Captain Marvel #1 2012
Written by: Kevin Hunter, Special to CC2K
Upon seeing “Captain Marvel” #1, the first thing I was asking myself was, what is this short-haired, hot blonde doing on the cover? Then I figured I should probably read it to find out. It turns out that this Captain Marvel, hot shot Air Force Major Carol Danvers is now taking up the mantle of a old dead character of the same name from a long time ago. I didn’t realized that Danvers has been around so long. Take a look at “Captain Marvel” #1 and you will see that she has aged very, very well.
Captain Marvel #1
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Artist: Dexter Sox
Cover: Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines and Javier Rodriguez
In a great story by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Danvers seems to be going through the motions and some sort of identity crisis. She doesn’t know what she wants to call herself (don’t you hate it what that happens?). Does she go with the late, great Captain Marvel, or Mar-Vell as Captain American said his real name was during the Silver Age, or does she go completely feminist and go back to being Ms. Marvel? I mean, she’s already changed her hair and costume, so a new name wouldn’t hurt, right?
Captain America suggests that she man-up and take the mantle and run with it, and even Spider-Man throws in his two cents as sees what that’s worth in today’s economy by being thrown into a wall by Danvers in some friendly hand-to-hand combat just for practice. Plus having a cameo by Spider-Man never hurts in the first issue of any book. So after some soul searching somewhere out in space giving the new powers a trial run, taking time to visit a dying friend, and attend the funeral for a mentor, Danvers succumbs to the superhero peer pressure and takes on the name. If she didn’t then issue number two would have a new title.
Since the next issue is likely to be called Captain Marvel #2 I suggest reading issue number one. The artwork by Dexter Soy is solid as is the cover by Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines and Javier Rodriguez. It’s smartly written and Danvers looks like the of female hero that isn’t going to take any crap from anyone – not even the likes of Captain America or Spider-Man, no matter how amazing and a big-screen box office stud he is right now. The story will drag on for awhile about Danvers finding herself and establishing her own identity and that’s is fine with me, because I love character development. Plus, it’s very likely that we’ll be seeing more guest appearances by other Marvel characters who have made it big at the box office. But leave Ghost Rider out of it. He gives me the creeps!