Civil War: Unmasked #1 – An Untold Story From One Of Marvel’s Most Popular Events!

Civil War: Unmasked #1

Writer – Christos Gage

Artist – Edgar Salazar

Colorist – Morry Hollowell

Letterer – Travis Lanham

Cover – Geoff Shaw & Morry Hollowell

The Story:

With this May marking the 20th anniversary of Marvel’s Civil War, Civil War: Unmasked is revisiting the series and telling previously untold stories. In this first issue, after trying to recruit the mutants to the Pro Registration side of the argument, Bishop attempts to make Iron Man understand just how bad the future can be if the Registration Act fails.

The Writing:

Christos Gage had the unenviable job of creating a story that fits into an event that has had 20 years to cement itself in the minds and hearts of comic book fans. I can say, as a fan of Civil War, that Gage was able to make an interesting and entertaining addition to that story. The idea of showing a self proclaimed “futurist” like Tony Stark, the worst possible future goes a long way to fleshing out Iron Man’s actions during Civil War. This issue really gave Tony’s decision to do whatever was necessary to win weight and helped explain, not excuse, some of his more villainous methods. The future sequence was full of great action and despair and showcased both Iron Man and Bishop’s skill level as they faced off against a deadly foe.

The Art:

Just like the writing, the art team was tasked with having this issue fit in with a 20 year old comic series. Again, like the writing this team succeeded entirely. Having Morry Hollowell come back to do the colors on this book went a long way to help with that continuity. On top of the colors, the opening to this issue was so similar to the panels in issue 3 of Civil War that I had to go back and read those pages again to make sure these weren’t reprints. It is a huge credit to Edgar Salazar that he was able to mesh this artwork and make it seamlessly fit into the overall Civil War story.

Overall Grade: 10/10

Civil War: Unmasked is a perfect way to revisit a fan favorite story. For many people reading comics today, Civil War was the first big event that they got to experience. This issue perfectly took me back to 2006 and put me right back into that mindset of arguing with my friends over Team Iron Man and Team Cap!

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