The legacy of Mar-Vell has come back to haunt Carol Danvers, and now Captain Marvel is having power problems. This might not be quite as bad, were there not an impending invasion force in her metaphorical yard… Your Major Spoilers review of Captain Marvel #4 awaits!
CAPTAIN MARVEL #4
Writer: Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters
Artist: Kris Anka & Felipe Smith
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Sana Amanat
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Captain Marvel: “Carol Danvers’ appointment to Commander of the Alpha Flight Space Station has been nothing short of eventful. Recently, while exploring a mysterious alien ghost ship on a collision course with the station, Danvers had her powers sapped and began having visions of memories belonging to Mar-Vell, the Kree soldier whose mantle she took up. The crew has learned that the mysterious craft was the cause of Carol’s ills, and has plans to destroy it. But now, another alien ship has surfaced and the crew of this ship has surfaced with a much livelier crew…”
THE KREE-HUNTERS
After last issue’s arrival of a Satori soldier, Alpha Flight station has been compromised, as the Satori technology has begun consuming the actual matter of the satellite. Captain Marvel orders an evacuation, but her senior staff (Agent Brand of SWORD; Puck, Aurora and Sasquatch of Alpha Flight; and linguist Lt. Kawasaki) stay on board to assist. A sortie into space to confront more approaching alien ships shows that the team is heavily outgunned, and Captain Marvel has to sacrifice part of the station to stop all of it being lost. Most of the issue consists of escalating failure, as Captain Marvel’s plans slowly completely unravel, leading to her ordering her team to abandon her and the ship…
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
…of course, they don’t listen. I really enjoy Fazekas and Butters’ take on Captain Marvel, dealing with each setback with a bit of sarcasm and a dollop of courage, and her inner monologue is a hoot, always underlying the fact that she’s really not sure what she’s going to do next. The art is very nice as well, with Anka & Smith giving us the best-looking Aurora since John Byrne left the original Alpha Flight, as well as great aliens and space corridors (which makes me wonder how great a Doctor Who series from this team would be.)
THE BOTTOM LINE: SOLID, TENSE DRAMATIC ACTION
Middle chapters are always difficult, especially in serialized form, so it’s nice to see a middle chapter done really well, especially given that our hero succeeds in pretty much nothing she attempts this issue. (Even her attempt to save the live of the Satori soldier goes pear-shaped in the end.) But, the mark of a hero comes in how she deals with setbacks, and Captain Marvel #4 makes our main character relatable while underlying her resourcefulness and clever nature, as well as the guts that are her real power, leading to a very impressive 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. I really like A-List hero Captain Marvel, and this issue reminds me exactly why…
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