Carol Corps unite! Fan favorite, Captain Marvel is back after a few months with some changes but with the same vibe. This was one of the most anticipated releases of the All New Marvel Now! initiative and while it wasn’t a disappointment, it did have some problems.
Captain Marvel #1 begins with Carol at the Maniaciano Outpost on planet Ursor with a new team. Initially, it’s unclear why she’s there to begin with but Kelly Sue Deconnick quickly gets us to the reason why. The new volume of Captain Marvel will focus primarily on Captain Marvel and her adventures in space. This spins out of the mega event Infinity as the Avengers now want to have a real presence in the galaxy and not just be “Earth’s Mightiest Defenders”. Tony Stark persuades Carol to go as the first real Avengers presence in space. But before Carol can go she needs to tie up some loose ends with her friends and romantic relationships.
Captain Marvel #1 is a really great example of how you set up a story. Everything we need to know is right here, even a little about how Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel and acquired her powers. Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez show everything here. Her powers, her personality, all her friends. It’s a new reader’s dream. However that is where I have the problem.
Despite the fact that DeConnick has absolutely nailed down Carol’s voice and she’s still the same Carol from before, there’s a lot here that’s missing from the previous volume. *mild spoilers* In the previous volume of Captain Marvel a huge storyline involved Carol’s health problems. Particularly with her brain as the Kree part of it was causing her major problems when she took flight. At the end she let one of her brain lesions burst which changed a lot of who she is. She had her memories but not her same personality. She was different. That seems to not apply here. Same for her almost boyfriend. Now there’s clear indication that she’s with Iron Patriot.
While I did not enjoy the whole brain lesion plot from the previous volume, it does feel very strange to just pretend it never happened. Reboots and retcons are so very common in comics, but they usually happen a significant amount of time, not a couple of months later. The story as a whole works very well but as a long time comic fan a sudden almost reboot annoys me a bit.
David Lopez does the best Captain Marvel art I’ve seen in a while. The last volume of this series was a bit all over the place because of the different artists. Carol has a strong physique here but is also still very pretty. The action moves well and the pacing is quick, but not too quick. The cover is also my favorite cover from this series to date. Take note Marvel casting people, the image on the front doesn’t look like Katee Sackhoff by accident.
Overall this was a very good first issue. It was accessible for new readers and still very enjoyable for long time readers. The team of DeConnick and Lopez craft a new beginning that feels similar to the old. Carol Corps unite!
Jess Camacho is a guest blogger for GAMbIT Magazine and also writes for GeekedOutNation.com and runs her own comic focused Tumblr Chicks Like Comics Too.
About Author
