Civil War: War Crimes #1

Oct 17

Oct 17 Civil War: War Crimes #1

War Crimes

In prison, Turk Barrett has been keeping a close eye on Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin.[1] He has heard all the stories about Fisk when he was a kid. Overweight, he was often ostracized by his peers, who deeply underestimated him. When it looked like he was being left out of the game, Wilson Fisk watched from the sidelines because, in reality, he controlled the game.

Case in point, that day in Ryker’s Island prison, the Kingpin has the Enforces — Montana, Fancy Dan, and the Ox — beat up a prisoner named Charlie for using shower stall #14, which is off limits and only used by Fisk. They break the man’s arm as a message to all the others. With the job done, Dan gets the idea to go directly to Fisk for payment. He is stopped by Turk, who reminds him that nobody approaches Fisk when he is sitting at his lunchroom table. Montana apologizes on Dan’s behalf and Turk assures them that their payment — various hard to obtain items in prison — will be in their cells when they return. When the Enforcers leave satisfied, the Kingpin reminds Turk that it is his job to act as a buffer between him and those Fisk hires in order for Wilson to maintain plausible deniability for any crimes that happen in prison.

That’s when Hammerhead shows up and pushes his way past Turk.[2] Hammerhead approaches Wilson and gloats that he is getting out of jail on a technicality. He then brags about the superhero civil war going on outside and how he will use it to his advantage and become the new crime boss in town.[3] Hammerhead is gripping the table so hard, he leaves finger impressions in the wood. That’s when a guard comes by with a note for the Kingpin about a scheduled meeting. When Turk reads its contents he is immediately shocked.

Later that evening, Wilson Fisk is led to a private room where he finds Tony Stark waiting for him with a chessboard set up. Fisk asks if he should be calling him Iron Man, and hints that he has known for a while after an incident after a yacht club holiday party (which Tony attended and everyone was gifted stolen luxury watches) led to the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye raiding one of his warehouses. Tony admits that it was him, and said he sent his fellow Avengers because showing up as Iron Man would have been a bit much. They play chess as they talk, with Tony quickly getting a checkmate, anticipating that Fisk would use a knights fork maneuver. He then asks Wilson what he wants, and Fisk offers his help as an informant for the ongoing civil war happening on the outside.

When Tony asks why he would want Fisk’s help, Wilson recounts how the government and the mobs have often worked together when the need arose. He mentions the “messy” business with JFK, but specifically mentions how Lucky Luciano helped the government catch a goup of Nazis during World War II. Despite being a criminal, Luciano was a patriot who loved his country and hated the Nazis. While Stark understands the parallels he is drawing, Stark knows full well that any help from Fisk will come at a price and he wants to know what that price will be. Tony decides that if he is going to consider anything he wants a show of good faith, then they can talk deal. Wilson shakes on it and Tony leaves the room. Stark then calls Maria Hill at SHIELD to get her thoughts on the conversation. Maria is tired of making deals with the preverbal devil but admits that if Fisk has good intel it could end this war sooner than later.

By this time, Hammerhead is out of prison and has called a meeting with the Trapster (Peter Petruski) and Slyde (Jalome Beacher) to discuss his idea for a new criminal empire. He stokes fears over what the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) entails for them, and offers his resources to protect the criminal underworld from this new law. While the Trapster is interested in what Hammerhead has to say, Slyde isn’t interested because Hammerhead isn’t the Kingpin. In response, Hammerhead has his paid enforcer, Underworld (Jack Dio) shoot Slyde in the back of the head, killing him.[5] After the Trapster is introduced to Hammerhead’s new enforcer, his is intimidated into agreeing with the mobster’s plan.[6] Hammerhead then orders some of his goons to dump Slyde’s body in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen as a message to the Kingpin.

Over the new few weeks, the Kingpin has been giving information to Tony Stark leading to the arrests of unregistered heroes including the Black Crow, Rage of the New Warriors, and D-Man.[7] Turk Barrett has been used to pass notes between the Kingpin and the Feds, and this earns him the ire of the Enforcers who accuse him of being a rat, and now they have sided with Hammerhead. After delivering a beating, Fancy Dan warns Turk that once the Kingpin steps out of his protective custody cell and into the general pop, they’ll deal with him, then they’re coming for Turk. Later that day, when Wilson Fisk goes for his daily shower, the Enforcers head in to attack him, but Fisk beats the living shit out of them and tells the guard stationed outside to clean up the mess.

A week later, Tony Stark returns for another in-person meeting with the Kingpin. Tony is impressed with the intel, but wants to go after the bigger fish — namely Captain America’s Secret Avengers resistance movement. The Kingpin hands him details on the new civilian identities that Steve Rogers and his group are operating under.[8] They have no doubt changed their fake credentials, but Wilson figures that they still might be able to catch a few stragglers. When Tony asks Fisk what he wants out of all of this, Wilson reminds him to look into the story of Luciano, as he’ll find answers there. That’s when Tony wins their chess match with a checkmate.

Meanwhile, Turk is visited by his very pregnant girlfriend, she is worried because their daughters are getting old enough to read about their father in the paper. She has also been intimidated by Man-Mountain Marko on behalf of Hammerhead. She also expresses her discomfort passing information along to Typhoid Mary on behalf of the Kingpin. He tells her to keep faith as he’ll be out of jail soon enough to deal with all of this. He also has one more message to get out and when he whispers about who, she is shocked by what he tells her.

When Tony Stark returns to the Kingpin next, he has the day’s edition of the Daily Bugle. It has a front page story about how Iron Man was able to nab Cloak and Dagger.[9] This was a better get, but still not as good as capturing Captain America himself. Tony has also looked into the Luciano story, and tells Fisk that while he can work to get him a reduced sentence, he’s not going to set him free. Fisk then asks Tony to let him speak with Maria Hill directly. Tony doesn’t see the harm and hands over his cell and tells the Kingpin to knock himself out. Wilson tells Hill that he has information that will lead to the capture of Captain America and that they need to act on that tonight if they want to end the war. When he hands the phone back to Tony, Maria tells him to prepare the release proceedings. This annoys Stark.

Later, Iron Man leads a SHIELD unit on an ambush of the warehouse that Fisk told him they’d find Captain America. What they find instead is Hammerhead and a gathering of supervillains. They bust as Hammerhead is giving a rousing speech about taking over the Kingpin’s empire. Both Hammerhead and Iron Man realize that they have both been played by Fisk. When a brawl breaks out, Hammerhead tries to flee the scene and is shot in the back.

This, followed by a recent clash with Captain America’s forces — resulting in deaths and escape — a furious Tony Stark pays Wilson Fisk another visit in prison.[10] Instead of Fisk, Turk enters the room now acting as a buffer to speak to Stark. Tony is furious and orders the guard to get the Kingpin right away. However, the guard tells him that he can’t force a prisoner to see who they don’t want to talk to. Annoyed by all of this, Stark asks Turk why the Kingpin intentionally flushed his freedom down the toilet. Barrett has the answer in the form of a gift. When Tony opens the box he sees that it is an expensive watch, just like the one that led to that Avengers bust years earlier. Barrett says that Fisk finally beat him at a game of chess. Stark retorts that Fisk wasn’t the only person he was playing against.

At that moment, Captain America stand on the pier looking out at the Statue of Liberty with the Falcon (Sam Wilson) and Hercules. As it turns out, Fisk was playing both sides and Cap is not happy about it. Looking at a note that says “pleasure doing business with you”, Steve’s allies tell him that this was the best move as getting Hammerhead’s budding empire under wraps will be better in the long run. Still upset that he had to deal with a crook like the Kingpin, Rogers angrily crumples up the letter.

Meanwhile, at the Ryker’s Island infirmary, Hammerhead wakes up to see Underworld standing over his bed. He knows it was Jack who shot him in the back, because the government is too cheap to use the Adamantium bullets Dio uses. As it turns out, Underworld had been working for the Kingpin this entire time. His reason for doing so was personal as Hammerhead once killed one of his buddies over a lousy 2 grand. With that, Underworld shoots him point blank in the head.[11]

Back in prison, Turk Barrett observes how everything has gotten back to normal. The Enforcers have flipped back to supporting Fisk and are beating on a guy in the lunch room on his behalf. The Ox even apologizes for their ever so brief betrayal. This is how the Kingpin works, treating his criminal empire like a game a chess. As always, he watches, learns, and controls the game.

Recurring Characters

Kingpin, Iron Man, Underworld, Enforcers (Montana, Fancy Dan, Ox), Turk Barrett, Hammerhead, Ani-Men (Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Cat-Man), Answer, Arora, Blood Brother, Bloodshed, Commanda, Circus of Crime (Ringmaster, Clown, the Great Gambonnos), Crusader, Cyclone, Discus, Electro, Kangaroo, Leader, Mauler, Mindblast, Override, Slyde, the Spot, the Squid, Trapster, Will o’ the Wisp, Secret Avengers (Captain America, Falcon, Hercules), SHIELD (Maria Hill), (arrested off panel) D-Man, Black Crow, Rage

Continuity Notes

The Kingpin has been incarcerated since he was defeated by Daredevil in Daredevil (vol. 2) #50.
Hammerhead mocks Turk for being afraid of Daredevil. The mobster has had many run ins with the Man Without Fear starting in Daredevil #69 (nice).
This story happens during the superhero civil war primarily told in Civil War #1-7. With the passage of the Super Hero Registration Act in Civil War #2, the hero community has been split between those who support the new law and those who do not. This law will remain in the books until Siege #4.
Wilson Fisk asks if he should call Tony “Iron Man”, this is because Tony had just recently revealed his double life to the public in Civil War: Front Line #1.
As of this writing (November, 2024), the status of Slyde is in question. See below for more on that.
Hammerhead refers to Underworld as a “new old guy”. What he means is that Jack Dio was a small time hood who went to jail before superhumans were the norm in the criminal underworld and recently got into the act (after much resistance) once he got out of prison, as seen in Underworld #1-5.
Black Crow will end up in Prison 42, and be involved in the final battle when Captain America breaks out its prisoners in Civil War #6-7. Rage will eventually join the Initiative, as seen in Avengers: The Initiative #1. D-Man will later enlist in the military as seen in Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1.
As seen in Civil War #3, Captain America arranged for his followers to get fake civilian identities so they can hide in plain sight when not fighting the war.
Just like Black Crow, Cloak and Dagger will be busted out by Cap’s Avengers in Civil War #6-7.
This is following a trap laid by Iron Man in Civil War #3-4, which ended in Cap’s side escaping and the death of Goliath (Bill Foster).
Hammerhead doesn’t die here because his head was thick enough to stop the bullet before it killed him. We’ll see him again in Amazing Spider-Man: Extra #1.

Topical References

Part of the payment for the Enforcers work is two cases of Oreo double stuffs. This should be considered topical as this is a real world product.
When hearing they are getting a radio, Fancy Dan tells Ox that he can’t listen to Rush Limbaugh. At the time this story was published in 2006, Rush Limbaugh was one of the most listened to conservative radio hosts and an all around piece of shit human being. This should be considered a topical reference as Rush delightfully died of lung cancer in 2021, which is the most appropriate death for that motherfucker.
Wilson Fisk recalls how he once gave the members of his yacht club Rolex watches for Christmas. This is another real world brand and thus a topical reference.
The references to JFK and Lucky Luciano would not be considered topical references as the Kingpin is referring to historical events.
Tony is depicted as having a “flip” style phone that was common place in 2006. This should be considered a topical reference as this type of phone has fallen out of popularity following the invention of the smart phone.
Hammerhead gripes about the Patriot Act, which was an anti-terrorism law that was enacted in October, 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on US soil. While this new law was relatively topical at the time this story was published, modern readers could interpret Hammerhead making this reference in a historical context. That said, you could also replace it with a similar contemporary law and it’d be fine.
When visited with his wife, Turk quips that the Kingpin gets better news updates than CNN. This is topical as this is a real world TV network.
When referencing all the changes that happened while he was in prison, saying the President became George W. instead of just George. He is referring to George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush. Both men were President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and 2001 to 2009, respectively. Underworld makes this reference because George W. was the President at the time of publication. This should now be considered a topical reference.

Did Slyde Somehow Cheat Death?

Slyde, aka Jalome Beacher, is seemingly killed here by getting a bullet to the head. As you probably know by now, death in the Marvel Universe isn’t permanent, and someone wearing the Slyde costume has been seen multiple times since then without explanation. So did Slyde cheat death? Or is it someone else in the costume? Unfortunately, as I write this in November, 2024, Marvel has yet to provide official clarification. So let’s break it down critically and see what conclusions we get….

The Death in Question:

Underworld is depicted as shooting Beacher in the back of the head and the bullet exiting out the front of his face. Jalome is just a normal guy with a gimmicked suit, that’s his whole thing. So it seems extremely unlikely that he could have survived this through natural means.

The Problem:

Following this, we have someone operating in the Slyde costume since.

The first instances of Slyde reappearing in Amazing Spider-Man #602. That was later revealed to by a NYPD uncover officer trying to bust Spider-Man, as revealed in issue #605 of that series. So in this case, we have our explanation. However….

Someone dressed as Slyde then started appearing somewhat regularly starting in Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega #1. If we’re assuming that it has been the same person ever since, at the time of this writing (November, 2024) he has appeared in Captain America: Steve Rogers #9, Power Man and Iron Fist (vol. 3) #13, Dead Man Logan #1-2, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #68-70, Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: The Chameleon Conspiracy #1, Sinister War #1, 2 and 4, Superior Spider-Man Returns #1, and Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1.

Analysis:

After reviewing all of these appearances, I can confirm that this Slyde is never identified by a civilian identity. While Spider-Man (Peter Parker) treats him like he is still the same guy, that doesn’t make it a positive identification. Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 also depicts Slyde with his mask off revealing that he is Black, which matches the race of the original Slyde. But again, this doesn’t mean they are the same guy either. In fact, the unmasked Slyde in Amazing Spider-Man #272 (his first appearance) and Superior Spider-Man Returns look pretty difference in appearance, but that could just be artistic license.'

Possible Intention/Mistake:

It certainly seems like writers using the characters are intending it to be the original Slyde, but that might be because they didn’t realize he was dead. This also isn’t proof that he’s still alive because writers have made this mistake before leading to corrections needing to be made. The Kangaroo is the best example of this and he appears in War Crimes. There were a few stories in the 2000s when the Kangaroo is depicted resembling Frank Oliver after he died in Amazing Spider-Man #126. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6 went on explain that this was Brian Hibbs (Oliver’s successor) who had temporarily believed himself to be the original Kangaroo.

Arguments:

There are arguments that can be made that this is indeed Jalome Beacher, or somebody else. Let’s explore that while I have you for a minute:

The Case Against:

The most straight forward explanation is that this is not Jalome Beacher, but somebody else using the Slyde identity.

Perhaps the NYPD officer who took over the identity to lure Spider-Man into a trap liked the taste of the dark side and quit the force to take over the identity himself.

Another Precedence for another person to be in the roll this exists is in that the Hobgoblin started franchising out vacant supervillain identities in Amazing Spider-Man #697. It seems very likely that the Hobgoblin would license out the Slyde identity since he mostly franchised out d-list supervillain identities, it doesn’t seem impossible that Slyde would be up for grabs this way.

The Case For:

There are two possible scenarios for Slyde to have been resurrected. (1) The Clone Conspiracy storyline (primarily told in Clone Conspiracy #1-5) has a number of Spider-Man villains seemingly resurrected in cloned bodies. While Slyde was not depicted as being present, that doesn’t negate the possibility that he was a villain who underwent this process. (2) One of the central McGuffin’s in Avengers: Stand Off (where Slyde first makes his reappearance) involves using the Cosmic Cube. In fact, this is the primary plot device that leads to Steve Rogers being replaced with an evil version of himself that has been a Hydra operative and Secret Empire. It’s entirely possible that the Cube was used to somehow resurrect Slyde, although that seems pretty far fetched.

It’s going to be a while before my index covers any of these later appearances (As they take place after my Secret Wars IV cut off point) but unless an official explanation is given, I will be treating that Slyde as a different character to this one.