Civil War

"Families torn apart, old friends fighting one another... stop resisting the Registration Act and help me change things from within!"

- Iron Man

Civil War (or Marvel: Civil War) is one of the three Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Heavy Hitters pack in Pinball FX 3, originally released in 2012 for Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball FX 2 as a standalone table. The table is based on the 2006-2007 crossover comic book of the same title, in which the high collateral damage from a battle between superheroes and supervillains sparks calls for government control of superheroes. This carries divisive moral implications, resulting in infighting among superheroes disagreeing over whether it should be implemented.

Table overview[]

The upper half of the table[]

The back corners of the table show two dueling posters. The left one has a poster of Iron Man in favor of the Superhuman Registration Act, reading "Together, we are strong." The right one has a poster of Captain America against the Superhuman Registration Act, reading "Captain America is right." The center of the back wall contains a barred window showing the U.S. Capitol.

A long, red U-shaped arcing ramp has its apex right in front of the Iron Man poster. It arcs left and leads to an exit habitrail leading to a drop-off atop the left rebound. A pop-out sign on the left table wall near the corner can fold out when a combo is active, showing the current length of the combo. A right crossramp spanning the width of the table runs along the table's back wall, merging into that ramp. It is accessed by a right mini-flipper at the opposite corner, where a button is also present that can be hit if the ball reaches that flipper. A failure to make a cross-shot that brings the ball to the red ramp would cause the ball to drop down a straight, down-sloping, one-way blue ramp running along the right table wall that eventually drops the ball to a right vertical upkicker.

A large asymmetrical orbit wraps around the entrances of most of the table's lanes. to the right of the left orbit's entrance is a single target representing the Punisher and a blue crossramp that makes a small loop towards the start of a left crossramp leading to back right corner of the table. Its left wall contains a gap that allows a ball going backward up the nearby red ramp to jump over to this looping ramp. A left mini-flipper is also placed at the start of this crossramp and it must be used to make a cross-shot up that crossramp to access the mini-flipper at the back right corner for a chance to make a cross-shot to the red ramp. Failure would result in the ball dropping down the exit habitrail of the right red ramp to the left of the right orbit (described further down this section), whether from a direct drop or by going down a holographic "flash ramp" that takes the ball to the left rebound, then loops over to it.

Next to that blue looping crossramp is the abovementioned red U-shaped ramp. Next to that ramp is a spindisk that captures the ball and drops it into the table subway. It is themed after a whirlpool in the ocean, where the Raft, a floating maximum security prison, is stationed. There are two lanes next to each other that access the spindisk, with the left one blocked off by as many as 3 drop targets placed in a line. The right lane is used to start fights. A electronic display placed in front of the back crossramp shows images of the superhero civil war. depending on events on the table.

To the right of the fight lane is the direct hit mini-orbit that brings the ball to the entrance of the right orbit. It goes around and underneath a red ramp that travels over the right orbit and eventually down a habitrail that leads to a drop-off atop the right rebound. Most of this ramp's exit habitrail has its left wall missing, allowing for the abovementoned right VUK to send the ball backward up it and right up the looping left crossramp. In some situations, a flash ramp may appear there that forms an overhead bridge across the two rebounds and boosts the ball up the exit habitrail of the left U-shaped red ramp. The boosted ball goes backwards up this ramp in such a way that it ends up jumping over to the end of the blue looping crossramp due to the abovementioned gap in its walls. The entrance of the right orbit contains a magnetic trap that may activate when the direct hit mini-orbit is shot, which then captures the ball for a chance to make a cross-shot with a nearby right mini-flipper to access the blue looping crossramp.

The lower half of the table[]

The entrance of the left orbit threads through a bumper area. The bumper area is designed such that any balls that go towards the left side of the bumper area can drop into an automatic launcher on the left side of the table, or down an exit that drops the ball into the left inlane. The rightmost bumper is much different than the two others, as it is collapsible and its right side contains a twin pair of targets, each representing a word in the phrase "safe house". The targets can fold up and out of the way to reveal a hidden sinkhole. The automatic launcher sends the ball up the left orbit, looping it over to the other side of the table. There is an electronic sign installed on the left wall of the table above this launcher, containing a blue meter and a red meter indicating the popularity of Captain America and Iron Man respectively as they fight over the Superhuman Registration Act. There are also lamps for score multiplier placed below these meter, going up to 5x.

At the other side of the table, there is a right mini-flipper used to access the abovementioned blue looping crossramp. It lies behind the end of the abovementoned one-way drop from the back right corner of the table destined for the right VUK and a stone balcony installed high up the right side of the table, where a figure of Captain America stands. There are also two VUK sinkholes: one in front of the frontmost bumper (right beside the dropdown exit at the left side of the bumper area) and another that can be accessed either from the left main flipper, or a failed attempt to take the ball through the back crossramp, the latter which would drop the ball down a one-way lane and hit the VUK from behind. There are also two flash ramps in front of them: the left one loops the ball onto to the exit habitrail of the right red ramp, while the right one loops the ball up the right orbit with great force so that it goes all the way down the left one. The left sinkhole represents the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) and is likewise marked with its emblem, while the right sinkhole is used to advance the score multiplier.

There are 4 return lanes, 2 rebounds and 2 flippers. Each outlane has a low-power spring-loaded kickback and each inlane is marked with a icon of a superhero registration card. A figure of Iron Man stands on a platform installed on the left table wall near the left outlane, with the platform marked with the message "I save the future". The aprons contain machinery that glow blue when a nearby kickback is available to use. At the edges of the left apron are red and yellow lamps spelling the word FUTURE, representing Iron Man's desire to use the Superhuman Registration Act to ensure a safer future. At the edges of the right apron are blue and white lamps spelling the word FREEDOM, representing Captain America's belief that the Superhuman Registration Act infringes on freedoms that superheroes need. A digital screen is also placed on the right apron with the message "Whose side are you on?", next to a circular portrait of the leader of the faction the player has chosen (Iron Man or Captain America).

The plunger[]

Along the right wall of the table, next to the plunger shaft, is a fold-out computer screen indicating the alignment of each of 8 Marvel superheroes involved in the civil war: Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Sentry, Human Torch, Ms. Marvel, Tigra, Luke Cage and Vision. The shaft itself is straight and its terminus drops the ball into the one-way drop down lane leading behind the VUK. The drop-down lane is also designed such that strong shots of the plunger would take the ball up the right orbit instead of the one-way blue ramp where balls that fail to go through the back of the crossramp. The drop-off end of that ramp is raised too high for the ball to get up there.

The plunger itself is shaped like the engine of a Helicarrier, a large aircraft used by the S.H.I.E.L.D. to transport heroes and combat personnel to confront threats. There are 16 segment lamps that gauge the plunger strength, with the lamps changing from blue to red if the plunger strength is too high for a good skill shot. The goal of the skill shot is to guess the correct amount of plunger strength that will bring the ball up the right orbit (but not too deeply into it), so that it can quickly drop to the right mini-flipper to execute a cross shot that hits the Punisher's target within several seconds of launch. The rightmost bumper will lower during this time to allow for clearance to hit the target.

Objective and missions[]

The goal of this table is to choose to either support or block the enactment of the Superhuman Registration Act, a law that requires superheroes to register with the government to keep their powers under control out of public safety concerns. To achieve this goal, the player first chooses a cause to support (which is either joining Iron Man to ensure the passing of the Act or standing with Captain America to prevent it from becoming law) at the start of a session and after the Stamford Multiball if the player chose to start it, then convince eight superheroes, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Sentry, Human Torch, Ms. Marvel, Tigra, Luke Cage and Vision, to join the chosen cause by completing modes successfully, while bearing the risk of losing them or letting them get taken by the opposing faction if modes are failed. Each superhero can either be for the player's cause, neutral or against the player's cause, and the table will choose at random which particular superhero will change alignment when a mode is won or lost.

Note: Unlike other tables, in which the wizard mode is unlocked only by completing a certain series of missions, this table requires players to unlock the wizard mode by converting all eight abovementioned superheroes to the player's cause, which can be done either through modes with a risk of failure, or by activating certain perks that can result in one superhero being converted into an ally. Modes in which it is possible to lose an ally due to failure are considered "missions" for the purpose of this wiki, with each mission representing an area of conflict in the larger superhero civil war. Actions that the player can perform to win allies, but would not result in losing an ally if done unsuccessfully are classified as perks. Allies who are supporting the opposing cause cannot be recruited until they are "disabled" or otherwise convinced to rethink their position and move back to neutral status.

The player can win allies by completing any of the following mission modes successfully - but can lose allies if completed unsuccessfully:

Recruitment: Superheroes will stop at nothing to recruit allies to uphold their efforts to enact or block the SHRA. If the ball drops into either inlane, the player has 5 seconds to shoot the opposite orbit. Successfully doing so converts one superhero into an ally. Failure will result in one ally being lost or one neutral hero joining the opposing cause.
Ambush: Iron Man spots a chance to capture and prosecute Captain America for his defiance of the SHRA. This mission's startup procedure and objectives depend on which side the player supports:
- If the player is supporting the Superhuman Registration Act with Iron Man, the player starts the Ambush mission by helping him find and attack one of Captain America's safe houses to apprehend any superheroes he protects. This is done by hitting each of the two Safe House targets twice to make the targets fold up and out to expose a hidden sinkhole inside the right bumper that must be shot to begin an ambush. (Every time one target is struck twice, one superhero who is opposing the Superhuman Registration Act will rethink their position and become neutral.) The ambush mission itself is a 3-ball multiball, with the 3 balls representing heroes that Captain America protects from SHRA prosecution. The player must assist Iron Man in rounding up the superheroes by locking each ball into the Raft spindisk, with a time limit for each ball to lock. (An infinite ball saver is granted for the duration of each time limit. If the player started this mission without any allies supporting the SHRA, each successful lock will recruit one hero to support it.) If the player takes too long to lock a ball, the flippers will be disabled and all balls will drain, resulting in failure of the mode and causing a random superhero supporting the Superhuman Registration Act to oppose it.
- If the player is opposing the Superhuman Registration Act with Captain America, the player starts the Ambush mission by helping him defeat the guards at the Raft prison, represented by 3 drop targets blocking the Raft spindisk. To defeat the first guard, the player must hit the first drop target to knock it down, then shoot the flash ramp in front of the left sinkhole within the next 15 seconds before the drop target comes back up. The second guard is then defeated by hitting the next drop target in line and then shooting the flash ramp in front of the right sinkhole VUK within the next 15 seconds before that drop target comes back up. After two drop targets are down, the player must knock down the final drop target and then hit the Raft spindisk within the next 15 seconds to start the mission before that target comes back up. (Alternatively, the player can try knocking down each drop target, one by one, within 15 seconds of each hit, to start this mission.) When this mission begins, Iron Man will then chase Captain America and the player must guide the latter to safety at a Safe House by shooting the following target lanes in order: the fight lane, the right orbit and lastly, the hidden safehouse sinkhole inside the right bumper. The player has 15 seconds to make each of the 3 shots, with each correct hit resulting in one hero who supports the SHRA to rethink their support of it and become neutral. Successful completion of this mission will convert one superhero into joining Captain America's campaign to stop the SHRA, while failure will result in one of his allies getting captured by Iron Man and converted into a SHRA supporter.
Fights: Superheroes are even willing to engage in open combat to enforce whichever cause they support. A battle begins if the player spells FUTURE (while supporting the Superhuman Registration Act with Iron Man) or FREEDOM (while opposing the Superhuman Registration Act with Captain America) through shots up the blue looping crossramp or either of the two red ramps, then hits the fight lane. This is a 3-phase fight and each phase requires the player to shoot any flashing lane (with lamps flashing at the corners of the entrance of the target lane to shoot) at least once, with easier fights having more target lanes available, fewer target lane hits needed to win a phase and longer time limits. If the player takes too long to hit a target lane, the battle will be lost and the opposing faction will take away one of the player's allies so that they support the other side's views. Completing all three phases successfully results in the player converting one superhero into an ally (and can gain more if the battle won was more difficult).

Once the player has recruited all 8 superheroes to their cause, the player must spell FUTURE (if the player is pro-Registration) or FREEDOM (if the player is anti-Registration) one more time through shots up the red ramps or the blue looping crossramp and then hit the fight lane before any allies are lost to start the wizard mode, Wedding Party. This is a time-limited 4-ball victory multiball celebrating the end of the Civil War with the wedding of Black Panther and the mutant Storm. Within one minute and unlimited ball saver, the player can shoot any lane to earn a massive jackpot that is a multiple of 1,500,000 and grows every time the wizard mode is started. Once time runs out, the flippers will be disabled and all balls will drain, and then the table progress will restart with the player being reassigned to the opposing cause, starting with another chance to execute a skill shot. All 8 superheroes will then become enemies allying with the previous cause and the player must win them back to the new side they support.

Side modes[]

There is only one side mode for this table (in that winning it does not result in automatically recruiting an ally), and it is called the Direct Hit. It starts every time the Direct Hit mini-orbit is hit, starting a time-limited opportunity for Captain America or Iron Man to land a tactical attack and gain an advantage.

If the player is pro-Registration and hits the Direct Hit mini-orbit, the player must immediately get the ball to the back right corner of the table by chaining together two cross-shots, one that brings the ball up the looping blue crossramp, and then an immediate follow-through cross-shot that takes the ball to the back right corner of the table, hitting a button there. Successfully accomplishing this task boosts Iron Man's popularity.
If the player is anti-Registration and hits the Direct Hit mini-orbit, the player must immediately make a cross-shot with the right mini-flipper up the blue looping crossramp to disrupt Iron Man so that he can't recruit superheroes to his cause for a limited amount of time, temporarily removing ally penalties for failing any of the missions above.

Multiball[]

At the start of each session, the player is given the choice to start an optional 2-ball multiball representing the event that started the superhero civil war, Stamford Multiball. The 2 balls shown represent Captain America and Iron Man themselves as they work side by side to find and rescue survivors of the "Stamford Incident" in which the supervillain Nitro blows up an elementary school, causing massive damage and death. Shooting a lit lane results in one survivor being rescued, and the rescued survivors must then be evacuated by hitting the flash ramps at either VUK sinkhole, with 200,000 points awarded per evacuated survivor. Every 10 survivors evacuated will result in one superhero being converted to the cause of the player's choice once the player chooses which of the two factions to support after the multiball ends with either ball draining. (There is no ball saver during this multiball and this multiball can only occur once per play session.)

Perks[]

The following perks can be earned during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated normally if the player is pro-Registration, but can be reactivated while the player is anti-Registration, completes both Safe House hurry-ups (described below) and then hits the Punisher target.
Kickbacks: Hitting the S.H.I.E.L.D. sinkhole 4 times will activate a low-power spring-loaded kickback in the left outlane; hitting the sinkhole another 4 times will activate the one in the right outlane. Once both kickbacks are turned on, every 4 hits of that sinkhole will raise the bumper score (if the player is pro-Registration) or steal all of Iron Man's popularity (if the player is Anti-Registration). Once activated, kickbacks will stay on until they are used.
Score Multiplier: Hitting the right sinkhole/VUK will spell out a letter of the word WAR (if the player is pro-Registration) or REBEL (if the player is anti-Registration). When either word is spelled out completely, the score multiplier will advance by 1 until the maximum of 4 (for anti-Registration) or 5 (for pro-Registration) is reached. The score multiplier is only good for the current ball, and once the maximum is reached, any further completed spellings of the word will grant a growing score bonus.
Super Combo: If the player shoots multiple different lanes, one after the other, a combo will start, and the player will have a chance to add 2 steps to the current combo while it is alive for a limited time by hitting flash ramps that activate in front of the sinkholes. Extending a combo to a certain length will result in a Super Combo, in which the table will automatically control the flippers for a brief time and grant the player one ally. The minimum combo length needed for a Super Combo conversion starts at 4 and gradually increases to 8 every time a successful Super Combo is performed. A combo expires if the player takes too long to hit a different lane, and the current length of the combo will be displayed on a foldout computer screen at the back left corner of the table.
Godlike Combo: After a successful Direct Hit is performed, the player can then shoot the red right ramp to attempt a Godlike Combo, in which that ramp's flash ramp will activate, sending the ball backwards up the exit habitrail of the opposite red ramp with such force that it jumps off its entrance and onto the end of the blue looping crossramp, where the player chain together two cross-shots, one that propels the ball up the crossramp leading to the back right corner of the table with the left mini-flipper and another that takes the ball back to the left red ramp via the back crossramp and the right mini-flipper. Completing 3 Godlike Combos with the same ball awards an extra ball.
Popularity: With the civil war occurring in a democracy where the belief upheld by the most civilians becomes the one that guides society, gaining popularity is key to strengthening one's cause. Popularity increases throughout events such as winning allies or executing Super Combos. The current popularity value dispenses an end-of-ball bonus every time the ball is lost.
Thunderbolts (Pro-Registration only): To aid his cause, Iron Man turns to the Thunderbolts, a team of reformed super-villains, to provide needed firepower to round up rebels opposing the Superhuman Registration Act. If the player is pro-Registration, every 10 spins the ball performs in the Raft spindisk will recruit a Thunderbolt member, contributing to the end of ball bonus. Each Thunderbolt recruited will also convert one hero to support the Superhero Registration Act. Recruiting 3 Thunderbolt members will also convince up to 2 of the 8 superheroes who oppose Registration to rethink their position and become neutral.
Rebel, Don't Register (Anti-Registration only): Captain America makes efforts to broadcast his justification for opposing the Superhuman Registration Act and gains some allies in this manner eventually. If the player is anti-Registration, every 30 bumper hits will eventually convince one hero to oppose the Superhuman Registration Act.
Safe House Hurry-Up (Anti-Registration only): Captain America uses safe houses to protect heroes who oppose the Superhuman Registration Act and are thus being hunted for capture by those who uphold it. If the player is anti-Registration and hits an unlit Safe House target, a hurry-up mode will start where the player must shoot a lit lane within a short amount of time to recruit one hero to oppose Registration. Completing this hurry-up successfully will light up that target solidly. Completing two Safe House hurry-ups, one for each target, will also allow Captain America to convince the Punisher to help his cause, lowering the right bumper and making his target available to activate the Ball Saver or instantly complete modes successfully.
Extra Ball: Extra Balls can be earned by maxing out the score multiplier or executing 3 Godlike Combos with the same ball. All earned extra balls are claimed by shooting the right sinkhole VUK.

Tips[]

You need to be skilled in shooting the right lane within a short amount of time to win missions, gain allies and avoid losing allies. If that's not your specialty, avoid battles if you don't have a lot of allies and try looking for ways to earn allies without the risk of losing them, listed in the Perks section above. This is especially important, as losing allies to the opposing cause therefore makes them incapable of joining your cause until they are brought back to neutral status - a task that's harder to accomplish on the anti-Registration side than the pro-Registration side because the only way to do so in the former is to complete the Ambush mission successfully. Thus, it would be easier for you to start anti-Registration, so once you beat the table on that side, you won't have much difficulty disabling the anti-Registration heroes as you switch sides and play on the pro-Registration side. You can also avoid losing allies on the anti-Registration side by successfully executing a Direct Hit that temporarily freezes Iron Man and negates ally penalties for mission failures.
Increase ball survivability by hitting the left sinkhole frequently and gaining kickbacks. If you are playing on the anti-Registration side, you can also earn the ball saver by completing the two Safe House hurry-ups and hitting the Punisher's target, but bear in mind that activating it is no easy task.
Beware of the exit habitrails of the red twin ramps! When the right red ramp's flash ramp is inactive, the ends of each habitrail will drop the ball from atop a rebound and dangerously right near the outhole, unlike how the habitrails of typical tables drop the ball neatly into inlanes. Be sure to ready your flippers to catch the ball when it drops off a rebound at the end of either exit habitrail.

External links[]

Marvel
A-Force · Ant-Man · The Avengers · Avengers: Age of Ultron · Blade · Captain America · Champions · Civil War · Deadpool · Doctor Strange · Fantastic Four · Fear Itself · Ghost Rider · Guardians of the Galaxy · The Infinity Gauntlet · Iron Man · Moon Knight · Spider-Man · Thor · Venom · Wolverine · World War Hulk · X-Men