Captain Marvel #1 Jan 2000
"First Contact"
Rick Jones is shaving in front of his bathroom mirror and talking with Genis.
The atoms of Rick and Genis are merged together, so that one can
be in the physical world, while the other waits in the Negative Zone.
While Genis is in the Negative Zone, though, he can still see what Rick sees and talk with him.
Rick can also see Genis in his reflection.
As Rick is shaving, the LAPD knock on his door.
He opens his door to find a rather tall and large Lieutenant Dro Kim Goldberg and Officer Crane.
Goldberg explains that he has heard Rick is familiar with the world of superbeings.
Rick claims he doesn’t, as the two officers see his collection of superhero collectibles behind him.
The officers ask to come in. As they enter, Rick’s phone rings and the answering machine picks up.
The call is from Captain America asking if Rick could help save earth from the brink of annihilation.
Rick quickly answers the phone, treating the call as if it were magazine sellers acting as Captain America.
The officers then get down to business, asking him if he knew of a Captain Marvel.
Rick explains that a guy by that name died a few years ago and a woman once used that handle.
Goldberg says they are referring to a new individual.
Rick says that there may have been more to it, Captain Marvel being a heroic name and all.
Goldberg says the guy seemed more like a "psychotic scatterbrain." Rick asks what idiot told him that,
and Goldberg answers, "your wife" and that she said he’d be the one to talk to.
Officer Crane then notices the Nega-Bands on Rick’s wrists. Rick admits that they are nega-bands that
he slams together to be replaced by Captain Marvel, thinking they won’t believe the truth… and they don’t.
Meanwhile, Rick’s wife Marlo Jones, is approached by a guy named Lorenzo, who offers Marlo an acting job.
At first she thinks he’s approaching her to do some type of porno film
she was duped into that before
but she learns the job is for a mockumentary, similar to The Blair Witch Project, called The Monster Tapes.
Marlo, though knowing its crazy and that she’d have to take off of work, decides to go along with it.
Shifting back to Rick Jones, where he is talking to his reflection of "Genny" in the toilet.
Genis wants them to turn themselves in, while Rick says it’s a bad idea.
Genis then says he can’t have this "floating" over his head.
Rick reluctantly agrees and then slams the nega-bands together, replacing his atoms
with those of Captain Marvel’s, in what causes much damage to their bathroom.
As Captain Marvel is flying to turn himself in, he notices a truck moving too fast and about to hit a kid.
Captain Marvel speeds up to save the kid, but the police then pull their guns on him.
He insists he saved the boy from the truck, though, but they then as him what truck.
He looks over to see it and finds its not there. They then arrest him.
On the way, Rick tells him not to worry because they can get out of it,
as long as they end up saving a ton of people in some major stunt later on.
On the way, Captain Marvel then sees the truck. The police officer says he doesn’t understand
how the truck can be broken at two places at the same time. Captain Marvel then explains that
he is cosmically aware… to which the officer responds, "You and half the druggies in the valley".
Later on, Genis is explaining everything to Goldberg. That he is from the moon of Titan on Saturn
and that his father was Captain Mar-Vell… and that his friends call him Genny. At which point, Goldberg asks,
"Your friends call you by a girl’s name?" causing Genis to look into his reflection, where Rick is whistling.
Rick then tells Genis to ask for a lawyer because he has that right.
But Goldberg says as an alien he doesn’t have any rights.
Genis is lost at what to do, but Rick says something’ll happen where they’ll need him.
At which point, a man comes in saying a reptilian monster is attacking downtown.
Genis offers to help, trying to "cut a deal."
Next, Genis is flying to the site and asks Rick about being called by a girl’s name
Genny and now is referred to by Rick as Marv,
the name of his father and short for Marvel. He asks if their battle cry is also a joke… but Rick insists
it means "evil beware" and tells him now is a good time to use it. So he shouts out "O-wha-tagoo-siam!".
Meanwhile, on Titan, Moondragon is in a trance, when she feels that she is needed on Earth.
Back on Earth, Captain Marvel attacks the creature, who reveals that he is of the Hyssta, a species that walked this earth long ago.
The creature then reveals that its name is Captain Marvel as well, and that it is the son of a legendary Hyssta warrior of the same name.
Captain Marvel says that’s absurd and that he is the son of Captain Mar-Vell and that his father was not a giant lizard.
The creature takes offense to it and, that while it came here by accident, it would punish this insult against its father.
The two then begin their battle, which ultimately ends in the creature disappearing.
The end of the issue then shows Goldberg letting Captain Marvel off
agreeing that the creature must have been invisible,
but Genis really knows something is wrong with his powers making him see something not really there.
Meanwhile, another Hyssta is in its ship and tells Captain Marvel, the lizard version, that they have
received his distress call and are sending a rescue vessel, but that the primitive life forms will pay.
Script by Peter David.
Pencils by Chris Cross.
Inks by Anibal Rodriguez