"Civil War" Prose/Graphic Novel Comparison

            The following is a comparison of the Marvel Comics Event “Civil War” and the prose novel “Civil War” by Stuart Moore. This is not talking about any actual war.

            Hey, guys! Welcome to From the Mind of One Tim Cubbin! I’m your dude, Tim Cubbin!

            Okay, first off, before you go any further, let me stop you for a second! DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ MY “Civil War” AND “Civil War” by Stuart Moore POSTS PRIOR TO READING THIS! If you haven’t, GO BACK, READ THOSE, then come back here and THEN read THIS! Are we clear? Good, let’s get started!

            Well, this is going to be a little difficult for me considering that my review of the “Civil War” by Stuart Moore prose novel was over a year ago and that the prose novel was based on seven issues and the event presented on Marvel Unlimited is ninety-seven issues, but let’s see how I do. I’m going to limit myself to five points of differences in the narrations of the adaptations, whichever of the first five that pop into my head.

            One: In the comic book of “Civil War,” Peter Parker was married to Mary Jane Watson, and Peter’s identity was known to the Avengers, and he, Mary Jane, and his Aunt May all lived in Avengers Tower. In the prose novel, Peter and Mary Jane had never married, the Avengers didn’t know Peter Parker was Spider-Man, and while Aunt May knew Peter was Spider-Man, she said nothing.

            Two: While Nitro was responsible for the Stamford, Connecticut explosion is both narratives, in the prose novel, Nitro died in the explosion, while in the comics he survived, escaped to California in the back of a pickup truck, and was chased by both Wolverine and a faction of Atlanteans.

            Three: In the prose novel, Robbie Baldwin/Speedball died in the explosion. In the comics, Robbie survived, lost his powers, and was thrown in jail as an unregistered combatant.

            Four: The teams in the comics and prose novels were inconsistent. Some characters on the two teams were on different sides between the two adaptations, and some from the comics weren’t even in the prose novel.

            Five: At the start of the final showdown in the comic book, the battleground started at Ryker’s Island then transferred to New York City, while in the prose novel, the battle started in the Baxter Building (headquarters of the Fantastic Four) and then traveled outside.

            Now, I know some of you may be wondering which adaptation I preferred better, prose or graphic. In this case, I can’t give you an answer. Having been an expanded and comprehensive comic event when compared to a four-hundred page novel just makes it impossible to compare. The comics event impacted the entire Marvel Universe, and almost every character, team, or series had tie-ins to the main event, so to be fair, I can’t give you a comparison. I mean, there was so much I liked in the comics, but the comparison is unfair to Stuart Moore, and his work on the prose novel was amazing, and I get many of his changes, since he didn’t want to write a book longer than a George R.R. Martin book, but if you look at the main event, he told the same story framework just not the outer workings.

            And that will do it for now. I know I told you to read my two prior “Civil War” posts, but feel free to read some more of my work. Believe me, I have done plenty. I have a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and have been published, so I know how to write. I’ve done dozens of reviews, as well as short fiction and nonfiction, poetry, essays, editorials, and other writing formats, so please keep looking at other posts. If you do, you are THE BEST and your support is most appreciated! So, now all is said and done, so I only have three more words for you: Tim Cubbin… out!