Marvel's Civil War II event has had its ups and downs, but one major curveball that continues to make things interesting is the fact that Captain America is secretly super evil. None of the heroes in the Marvel universe know this. Readers, however, do, and it makes every time Steve Rogers is on page strangely captivating.
Spoilers for Civil War II #6 below!
Such is the case with Civil War II #6. The issue largely deals with the huge revelation at the end of issue #5, in which the Inhuman Ulysses grants the various heroes of the Marvel universe a vision that depicts young Miles Morales killing the original Captain America.
Miles has no idea why he would ever commit such an act and is in shock. The heroes who witnessed the vision talk among themselves about what to do. After all, the whole point of Captain Marvel's team in Civil War II has been to arrest the people seen in Ulysses's visions before they can actually commit a crime. Does that mean bringing in young Miles, one of their own, despite him not having done anything yet?
This is made all the more fascinating by the fact that nobody knows Captain America is an evil Hydra agent. Presumably the vision shows Miles killing Steve after learning that the original Captain America is actually now an villain. But Miles (or anybody else for that matter) doesn't know that key piece of information just yet.
Which is precisely why Captain America makes the first move. He walks up to Miles and comforts the young Avenger, saying he knows Miles would never do such a thing and allows the hero to go home. That act of compassion, trust and kindness prompts Black Panther to defect from Captain Marvel's side to that of Iron Man, who is opposed to Carol's tactics of arresting innocent people just because they might commit a crime in the future.
It all plays perfectly into Captain America's hands. He knows the vision likely showed Miles killing Steve because of his allegiance to Hydra, so now Steve has gained the trust of both Miles and Black Panther by extending an olive branch, and thus might avoid the fate shown in the vision. T'Challa even goes so far to say that he learned a long ago that whatever side of a conflict Captain America chooses to be on is the right side. Poor Black Panther. You've never been so wrong.
Who knew Captain America could be such a schemer? It was also revealed in an issue of Captain America: Steve Rogers that Steve is to blame for the death of Bruce Banner early on in Civil War II, with Steve putting events into motion that caused Bruce to begin conducting gamma radiation experiments on himself. Thankfully, it's this hidden side of the story that makes the event all the more interesting. If read simply as another hero vs. hero tale, Civil War II is a disappointment. But if the event is viewed through the lens of Captain America trying desperately not to be found out by the all-powerful visions of Ulysses, it becomes all the more engaging. This is all building towards another major showdown. Unfortunately, it looks like we already know who loses.
