In the climactic battle between Iron Man’s government-approved heroes and Captain America’s renegades, Cap had Iron Man dead to rights. With his armor damaged and Captain America standing over him, Iron Man said, “What are you waiting for? Finish it.”

As Cap mulled whether to strike the fatal blow, he was tackled by a group of civilians. Realizing that public sentiment had turned against him, and that all the fighting wasn’t going to solve anything, Cap ordered his troops to surrender and turned himself in.

That should put a damper on the next issue of his own series, Captain America No. 25, which is in stores today. There’s no telling what’ll happen, since the promotional material has been limited to two words: “classified information.”

UPDATE: I haven't read this issue yet, but mainstream media are reporting that Captain America dies. Talk about a damper.

As for the rest of the Avengers, you can’t expect them to kiss and make up after all that fighting. That’s why there’ll be competing Avengers titles. Mighty Avengers, which debuts today, stars Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, the Sentry, Black Widow, the Wasp and Wonder Man.

The established New Avengers series now stars Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Power Man, Iron Fist, Wolverine, Doctor Strange and Ronin. The 28th issue is due in stores next week.

The other big release today is Civil War: The Initiative, a 64-page one-shot illustrated by superstar artist Marc Silvestri that sets up the post-Civil War landscape. The Initiative is Iron Man’s plan to establish government-sponsored teams of superheroes in each of the 50 states.

This will be further explored in Avengers: The Initiative, an ongoing series debuting April 4. Also debuting that day is Omega Flight, a five-issue series about heroes who skirt the Registration Act by fleeing to Canada.