General Information
Title: Iron Man / Captain America: Casualties of War
Author: Christos N. Gage
Illustrator(s): Jeremy Haun (pencils), Mark Morales (inks) and Morry Hollowell (colours)
Original Publication Date: This issue cover dated February 2007
Cover Price: $3.99 US, $4.75 Can
Past comic reviews can be found
here.
Premise
Iron Man and Captain America make one last attempt to talk things through. Again. While doing so, they talk about many of the important past events in thier relationship.
High Point
Both of the positions in this war are made crystal clear, collecting the snippets of reasons that have been scattered through the other titles.
Low Point
An armorless Tony Stark goes toe-to-toe against Captain America in hand to hand combat? Unlikely.
The Scores
The originality is weak. It's like watching a typical sitcom clip show. I give it 2 out of 6.
The artwork is sometimes awkward. I've never seen any work by Haun before that I recall, but his pencils just don't compare to McNiven's. Normally I wouldn't make that comparison, except that Haun gives me the impression that he's really trying to emulate McNiven. I give it 4 out of 6.
The story has no meat. It's yet another version of the "final civil conversation" between Cap and Iron Man, even though Tony swore to bring Cap in the next time they met in the main Civil War title. (Not doing that made sense under the circumstances in Iron Man 14, reviewed yesterday, but that mad mitigating circumstances that are not present here.) This is a recap of their history, and bits and pieces of the positions that have been revealed throughout the series and crossovers all compiled in one place. If you ahven't been reading the other titles, this is a decent summary for these two characters. If you have been reading the rest, you'll find nothing new. I give it 3 out of 6.
This is nothing but characterization, but there's nothing new to bring to the table. The characters are not revealed by fresh and original writing, but by referencing the important character moments scattered throughout their past. Some of these were new to me, but people who have been following these two for a long time (and who, therefore, are the ones most likely to pick this up) will likely be let down. I give it 3 out of 6.
The emotional response is weak, due to its overdependence on history instead of new material. As I said before, it feels like a clip show. I give it 3 out of 6.
The flow is hard to mess up; it's a conversation with flashbacks. I give it 4 out of 6.
Overall, I'd have to say this is the least worthwhile crossover I've encountered in the Civil War package so far. It adds nothing to the Civil War story at large, and it can't stand on its own without the Civil War backdrop. I give it 2 out of 6.
In total, receives 21 out of 42.
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