Ok. So, be truthful.
Hands up for those of you here that know who Captain Marvel is.
Hands down.
Hands up for those of you here that know who Ms. Marvel is.
Hands down.
Ok, now hands up for those of you here that know who Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel are?
Ah, you fibbers!
Captain Marvel #1
Written by: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Illustrated by: Dexter Soy
Published by: Marvel Comics
Maybe there’s a few of you in the back of the internet that know who and what I’m talking about: the imminent merger of two iconic Marvel Comics heroes (or the idea of two heroes) in a new monthly publication called, aptly enough, Captain Marvel.
There’s a long, storied history to the character called Ms. Marvel, otherwise known by her real-life self, Carol Danvers. She was originally a career military officer who became an editor of a feminist magazine called “Woman” while also being a super-powered hero. For a while she led The Avengers, and then half of the Marvel Universe during the “Mutant Registration Act” days. You can read a more in-depth and absolutely fascinating dissection of the character’s feminist history and place in Marvel Comics here (a piece from a few years ago, that I’m still quite proud of, by the way).
The Captain Marvel character is a different, more confusing story that deals with the alien Kree race, a strange, hyphenated spelling of the character’s name, and multiple heirs-apparent to the legacy designation after the original’s demise. That’s right. The original Captain Marvel, truly, the only Captain Marvel until now, died due to inoperable cancer in the pages of Marvel’s first large-format graphic novel, The Death of Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin, published in 1982. If you haven’t read it, you should. It’s one of the most powerful and memorable stories in all of comics.
But this Wednesday Run column is about Carol Danvers! The new Captain Marvel!
Today, this character finally makes the leap into the superhero spotlight; she finally evolves into one of Marvel’s premiere superheroes for the twenty-first century: both as a leader for the pantheon of other well-recognized characters in the Marvel universe and in the minds of the public consciousness that read her stories. Today, we all start to discover what it means to be a Captain in the world of Marvel Comics. There’s a lot riding on this transition. Carol Danvers is, after all, carrying the name of the company on her shoulders. It’s just a little thing, isn’t it?
So make the Wednesday Run today and pick up Captain Marvel #1 – a watershed, pivotal moment for a character that was always about to take that last step towards centre stage.
It’s a marvellous thing indeed.
Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!
