What went wrong with Marvel's push of Carol?

[JKtheMac]

To be fair, the literal premise of Brian Reed's run on Ms. Marvel was that Carol wanted to be "the Best of the Best" and raise her profile as a super hero. It started with House M in which she was Captain Marvel and the world's greatest hero and upon returning to the regular 616 reality she realized she all this untapped potential. She began patrolling on her own and even hired an agent to help to these ends. Ultimately it ended with her changing her costume and taking on the Captain Marvel mantle. Technically Carol's arc of a B-Lister becoming Top Tier started in 2006.

I think it can also be argued, and Bendis seemed to take this tack, that this drive towards greatness has been a part of her arc ever since, and that even her position in CWII is entirely consistent with that arc.

One of the reasons I think the Kelly Sue DeConnick run is so successful as a story is this aspirational element. The way that her history with flight and aircracft is brought to the fore as a metaphor for aspiration. I strongly believe that aspiration should always be at the core of any character named Captain Marvel, given the name's deep roots in comic history.

[lilyinblue]

One of the reasons I think the Kelly Sue DeConnick run is so successful as a story is this aspirational element. The way that her history with flight and aircracft is brought to the fore as a metaphor for aspiration. I strongly believe that aspiration should always be at the core of any character named Captain Marvel, given the name's deep roots in comic history.

"... and we will be the stars we were always meant to be."

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

as much as some prefer this costume it wouldn't have gone over well in live action, which is what makes the money for Disney. Comics are part and parcel R&D for Disney now

I wonder if they could have just made it into a full-on black bodysuit that it would have stuck around.

It is a simple thing to do in order to have it stick around.

That seems to be the answer for most redesigns for characters who traditionally wear leotards, short of combining it with a skirt like they did for Wonder Woman.

Which to me looked terrific!!

[BruceWayneJr.]

She'll always be "Warbird" to me.

Just sayin'.

[Coatl]

I think that was the same mistake that Warner made with his cinematographic universe, focused in what other had, and wanting it for themselves, instead of focussing on his own strengths. Warner has good characters but instead of presenting in individual movies and making us love them before trying to push a team they rushed and get a messy job. The same way Marvel wanted a "wonder woman" and instead of understanding that they had a lot of powerful woman, promote them, and then let the public pick their favorites they wanted to pick and push themselves. I don't think that Marvel needs a "wonder woman" o be honest.

[Midnight_v]

I think Carol not too long ago as Miss Marvel was funny and a bit neurotic, and it made here a really interesting character.

I liked here a LOT when she was with the initiative and formed the Mighty avengers with Tony https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Avengers
One of the few characters that sounded right using bendis speak, and of course....

"I know someone whose a Wolverine, AND a Thor... " recruits Ares. She was smart, strong, sexy, and endearing... making it work in a crazy situation.

[Zero Hunter]

I think one of the biggest problems with Carol was Civil War 2. Bendis **** all over her character so badly in that garbage event making her the most unlikable character in all of Marvel comics. It left such a dark stain on her that it turned off some casual fans so much they they will never buy a CM book again.

[TriggerWarning]

To me its because the first things I think about when I think about Carol are the Rape of Ms Marvel, Rogue, and her history of bad stripperish costumes. For me her character was far too damaged by the rape storyline and then was overshadowed by Rogue to be taken seriously as Marvel's leading lady character.

Maybe the movie helps for general public who won't be as familiar (if at all) with the rape and Rogue stuff, I did like the movie, but on the comic side I feel like Marvel has no chance with her given her history.

[MadFacedKid]

She'll always be "Warbird" to me.

Just sayin'.

I honestly wish they named her aircraft in the movie that for reference but oh well.

[Tofali]

This came up on my recommend actually questioning if she is a hero?

[Snoop Dogg]

Carol is definitely a hero. She has even helped me many times.

Many, many times.

Many, many, many ti--

[Holt]

It is a simple thing to do in order to have it stick around.

Which to me looked terrific!!

That just looks like a dominatrix outfit, tbh.

[Jabare]

wow I forgot I posted that way back in November. Must have been the holidays. My bad for not responding to some of you.

Personally I'm a fan of her past designs.

I don't know if adding black leggings would have had the same effect, but for whatever reason the decision was ultimately made looks like they changed her look in the comics first anticipating a live action release.

I also think they wanted to give her the red and blue color scheme often associated with "primary heroes"

Superman, Wonder Woman, Thor, Spider-Man, and Captain America are some of the biggest names in comics. They are primarily red and blue. The red means they are bold, passionate, and determined, but grounded with blue's depth, wisdom and confidence. You might say Spider-Man is too angsty to be confident, but he does seem confident enough to crack jokes while cracking skulls.

If you add the yellow accent of the first three heroes, you see they are attentive, provide safety, joy, and are a little bit ostentatious. Yet, ostentatiousness is something that probably doesn't apply to the other two. The white of Spider-Man's eyes and Captain America's midriff shows that they are more pure and innocent, rather than flashy.

Other examples of red and blue include the Atom, Giant Man, Ant Man, Power Girl, Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Doctor Strange.

https://comicsalliance.com/superhero...rimary-heroes/

If anyone hasn't read Superhero Color Theory by Brian McLachlan I highly recommend it. It's broken into 3 parts. He's on twitter and he's pretty good at responding. I inquired about Blade a few years back and he got back to me.


But back to Captain Marvel. Now that I've seen the film her current costume has grown on me. I don't know if the older costumes would have been as appealing, especially on Bree

[Snoop Dogg]

Her legs are the most interesting part of the Cockrum costume, which goes to show how bland it is.

[Frontier]

Her legs are the most interesting part of the Cockrum costume, which goes to show how bland it is.

I honestly think the lightning bolt, the domino mask, the long flowing hair, and the black all stand out pretty well on the Cockrum suit.

I think the thigh-high boots definitely emphasize the legs, visually they're supposed to do that, but I don't think it did it at the expense of the rest of the costume.