Marvel Comics has an established tradition of addressing relevant real-life issues facing the American public. With the publication of Civil War (2006-2007), a seven-issue crossover storyline spanning the Marvel universe, they focused on contemporary anxieties such as terrorism and threats to privacy and other civil liberties. This collection of new essays explores the Civil War series and its many tie-in titles from the perspectives of history, political science, sociology, psychology, literary criticism, philosophy, law and education.

The contributors provide a close reading of the series' main theme—the appropriate balance between freedom and security—and discuss how that balance affects citizenship, race, gender and identity construction in 21st-century America.