Captain Marvel

Originally created for the sole purpose of retaining the rights to the name ‘Captain Marvel,’ (and why shouldn’t Marvel Comics have such a character, I ask you!) the star-born hero is as much a complicated bundle of contradictions as any found in the House of Ideas. Part of an invasion fleet sent by the Kree, Mar-Vell lives incognito on a military base gathering information that will soon be used to destroy the human beings he walks amongst. In time, Mar-Vell rebels against his villainous war-hungry superior and all but loses himself in a battle to win the freedom of the people that he would just as soon destroy.

I had always been terribly interested in this character and hunted down his first appearances, waiting until I had all of the early issues leading up to the massive series redesign… and it was pretty lousy. Not to disrespect 1960’s Marvel, which I love, but this series really had no direction to go in. Not until Mar-Vell dons the nega-bands and is bonded to Rick Jones does the comic gain some sort of identity.

With this new plot contrivance, Mar-Vell and Jones switch places, leaving one of them in a strange limbo world whenever the negabands are clashed. While they can communicate via telepathy, the two can never be in the same place… kinda like Ladyhawk.

The Gil Kane redesign of Captain Marvel was a major success and granted the series a new lease on life. The art was stunning and the mixture of Rick Jones and his free-wheeling lifestyle (and dialog) jarred in just the right way against the establishment man that was Mar-Vell. The adventures were cosmic and grand, but grounded in the streets of America, much like a later experiment tried out in the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series by Denny O’Neill and Neal Adams.

In its 25th issue, artist/writer Jim Starlin arrived and pulled the series into the annals of Marveldom where it belonged. Throughout his adventures against the Kree and Skrulls and even the dreaded Thanos (Marvel’s answer to Darkseid), Captain Marvel established himself as a major player and one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe. That is why it came as such a surprise when Mar-Vell died from cancer in the groundbreaking graphic novel (yes, a real graphic novel) ‘The Death of Captain Marvel.’ A bittersweet story, the novel remains a major creative water mark for Marvel Comics.

In the 1990’s, Peter David introduced a follow up series of Captain Marvel chronicling the adventures of Mar-Vell’s son, Genis. While it saw some high points and one of the most impressive character redesigns in comics, the series was eventually canceled.

In the recent company-wide crossover Civil War, Captain Marvel suddenly found himself back in the world of the living and more than a little confused. He wasn’t alone. Mar-Vell had become lost in time/space a short period before he would die. Thinking quickly, Tony Stark hired Captain Marvel to guard his interspacial Alcatraz and he was more or less forgotten (he didn’t even show up in Avengers or Civil War proper!).

After a prolonged absence from the comic book world, the Captain has returned. This new series features the time-lost warrior operating on borrowed time before he must return to his rightful place in the time continuum and face a prolonged and painful death surrounded by his friends who must stand by and do nothing.

Newcomer Brian Reed is joined by veteran artist Lee Weeks to bring the character back into the limelight. The project is a 5 issue miniseries, but if it works, you might see Captain Marvel rubbing shoulders with his old allies like the Fantastic Four or even Captain America himself… if Cap ever returns from the dead.

First issue goes on sale tomorrow.

Recommended:

Marvel Masterworks Captain Marvel 1
The Life and Death of Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
Captain Marvel: Crazy Like a Fox (Captain Marvel)