A Graphic Year Week 23

I knew this was the direction they were taking the movies but I have a hard time seeing how one will have anything to do with the other. One of the biggest players in the comics was Reed from Fantastic Four and I think the movies are trying to keep those universes separate, as evidenced by the half-ass film to maintain rights to the franchise.

This story is very powerful. Doctor Strange said it best when he said that there was no right or wrong side, just the one with the least amount of collateral damage. After hundreds of innocent people die, mostly children, people turn on superheros. They are tired of masked vigilantes and people they can't hope to control. Tony Stark becomes the new front man for a movement to make all superheros paid government employees (SHIELD specifically). It will make them easier to regulate and control. Civilians will feel safer.

Captain America is the first to oppose this decision and many others soon follow. They have no interest in sacrificing their freedom for what people fear will become a fascist system. Will they still be able to determine the villains or become criminals when they no longer agree with who the government thinks are the bad guys?

Rather than fighting to protect the people, the heroes begin fighting each other.

One of the things I wonder is if the movies will be able to add enough heroes to make this fight seem screen worthy. There's a few extras from the most recent films but if they want enough for Civil War, they need Joss Whedon to stop killing off characters.

It's a very powerful story and one many people will relate to. It makes me think of the quote, "Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither." But superheroes often work above or beyond the law. Are they losing freedom when we ask them to live by similar laws as our own police or military force? I hope they do a good job of showing the fine balance they must strike here.

One character dies in this story to show a point of no return. There's no going back and people start to change sides after it happens. Will there be enough heroes to join the fight? Who will lose their life to give this story meaning?

Ride and Die

Unless you’ve been staying in a Unabomber like cabin, you’ve heard about some Hollywood Stuntz bikers and their incident with an NYC banker.

The biker in front of a banker stops suddenly and he hits him. Accidents happen and it’s harder to read the signals on a motorcycle. SUVs also weigh more than bikes so physics kind of dictates they’ll have a harder time stopping quickly. The banker should have stopped, put on his hazards, exchanged information, and made sure the biker was OK. (As I understand it, he was.)

One of the bikers immediately slashed his tires so I can understand the banker’s reluctance to follow protocol. He feared for his safety and in his effort to get out of what he perceived as a dangerous situation, he ran down another biker and broke his leg. That was bad. He shouldn’t have done that but I 100% understand why he did.

This is some yuppie banker with his wife and young child. He is surrounded by Sons of Anarchy rejects who responded to an accident by attacking his car. I would fear for my safety and be on the phone to 911. Under no circumstance would I get out of my car unless a cop was there. I might try to get on the shoulder but I don’t know if I’d have fled the scene for the exact reason the banker shouldn’t have.

In response to him fleeing, several Hollywood Stuntz bikers chased him for 3 miles until he got stuck in traffic. One biker took off his helmet and used it to bash in the window and drag the banker out of his car. Several bikers then descended onto the defenseless banker. He is currently in critical condition, all of his ribs are broken, and his spine is broken. If he ever wakes up, he’ll never walk again.

To my knowledge Hollywood Stuntz let NYC know about their big trip and extra law enforcement was on duty. They were still responsible for over 100 911 calls many of which reported reckless driving. Some of the bikers involved in the incident are reported to have turned themselves in. That was more than I expected of them.

I think these guys are worthless thugs. They are scum. Maybe the banker would have done the honest thing if they hadn’t immediately attacked his car. They give other bikers a bad name and perpetuate the stereotype. This will have national repercussions for months to come. It makes me feel bad for the decent bikers and think less of that counter culture as a whole.

Music: Hate the Taste by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club