get some mail on that one… might need to hang up the computer for a bit.

Again, clearly spells out Hulk/Banner is the one slate to die.

Add in the covers for Totally Awesome Hulk #11 and Civil War II Choosing Sides, etc seems to spell it out clearly.

The only thing left now is if Bendis will have She Hulk appear later in the story when Hawkeye is on trial and if she'll testify in his defense or defend him. Her words from issue #1 having been taken the wrong way, she'll want to try and make up for things going so wrong as a result of what she said being misinterpreted.

[johnnyrocket]

As Marvel seems hell bent on deconstructing the core Avengers right now I'm reluctantly assuming it's Bruce Banner. First Tony is a 'Superior" megalomaniac. Then Thor gets taken off the board (for unworthy-ness that has yet to be explained after 2 years...) Then Cap gets old and replaced and now's back (but without the shield) and Hydra. So yeah, let's kill Banner now. If I were being cynical here (and I am) I'd say the comics are getting rid of the iconic characters so than they can make room for new identities to reboot the movies with different personas and actors after Infinity War 1 & 2 wraps everyones contracts.. It's the only thing that makes sense to me that editorial would even do what they're doing. i.e shelving the most iconic forms of their signature characters when they've never been more globally popular or recognizable. Basically crapping on their own branding and marketing.. For my money, they should let Amadeus die. Never will be as interesting as Banner.

[Cth]

As Marvel seems hell bent on deconstructing the core Avengers right now I'm reluctantly assuming it's Bruce Banner. First Tony is a 'Superior" megalomaniac. Then Thor gets taken off the board (for unworthy-ness that has yet to be explained after 2 years...) Then Cap gets old and replaced and now's back (but without the shield) and Hydra. So yeah, let's kill Banner now. If I were being cynical here (and I am) I'd say the comics are getting rid of the iconic characters so than they can make room for new identities to reboot the movies with different personas and actors after Infinity War 1 & 2 wraps everyones contracts.. It's the only thing that makes sense to me that editorial would even do what they're doing. i.e shelving the most iconic forms of their signature characters when they've never been more globally popular or recognizable. Basically crapping on their own branding and marketing.. For my money, they should let Amadeus die. Never will be as interesting as Banner.

To be fair, Hulk is one of the last heroes to be killed (technically, aside from stuff like Secret Wars (orig.) or Thanos with Infinity Gauntlet stuff).. so I could see his name being on Brevoort's list of "characters that are ok to kill" (something Bendis has said exists and is referred to during event summits, etc).

I disagree with it, but I can see why Bendis chose him for maximum drama as it does set up a debate he's wanted to have for years now about the Hulk and kicks Civil War II into high gear. I still don't get why Hawkeye being the one to do it makes the most sense as the summit seems to imply. The only thing I could see is if it's because he's the only one clearly shown killed in the rampage attributed to Hulk, so for him it'd be self defense which fits into the aforementioned quote. Maybe the criminal past thing is what they're getting at, I dunno.

My honest guess? They saw sales tanking, it's dipped below 30k multiple times recently and that's the point where they traditionally bring in a new writer/team or a new editorial direction. Since Cho is being pushed as a legacy character and audiences are reacting by dropping the title in droves, I'd imagine they're going to cancel the book, move Cho into another title and bring back Banner in time for Thor Ragnarok. Something this time more in line with the movie version since they're promising a new take on the character.

I liked Cho as himself.. as another Hulk, not really. Not a fan of Banner's murder to be honest.. I would like to see a CBR article/poll after the deed to see if people agree with it (solving the Hulk problem, so to speak) with interviews from creators to get their take on the character which could possibly be used by Marvel to solicit future pitches for a new creative team.

[Holt]

At this point, comic sales aren't even secondary to other stuff. They're way down on the list of priorities so I doubt the Hulk's popularity with mainstream audiences is gonna be a deterrent (otherwise they wouldn't be making Steve Rogers a Nazi during the same year he has a massive hit film).

So yeah, I'm gonna assume they're just gonna kill Banner here. Like War Machine he's a well known character but doesn't actually have his own book right now, so Marvel wouldn't be cancelling anything. He's gonna die and then next year we're gonna get some "Hulk: Rebirth" series right around the time the movie comes out.

[davew128]

As Marvel seems hell bent on deconstructing the core Avengers right now I'm reluctantly assuming it's Bruce Banner

Banner is not a core Avenger. Other than being a founder and member for all of five minutes, Hulk's tenure with the team itself really only began with Hickman's run with some scattered appearances along the way where he clearly wasn't ON the team.

[Coal Tiger]

Just in time for the Hulk to be prominent in the next Thor movie - set in the only Marvel Universe the majority of the public cares about or is even aware of.

Great job guys. Keep giving non-readers reasons to continue not buying comics.

[Holt]

She-Hulk was also an obvious red herring. spoilers:

They had several different books showing the heroes dealing with the aftermath of War Machine's death, but not a single peep about Jen being dead.

end of spoilers

Just in time for the Hulk to be prominent in the next Thor movie - set in the only Marvel Universe the majority of the public cares about or is even aware of.

Great job guys. Keep giving non-readers reasons to continue not buying comics.

Exact opposite. The movie's over a year away. They'll launch another Hulk book by the time the film's out.

[SXVA]

Pretty sad when the promotions are around which hero will die instead of which hero will overcome. Civil War blows.

[Tony Stark]

Pretty sad when the promotions are around which hero will die instead of which hero will overcome. Civil War blows.

If they tell you what hero overcomes, then it will tell you basically the end of the story. Why would Marvel do that?!?!?!?

[Frontier]

Y'know, if this was classic Hawkeye, I imagine he'd probably be beating himself up over killing The Hulk, even in self-defense. But under Bendis? Probably just going to be a tool about it .

[SXVA]

If they tell you what hero overcomes, then it will tell you basically the end of the story. Why would Marvel do that?!?!?!?

You might have missed the point there, just a wee bit. I expect more from a Stark!

[Wiccan]

It's Hawkeye. Choosing Sides cover spoiled it.