Investigating "Civil War II": Which Hero Will Fall?

"Civil War II" is coming and the drums of war beat louder with every new set of Marvel Comics solicitations. The event, which kicks off in June, will pit Iron Man against Captain Marvel in a battle that will literally determine the future of the Marvel Universe. The drums of war grew even louder earlier this week when Marvel dropped their July solicits, which include shocking information about "Civil War II" #3. The issue's breakdown reads:

This is the one everyone will be talking about! One of the biggest heroes in the Marvel Universe will fall! Who it is and how and why will divide fans for years to come. Will the heroes of the Marvel Universe survive the unthinkable happening? The fallout to this issue is enormous!

HAWKEYE

Mostly the result of process of elimination, Clint Barton's death would matter a lot to the heroes of "Civil War II." Hawkeye's a longtime teammate of both Iron Man and Captain Marvel, and his longstanding status as a core Avenger gives him ties to almost every major hero in the Marvel Universe. Clint's also without an ongoing series for the first time in a few years, as "All-New Hawkeye" concluded this past week. He also isn't mentioned in any of the comics solicited for July. Could Hawkeye be injured, defamed or worse in "Civil War II" #3?

WASP

There's an all-new Wasp in town and fans will finally get to meet her in a few weeks in "All-New All-Different Avengers" #9. The one thing we know, however, is that she's not Janet Van Dyne. "Avengers" writer Mark Waid has said that Jan will team-up with the new Wasp on an early mission, but the fate of the original Wasp remains unclear after that. Like Hawkeye, Janet Van Dyne has strong connections to plenty of Marvel heroes. She outdoes Hawkeye since she's a founding Avenger; she even named the Avengers. But Wasp's death already played a major role in 2008's "Secret Invasion." Would Marvel give Van Dyne a second event-series death?

VISION

Okay, this one seems like cheating since Vision does have an ongoing series that is solicited for July (and will keep going for a few months after that, too). But there are a few reasons why Vision seems like a candidate. He's a longstanding Avenger, so plenty of characters would be affected by his death. His ongoing series, which is a dark family drama set in Virginia, takes place mostly outside of the main Marvel events and is scheduled to end with issue #12. Another possible clue lies in the solicit text for "Ms. Marvel" #9, a "Civil War II" tie-in. The write-up says that "tragedy strikes too close to home for Ms. Marvel," which could be a reference to Kamala Khan's hometown of Jersey City. It could be a reference to the events of "Civil War II" #3, though -- and Vision and Ms. Marvel are currently Avengers teammates.

SHE-HULK

Jennifer Walters meets a lot of these criteria. She's not only a prominent Marvel hero, but she's a beloved one too. Both readers and heroes have a strong affinity for She-Hulk, which would make watching her "fall" an impactful moment. The fact that she's on the covers of "Civil War II" #0 and #1 also imply that she has a part in the series, and she's not on the cover of #3. She's also without an ongoing series right now and the solicit for July's "Totally Awesome Hulk" #9 says that Amadeus Cho will lose "someone very close to him." Could that someone be a fellow Hulk?

Okay, now we venture into potential spoiler territory. You've been warned. We'll just add that random rumors have been circling "Civil War II" #1 for months, and those rumors don't bode well for She-Hulk. But one note: those rumors say that the big events go down in "Civil War II" #1, and we're talking about "Civil War II" #3; that fact alone could be enough to dispel those rumors.

WAR MACHINE

Like She-Hulk, War Machine is a character with ties to the Marvel Universe (he's Iron Man's best friend and Captain Marvel's on-again, off-again boyfriend) and lacking an ongoing series right now. He's also prominently featured on the cover for "Civil War II" #0, and is missing from subsequent ones. Rhodey will also have a story in July's "Civil War II: Choosing Sides" #2, which will deal with the "major loss" of a hero. And more potential, rumory spoilers surround War Machine. You've been warned again. Those same rumors that target She-Hulk also target War Machine -- so it's possible there's more than one fall coming our way. Also telling: the rumors about those two heroes leaked in mid-January, two weeks before the cover for "Civil War II" #0 -- which includes Jen and Rhodey -- was revealed. It could be a coincidence, it could be a red herring, or Marvel could have altered the story to combat a legit leak. But even just looking at the non-rumor reasons, She-Hulk and War Machine do make a lot of sense.

Who do you think will fall in this July's "Civil War II" #3?