Captain Marvel #4 Review

Captain Marvel continues to fight against an alien army in 1943 while trying to figure out just how she was thrust back in time.

Captain Marvel #4

Captain Marvel faces off against a giant ship formed by multiple alien ships combining into one.  When she attempts to fight it as she would most other enemies, she gets a taste of her own medicine as the mechanical creature absorbs her energy and spits it back at her at greater intensity.  Realizing she’s lucky to be alive and with Jerri piloting a hijacked alien ship against the monstrosity, she knows she has to reconsider her plan of attack.  She flies into the eye of the beast and creates an energy field that destroys the beast.  Using the impressive display of might, Captain Marvel and the Banshees are able to convince the Japanese soldiers they’ve also had to fend off into a peace treaty.  When talking to Jerri about how they got there, Carol realizes that there’s something bringing them there.  When she sees her own plane flying overhead she follows it back through the portal where she arrives in the late 50s and meets a younger version of her mentor and hero, Helen Cobb.

Kelly DeConnick has done such a great job with this series.  This issue goes a little stranger than the first three.  It’s keeps with the overall happy-go-lucky tone but it really gives us something very different, but it’s building a very cool story.  The time-jumping aspect of this issue is a little unexpected but it’s also starting to tie some threads together.  The idea that Helen Cobb is the connective piece to Carol bouncing around through time makes her mentor not just interesting on a personal level but almost makes her a woman of mystery.  We’ve seen her worm her way into the test pilot spot for the early days of NASA, and we already know from Carol that she’s an amazingly interesting woman in general – a pioneer acting as the perfect heroine for a heroine.

Regardless of the strangeness of this issue, there’s no denying that this series is refreshing and fun.  It’s a truly new experience with a character that we’ve known for a long time.  This new take just feels good to read.  It makes me hope and wish that more series and writers take an opportunity to have fun with what they are doing as DeConnick is.  She’s been able to keep the excitement and the pure essence of the character in the forefront while giving her something brand new in terms of plot.

Tags: Captain Marvel Kelly Sue DeConnick Ms. Marvel Slider