The series centres around a squad of superhuman ("paranormal") American soldiers, sent overseas on a mission that threatens to spiral into World War III.
Published in a double-length prestige format, it serves as a Grand Finale for the wider setting of The New Universe, a shared world unrelated to the Marvel Universe. It's also a sequel of sorts to the New Universe's previous prestige format one-offs, The Pitt and The Draft.
In The Pitt, a paranormal completely annihilated Pittsburgh, abruptly pivoting the New Universe away from its initial "the world outside your window" approach. In The Draft a shaken American government, still unable to identify the Pittsburgh attacker, started conscripting paranormals into the United States Army.
The War follows events after the American government receives a video claiming responsibility for the Pittsburgh attack. The tape, directly supplied to the President by the Soviet Premier, suggests that the USA was targeted for backing the wrong side in the Mozambican Civil War and includes an explosive demonstration of paranormal powers.
The US Army's Paranormal Force, led by new character Major Kathi Blizzard and Captain Jack Magniconte (formerly the lead of Kickers, Inc.), is dispatched to South Africa to investigate and take necessary action. Things swiftly go very wrong for them.
In parallel, the army's paranormal profiler, Keith Remsen (previously known as Nightmask) is tasked with stopping a murderous deserter who slipped through his screening process. Harlan Mook, a teleporter with explosive powers, is now leaving a trail of carnage across the world.
The War provides examples of:
- Armed with Canon: A version that doesn't affect continuity. Jack Magniconte's previous appearance saw him kitted out with a costume, given a code name and positioned as the army's new Captain Patriotic. Murray, a veteran who previously wrote Marvel's war comic The 'Nam, immediately has Jack's new commanding officer scrap all of that, ridicule the idea, and put him back in uniform.
- Big Bad: Colonel Oort and his South African backers.
- Glamour Failure: Bob Loeser (aka "Pretty Boy") has the power to appear as someone other people are expecting to see, just one more face in the crowd. Unfortunately, while infiltrating a rebel camp in Mozambique, he receives an unexpected telepathic cry for help and loses his concentration. He doesn't get out alive.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: This version of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini (named only as "the Ayatollah", but clearly drawn as Khomeini) has acquired paranormal Telepathy and Mind Control powers.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Sahno's paranormality makes him an impossibly good shot. At one point he gets Jack to throw a playing card in the air - the eight of spades - and he neatly puts a bullet through every spade before it lands.
- Internal Reveal: The Pittsburgh claim on the tape is a lie, orchestrated as a False Flag Operation by Colonel Oort. Previous comics (e.g. Star Brand and The Pitt) revealed to readers that Pittsburgh was accidentally destroyed when Ken Connell tried to neutralise the Star Brand, but none of the characters know that.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Pitbull is a short-tempered jerk who's often portrayed as a thug and a bully. He's also the first white soldier to point out that the squad's warm welcome in South Africa was limited to their white members, excluding Jeff and the Major.
- Middle Eastern Terrorists: A variant. The terrorist attacks are physically carried out by Harlan Mook, who's a white American. But Harlan's acting on behalf of his controller in Iran and is steered by Mind Control.
- Monumental Damage: Harlan's first two targets are The Pentagon and the Alamo.
- Mugging the Monster: Harlan teleports into Iran, where he find the Ayatollah in a street and decides to assassinate him with his powers. He doesn't realise that the Ayatollah's a paranormal with Mind Control powers until it's too late.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Colonel Oort is extremely racist, regularly using slurs when he talks about Black characters. His prison camp solely contains Black paranormals and he's creepily enthusiastic about Major Blizzard becoming a Breeding Slave in his Super Breeding Program.
- Telepathy: A couple of characters have telepathic powers.
- Major Kathi Blizzard has short range telepathy, picking up on others' thoughts, which she can't entirely control. Once she's made physical contact with someone she can also forge a two-way telepathic link that works at a longer distance.
- The Ayatollah can speak to others telepathically, seemingly regardless of their spoken language (although we only see this used at close range), and also has Mind Control powers.
- Where's the Kaboom?: World War III begins with an exchange of nuclear missiles. All of which fail to detonate due to the Star Child's interference.
