The City That Works = A City No More

The Stamford Advocate weighs in on Marvel's Civil War (Spoilers Warning):

The flaming "Welcome To" sign lying in the rubble next to Spider-Man and Iron Man made it clear he wasn't looking at the smoldering ruins and bombed-out buildings of a generic comic book metropolis or a section of New York City, the traditional stomping ground of Marvel's characters.

It was Stamford.

I still remember when the X-Men visited Dallas during the Fall of the Mutants storyline ... of course, there was only maybe one or two panels that actually showed any kind of Dallas landmark. But maybe it'll be different for Stamford, a city that was recommended for destruction by former resident Jeph Loeb.

People are just shocked," said Salerno, owner of A Timeless Journey comic book store in Stamford, who has been telling customers about the event. "Everybody's trying to figure out, "Why Stamford?' It's just really cool."

The politically charged story, according to Joe Quesada, Marvel's editor in chief, was inspired by post-Sept. 11, 2001, America and debates over the Patriot Act and government wiretapping. Though the details remain under wraps, a preview of May's first issue - which Marvel labels as appropriate for readers 13 and older - hints that the tragedy occurs when a battle between superheroes and villains causes a mammoth explosion outside of the fictional Stamford Elementary School.