REVIEW: NEW WARRIORS #1

by ADA Jazzy D

     Unless you’ve been under a rock you know there was a Civil War in the Marvel Universe.  And the cause was a bunch of kids called the New Warriors.  In an ill-conceived battle (usually true of every super-powered battle, a fact which was never a problem until Marvel wanted to reshape their universe) Nitro went supernova and blew up a school full of kids along with the New Warriors, in Stamford, CT.  Now, in the post-CW Marvel U, the New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers, and The Initiative: Avengers, along with other titles are weaving together a narrative about the new world order.  New Warriors number one came out this week and was pretty much the last straw for the proverbial camel.
     New Warriors, along with the rest, just proves this whole CW thing is about Iraq, 9/11, and the WoT (War on Terror). 
The Civil War isn’t some clever storyline touching on real events to heighten emotional response.  It isn’t a story of moral disagreement between equals.  It is a liberal fantasy about American politics.  There, it is said.  And New Warriors number one is the coming-out party.  Down on the street, both literally and figuratively, ex-mutant Wind Dancer communicates with radicals via the homeless while Initiative candidates soar over ahead and Tony Stark gives Rumsfield-style press conferences.  Thunderbolts appear shilling for major corporations as Stark looms in every media, even war propaganda-style posters.  Spoiler Alert:  Night Thrasher lives and he’s texting anti-establishment catch phrases that would make Bill Maher blush.  The New Warriors, like the New Avengers, are fighting “the Man.”  But the New Warrios are the straw because they aren’t avenging Aunt May or Captain America, they aren’t just stopping villains without government control; they are taking back the name of the New Warriors.  Why?  Because Stamford, CT was the Marvel Universe’s 9/11.

     The blast at Stamford caused the Registration Act.  The Registration Act was championed by Iron Man, who turns out was moonlighting in some uber-star chamber that was secretly and constantly almost destroying the world.  Cap refuses to obey the law (weird) and Stark takes over stopping the rogue heroes.  Stark then consolidates power and forms the Initiative which actually has a Nazi military scientist working for it.  Cap dies, Stark turns into a Sith Lord.  Stamford was the 9/11, the excuse for the consolidation of power and dark turn in American politics (shudder).  Stark’s a corrupt, back stabbing, manipulative, power monger that wants to take away civil liberties—like beating the snot out of low level villains—in return for the promise of security.  They even toss around “Stamford” and “New Warriors” like liberals claim the administration tosses “9/11” to supposedly whip up fear fueled support.  The New Warriors are back to fight the new world order, to stand up for freedom, to be “conscientious objectors,”—in short:  protestors.  They are here to expose that the Stamford tragedy has no connection to what Stark is doing with the Initiative.  He’s not making us any safer, just like, oh, I don’t know, could it be….Bush!
     This article reserves the right to be wrong, but here’s what seems to be the whole deal.  Many contend, rightly or wrongly, that 9/11 had nothing to do with Iraq.  No connection, no overlapping effect, no links between ideologies, goals, mentalities, or general modus operandi.  They also contend, rightly or wrongly, that a false impression was made on the American people that Iraq was linked to 9/11 or Al-Queda or terrorism in general.  Why is this important?  If the war had a connection, if it made America safer, then we should win.  If there the war in Iraq did nothing to make us safer it would be a mistake, and we should end it.  And if America was lied to, well then, now we’ll see the true Sith Lords.  A secret illuminati of power-mad war-mongers looking to control the world, just waiting for a “pearl harbor” like event. 

The late Pat Tillman- the former NFL player who gave up his pro-football career to join the US Army as a Ranger and lost his life in Afganistan.

     Crazy, paranoid, over reading, right?  Second issue, The Initiative: Avengers, the Texas based super-team banters while it clears out protestors from Bush’s Crawford ranch during a Hydra suicide attack.  It is pointed out that the War on Terror and the war in Iraq are two different things, an entire side story line just to get that on the page.  Just so we can read that there is no connection and Iraq is a mistake.  But then the entire plot hinges on the idea that Bush will not leave the ranch because it would be contrary to his policy of not “cutting a running” in Iraq.  Next, they’ll reveal that Stark made Nitro go boom just like the CIA planned 9/11.  Now, the New Warriors volume four is going to show us how we were rope-a-doped into handing over our civil liberties, handing over control of superhumans to “the Man.”  Superhumans we may deploy in Iraq (oh no!); superhumans whose deaths are covered up like actual MVP Pat Tillman.  The New Warriors, with their “street cred,” and their anti-establishment tagging campaign, youthful text-speak like “LOL” and “L8R,” they’ll save us. 
     This is not clever storyline touching on real events to heighten emotional response.  Liberals have inserted that story all over geekdom.  Something bad happens and then the reaction is used by evil to take over.  Star Wars:  an assassination attempt starts the Clone War, Sidious uses emergency powers to destroy democracy.  Justice League Unlimited:  the Justice Lords try to take over earth and JLU reveals a space weapon, so America starts attacking with Cadmus and Lex Luther uses it to nearly destroy the world.  In the Heroes:  Lynderman was going to use a bombing to put a puppet in the Oval Office, and in the alternate future:  Sylar blows up New York and then uses the incident to become President and plan the genocide of powered humans.  An argument can be made for the Ultimates:  an attack on New York by the Hulk, they save day (even though they had a part in creating the Hulk), and an alien invasion is thwarted which makes them popular and raises fear, and then Nick Fury uses the Ultimates to attack another country because of WMDs.  These, with the exception of Star Wars, were pretty good little stories, and they weren’t on the nose, and they didn’t just have mustache twisting villains.

Code Pink Protesters led by outspoken activist Cindy Sheehan. How long before she shows up in the Marvel Universe?

 
     That’s why New Warriors is the straw:  because they are radicals, because they are protestors.  Because they serve a Liberal fantasy of being some underdog, non-conformist who brings down “the Man.”  Tony Stark has depth, but that’s only because he’s an established character and he wouldn’t be a good straw-man otherwise.  But when Marvel blatantly spews rhetoric about the War and slaps the superhero mask on G-8 protestors and says, “There! Those are the real heroes.  Grassroots, sixties style; social revolution!” the Camel goes bye-bye. 
     Use to be the stories were about good and evil, adventures and struggles.  Now, it seems that the side story of the mutant struggle has been replaced by the main story of the political struggle.  It’s about oppression and corruption and power.  Liberty has been symbolically killed on the courthouse steps.  Conspiracy abounds.  The good guys are the bad guys.  We’re all supposed to question authority, open our eyes and see the power elite, and join a drum circle. 
     If it really was an ethical dilemma we should have a book about superhumans, or just humans, who knew someone who died at Stamford and illegally formed a group to hunt and kill “capes.”  Have Iron Man hunting down them even though the public opinion is with the illegal cape killers.  How about that? 
     Do we have look forward to a future of comics where instead of battle in space or on rooftops scrappy revolutionaries break up press conferences with chants of “Stop Stark!”  Maybe embarrassing, leaked SHIELD reports on Stark’s illuminati activities?  Maybe “Pymmy” will be forced to resign!  That’s way more fun to read about than a fight against a planet eating demigod. 
This is what they killed Captain America for?  This is what his death was to teach us?  About Bush and Iraq?  Really?  If that’s the case, then yeah, call it the last straw.