Captain Marvel (2019)

I finally saw Marvel's take on a superhero named Captain Marvel. Before you criticize that I deliberately didn't see the movie in some sort of protest to in order to hurt ticket sales, let me remind you that with just about every movie I go to see, I do so with my god son. So between both our work schedules, it just happened to work out that we could both go when we did.

I haven't gotten into the controversy surrounding this movie. When I was growing up, Marvel's Captain Marvel was a black woman named Monica Rambeau. Carol Danvers was either Ms. Marvel, a cosmic powered entity called Binary or for a while, without powers thanks to the X-Men Rogue. The House of Ideas has been trying to make the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel their flagship character for the past several years. And while I think Marvel would have hit a home run berthing Rambeau with the moniker again, I've been okay with the move.

What I haven't been okay with is the trolling. It's not just white males upset that a woman is getting her own movie. The stars and producers of this film have been trolling just as much too. The fighting on social media has turned politica,l in a sort of misogynist vs feminism kind of battle, much like what was going on the 70s with the thwarted attempt to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. And it's really tiring...

Oddly enough, people seemed more open in the 1980s to a black, female Captain Marvel than to a white female Captain Marvel today. Our world has become a toxic environment of a war of words in which the battleground is all platforms of social media. Besides, I am more concerned about Marvel and Disney's fudging of sales numbers than what version of superhero is on the screen. 

I've been investigating for the past year of so on this blog and sister website Outrightgeekery, both company's manipulation of sales numbers for both comic books and films. As of press time for this review, some allegations of Disney and Marvel lying about packed movie theaters and fake mass ticket purchases of Captain Marvel have come to light on other websites. It appears that some theaters were having entire showings purchased as a sell out but nobody actually showed when it was showtime. 

If this happened once or twice, I could see it as maybe somebody wrote the date and time wrong and an entire company outing was ruined. But this sort of thing is supposedly happening nationwide in multiple cities. I'm really hoping that Disney and Marvel didn't pull some sort of pyramid scheme in which to make Captain Marvel a success in some sort of play to make right-wing trolls look stupid. The comic book industry is too fragile right now for some sort of scandal such as this. You can be sure that I will be looking into this further when week 2's numbers drop next Sunday.

Now for the review of the film...

Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson (Kong: Skull Island) in the title role. Her character begins the film as a member of the Kree Special Forces. Larson's character is referred to as Vers, with no idea who she really is- just fractured memories. During a mission to infiltration a Skrull enclave, Vers is taken aboard their ship and interrogated. 

Findings from Vers' memory lead the Skrull to Earth. Vers manages to disable the ship but not before she is marooned on the third rock from the sun. Looking for a way to make contact with the Kree, Vers makes an unlikely ally in SHIELD agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Together, they must uncover the Skrulls hiding in plain site as they are a race of shape shifters, while finding a way to get Vers back home. Or is she already there?

That's all of a synopsis of Captain Marvel you are going to get. The movie is a prequel to every MCU movie (with exception of Captain America: The First Avenger). Over a decade of films have left a slew of dangling plot-lines and unanswered questions of which Captain Marvel does a decent job of answering most. 

Captain Marvel is one-part cosmic odyssey and one-part espionage caper. I've always been more of a fan of Marvel's cat-and-mouse spy stuff over their intergalactic fare. So for me, the best parts involved Nick Fury and Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson, both looking quite young to some CGI magic. 

The movie run just over 2 hours long of which I felt was about 15 minutes too long. Marvel Studios clearly has done some updating of their special effects, after some really poor showings in scenes of Black Panther and Ant Man And The Wasp. However, some fight scenes got repetitive, especially towards the end. That third act just seemed to go on forever and ever and ever.

Captain Marvel was blasted for having a anti-male SJW tone. And while this is a film with a strong female lead, it's not man-hating as some feared. In fact, I feel that some web sites are trying to find hidden messages to claim the film was more feminist that it really was. I refuse to believe that Vers' destruction of a poster for the 90s film True Lies was an attack on a 'racist and misogynist action flick' and more of an answer to director James Cameron's repeated hatred of comic book movies.

If Marvel hadn't decided to fight dirty back at the trolls by fighting dirty, this film wouldn't be so controversial. I also think Marvel/Disney got scared that the trolls would scare away viewers as signs of superhero movie fatigue made the last Ant-Man movie be the first 'bomb' from Marvel Studios.

I still believe that Disney and Marvel are doing something shady with their ticket numbers. The theater I went to confirmed that literally every showing from Friday-Monday were less than half full. Yesterday's 7pm showing had 12 people! Only the Thursday midnight premiere was a sell-out; though only 2/3 of ticket holders actually filled the seats. True, it was midnight on a workday. So, we'll see with the week 2 ticket sales if Captain Marvel was truly a hit or miss.

With Supergirl, Catwoman and Wonder Woman all having beat Captain Marvel as the first female superhero films, I don't think the cultural impact of this picture was as huge as that of Black Panther. While the debate is still unsettled as to whether superhero fatigue has truly set in at the box office, Captain Marvel proved one thing: it's time for a Nick Fury movie!

Yes, Brie Larson is the star of this movie and she does a great job Yet, I was more interested in SHIELD. Both Jackson and Gregg were fun to watch as SHIELD agents in their heyday. However, the actors who stole the movie went by only one name- Reggie, Archie, Rizzo and Gonzo: the four feline actors who played the role of Goose the cat!  What can I say? I'm a cat person. Plus, I kinda want to see a movie starting him and some of the other famous animals in Marvel Comics history!

Captain Marvel was good. Better than I expected and not a preachy as some claimed it would be. From now on if you want to see films about superheroes or comic books, do yourself a favor- stay away from social media. And if you can't do that, then unsubscribe to those media outlets that are liking to fan the flames of dissent and cause fanboys to go for the jugular. It will make your movie going experiences that much more enjoyable if you do!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Marvel, Volume 3: Alis Volat Propriis (Marvel NOW!)

   Carol Danver’s sabbatical in space is about to come to an end. But before it does, Captain Marvel must rescue her beloved cat, Chewie from a band of space pirates. But her mission won't be easy as her ship has been sabotaged and Chewie’s captors have a commanding lead over the cosmic powered Avenger. Good thing she's located a wormhole that should beat the catnappers to their destination. Too bad Carol didn't get the message to 'avoid the space envelope’ from her extraterrestrial friends.

  Then the series of Captain Marvel comes to a close when friends of Carol's pay a fond farewell to a fallen friend. Is the dearly departed Captain Marvel or someone close to her? I won't spoil it, folks. You'll just have to read this for yourself to find out.

   This volume contains the last issues of the 2014-15 series before the continuity skewing events of last year's Secret Wars. This volume was a fun read, but it lacked a little of the charm of the previous volumes. I think that's mostly because the only characters in this book are Marvel and her sarcastic spaceship, Harrison. They have some classic moments of banter but most of their interactions involve really horrible puns. 

( Hmmm… Harrison… Chewie… I think someone's got a thing for a certain scruffy- looking Nerf Herder…)

 The final chapter, however, was something special. It had that little spark of heart and humanity missing from the rest of the book. Plus, it cleared up several questions that I had from the 2012 series that contains events just prior to Danver's mission of self-discovery in the furthest reaches of outer space.

   Though this series is through it is not the end of my doings with the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel. I happened to get my hands on her Secret Wars miniseries but don't worry, I haven't spoiled the ending of this series by revealing my reading list as Secret Wars is an amalgamation of different Marvel stories and timelines.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Pulse #11

 

   Being a superhero doesn't alleviate the fears of being a new mom for Jessica Jones. So fellow superhero Carol Danvers arranges a special lunch meeting with the matriarch of the Marvel Universe, Sue Storm.

   Another masterpiece by Bendis. Some of the best stories don't involve superheroes being heroic and BMB is the master of these types of stories. Sometimes, the better tales have the hero dealing with normal fears that their powers can't control. With her boyfriend having almost died in the events of Secret War and the who Osborne-fiasco, Jessica Jones' fears of becoming a new mom are grounded. 

    The cover is also a classic by series artist Mike Mayhew. However, it's a little bit of a fake-out. Unlike what the cover shows, baby Cage-Jones isn't born in this issue- yet...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Stay Fly (Marvel Now!)

 

The adage 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies here. Well, at least that's the case for the back cover. I must have found a misprint at the library because the little blurb on the back of the book didn't match the contents at all.

   In big bold letters, the back cover says that the secrets of Chewie (Captain Marvel's cat) are revealed. That part was true and I'll discuss more on that in a minute. Underneath that blurb is a paragraph that describes Carol Danvers continuing her mission in space by saving a princess from the dread Sspartax, all the while being tempted by a man from her past, guest starring the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Well, there were no Sspartax whatsoever, there was a princess but she didn't need saving, some folks from Carol's past did pop up by they were girls, and one Rocket Raccoon does not a full roster of Guardians make.

   So, let's discuss what DID happen in this volume. Well, as I mentioned earlier, the truth about Carol's cat Chewie is revealed and it's "not a cat." To make matters worse, Chewie has just gone into labor (turns out the 'not a cat' is also not a boy) all the while Rocket lets it slip to the local bounty hunting community that he's got a rare alien in his possession. Then Captain Marvel and her young ward meet up with an intergalactic rock star and must help her find a way to not become the trophy wife of a young Prince. This is where the princess comes in, but I won't spoil who marries who.

     Lastly, Carol takes an emergency trip back to earth for 24-hours to visit a sick friend and winds up in the Big Apple on New Year's Eve. When she and a department store Santa are kidnapped by some deranged foes from Carols past (once again girls, not guys) the Avenger may have to rely on some Christmas magic to save the day.

   Don't get me wrong, this volume by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marcia Takara was really good. The art was stunningly well executed, with lots of action and humor. Tons of cool Easter Eggs, mostly in the Christmas issues, are sprinkled throughout the book. And did I mention there's a Christmas-themed story in this volume as well?

    It's just Marvel's production team dropped the ball when it came to recording the events that transpire on the back of the book. This is not the first time Marvel has done this in the past couple of years, but this is perhaps the biggest goof they've made as a whole. Not only that but I feel like if you piece together some of the things that happen in this book together with the incorrect plot synopsis on the back cover, you'll actually be spoiled as to what will most likely occur in volume 2.

   I'm torn how to rate this book. The story itself is Worth Consuming but the cover sure as heck isn't. To be fair, I'll only deduct one star from a book I'd otherwise rate a 9.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Marvel, Volume 1: In Pursuit of Flight (Marvel NOW!)

 

The character of Carol Danvers is one that’s grown on me. From her appearances on recent Marvel cartoons such as Super Hero Squad and The Avengers to the role she has played in storylines such as Civil War and New Avengers, I must say that she’s more than a pretty face. As a former Air force Colonel, she’s got the brass to put Nick Fury and Tony Stark in their place. Plus, she’s cleverly written and has evolved from being more than just a one dimensional background character in 80s issues of Avengers.

 

But I have got to be honest, despite my praise for the character, I really wouldn’t have any interest in reading this book if it wasn’t for two factors. #1) The book and volume 2 were available my local library and libraries = free reads. #2) If I wanted to read my libraries newest Avengers book, I’d have to read the first two volumes of this series. So, with those incentives, I early gave this series a try. Boy, am I glad I did.

 

In this series, Carol Danvers has decided to give up being Ms. Marvel and to adopt the title of Captain Marvel in honor of her late Kree friend, Mar-Vell- the original Marvel universe Capt. Marvel. Along the way, Carol’s aviation hero passes away and leaves her a plane that may or may not have broken a very important aviation record. When Carol pushes the plane to its limits she ends up time travelling.

 

During her trip in the past, she meets her hero as a young pilot trying to make her way into the early days of NASA’s Mercury program. But when Carol and her hero get sent to the point in time when Danvers first obtains the powers of Capt. Marvel, the new Captain and the young pilot must power for the right to become the first human/ Kree warrior. Could Carol’s “old friend” have been using her to take the mantle of Captain Marvel for herself? The fate of the universe rests on Carol Danver’s ability to remain Captain Marvel.

 

Again, I liked this series very much. But, having not been very familiar with Danvers in her exploits as Ms. Marvel in the series of the same name, I had a few questions. For instance, Carol is friends with an elderly lady battling some sort of cancer- what’s her deal? Why did Danvers get sent back to World War II Peru and end up fighting Imperial Japanese soldiers? I don’t remember Japan having conquered Peru in WWII. Lastly, I have a question about changing the time stream but to ask it would mean giving up a major spoiler. But, I do have that question.

 

The Carol Danvers Captain Marvel is awesome. She’s not my favorite- yet. But, I am very excited for the other volumes I have to read that focus on her. I expect them to be quite the read.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.