Captain Marvel #1-6
Originally released in 2012
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by Dexter Soy (#1-4), Emma Rios (#5-6)
While I had read these comics before, that was years ago, during the lead-up to the Captain Marvel movie, and I thought I'd come back to them with more context. This was the point where Carol Danvers took on the Captain Marvel name, and looking back on it now, it seemed long overdue. Mar-Vell, the first Captain Marvel, died in 1982, in a touching and poignant story about Mar-Vell's battle with cancer. Unlike most comic book deaths, this one stuck, though several characters filled the Captain Marvel mantle in the thirty years since.
Monica Rambeau's a great character, and while I haven't read much featuring Genis-Vell or Phyla-Vell, I have nothing against them being Captain Marvel, but for Carol, it felt like a natural progression for her to take on the role. I kind of wish that they had went through with it sooner; even the costume feels more natural for her. (she's a semi-serious military type, which was kind of contrasted by her flying around in a one piece bathing suit)
As for the comic itself, the starting is kind of weird, both in terms of writing and art. Seemingly anticipating that Carol taking on the Captain Marvel identity would be met with backlash, the first issue starts with her and Captain America fighting a sexist supervillain. However, the supervillain in question is the Absorbing Man, who's in a relationship with Titania (a woman who, in all likelihood, could kick his butt under most circumstances), and Titania is a rival of She-Hulk, who's comparable to the Hulk in terms of strength. My point is that is seems weird for him to be openly sexist like this, at least from what I've read, though it does fit with his thuggish demeanour.
I like Dexter Soy's art, though the way that he draws the Absorbing Man seems odd; the Absorbing Man is a normal-sized guy, but here, Carol and Steve's entire bodies are almost the size of his head in some panels. (maybe his powers can allow him to change size and I was unaware of that, or maybe he stole some Pym Particles at some point)
Carol doesn't want to take on the name of Captain Marvel at first, given how much she respects Mar-Vell, but with the convincing of Captain America, she takes on the name. Shortly afterwards, she finds out that an idol of hers, Helen Cobb, passed away. She had met Helen before gaining her powers, and Helen left her an airplane in her will. Helen had allegedly broken a flight record in that plane, so Carol sets out to do the same and prove that it really happened. (and then go beyond it, because Carol is a competitive person)
This inadvertently causes her to be sent back through time to World War 2 and (later) the early 1960s, where she discovers that the broken pieces of the Kree's Psyche-Magnetron machine (which gave Carol her powers originally) have been sent through the time-stream, and she needs to find them to return home. The Psyche-Magnetron is described as a wish granting machine, and this is the part that always bugged me about Carol's origins - the Kree built a machine that grants wishes, and yet they still can't defeat the Skrulls, the Shi'ar, humanity, or any other alien race that they come across. (later stories change it so that Carol's mother was a Kree warrior, and Carol gaining her powers was due to her being half-Kree, which makes more sense in my eyes)
Upon reaching the 1960s, she encounters Helen Cobb in her youth, which briefly turns into a "never meet your heroes" situation when they butt heads. Helen is headstrong, competitive, and determined - qualities that she shares with Carol, though that causes them to clash at times. They make for an entertaining duo, though.
The narration was well-written, and I found it inspiring at times. As well, it doesn't seem to pull any punches when it comes to depicting the double standards that women faced decades ago, making Helen's struggle to be recognized as the outstanding pilot that she is even more frustrating to watch.
I thought this was a great start to Carol Danvers' time as Captain Marvel. While it's isolated from the rest of the Marvel universe (only briefly taking place in the time that superheroes were around), it was a well-written story about the people who inspired Carol, along with her struggle with feelings of uncertainty and doubt. (having lost her chance to prove herself as a pilot now that she has superpowers) It did well with showing the struggle that women went through over the decades to simply be heard, with some well-drawn action in addition to that.
No comments:
Post a Comment