CLAREMONT, CHRIS 99
Most importantly, others asked what ultimately motivated them: their own glory, or
the good of society. (Captain America pointedly asks this question as part of New
York is reduced to rubble following a fi ght between pro-and anti-registration heroes.)
Others question the motives of supervillains who now fi nd themselves fi ghting on the
side of law and order. As the war continues, Iron Man and Captain America both seek
out assistance and information from criminals like Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin), who
manipulates events to his own liking. Even characters like the Watcher, Doctor Strange,
and the Punisher engage in the debate, even they choose no side in particular.
Th e creators also tie the debate associated with the Superhero Registration Act to
the wholesale imprisonment of other groups in American history. In fact, at one point,
two storylines are drawn in parallel formats, with discussion of the Japanese Americans
interned during World War II, as well as the violence of war from times past next to the
idea of former friends now fi ghting. Only after a nasty fi ght between the two groups in
downtown New York, which led to several blocks being destroyed (as 9/11 had), does
Captain America realize that the toll of such fi ghting over the Superhero Registration
Act was not worth the cost. He turns himself over to the authorities and is subsequently
assassinated as he is being taken to trial.
In addition to the death of Captain America, important results of the Civil War
within the Marvel universe include Tony Stark’s rise to command the spy group
S.H.I.E.L.D., and the establishment of the Fifty State Initiative, in which each state has
its own superhero team. Yet the ramifi cations of the war rippled throughout the Marvel
universe. Indeed, the story arc was so wide spread and incorporated so many diff erent
titles that it was diffi cult to follow in its entirety. However, Marvel eventually gathered
the stories into various trade paperback collections that followed a character or theme,
thus helping readers to follow the arcs.
Cord Scott
CLAREMONT, CHRIS (1950–). Best known for his work on Marvel’s X-Men title
Uncanny X-Men and its myriad spin-off s, the London-born Christopher Simon Clare-
mont started writing comics in the mid-1970s and became one of the industry’s top writers
of the 1980s and 1990s, creating numerous major and minor characters who became
important parts of the Marvel universe. His collaborative work on Uncanny X-Men with
artist John Byrne, with whom he was paired early in his career while writing Marvel’s
Iron Fist, is considered a superb example of superhero storytelling, and his 16-year stint as
Uncanny X-Men writer (1975–91) remains an industry exemplar of longevity on a single
title. Byrne and Claremont’s “Dark Phoenix Saga” arc (issues #129–38), in which Jean
Grey, an established superheroine with telekinesis and telepathy, gains additional powers,
temporarily driving her to chaos and eventually threatening the universe before she kills
herself in sacrifi ce, is considered one of superhero comics’ most poignant stories. So is God
Loves, Man Kills, a graphic novel with art by Brent Anderson featuring the X-Men. Pub-
lished in 1982, it examines the depths of racism and prejudice in American society. Clare-
mont’s popularity and reputation declined in the late 20th century as he left Marvel and
