Flying onto the shelves this week from Marvel Comics, Captain Marvel #13 continues this dark twist Kelly Thompson has brought to the character.
(This issue is a little challenging to cover in full without spoiling anything, as I usually keep my articles spoiler-free, I’ll do my best not to reveal anything major but be forewarned depending on your own opinion on what’s a spoiler and what is not, you may want to read the issue before diving in)
Following up on the mind-boggling issue that kicked off Thompson’s “The Last Avenger” story arc, Carol Danvers now sets her sights on Tony Stark with a plan, much like her approach with Thor. Carol goes right for Tony at his most vulnerable, first thing in the AM and still in his robe. I know that’d be my most vulnerable time too. Hitting fast and hard, the once good Captain certainly catches Iron Man off guard, giving her the upper hand right from the start.
Since her victory over Thor in the last issue, it is tough to say if Tony stands a chance against Carol, especially given the fight is on her terms, she’s had the time to plan, and Tony had zero clue something like this was even coming. Captain Marvel certainly proves to be a scary villain in this scenario, coming up with these vicious methods for gaining the upper hand on her teammates and fighting them so relentlessly.
The last issue did not give us much to go on as to why Carol is hunting down the Avengers, only that she is serving someone else, and based on her monologues, we can assume she’s not particularly happy about it. Without saying too much, I will note we do get more exposition on the whole picture this issue, more than just Carol’s inner thoughts and personal convictions.
Fans of the Dark Captain Marvel design get to see some great new panels showing off the new suit; one, in particular, is definitely worthy of being a lock screen for your phone. Lee Garbett’s art is killer in this issue and captures the intensity of the fighting. Tamra Bonvillain handles the colors and might be sick of the color orange when all is said and done, as there are a LOT of Photon blasts and auras in the past two issues, but they do look powerful and fiery and make Carol pop right out of the page.
VC’s Clayton Cowles had his work cut out for him this issue with the lettering, from metal crunching to zooming through the air, from inner monologues to cheeky back talk (as expected from a fight between Carol and Tony) there was a lot to write in. Regardless the lettering was solid and fluid and helped bring each scene together for one’s mental creativity.
Captain Marvel #13 gives us a lot for one issue, it’s difficult to say anything without feeling like you’re giving too much, so I highly recommend picking this up and seeing it all for yourself. Thompson’s new twist on Carol shows us a new side to both the character and her writing, and I am very interested to see her explore these further, as well as how consistently dark she wants to keep it.
As a whole, I like how she is handling Carol’s attempt at fighting all of the Avengers. This isn’t some showboating flex of the character’s prowess but instead giving us very specific scenarios where Carol is viciously taking on friends who don’t want to fight back right away. Someone is going to catch on eventually, and I’m wondering how it will go when Carol faces the foe who is expecting her. I highly recommend keeping up with this story arc; it feels worth the wait between issues, and the speculation on what will happen next is only making it better.
What other turns do you see this series taking? Are there any characters you would like to see written into a story like this where they’re the villain? Let us know what you think in the comments!
