Phyla-Vell is the last Marvel standing… or IS she? Your Major Spoilers review of Captain Marvel #35 from Marvel Comics awaits!

CAPTAIN MARVEL #35

Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Sergio Davila/Sean Parsons
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Sarah Brunstad
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 5, 2022

Previously in Captain Marvel: As Carol and the other Marvels fight to save themselves and so much more from Vox Supreme’s dark plans, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy join the battle! While Vox Supreme believes he knows Carol Danvers inside and out, she has thrown him a curveball that neither of them ever imagined.

THE MYSTERIOUS NEW MARVEL

As last issue ended, Captain Marvel was captured by Vox Supreme, but managed at the last second to manifest an energy being resembling her Binary form With one powerful shot, the strange being blasts Vox Supreme out of an airlock, while Phyla-Vell (the daughter of Mar-Vell) frees the real Carol from her captivity, encased in a black suit of some sort. (I’m not sure, but it looks like it might be Venom?) Phyla, Carol, and the thing we’re gonna call Binary then free the rest of the Marvels (Mar-Vell’s son Genis, Monica Rambeau, and Marvel Boy/Noh-Varr) as well as Carol’s closest friends. This makes for a powerful army of nine who are then able to engage Vox Supreme’s armies in combat, but the fear of being entombed in a suit again and the worry about who might be in the suits keeps them on the defensive… until the last page, where the tide turns pretty decisively.

“THAT’S NOT MAR-VELL”

The primary drivers of this issue’s plot seem to be the question of who/what the Binary creature is, and whether Vox has somehow reanimated the real Mar-Vell, which makes for some interesting interacts and dialogue. it does have an unintended effect of making the issue feel like is has more unanswered questions than it actually does, since so much of the story is about combat. There’s a lot of setup being done here for next issue’s big blowout finale, tying in every aspect of Captain Marvel’s life into a big battle that is promised to change everything. Even with those wobbles, though, it’s a really good looking issue. The reveal of War Machine, Monica, Ms. Marvel and the rest is a beautiful shot that manages to spotlight six different heroes effectively, while the final splash page ups that even more. The Binary creature gets a new costume as well, and even though the various Marvels each have their own look, Davila manages to emphasize the similarities in their costumes, reminding us that they’re all homaging Mar-Vell.

BOTTOM LINE: LOTS OF BUILD-UP

I’m honestly excited to find out how this all wraps up, which means that Captain Marvel #35 is successful in the broadest sense, and it makes excellent use of a big swath of characters with the promise of even more in the wings, with strong art to pull it all together, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. Best of all, even if you haven’t been keeping up with the story, this issue still feels like a complete chapter.

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