Warning: Spoilers for The Marvels #2
Marvel Comics just proved that Iron Man was right in Civil War when new hero Aero takes down an explosive enemy by handling it the right way. Captain America and Iron Man butted heads back in the 2005 Civil War comic book story line after the New Warriors vastly mishandled a situation in Stamford, CT and villain Nitro exploded, wiping out hundreds of civilians and ultimately starting one of the biggest riffs between superheroes. As if matters couldn't get any worse, this incident occurred near a school, meaning children were killed as well, along with the entire New Warriors team, save for Speedball.
In The Marvels #2 by writer Kurt Busiek, artist Yildiray Cinar, color artist Richard Isanove, and letterer Simon Bowland, one of Marvel Comics' newest heroes, Aero, shows readers exactly how the New Warriors should have handled the situation, and ultimately proves that Iron Man was right in Civil War. His argument for the Superhuman Registration Act is not just to make sure that powered humans are registered with the government, his main goal is to prevent a huge loss like Stamford from happening again. With the right training, and the threat of serious personal consequence, Iron Man hopes that irresponsible behavior by heroes would decrease significantly.
New villain Powderkeg secretes a nitroglycerin-like compound from his skin, giving him, as Aero calls it, an explosive punch, and the ability to wipe out a lot of civilians in the process. Aero uses her powers to float him in the air, and at the same time use the right winds, the right temperature, and the right humidity (or lack there of) to evaporate his sweat — rendering him powerless. She then easily knocks him out, and waits for the authorities to come and restrain him properly, all the while saving countless civilian lives.
This could have easily been a repeat of Stamford, but in these pages, Aero is exactly the type of hero that Iron Man was hoping to create with the Superhuman Registration Act. Not only does this require the registration of all persons with superhuman abilities, it gives them training with the U.S. government as well, meaning they will learn to handle situations in the right way. Iron Man's plan was to create superheroes who are not only able to diffuse situations like this (no pun intended) but also for them to feel that sense of responsibility and ownership of a situation. With no secret identity in place, it is much harder for them to just walk away without consequences.
Aero is not only able to use her ability to prevent an explosive situation, she stays around to make sure that Powderkeg is dealt with correctly when the authorities get there. This is exactly the hero that Iron Man was hoping to create with the Superhuman Registration Act, and her actions prove that he was right in thinking it during the Civil War event. Unfortunately for him, these acts were ultimately revoked. The Marvels #2 is available in stores and online now.