REVIEW: CAPTAIN MARVEL #22

CAPTAIN MARVEL #22

The one thing I can say about writer, Kelly Thompson is that she has a superb way of setting up a story and creating mystery. As she delves into her stories and creates the narrative, the first issues or two are mostly very good. (Of course, she has her off-days like that terrible issue about the escape room, but we’ll chalk that one up to temporary insanity.) My problem with her writing is that she never sticks the landing, meaning that the ending almost never lives up to the potential of the set up. To be fair this happens with many writers. They know how to begin a story, but not how to end it.

If you remember the previous Captain Marvel storyline where she was forced to fight and kill her Avenger counterparts – that was an amazing first issue. The story was set up very well, but as the story progressed, it got worse and worse until it was a total let down. Instead of killing them, she stuck them in some sort of pocket dimension. It was a total cop-out to a story that could have been epic.

I really hope she’s not doing the same thing here. This arc, named “The New World,” also has a really great set up. She begins with her normal team of Captain Marvel, War Machine, Spider-Woman (in her original costume, thank goodness) and Hazmat. Cap and Rhodey are flirting and kissing, which they are teased about, but don’t seem to care. It’s a cute scene and sets up the rest of the issue nicely.

Then all Hell breaks loose as they are attacked by the entity they are hunting and instantly Captain Marvel (aka Carol Danvers) is teleported to the future. A future that is post-apocalyptic and ties into the “The End” one-shot issue from half a year back. I’m glad she tied this in, because I felt the one-shot was very strange as it was a standalone that was just nebulous and had no bearing on anything.

She meets Spider-Woman’s now grown up son as well as an older Spider-Woman herself. The group seems to be led by Emma Frost, who for some reason cannot change back to human form from her diamond persona. I believe that’s because she doesn’t age in that form and if she changed back to human, then she would instantly age, in the vein of Dorian Grey, but that’s just a guess.

They are attacked by monsters, which Carol dispatches with a photon blast. When they get back to the bunker, they are met by Luke Cage. I have no idea where the story is going right now, but Kelly Thompson has me interested. I just hope she sticks the landing this time.

P.S. This issue also has an alternate cover. Both are shown here.

About Author

Frank Zanca

…began working in local television at the age of 22 when he became a Promotional Producer for Channel 9, the Orlando ABC affiliate. During this time he wrote and produced thirty-second spots for the newscast and syndicated shows such as Geraldo and Sally Jesse Raphael. Later he worked as a Production Assistant on NBC’s Gonzo Games and Dick Clark’s Sea World Summer Spectacular. Frank created and wrote his first comic book, which was distributed internationally under the name of Shadow Raven. For a number of years, Frank worked in Sales and then moved into Marketing where he became CFO and later President of two Independent marketing firms that were later sold for several million dollars. Recently Frank helped design Shadow Raven: the Combat Card Game, which was distributed internationally and has written the Shadow Raven novel (to be released next year). Frank is currently producing Shadow Raven: Fading Thoughts, a thirty-minute pilot, which is designed to become a feature film or television series.

See author's posts