Captain Marvel #1

by

I Want To Go To Space

A thought that everyone has had at some point in their lifetime. As Spock said, the Final Frontier; or an empty canvas, with which we can discover endless possibilities. Or more importantly, discover ourselves. On this planet, we can seem insignificant at times, so imagine what it would be like in space, with infinity just around the corner? Would it just make it that much harder? Or would the inherent endlessness of space force us to find where we end and space begins, giving life a brand new meaning? These are the kind of questions that I think Captain Marvel is going to address in this brand new series from Marvel.

Throughout the book, we see the characters addressing their fears and insecurities, with hope of being understood by those around them that care. Rhodey is insecure in his relationship with Carol, but they talk it out. Kit is worried about Carol, but doesn’t understand what she’s going through. So she asks and learns that in order to beat restlessness, you just have to get up and go, you have to find your purpose. When these characters have doubts, they talk about it. They want to better themselves. And Carol, of course, has her insecurities as well. It may not seem it, but when Kit asks Carol what she always wanted to be, Carol responds, “I wanted to be all the things…an Olympic Gold-Medalist-Astronaut-Veterinarian-Teacher-Storyteller-And-Marine-Biologist…Just like you.” Kit responds, “You forgot Super-Hero. Just like You.” By most of our standards, achieving super-hero status would be the stuff of dreams, but to Carol, this conversation makes it seem like she hasn’t met her own expectations. Like there’s so much more to be had in her life. She is a super-hero, and so to us as readers, we may ask, “what more could you want?” But if she measures what she has achieved in life against what she has already become and is still lost, then who are we to judge her for still wanting more? No one’s perfect and growth is necessary in order for a person to be who they want to be. Who they were born to be.

Setting the stage for a cosmic landscape, the new Captain Marvel series is self-reflexive. The Marvel Universe–and I mean Universe-Universe–is such a large scale concept, more than any of us could comprehend. The idea of needing all that space out in Space really lends itself to this book and this character. Both Captain Marvel and the Marvel Universe are larger than life, so it makes sense that Carol would need to seek an extreme in order to find her place.

The cosmic Marvel Universe also appeals on an entirely different level of entertainment. Of course, Science-Fiction and super-heroes have always walked hand in hand (if not, where would all the origin stories be?), so looking beyond the stars for stories of heroism, action and adventure is a brilliant way for us to escape even further into our comic books. New characters, planets, cultures and villains make the never-ending plane of space all the more interesting. I just love everything cosmic Marvel and I hope the creators and editors keep looking up. Silver Surfer from Dan Slott is going to be a great example.

I think that the characters and their relationships are on a good level to appeal to both new and old readers alike. As for myself, I’m a relatively new reader to Captain Marvel; I’ve seen her a whole lot in the current run of Hickman’s Avengers, but I’ve never read her in her own title. I could identify most of the characters through context and figure out who’s new and who’s old. There are also some nice surprises for all the Star Wars fans out there. On my first read through, it was hard not to notice that the setting of the first scene and the attitudes of the characters all lent themselves heavily to the Mos Eisley scene from A New Hope. And DeConnick debunked my theory of coincidence by quoting the classic movie line “These aren’t the droids your’e looking for…” Needless to say, Danvers can’t access the force and the mind trick failed leading to an epic fight and chase. But needless to say, I was appreciative of the thought and hope to see more nerdisms like this in coming issues.

–John