Review: Captain Marvel #44 (Lgy #178)

Revenge tales always carry the darkest of tones. Be it The Empire Strikes Back, Revenge of the Sith, Payback or even Revenge; the Revenge of the Brood continues to cast strife for Carol and her little kind of family and possibly the worst of days for them all.

Challenged by a Brood Queen infected Rogue, Carol and the gang have to work out how to combat the immediate threat. For some reason Gambit isn’t keen on the whole resurrection thing that accompanies the merry mutants, effectively destroying any real type of jeopardy to Xavier’s mob. So trying to save Rogue, the depths of space, a planet full of Brood and trying to save Binary, who may have been mistaken for Carol in the first place kind of covers the level of challenges Carol has to deal with. Oh, did I mention that members of the rescue party don’t like space?

It may seem that Carol has bitten of more than she can chew, especially given the “bad idea” elements of her rescue plan. These types of setups can sometimes be the burden for characters who seem overpowered. An example could be, if Carol Danvers is so powerful why does she need a team? In less writers hands this could be a major fly in the ointment; thankfully Kelly Thompson, the Captain Marvel savant, is on hand to deliver the reader an entertaining story, even if the darker elements are in full force. Oftentimes, a big bad can lose their impact with over use, an idea that DC should consider this theory when it comes to the Joker. The Brood have been a major thorn in. Carol’s side since the original Binary’s first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #164. With an extended cast Thompson works hard to make sure that all the characters sound like their regular selves, the Resurrection reaction being the only mis-step.

Sergio Dávila provides the art once again. Now, I enjoyed Dávila’s work on The Last Avenger storyline more here, possibly because that story seemed to have more action that moved the story along. Here, whilst there is action, with it being contained, the book feels like it is in a holding pattern, expected perhaps with a multi-issue format. Dávila main focus is on Carol and does well with the heroine of the book. Thinks get a little less consistent as the art moves in concentric circles away from the Carol centre piece. There is a dramatic change of pace where Dåvila dons a kind of pseudo Alan Davis style. Inker Sean Parson helps keep the characters in the forefront amid the battle scenes. The colors from Arif Prianto are bold, vibrant throughout, belying the darkness of the climax. Finally, for a book that has a surprising amount of verbiage you need a quality letterer and they don’t come higher quality than VC’s Clayton Cowles.

If i have said once, I must have said it a million times, Captain Marvel under the writing of Kelly Thompson is consistently the best book Marvel are putting out, month in month out. Thompson mixes up genuine threat, X-Men excepting, with a sense of family that displays true emotions from the characters.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Kelly Thompson
Art by; Sergio Dávila
Inks by; Sean Parsons
Colors by; Arif Prianto
Letters by; VC’s Clayton Cowles
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network