Captain Marvel # 48 - Review&Spoilers

[Malachi]

Kelly Thompsons run of Captain Marvel is nearing the end. At issue 50 she bows out of the series and pretty much Marvel too(she will write Jeff the Landshark, not sure for how long).
Before that though we get this issue, a solid issue in a very solid arc.

At the start of the issue Carol is now in the bonds that formerly held Binary. Polaris, Gambit, Psylocke, Wolverine and Spider-woman are fighting with a swarm of broods while the Brood Empress has descended to guard Carol. They are in a bad spot and the odds are, with the inclusion of the brood empress, not looking great. On the bright side the tight spot manages to give Remy an idea. He uses his power to charge Binary with energy and it works, she wakes up. This is another great moment for Gambit in this arc who has been a treasure chest of similair moments. KT is indeed proving herself as a very good Gambit writer. I can't help but feel thankfull, especially now when we have the R&G mini going on who has so far not reached the same levels of quality writing.

Binary is worried for Carol and they get Psylocke to communicate with her. The Brood Empress does not like this meddling and stabs Kwannon in a rather gruesome scene.



The feedback from her stabbing reaches everyone she was in communication with and therefore alerts Rogue and Jen, who has been recovering back in the blackbird, that something has gone wrong. We get a nice scene with Rogue being badass.

Meanwhile Carol is floating around inside her mindscape and is slowly being broken down mentally by the brood. It translates into some psychadellic art reminiscent of Jim Starlins cosmic work. I like it.



Kwannon is out of the fight but still awake. She tells the group that they are losing Carol and this prompts Binary to unleash her energy beams at the Brood Empress. She atacks her in a flurry of punches but the Brood Empress manages to snatch her up with little effort. At this moment we still don't know how recharged Binary is. She is up and running but how much more?

Thankfully Rogue and Jen arrives in space suits to help them out. We now get a nice contrast scene where Rogue is more goofy then badass and Jen plays the straight woman to that. I appreciate that she gets these two moments to show how good of a handle KT has on her. It takes a comfortable writer to let Rogue both be badass and goofy.



The arrival of Rogue and Jen sadly doesn't save Binary as the Brood Empress literally takes a bite out of her. Her right side to be more precise. A dying Binary manages to interact with Carols mindscape and a touching scene between them gives Carol the means to escape. She escapes from her mental prison and her physical prison and is now powered up and angry. Witch is our cliffhanger for the next issue.


I really enjoyed this issue. It's an action issue but we still get some nice moments. Sadly though Polaris and Laura have smaller roles but that is the trouble when you have a solo with so many characters. We need to explore Carol and her journey, see Binary's death and still give everyone a moment? It's hard. But of course I am biased here when Remy and Anna got time to shine. I can't deny that.

The art is very good and the coloring is awesome. Thank you Sergio Davilla, Sean Parsons and Ceci De La Cruz!

8/10.

[Malachi]

Couldn't post this image due to 3 image limit. So here it comes, the last page of the issue with the cliffhanger.

[Kingdom X]

Binary’s death actually got me emotional and this is the only arc I’ve read of this book. I’ll be picking up issue 50 after this arc is done and potentially even go back to read the full thing on Unlimited. Loved competent Gambit and healthy Romy.

[cranger]

What happens to Psylocke? Respawn time? That is a pretty bad wound.

Next issue do the X-Men show up with everyone being intent on ending the Brood? Does anyone get cold feet and try to talk the others out of it? I am actually curious to check it out after the anti-climactic Duggan contribution.

[Malachi]

What happens to Psylocke? Respawn time? That is a pretty bad wound.

Next issue do the X-Men show up with everyone being intent on ending the Brood? Does anyone get cold feet and try to talk the others out of it? I am actually curious to check it out after the anti-climactic Duggan contribution.

In the end when they all attack the Brood Empress Psylocke is not joining the fight. Just before it she is seen standing up and struggeling to stand. She is seen holding her hand over the wound, trying to stop the blood flow(and perhaps keeping her intestines inside).

[Ilargi]

I enjoyed this issue a lot. I missed this Rogue, funny even she has to fight and being nice to the people around her.

And how nice is see Remy being competent and skilled.

The Binary thing made me sad , and I don't know her at all. I almost cried with Carol, now I think I'll read the whole series.

Looking forward to seeing how it all ends.
I would read 50 more issues with this team written by Kelly.

[Krakoa]

In the end when they all attack the Brood Empress Psylocke is not joining the fight. Just before it she is seen standing up and struggeling to stand. She is seen holding her hand over the wound, trying to stop the blood flow(and perhaps keeping her intestines inside).

Based on today's X-Men issue I'd guess this is when she tries to get in touch with Scott.

[Devaishwarya]

This could be the Uncanny Avengers (minus Deadpiss) I would have liked to read.

[Micabe]

I had to go back to issue #43 and start reading this arc verbatim I missed the explanation as to why there is a Binary entity and a Carol Danvers living in separate bodies, are the two of them each half-Kree? And, exactly how long have Rodney and Carol been sleeping together?

[NicoPony]

Never thought a book about murder bugs torturing someone for eternity could look so gosh darn pretty! Colorist, wonderful work.

Cute character moments, as usual. Poor Psylocke, I gasped. Then gasped again at the conclusion. Vengeance time! And we know the XMEN are en route. Good work, team!

[Kingdom X]

This could be the Uncanny Avengers (minus Deadpiss) I would have liked to read.

YES! Literally my only question for X-Men Monday #200 is when Kelly Thompson is getting a book.

[jwatson]

Wow this issue was powerful. IF you can read this and tell me "Yeah, the brood is like worth it." i wan't YOU to look me in the damn eye. Carol holding Binary like Superman holding Supergirl took me all the way rhe F$($ out i'm hearing the super saiyan music for next issue. And i just want to say thank you thompson for writing a capable gambit. i just don't know how he goes from this to Dark X-men but i wish this would just continue as a book as these characters are really good together and this issue though fully thompson voice and vibe for me made me think i could see an event from this team and red that would feel organic. This would be my issue of the day so far. The artist really leveled up quick too.

[jwatson]

But you know what's really messing me up in the BEST way. All of these characters, all of these stories they were there. I don't want to give too much credit but it feels like it was planned, it feels like a reboot of energy like the x-men matter again. Carol is one of their first allies and if we think about the stories connecting across the line they feel grounded because the brood. Storm was there, carol was there, her binary persona was there, cyclops, phoenix etc and so on and so on and though these stories are in different timelines right now in essence they all connect to characters that at a specific time became more. Carol Binary, Storm her galatic moment, Jean Phoenix or dark phoenix. And it may be the biggest coincidence in the world but with kraoa as the back drop and on the cusp on what the next few years or decades of x-men will look like it just all kind of feels kismet. I love comic book Wednesdays. lol

[Huntsman Spider]

I had to go back to issue #43 and start reading this arc verbatim I missed the explanation as to why there is a Binary entity and a Carol Danvers living in separate bodies, are the two of them each half-Kree? And, exactly how long have Rodney and Carol been sleeping together?

In the case of Carol and Rhodey, they've been dating-slash-sleeping together since Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel run. As for Binary as an independent entity outside Carol, she first appeared at the end of Last of the Marvels, an earlier arc in the current (and soon-concluding) Captain Marvel run by Kelly Thompson, an energy projection that gained her own consciousness and identity when Vox Supreme decided to go after Carol one more time by putting everyone who'd ever used the Marvel name in replicas of the black suit Vox Supreme forced her to wear in an even earlier story arc of Thompson's Captain Marvel called The Last Avenger.

[AppleJ]

In the case of Carol and Rhodey, they've been dating-slash-sleeping together since Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel run. As for Binary as an independent entity outside Carol, she first appeared at the end of Last of the Marvels, an earlier arc in the current (and soon-concluding) Captain Marvel run by Kelly Thompson, an energy projection that gained her own consciousness and identity when Vox Supreme decided to go after Carol one more time by putting everyone who'd ever used the Marvel name in replicas of the black suit Vox Supreme forced her to wear in an even earlier story arc of Thompson's Captain Marvel called The Last Avenger.

Damn, this summary brought into perspective for me just how much new continuity Carol gained over this run and how complex/intertwined it is already is becoming. The beauty of a well done and long run.

So this issue somehow caught me off guard with its intensity after some of the other ... shall I say fluffier? ,,, books I have taken in recently. Here the stakes got very real, very fast in the beat of ways.

I can't begin to express my gratitude for the moment Gambit got here, showing his cleverness and heroism and ability to think independently while still operating within a team. Please give me this Gambit any day, any time over one who ties some random woman to an exploding stove. Nuff said!

I loved seeing Rogue's humor and sass again ... my God, have I been missing that! Also, of course Kelly remembers that Rogue has mechanical skills. Be still my heart! And that gorgeous mane on her!

But I am truly unable to think of any character on the team who hasn't had important moments or important contributions in this arc and nobody has been jobbed simply to make another character look better.

And man, this issue is an emotional rollercoaster!

The joy of Gambit reviving Binary, the two gasp moments when Psylocke is run through and Binary is killed, Carol's psychedelic mind-$@#& journey which was artistically impressive, Rogue and Hazmat coming in like the cheeky calvary gave me a laugh, the very painful realization that Binary really may not be coming back and then the pick up for the boss fight battle coming up next!

I really had been getting so attached to Binary and we still don't really understand she and Carol's relationship. So many questions!

Again, this is major new canon for Carol fans. I confess, Carol has never been a favorite of mine, but honestly it's just very hard not to like her in this series!

And I want this team-up as the new Uncanny Avengers team so bad I can practically taste it! This team really just feels right together and I want more of them!