Carol Danvers - Captain Marvel Appreciation 2019

[Anthony W]

I've found that Carol and Tony have always been kind of antagonistic towards each other, even long before CW2. They're dear friends, but they don't always get along... and even when they're getting along well, they're still going to be sniping at each other. (And some people might actually appreciate that she pushes back against Tony. Someone has to! They're good foils for each other.)

I don't really understand this. Stark was the first person to confront Carol about her alcoholism. He became her sponsor and took her to her first AA meeting. They should have a much deeper mutual respect for eachother. But every interaction they have feels so hollow. I will have to see if this interaction is any different when I pick up this issue.

[Prof. Warren]

I think that was Marvel seeing the success of Wonder Woman.

No, the Captain Marvel movie was in development long before the release of Wonder Woman.

While I'm sure the success of WW was encouraging to see, it wasn't what prompted the CM movie to exist in the first place.

[Fokken]

I don't really understand this. Stark was the first person to confront Carol about her alcoholism. He became her sponsor and took her to her first AA meeting. They should have a much deeper mutual respect for eachother. But every interaction they have feels so hollow. I will have to see if this interaction is any different when I pick up this issue.

I dunno. I get what you mean, and I'm no Carol-apologist but I also recognize the value of the sponsor relationship and how one CAN (and often do) have a unique respect level of the person aiding you in your recovery/sobriety buuuuut this IS (also) Tony Stark and even as a support system for a specific challenge, he is still Tony Stark and especially when paired with a personality like Carol, can come across as arrogant and pompous. The two of them have a strong proclivity for exchanging barbs and quips as well, so that may just be how they roll as colleagues/friends.

Lastly, we as fans retain a remarkable wealth of history we cling to and adore, but I find it believable that the writers/creators may be less enthused to explore that particular narrative/connecction in favor of the charming frienemy trope they often display because FUN.


Alrighty, so all that being said, I gotta say issue ONE: Terrific.

I appreciate when stories dive right in with a "In the Thick of it" as an introduction for readers (for those who may be less familiar). I'm a big fan of when storytellers acknowledge how chaotic and constant this superhero life really is and that not EVERY "Oh no, a Monster!!" moment is going to require a 2-4 issue arc to give all the hairy details. This is the Marvel Universe. Its MADNESS. Monsters and mayhem are around every corner. Being treated to a Best-Buddy Bust-up-today's-Baddie break-down was a delight.
This is Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel. She can take on a friggin Kraken. She gets knocked down. She gets back up. She's been in space and now she's not. Also, this is Spider Woman, her best friend. Carol has drive, resilience, power and sass. All of it in spades, and Kelly Thompson sells it.

Feels reeeeally good to be excited to read and root for Carol for a change. Life Of was a nice pallet cleanser of sorts, from the unsavory second Civil War flavor, but this has many of the elements I have missed from prior runs. The art is solid, the familiarity is strong, the humor is appropriate, the additions make sense and give us something to look forward to. Also Carmen draws a really cute Rhodey.

In conclusion: PSYCHED.

[lilyinblue]

I dunno. I get what you mean, and I'm no Carol-apologist but I also recognize the value of the sponsor relationship and how one CAN (and often do) have a unique respect level of the person aiding you in your recovery/sobriety buuuuut this IS (also) Tony Stark and even as a support system for a specific challenge, he is still Tony Stark and especially when paired with a personality like Carol, can come across as arrogant and pompous. The two of them have a strong proclivity for exchanging barbs and quips as well, so that may just be how they roll as colleagues/friends.

Lastly, we as fans retain a remarkable wealth of history we cling to and adore, but I find it believable that the writers/creators may be less enthused to explore that particular narrative/connecction in favor of the charming frienemy trope they often display because FUN.

Pretty much that. I appreciate the nature of their relationship and his sponsorship of her... but I think it's been a very long time since we've seen any writers really portray that. (Not to mention, their relationship has seen a lot of conflict since then. In a way, it does still speak to their integrity as people that they can find a way to rise above that and be friends.) I think the banter and barbs has been their status quo for awhile, so it doesn't seem too jarring to me.

[Snoop Dogg]

Any chances of a more respectful dynamic between them because of the AA stuff died with the first Civil War.

[okiedokiewo]

I don't really understand this. Stark was the first person to confront Carol about her alcoholism. He became her sponsor and took her to her first AA meeting. They should have a much deeper mutual respect for eachother. But every interaction they have feels so hollow. I will have to see if this interaction is any different when I pick up this issue.

I was very disappointed with their interaction in this first issue, because it comes after how it was portrayed in Life of Captain Marvel, where they bantered but the love and fondness underneath was still very clear. I loved their interactions there. (And Life of Captain Marvel is why I don't agree when people say they don't respect or care for each other to the degree they had before CWII anymore.) Here, it just wasn't there, especially when you have three characters going on about how annoying Tony is, across multiple panels. It's tedious and not entertaining to me.

But since Kelly Thompson has said she intends to use both Tony and Rhodey moving forward, I think perhaps she MEANT to have it be like what it was in Life of Captain Marvel, so I'll reserve too much judgement until I see how they act in future issues.

I was really pleased with the Carol and Rhodey interactions, though. I'm glad that hasn't been forgotten.

Edited to add: I guess I shouldn't say "very disappointed," because that's too strong. It just wasn't what I hoped for after Life of Captain Marvel.

[Triniking1234]

I guess if this is your first book with Carol and Tony since CW2 this would seem a little weird and empty but since Tony's resurrection, we've seen Aaron, Stohl and Ewing handle the two working together so Thompson decided to focus more on Carol's interactions with Hazmat and Rhodey.

Also this artist draws Telenovela Tony Stark from my memories instead of Downey Stark. Thank God.

[Koj☆]

Tony and Carol met at an AA meeting after CWII in Invincible Iron Man (2015) #14. The conversation they had outside in the parking lot was beautiful, and I wish they could portray their relationship more like this.

[Anthony W]

Okay just read it. I won't spoil it.

Sigh. Remember the random Land Shark attack that opened up West Coast Avengers? Thompson does the same trick but this time it's some random monster. Why is it attacking? Who knows? Who cares? I understand that you want to hit the ground running but it felt like an episode of Powerpuff Girls. The only thing missing was a narrator saying "The city of Townsville...is under attack!"

Spider-Woman shows up, so I guess she is done with the private investigator stuff? The character then talks about how the monster "kicked her butt" and then Captain Marvel chimes in with a comment about how the wall street guys loved that. I'm just going to assume that Thompson is clumsily winking at the audience, because the exchange makes no sense when read straight ahead. What is she winking at the audience about? I have no idea.

Later in the book Danvers interacts with Stark. Thompson does a dead on MCU Stark but runs into the same problem every Marvel writer runs into. Without an actual Robert Downey Jr, Stark comes off really grating. It's no big deal. The book is Captain Marvel, not Iron Man.

She then meets up with someone she thought was dead.Thompson does a great job here.

The villain. A good first issue foe, which is why having the Avengers show up so they could job to a lackluster foe is disappointing.

The cliffhanger? Sigh. I'm not saying that this is a bad way to end the first issue but when Thompson lampshades the problem with the previous run and proceeds to tumble down the same hole(far away location, leading a team of pet characters no one cares about) maybe the editor should have taken a firmer hand with this book.

[lilyinblue]

Spider-Woman shows up, so I guess she is done with the private investigator stuff? The character then talks about how the monster "kicked her butt" and then Captain Marvel chimes in with a comment about how the wall street guys loved that. I'm just going to assume that Thompson is clumsily winking at the audience, because the exchange makes no sense when read straight ahead. What is she winking at the audience about? I have no idea.

Jessica encountered the monster first. The fight started in front of the Stock Exchange, hence the Wall Street comment - it was literally on Wall Street. Carol came to help. I don't think it was winking at anything... I think it was just establishing a location. And I'm sure Jess was included due to the large overlap of their fanbases. IE - they're best friends and a lot of the fans really love that relationship. It makes them happy to see them doing things together.

[Shadowcat]

I don't really understand this. Stark was the first person to confront Carol about her alcoholism. He became her sponsor and took her to her first AA meeting. They should have a much deeper mutual respect for eachother. But every interaction they have feels so hollow. I will have to see if this interaction is any different when I pick up this issue.

That’s because a lot of writers can’t write Tony or Carol correctly.

[Fokken]

Okay just read it. I won't spoil it.

Sigh. Remember the random Land Shark attack that opened up West Coast Avengers? Thompson does the same trick but this time it's some random monster. Why is it attacking? Who knows? Who cares? I understand that you want to hit the ground running but it felt like an episode of Powerpuff Girls. The only thing missing was a narrator saying "The city of Townsville...is under attack!"

Spider-Woman shows up, so I guess she is done with the private investigator stuff? The character then talks about how the monster "kicked her butt" and then Captain Marvel chimes in with a comment about how the wall street guys loved that. I'm just going to assume that Thompson is clumsily winking at the audience, because the exchange makes no sense when read straight ahead. What is she winking at the audience about? I have no idea.

Later in the book Danvers interacts with Stark. Thompson does a dead on MCU Stark but runs into the same problem every Marvel writer runs into. Without an actual Robert Downey Jr, Stark comes off really grating. It's no big deal. The book is Captain Marvel, not Iron Man.

She then meets up with someone she thought was dead.Thompson does a great job here.

The villain. A good first issue foe, which is why having the Avengers show up so they could job to a lackluster foe is disappointing.

The cliffhanger? Sigh. I'm not saying that this is a bad way to end the first issue but when Thompson lampshades the problem with the previous run and proceeds to tumble down the same hole(far away location, leading a team of pet characters no one cares about) maybe the editor should have taken a firmer hand with this book.

Heh.

One can BE a private investigator minding one's own business, or possibly even working a case and at the same time be in the location of a Kraken's arrival. In this case, Wall Street. <shrug>

The Avengers didn't job. The entry point or portal to ...WHEREVER.....simply closed before they could join Carol. Is that jobbing? Jobbing is more like, Namor losing a fight to Ben Grimm. In the Ocean.

It seems an unfair assessment to say nobody cares about the subsequent characters on the final page who will be with Carol. That seems to be a very personal opinion assessment. Based on the wording, it seems evident that you do not care for the revealed heroes, however there are many readers who plain love those characters.

There seems to be an awful lot in issue one that you seem to require extensive exposition for?
At this juncture of my post I feel perhaps it is pertinent that I insist/assure that none of my comments are intended to have any ill received tone or hostility. This is genuine curiosity. Are you newer to comics, or these characters, or perhaps Kelly's writing style?

[Anthony W]

Jessica encountered the monster first. The fight started in front of the Stock Exchange, hence the Wall Street comment - it was literally on Wall Street. Carol came to help. I don't think it was winking at anything... I think it was just establishing a location.

Okay, thanks. Just a joke between friends about wall street becoming a scene of a monster fight. What did you think of the ending?

[Snoop Dogg]

Leading a team of actual characters with lots of stories under their belts isn't comparable to the Alpha Flight kids from Secret Empire, which itself was just a much better version of what KSD tried in her first arc.

[AndersonHoran]

Kelly Sue will cameo in Captain Marvel
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/kelly-...d-the-film?amp