Essential Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There's power to longevity and retelling of heroic origin tales and that illustrated better nowhere else than in the case of Mar-vell of the Kree, a character who Marvel killed off and never brought back in his original form back in the 1980s. To many comic fans and certainly to the general public, Mar-vell is rather obscure which is why I'm so thankful for this very enjoyable collection which features the original Captain Marvel story from Marvel Superheroes #12-13 along with Issues 1-21 of Captain Marvel and a parody reprint of Not Brand Echs.

This Captain Marvel shouldn't be confused with the Fawcett/DC character formerly known as Captain Marvel now known as Shazam. Marvel created the character after Fawcett had gone bankrupt and they wanted to use the name.

Mar-vell was a spy for the Kree Empire sent to monitor the Earth and to report back to the Kree without getting involved. At the same time, the commander of the Kree ship, Yon-Rogg is jealous of Mar-vell's rising star and seeks to bring him down. As part of his mission, Captain Marvel has to intercede on Earth and is proclaimed a hero. In some ways, he was the opposite of Spider-man who was mistrusted despite good intentions while Mar-vell could doom the Earth. Adding to this tension is that Mar-vell really does sympathize with the people of Earth and is a hero and this brings him into direct conflict with himself and the Kree.

The story follows along this same line through Issue 10. Some of the best highlights here are Mar-vell's battle against Super Skrull (Issues 2 and 3) and Namor in Issue 4. The Namor Issue is particularly ironic as Mar-vell has been ordered to allow the detonation of a device that could inflict great harm on the Earth while Namor is trying to stop it, with Namor being seen as a villain to humanity and Mar-vell as the hero.

Arnold Drake of Doom Patrol fame (took over from Roy Thomas) with Issue 5 and the stories were fun but very much character and plot arc driven through Issue 12. The big change happens when the Kree finally order Mar-vell's execution. It's stayed in Issue 11 when Mar-vell isn't executed due to a random attack that leads to death of his beloved Uma, and he encounters the alien entity Zo who gives him a new power set. This story arc continues with some impressive but odd comic art from the period from artist Dick Ayers, Frank Springer, and Tom Sutton. With Gary Friedrich doing the writing chores for Issues 13-15 and Archie Goodwin writing Issue 16 which ends with Mar-vell in his most recognizable form and then banished to the Negative Zone.

Issue 17 saw the return of of original series writer Roy Thomas along with Gil Kane as artist as the new status quo of Rick Jones having a bracelet that he could slam together to call forth Captain Marvel from the Negative zone while Jones changed place with him. In some ways, this was an improvement on the original Fawcett Marvel concept and it certainly was a great turn for Rick Jones a character.

The Not Brand Echs comic at the back was nice for its rarity, though it wasn't quite my cup of tea. I also appreciated the original artwork reprinted at the back.

Overall, a lot of hands were involved in these comics: Five different writers, six different artists but the results are great. Mar-vell is a fascinating character and a great concept that's well-executed. The book also introduces Carol Danvers. While she bears resemblance to the modern Danvers, she's certainly ahead of her time. Overall, while this book isn't essential reading for comic fans. It certainly is recommended.



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