The case for Angela as Marvel's flagship superheroine or why Captain Marvel hasn't catched on so far

[ijacksparrow]

I know I'm way late to the party and I really didn't want to make this part of an appreciation thread or Queen of Hel's thread, because involves other superheroines than Angela, like Captain Marvel and Jane Thor. This is basically me reacting to reading Angela: Asgard's Assassin and Queen of Hel up to the issue #3 (the last one avaliable on Marvel Unlimited so far). First I'd like to address that I don't know the ins and outs of the Neil Gaiman agreement over the character, but it seems to me that it's pretty definitive and Angela is now a Marvel Comics character through and through. Second I'd like to address that I do like Jane Thor, Spider-Gwen, Silk, Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel, and I know that all of them have better selling titles, especially Mighty Thor and Spider-Gwen.

But in the light of Marvel failing time and time again to get a Captain Marvel book off the ground, I came with something that might be a solution for Marvel Comics to find the superheroine character that is viable to become a main player within Marvel Comics and eventually even get her own solo films. First I want to say that I haven't checked out her two short comic book runs because I was barely aware they even existed. I knew about Queen of Hel but really disliked the cover art and heard some rumblings here and there on the message board about how good the book was, but never enough to actually make me check out the books.

If I was in charge of making Captain Marvel an actually popular book, I guess I'd start with a character make over. I mean, I get why she isn't going with this costume anymore:



But her new costume is just plain boring, with all due respect, while it does look beautiful and pratical, it's just plain boring:




And I get it: it's pratical. I know how majority of her hardcore fans are passionate with it. But listen, it's not working. I think some middleground between her old costume and her new ones is needed. And also, lose the goddamn military cut, bring back her long hair. She isn't a soldier anymore, she's goddamn Captain Marvel and she looks better with the long hair. I don't know who this new writer is, but it doesn't make me interested at all in reading her either. Does she at least have a big following outside comics like Ta-Nehisi to even justify her getting this book? Because right now it's meaningless to me. By the way, do you know WHO could kick ass with Captain Marvel? Marguerite Bennet. Why?

Well, her two Angela series flew way under the radar, but I'm pretty convinced after reading her Queen of Hel that her Angela has literally EVERYTHING to become Marvel's flagship character. Seriously, Marvel should stop whatever they are doing promoting Jane Thor since that without Natalie Portman they can't really use her outside comics for now and focus on her instead. Seriously, it's insane the amount of work that Bennet brought to that book and how much it just simply works. I'm glad that she's back to her more traditional costume for Guardians, since I actually think that Marguerite can write one hell of an Angela with an space bikini if needed, and most of all, since she's an Asgardian angel warrior, very much like Wonder Woman she can get away with it, something that other superheroines like Carol, Spider-Woman or literally most of the other characters couldn't.



So that should be a character's asset, and I actually could see her getting even more popular than either Thor or Wonder Woman if done right. The amount of work done with her since she became a Marvel character is mind blowing, and it'd make for Marvel Studios first LBGT character and I do think it's possible to achieve that with a PG-13 movie, especially if it's done with the amount of nuance and grace that it's done in Bennet's and Gillen's books, which is surprisingly better than Gillen's first run with her. Angela is flawed and an interesting character. Her book failed for pretty much lack of promotion, since I bet that she was the one that Marvel was promoting and pushing like they do with Jane Thor, her book could do a lot better, heavy themes and all. And the crazy about the book isn't that the whole LBGT angle makes the book cool, it's just part of what makes it cool. The amount of character development on those two series is insane and it's amazingly written. I don't know what's the arrangement Marvel has with Gaiman over her, but if I was Feige and saw that book, I'd seriously consider just drop the whole Captain Marvel film and make an Angela film instead, if Marvel has full control of her I mean, what I kinda guess they do.

With that said: Carol has to earn it. This Carol Corps thing, all of this, everything surrounding the character is just... boring. I don't think making her an alcoholic is the solution or just to bring her back to her old T&A costume would solve it. Her problem, pardon me their fans is that the character has become simply boring. As hell. And the whole premise teasing the new book? Once again, BORING AS HELL. I don't really know how she can get some popularity, if she'll keep getting her comic relaunched again and again up until Marvel Studios decides what to do with her. But it baffles me how Marvel is trying so hard with her and just can't find something that stick. Angela is cool, Ms. Marvel is awesome, Jane Thor is awesome, Spider-Woman is greatness and Carol has become... boring. And that's the hugest issue here. Angela might sell even worse than Captain Marvel, but at least she has a case right now - even more than in the Spawn days, and she was already great back then - for something truly unique and bad ass in the Marvel universe, either in the comics or the films side of things. Captain Marvel right now is at an even worse place than Iron Man before his films or even now with Bendis writing him to kill him and/or replacing: she's a boring character with an in universe super popularity that isn't translated outside comics, she has become "too perfect" like people said here or elsewhere and the character has lost her flavor.

So basically what I'm saying is: I'm sorry Marguerite but your new Lobo sucked. Sucked. I don't know if it was an editorial choice or what the hell happened there but it was a disaster. Your Angela tho? Brilliant. You and Gillen reinvented a character that was already great and made it even greater, congrats to Kieron Gillen to work in Asgard's Assassin too but Queen of Hel is the one that steals the show. It's a premise that doesn't work in the long run for the character, but it made for a hell of a great little run. I'm ready for more Bennet written Angela and Sera adventures with the former sporting the infamous space bikini and kicking ass as an Asgardian angel warrior bounty hunter. Or Bennet should write Captain Marvel, or both. Promote the hell of it. Bring Stephanie Hans back and pair her with another badass artist. Oh, and make Marguerite an exclusive, Marvel. She's a keeper, and I'd argue that even a better writer than Kieron Gillen. I'd be way more interested on what she has to say and do with Captain Marvel than whatever an unproven YA writer has to say about her, been there done that.

And remember Carol, her fans and most of all, Marvel: Nothing is for nothing. And everything has a price.