Still on the Shelf #18 - Captain Marvel

Originally published July 22nd, 2003 on www.ComiXtreme.com. This work is, of course, © Craig Reade.

Sometimes a title can have everything going for it: it can have a brilliantly told story, breathtaking art, a familiar character- heck, it can be printed by Marvel itself, and still suffer in sales.

That is not to say that Captain Marvel is doing poorly in the sales department- truth be told, it has been fairly steady over the last few months. But Marvel has cancelled titles that sold far more in the past, so nothing at all is certain.

Captain Marvel has a depth and maturity of story telling that puts most of the top sellers to shame, and the art to back it up. And based on the quality of this book, I hope it does not go away for a long time. And that is where you come in. Though I have to warn you- for all intents and purposes, this is no longer a super-hero book.

Cast of Characters

The title character Captain Marvel (also known as Genis) is, of course, the core focus of this title. He is the son of the original Captain Mar-vell. His core power is the ability to manipulate photonic energy, which is absorbed from starlight. He can use this ability in countless ways, both offensively and defensively, making him extremely powerful. In addition to this, he has been given a “cosmic awareness,” makes him pretty well omnicient. He can comprehend the entire nature of the universe, both time and space. This allows him to forsee possible futures from a grand scale, right down to the specific futures of particular individuals.

Added onto this is insanity. Early on in this volume of Captain Marvel, Genis was presented with a choice- save a single woman about to be beaten to death, or prevent the invasion of a planet. He chose the lives of thousands over the one, and that turned into a dreadful mistake. That one woman, had she been allowed to live, was destined to be the greatest peacemaker the universe has ever known. She would have united even the most bitter rivals, and usher in an era of peace unheard of in history. The magnitude of this mistake drove Genis insane.

Rick Jones is the human half of the Captain Marvel equation. He is molecularily bonded to Genis, the effect of which is that they share the same molecular space. As such, only one of them can exist in that space at a time. Through the use of “nega-bands,” he and Captain Marvel switch places on Earth. The other is placed in a sub-atomic universe known as the Microverse. He is a bit of a celebrity on Earth, and now in the Microverse, where he has become something of a rock star. In the past, this served as a sort of “super-hero secret identity” device. Whenever he was needed, Rick would slam together the nega-bands, and Captain Marvel would emerge to save the day. Things are quite different now.

As Genis is incredibly powerful and quite mad, Jones went through a period where he was virtually ignored by his god-like companion. He was trapped in the Microverse for months while Genis pursued his own goals. He eventually learned a “psi-fry” technique, which allowed him to cause incredible pain in Genis’s brain and force him to pay attention. This returned some power to Rick in determining their joint fate, even as their goals and philosophies become more and more divergent.

Thoughts

Peter David’s take on this character is, in my opinion, a very refreshing change. Though this character’s traits are very different from that OTHER Captain Marvel over at DC, they did share a common theme. Though there are still frequent “Shazam” cracks, David changed all of that.

As I said before, Genis’s cosmic awareness has driven him utterly insane by human standards. This in-of itself is not unexpected. In reading this, however, I had to wonder if Genis truly is insane. As it stands now, he is very much like a child, still exploring his potential and trying to figure out exactly what his place in the universe really is. He has jumped from trying to be the destroyer of the universe, a god, to a “judge of right and wrong,” for lack of a better description. The one thing that surprised me most about this title is the complexity of character. Genis possesses truly intricate motivations, and you really have to think to understand, or try to understand them. Rick’s motivations are plain, but deep as well- he shares existence with a godlike figure who has strayed far off the simple good vs. evil path. A once close and amicable relationship has turned very hostile, as he has to fight to the simple right to exist in his own world. He also struggles with the actions of Genis, who comprehends far more than Rick can possibly imagine, but no longer follows the code that Rick holds so dear. Sound complicated? It certainly is. The growing dynamic between Rick and Genis is one of the best things about this title.

Bottom Line

I actually read Peter David’s work outside of this medium long before I examined his comic work, and his style certainly translates well. One drawback of many writers who only write comics is a seeming inability to grasp the intricacies of good characters. Many writers take an existing book with established characters, and tell a decent story on the whole, but do nothing to make you care about the characters themselves. Look back at all of the comics you have read that have taken a turn for the worst. I can guarantee that in almost every instance, it was because the characters lost their dimension- their motivations became transparent, illogical or nonsensical, or they simply stopped growing. Judging by what I have read of Captain Marvel and David’s past work on Supergirl, this title will not have this problem.

The art, of course, is astounding. I certainly miss Chris Cross’s work (I miss Slingers more, but that is another column), but Ivan Reis has certainly done a more than adequate job pencilling this book. Chris Sotomayor’s coloring speaks for itself. It is, as always, astounding, and really makes this title a complete package.

The most recent issue, #12, just came out in stores last week, July 16th. It was the last part of a 4-issue arc; so issue #13 (due out in August) is an ideal place to jump in. If you are curious about this book, and don’t want to risk the cash up front, check out Marvel’s “Dot-comics” free section, where they have Captain Marvel #1 available on-line in its entirety.

If you are looking for a new title to add to your pile each month, Captain Marvel is definitely one worth looking into.