Warning: Spoilers for Ultimates #12!Marvel has delivered three very different versions of Civil War, but for once, the Avengers are showing that superheroes can resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. The original 2006 event pitted Team Iron Man against Team Captain America, followed by Civil War II, which saw Iron Man clash with Team Captain Marvel. The MCU later adapted the first event for the big screen. Historically, superheroes in these stories have struggled to solve their problems without fighting, until now.

Ultimates #12 offers a refreshing change of pace from the typical Avengers formula. Set in the new Ultimate Universe, the story reveals that Doctor Doom secretly used time travel to save the Ultimate Avengers. Although he operated behind their backs, Doom defends his actions, insisting they were necessary.

Surprisingly, despite their initial disagreement, the Avengers actually hear him out, and, even more unexpectedly, Doom manages to win over Iron Lad. He even manages to get Captain America's vote of confidence. Superhero arguments usually go very differently on Earth-616, but on Earth-6160, the Ultimates hash things out maturely.

The Ultimates Can Debate Without It Turning into an Avengers-Style Civil War

The Ultimates #12 by Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee, and VC's Travis Lanham

In the biggest death reversal of 2024, Iron Lad was revived after he had forever frozen himself in the deciseconds before death after fusing his nervous system to the Immortus Engine. Upon his return, he started catching up with what he missed when he first perished and realized the engine allowed him to see through time. Upon seeing two versions of the day of his death superimposed, he discovered Doom's meddling with the past. Even with a time machine, he ran out of time, but still remains adamant about its necessity, even when the future is still uncertain.

This version of Doctor Doom is actually Reed Richards from an alternate reality. The Maker, the previous Ultimate Universe's Reed Richards, tortured this Reed until he grew crazy enough to become the new Doctor Doom.

Tony and the Ultimates are initially skeptical of Doom, but that doesn't stop them from hearing him out. While they naturally disagree, they do something rare for superheroes by having a dialogue. It is not often that heroes are actually willing to talk things out. There is a reason Marvel has featured so many Civil Wars and superhero-versus-superhero conflicts. But refreshingly, the Ultimates behave like adults in the real world, engaging in conversation without resorting to violence. They are open to having their opinions challenged and willing to truly listen to one another.

The Avengers Traditionally Throw Fists First and Ask Questions Later

Superhero Conflicts Put Fighting Over Reasonable Conversation

The reason why The Ultimates #12 feels so refreshing is because an interaction like this exists so outside the norm when it comes to Avengers stories, and superhero fighting stories as a whole. When it comes to storylines centered around superhero conflicts, it is a common trope for heroes to resolve their issues strictly with their fists, with no room for talking. The selling point of stories like these is the prospect of superheroes fighting each other in dream scenarios that audiences never thought would happen.

Therefore, the stories tend to just cut to the chase, meaning the creative team opts for minimal dialogue and maximum action. This especially tends to happen in brutal Avenger vs. Avenger stories, which Marvel publishes frequently. Even when the trope has been used effectively in stories like Civil War, it's become a cliché that promotes violence over story. Choosing to have heroes just duke it out sacrifices the idea that grown adults can use common sense and talk things through before resorting to violence. This trope is common in all three versions of Marvel's Civil War.

How Marvel’s Civil War Handles the Superhero Fight-First Trope

Civil War #1 by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

The original Civil War started because of a supervillain raid gone wrong, resulting in eight-to-nine-hundred human casualties. The reputation of superheroes everywhere was tarnished, causing the U.S. government to pressure heroes to either go public with their secret identities or face federal repercussions. To Civil War's credit, the heroes do start things off with a meeting to have a conversation about whether to go public or not. However, the conversation never reaches a resolution. Everyone's split down the middle, but unlike in Ultimates #12, no one's willing to change their minds or reach a consensus.

Additionally, not everyone was present for the Baxter Building conversation, namely, Steve Rogers. Congruently and alternatively, Captain America has a conversation with the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill, that ends as quickly as it begins when Steve makes it clear he opposes the Superhuman Registration Act. As a result, Hill and co. draw guns on him and fight Steve. The first issue ends with Team Iron Man immediately ready to combat Captain America without ever talking to him. Steve and Tony never talked until Civil War #3, and even then, they started fighting within three pages of speaking.

How Marvel’s Civil War II Handled the Superhero Fight-First Trope

Civil War II by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Believe it or not, Civil War II handles the idea of superheroes talking like adults better than Civil War does, if only by a smidge. At the very least, when an Inhuman emerges with the ability to see the future, Captain Marvel and Iron Man have a conversation in the first issue within the first 20-odd pages of the book. They don't reach a resolution or see eye to eye, but compared to Cap and Tony, at least they have a conversation from the start that doesn't end with fisticuffs.

Although they continue to disagree with each other, they also revisit the conversation, even if they are forced to talk to each other. They continue to have dialogues about the futurist Ulysses. Only when they feel they have exhausted all possible options and outcomes do they decide to fight at the end of Civil War #4. Still, though, the trope remains in full force, as all roads inevitably lead to the superheroes fighting each other, as any superhero fight story does. By contrast, the heroes never feel compelled to fight in the Ultimates.

How the MCU Handled the Superhero Fight-First Trope

Captain America, Civil War, Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo

When the Sokovia Accords are up for debate, Tony and Steve have an ittedly civil argument. However, when the subject shifts to Steve protecting Bucky Barnes (now known as Revolution) as a fugitive, the two sides waste no time going to war with each other. Furthermore, when Tony learns that a brainwashed Bucky killed his parents, he immediately forces a fight. Even in the movies, there is no room whatsoever for a real conversation. This only emphasizes what makes Ultimates #12 so refreshing.

The concept of superheroes fighting before talking is an age-old trope, particularly prevalent throughout the Marvel Universe. However, the Ultimate Universe proves itself to be an alternative to the main canon in more ways than one. It offers a different viewpoint of classic characters and storylines and challenges classic tropes, including those revolving around superhero fights. In the Ultimate Universe, the Avengers can actually have a civil conversation that doesn’t end in a Civil War, presenting one of the many alternatives Earth-6160 offers.

The Ultimates #12 is available now from Marvel Comics!