Captain Marvels Alcoholism

[BitParallel]

I was going through some blogs and I just found out Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel suffers from alcoholism. I was never aware of her struggles with alcoholism. When did it happen?

I know Tony is notorious for his alcoholism story line but is there one for Carols?

Thanks in advance.

[gurkle]

This was a storyline that ran through Avengers and Iron Man in 1998 and 1999. Kurt Busiek was lead writer on both books at the time.

Carol had not been an Avenger since the infamous Avengers #200 back in the early '80s. In this story, she lost the cosmic powers she'd had as Binary, returned to her Ms. Marvel uniform but renamed herself "Warbird," and became part of the new Avengers roster, but her drinking (and her concealing that she no longer had the power of Binary) caused problems.

Without giving too much away, this storyline mostly played out in Iron Man, but it started and ended in Avengers. Tony, being an alcoholic himself, noticed the signs of Carol's possible alcoholism and tried to help her, and it was a change of pace to have Tony, for once, be sober and trying to help someone else with their drinking problem (but also a subplot was about how Tony constantly becoming Iron Man may be an addiction in itself).

[Phoenixx9]

How did Carol lose her cosmic Binary powers? Can't she get them back? When she lost them, she was powerless and turned to drinking?

[gurkle]

How did Carol lose her cosmic Binary powers? Can't she get them back? When she lost them, she was powerless and turned to drinking?

No, she wasn't powerless, she was back to her old powers as Ms. Marvel, super strong, flight, energy projection, instant costume changes, etc.

As Beast says, she just went from "phenomenally" to "incredibly" powerful.

I don't recall much explanation of why those powers faded; the Brood's experiments just wore off I guess. Of course she keeps sort of going Binary again anyway.

[Phoenixx9]

Thanks, everyone!

I long wondered what happened to Carol.

[JudicatorPrime]

Actually, originally Ms. Marvel didn't have energy projection powers. She was basically a lightweight Wonder Woman with ESP. The energy powers came from her Binary persona. But she was nowhere near Binary level when she donned the Ms. M. costume again.

[Digifiend]

They were probably just burned out from overuse. Nowadays she can go Binary but uses that power sparingly.

[gurkle]

Actually, originally Ms. Marvel didn't have energy projection powers. She was basically a lightweight Wonder Woman with ESP. The energy powers came from her Binary persona. But she was nowhere near Binary level when she donned the Ms. M. costume again.

Ah, thanks.

I do remember that issue 41 of Avengers v3 explained she could boost her power levels by absorbing enough energy (and the Caption Box Narrator said she had maybe a little residue of her old ESP left).

[Mike_Murdock]

Actually, originally Ms. Marvel didn't have energy projection powers. She was basically a lightweight Wonder Woman with ESP. The energy powers came from her Binary persona. But she was nowhere near Binary level when she donned the Ms. M. costume again.

Just to add to that, the added powers were due to Brood experimentation.

[Anthony W]

No, she wasn't powerless, she was back to her old powers as Ms. Marvel, super strong, flight, energy projection, instant costume changes, etc.

As Beast says, she just went from "phenomenally" to "incredibly" powerful.

I don't recall much explanation of why those powers faded; the Brood's experiments just wore off I guess. Of course she keeps sort of going Binary again anyway.

Hey everyone, check it out. It's The Beast, back when he was written well! No need to focus on Carol's struggle with the bottle. I'm sure that the MCU version of the character will not touch this with a ten foot pole because she is positioned to be their Wonder Woman and role model for kids. Here is another fun fact that you may not know. During this period in the characters history Carol was being set up to be a science fiction author.

[dreyga2000]

Also in this issue of Iron Man. Carol and Tony run into each other at an AA meeting...

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[JudicatorPrime]

If memory serves, Avengers volume 3, within the first 8 or so issues of the Busiek and Perez run is where it starts. I haven't read enough of Carol's current books to say if writers continue to note her struggles with alcohol. I have often wondered if alcohol addiction was itself symptomatic of a bigger addiction, especially since she started drinking at a time when her Binary powers were on the fritz. It wouldn't shock me if her true addiction -- the real rush that she gets and can't live without -- is linked to her powers.

[Ultimate Rogue]

This cbr article covers it

https://www.cbr.com/captain-marvel-c...ing-problem/2/