Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight

Captain Marvel (2012) (Collected Editions)

by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Writer), Dexter Soy (Illustrator), Emma Ríos (Illustrator)

The "Mightiest" of Earth's Mightiest Heroes is back!

Ace pilot. Legendary Avenger. One hundred percent pure bad-@$$. Carol Danvers has a new name, a new mission - and all the power she needs to make her own life a living hell. As the new Captain Marvel, Carol is forging from a challenge from her past!

It's a firefight in the sky as the Banshee Squadron debut - but who are the Prowlers, and where has Carol seen them before? And how does secret NASA training program Mercury 13 fit in? Witness Captain Marvel in blazing battlefield action that just may change the course of history! Avengers Time Travel Protocols: engage!

Collecting: Captain Marvel 1-6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kelly Sue DeConnick’s work spans stage, comics, film and television. Ms. DeConnick first came to prominence as a comics writer, where she is best known for reinventing the Carol Danvers as “Captain Marvel” at Marvel and for the Black Label standard-setting Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons at DC. Her independent comics Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly (both from Image Comics) have ranked as New York Times best-sellers and been honored with Eisner Awards, British Fantasy Awards and Hugo nominations.

Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.

Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.

In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.

Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvel has her champion!


This TPB collects "Captain Marvel" #1-6.


I bought this on its single comic books but I chose this TPB edition to make a better overall review.


Creative Team:

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick

Illustrators: Dexter Soy & Emma Ríos


SHE IS CAPTAIN MARVEL

When I knew about this title, I got interested due that this new incarnation of Carol Danvers wasn't presented like the mightiest heroine, but, hero, period, wow!!!

I think that it's finally the first step to get a female hero in Marvel with the same relevance as Wonder Woman in DC comics.

No one can deny that, in Marvel, we have Storm, Jean Grey, Invisible Woman, The Wasp, Black Widow, Spiderwoman and on, and on, and on, but you never feel that some of them was a female equal in Marvel to the importance of Wonder Woman in DC.

The trinity in DC are two men and a woman and nobody argue that she has the right to be there, but in Marvel, the trinity are all men, why? because any woman they could nominate, many would into an eternal discussion that she may not up to that level, but now Carol Danvers is not Ms. Marvel anymore, no, she takes her rightful mantle and now she is Captain Marvel, Earth's mightiest HERO.

Wow! And do you what else?... Wow!

Of course, Wonder Woman has 70 years of advantage, but hey, sometime they have to start, right?

And now, it's a great moment indeed.


SHE IS GETTING HER OWN LEGACY

Great writing showing her as a really cool bad-@$$ character and a very original art, make this title something worthy to take notice by the rest of the audience.

This is an excellent title, not only you have her role as Captain Marvel but also, you can perceive Carol Danvers as a human being with a past where she even has a role model to aspire.

Also, I love how they showed how few one knows about the true potential of the powers of Captain Marvel.

Since I decided to do the title, I noticed how similar was this new suit of Captain Marvel to the ones of Marvelman and Marvelwoman, and now I am perceiving that this book has its own identity but I think that it's clear that the creative team are fans of Alan Moore's work on Marvelman and generally Alan Moore's style, since not only you have cute smart cartoons at the end but also the adventures are in very much the style of Tom Strong.

They are not stealing ideas, no, don't get me wrong, they simply are doing a genuinely original work but with a smart tribute, at least that's my personal perception about it.

Oh yes, I am sure that this title has a lot of potential to become a new legend in Marvel. This new title Captain Marvel can be easily the best comic book in Marvel that you may are not reading, and that it’s a shame since it’s real good.

Each issue is a delight in the art department using different styles to show the different time periods. Also, great writing work helping to increase the impact of Carol Danvers establishing not as merely Ms Marvel with a new costume, no,...

...she is CAPTAIN MARVEL, EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HERO!

'Nuff said.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really expecting something awesome from this one, but it just didn't deliver. Maybe my expectations were too high?

I felt like I'd already read the Carol Danvers Accepts Her Destiny story back in Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: Best of the Best.
And, no. This wasn't the same story, but...
It just didn't bring anything new to the table. Sorry.

I found the plot underwhelming.
Time-traveling all around to different girl power moments in her mentor's life? Blech.
Evidently, this whole romp was to show Carol that she actually wants her powers.
Because if I had the choice to either fly a plane or FLY, I'm really sure I'd have doubts.
Whatever.

The art was interesting, and it was readable.
That's the best I can give it.

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Is it Mrs or Miss Marvel?“

“It was Ms but now you can just call me Captain.”

I always thought Ms Marvel/ Carol Danvers was one of the toughest heroes in the Marvel universe. You didn’t see Captain America or Iron Man fighting Skrulls while wearing a one piece bathing suit and thigh high boots, did you? I rest my case.

After 35 years Marvel finally decided that it was time to give Carol some pants as well as a promotion. With a new outfit and name that honors the fallen Captain Marvel, Carol is ready to kick a little ass, but she gets waylaid by a time travel adventure that has her fighting the Japanese during World War II as well bouncing to other points in her own time stream. As Carol points out, this might overwhelm some people, but she’s an Avenger so it’s just Tuesday to her.

I’ve always liked the Carol Danvers character and felt that she was underused by Marvel so it’s good to see Carol being written as stepping her game up to take a more prominent spot in the superhero ranks.

But I wish this book was just a bit stronger. It’s got a lot of good points, and I like how Kelly Sue DeConnick writes Carol as a bad ass, but such a bad ass that she doesn’t feel the need to go around telling everyone what a bad ass she is like other heroes. *cough* Wolverine. *cough* There’s a nice balance of quiet confidence with just enough cockiness to give her some attitude and make her fun. But since this was essentially Carol re-branding herself as Captain Marvel to the world, it would have been nice to see how more of that played out rather than immediately sending her back to the past.

[David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Book - you have the right to a speedy trial" - review

THE DEFENSE
- Sassy and likable, Carol Danvers shines all throughout this modern retelling of her origin story.

- The dialogue is very witty and entertaining, I literally laughed out loud many times while reading it.

- Interesting subplot involving Helen Cobb's history and her impact on Carol.

- Thought-provoking look into gender politics and the discrimination women often face.

THE PROSECUTION
- No real compelling antagonist. Most of the opponents Carol faces are named things like "Enemy Soldier #3".

- Not a whole lot of action. This story is much more focused on talking than showing.


THE VERDICT
A fresh perspective on Carol's origin story, as well as a new chapter of her reclaiming her "Captain Marvel" mantle. The dialogue and narration is often engaging... which is good because this story is at least 80% talking! A dearth of action and formidable opponents does prevent the story from being very exciting, but Carol and her friends still make this a fun adventure to read. A promising start to Kelly Sue DeConnick's "Captain Marvel" run!

4/8/19 EDIT

After seeing the "Captain Marvel" movie for the second time yesterday, I've decided to reread this volume later this year as well as check out the other volumes in Kelly Sue DeConnick's run. The snappy banter between Carol and Fury throughout the movie was very reminiscent of the dialogue from here, and I could really see Kelly Sue's influence on the character being displayed in the movie.

Yesterday, I took my father to see the "Captain Marvel" movie, and he loved it, too! :D


Also, I wore a Thanos shirt to the movie this time... I wasn't sure if they's left me in the theater, I was afraid wearing a comic book shirt would get me deemed too nerdy even for comic book movies!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike DC, Marvel has a lackluster history of comic titles featuring their female superheroes. The only one that comes to mind is the She-Hulk and that was basically played for fourth-wall-breaking laughs. “Hey, She-Hulk, jump rope naked or try to fit into a suit that’s 5 sizes too small for you. Go ahead. We’ll watch” Yuk-yuk. (Sigh) With a title now devoted to Captain Marvel, it would be nice if Marvel Comics is finally righting a collective wrong.

This is a decent volume with a story centering on Carol Danvers and a trip through time, all revolving around how she originally got her powers. What stood out for me were the subplots involving a female version of the Howling Commandos and female pilots’ fight to be part of Project Mercury. Carol’s interaction and support for a friend who is battling cancer is especially poignant.

Art? This is somewhat of a letdown. I still don’t know exactly how she took down the Absorbing Man.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Maybe it's my fascination with strong women characters, or perhaps I'm just a sucker for Captain Marvel. Either way, I love how she gets things done.

This volume also had heart. No sappy romance or love interests involved. It was all about following your dreams, doing the right thing in the moral grey zone, and making the best of the hand you've been dealt, or not dealt because of a few men's stupid decisions.

The time travel, the recap of her origin story, the buddy-buddy with Avengers peeps and gutsy women pilots is all a big bonus. Plus, the 1943 Kree action was pretty cool.

The darker side of dealing with death and the loss of her friend was exactly the right tone to grow this story from a fluff-twist into something rather more serious.

If this is a taste of what I'm going to be getting in the upcoming movie, I'll not only be thrilled, I'm going to go crazy with excitement. Ant-Man was good, perhaps better than the comics. If Captain Marvel does at least as good as the comics, I'm thinking I'm going to be freaking Blown Away.

[Jerecho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story - 3.25
Graphics 2.75

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fully admit that my top reason for picking up this trade was that amazing cover. I absolutely love Carol's new look, and I love the style this cover (and the first four issues or so) was done in. It reminds me of WWII propaganda posters, which, considering the storyline, was almost certainly intentional as well as looking just amazing.

So, the storyline. Carol has decided to drop the Ms. Marvel name and take on the Captain Marvel name. It is about time, let's be honest, but I really like the way it was handled. She was, after all, a friend of Mar-Vell, and I get that she'd be hesitant to take up his name. That's essentially the first issue. And then she goes back in time, to World War II. I admit, at first I wasn't sure about this arc, but DeConnick won me over with a great cast of period characters (mostly the awesome Banshee squad) and a storyline that actually was really interesting. And I'm not necessarily talking about the battle she joins the Banshees in, thought that was fun. DeConnick, surprisingly enough, decided to do a storyline based around the Mercury 13, and I think she did a pretty good job of it.

I really loved Carol as a character in this book. I'll be honest, I haven't read terribly much with her in it, and this book made me regret that. I love tough and determined female characters in my comics, especially when they aren't sexualized in the art.

Speaking of the art, there are two artists here. The first, Dexter Soy, was by far my favorite, well-drawn, strong lines, and clear, exactly what I like to see in a superhero book. I didn't care at all for the second artist, Emma Rios. I just don't feel like her overly sketchy style was a good fit for this book.

And a note: in the middle of the book is a seemingly random Spider-Man cover. Not only is Spidey absent from the story, Carol doesn't even show up on the cover. Confusing, until I realized that it was a gimmick. Apparently, Marvel decided to honor Spider-Man's 50th anniversary by putting him on the cover of a ton of comics that he had nothing to do with. Yay. I'm sure it netted them a lot of money from the fanboy market, but I don't get why they had to include that cover here, where it makes even less sense.

(ETA: Lesley has kindly pointed (see comments) that Spider-Man is actually in that issue, in a training bout with Carol. Not sure how I missed that one. Still, couldn't they have made that the cover? And wouldn't Spidey and Captain Marvel battling be an even bigger draw than just Spidey alone?)

[CS · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!! This was SO GOOD!

I seem to have the worst luck choosing comics/graphic novels. They are either dry as dirt or confusing as hell. I've even wondered if maybe I'm not a comic book girl.

And then I find comics like this one that makes me want to fist punch the air and scream, "Yessssss! I finally get it!"

Carol Danvers is officially my favorite super heroine. She is tough, smart, and powerful - and yet she has female friends that she legitimately cares about (such as Tracy - don't know her specific relationship to Tracy, but I am just pleased as punch that Carol isn't resorted to slut shaming her). She is an Avenger and fights alongside Captain America, who thinks she is more than capable of being Captain Marvel. All in all, Carol Danvers "Captain Marvel" is my kind of heroine.

The story gets a bit confusing as is wont to happen when messing around with time travel and a character with a 30+ year history, but I liked it. I thought the Banshee women were amazing and Helen Cobb was awesome!

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to fill out my forms to start my own Carol Danvers religion and get the altar sized...

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may have shot myself in the foot with this one by reading out of order, and then again, maybe I didn’t.

Confusingly, Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More is not actually the first volume of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s run with Captain Marvel. This one is. And it’s in this volume that Carol Danvers, previously Ms. Marvel, swaps out her black leotard and thigh-highs for a sensible and badass red and blue costume and a blonde mohawk-type thing that sticks out of her red helmet, taking over the name Captain Marvel from its deceased previous owner, Mar-Vell, that Kree guy who transferred his powers to her in the first place. So really, this is the place you should start with both Carol Danvers and Kelly Sue. I started with Higher, Further, Faster, More and fell in love with David López's art. His Carol Danvers is my Carol Danvers.



The Carol Danvers to be found here is still the same character, but since I’m a visual person, she seems very different. There are actually two artists in this volume. Dexter Soy does basically the first half, and Emma Rios (who inked DeConnick’s Pretty Deadly) takes over for him after that. So not only was Soy’s version of the character such a jarring difference for me than what I was used to, but even within the same volume, the differences between the two styles didn’t really work for me. Soy’s artwork is pretty in its own way, but it feels really dark and cold and sterile, which is completely at odds with the Carol in my head, who is charming and goofy and vulnerable when her mask is off, and a complete badass when she wants to be. The colors in his issues were also really gloomy and made it hard to follow events. There was only one panel that I genuinely loved, but unfortunately I couldn’t find it online, so you’ll just have to take my word that it was great.



In terms of the actual story, DeConnick really nails this character from the start, I think. Her main emotional through-line here is coming to terms with being Captain Marvel, which is actually a lot more complicated than it sounds when I type it out like that. This involves reminiscing about learning to be a pilot, attending the funeral of her mentor, dealing with the fatal illness of a close friend, and the fun part: time travel!



When Emma Rios takes over, the characters become expressive and actually seem to have personalities (visually, I mean), but her characters are so thin and skeletal and have scary faces. This works in Pretty Deadly, but not here. They’re sassy at times and elegant, yes, but they’re also creepy and all have weirdly pointy faces. I LOVED this style in Pretty Deadly because it really amped up the creep factor and gave it this ethereal quality, even if I didn’t like that comic’s story very much. But again, because I’d already experienced David López's version of the character, this one didn’t really ring true for me (although the return to a brighter color palette was much welcome).



As an origin story, this comic really is a must-read, and you should probably read it first. I think I would have liked it better if I’d have read it in order, but then again, I like to think the art in this volume never would have quite matched the story for me, even if I wasn’t already enamored with this lady:



If David López would have done the art, I probably would have given this five stars.

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really know squat about Carol Danvers. I mean, I see her in the Avengers and I've always kinda liked her - but I've never read a solo comic where she is front and center.

This one got a lot of hype and heaps of praise when it was first released. I don't know why - I just never jumped on the bandwagon.

Now, a couple years later, here I am.

And ya know what? I really friggin liked it.

The right tone, the right art, the right story and the right time. OR in the case of this volume...the right times.

*shrugs*

Captain Marvel is badass. Kelly Sue DeConnick is also badass.

Put em together and what do ya get?

a four-star rating from this guy!

*coughs*

Me. That's me I'm talking about there.

I'm glad I read this. I'm even happier that there are more to yet read! I dunno what the plans are for Captain Marvel after Secret Wars. I can't remember if she is getting her own solo comic again or not. I hope so. Even more so, however, I hope DeConncik is at the helm!

[Otherwyrld · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this one. As the first volume in a new series about Carol Danvers taking on the mantle of Captain Marvel, I really didn't want the first story to be all about her gender. Yes, I get that it has to be addressed, but this story felt like it was hitting me over the head with the feminine angle. As a woman, I consider myself to be a feminist, albeit not a radical one, so I didn't really need to have it explained how women throughout history have been held back by a patriarchal system. At first I thought that it had been written by a man who was overly keen to display his feminist credentials, so I'm not sure if I was more or less disappointed that this was written by a woman.

Add to this the convoluted and unnecessary time travel story, which puts the Captain in several different eras and meeting a number of girl groups that missed becoming famous because of gender politics, and I felt this story missed the point (and Carol Danvers makes the egregious mistake of calling them 'girls' which just rubs salt into the wound). I wanted this to be a story about Captain Marvel, not Carol Danvers. Finally, the whole story becomes about one womans jealousy over Carol's success, to the point where she tries to change history and steal the powers for herself, which makes her far less of a hero than she should have been. The final fight felt like it just fell short of hair pulling, for crying out loud.

Finally, there is the artwork. The front covers to the stories is crisp, bold and totally suited to depicting the new Captain Marvel as a strong, confident character. Unfortunately the interior artwork for the first few issues looks like it is done in watercolours - it is weak and wishy washy, and doesn't do justice to the story. The art is stronger in the latter part of the story, but the damage is done.

Carol Danvers story is a long and complicated one, as shown in the biography at the end of the book. I knew most of this, having read the stories when they first came out (particularly the Rogue storyline and the whole Binary era). She has often doubted herself and faltered when the stakes were highest, but in putting on the mantle of Captain Marvel she should have put those old doubts behind her and this should have been her finest hour. Alas, this story did not do her justice in the end.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve known about Captain Marvel and Carol Danvers for a while just through reading Avengers books, but I’ve never read a standalone piece featuring the character - and having read “In Pursuit of Flight” I’m in no hurry to pick up another!

Not knowing much about the character beyond her powers and name might have made reading this that much harder to get into as there are characters in this book that aren’t introduced as the writer, Kelly Sue Deconnick, assumes you already know about them. Who’s Tracy Burke, the old lady with cancer and what’s her relation to Carol? Who’s Helen Cobb, the dead lady Carol’s fixated on and who the entire book revolves around? No idea.

Helen was apparently a hotshot pilot way back when who set some kind of aviation record which Carol wants to break. She hops into Helen’s old plane and flies off but somehow the plane sends her back in time to 1943 to a small island off of Peru in the midst of a battle between the Japanese and Americans.

Time travel is really big with Marvel at the moment - their Marvel NOW! titles Fantastic Four and All-New X-Men both feature time travel heavily as does their Event, Age of Ultron, and now this book has time travel as a major plot device too. Come on, Marvel, think of something else!

So anyway Carol’s sent back in time for some reason, meets up with an all-female commando squad called the Banshees, and fight some Japanese who’ve somehow wound up with Kree technology. Like the time travel, it’s never explained just how Kree tech wound up here either. Or how they get from the Peruvian island to mainland America and we switch to Helen negotiating plane time for her gals with a piece of Kree tech (again, how...?).

The rest of the book is about Carol and Helen as they fly planes, they try to get the Kree tech back after their planes are taken from them, and for some reason they wind up meeting Carol in the past before she gets her powers.

This is such a confusing read because of all the jumping around. I thought I figured out why Helen means something to Carol because they had these adventures in the past but that just created a space/time paradox! Most of the time I just read it blankly, watching a group of characters I didn’t know or care about do random things until the book ended. Sure it’s an all female cast but watching women fire guns and be violent instead of men isn’t riveting at all - I’d be just as bored if it were guys doing that stuff. It’s just so mindlessly presented. Also I don’t have any interest in pilots or planes or flying so all that stuff just passed me by.

Reading this book was a totally unaffecting experience because Kelly Sue Deconnick is simply not a very good writer. I don’t know how the story fit together or why anything happened - I was so confused, I read the book thinking Helen and Tracy were the same person!

Dexter Soy’s artwork is outstanding for the first 4 issues - he does action ridiculously well and I love his redesign of Captain Marvel’s outfit. Soy’s art is kinda like Lee Bermejo’s but more colourful and no less powerful. Then Emma Rios takes over the art but while the artwork after Soy is never bad, it’s not up to the same quality that he lends to the book.

Artwork aside, there’s little here I’d recommend. I’d like to read a good Captain Marvel book but Deconnick’s woefully inept take on the character has put me off of reading anything further on the character for now. “In Pursuit of Flight” is a good-looking mess, but a mess regardless.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've already read issue 1 when it came out, but even re-reading it, I caught a chill a misted up when Carol announces "I'm taking the damned name." There's such a strength of purpose and drive that leaps off the page with this issue, it makes me want to reach harder and higher than I ever do in my life. Then the sharp, crisp dialogue between characters: so easy to imagine hearing these conversations, so compelling - I want to know these women, ride their coattails and want the excitement of just being around them. Helen Cobb just emerges instantaneously fully-formed - reminds me of my grandmother, takes no shit and welcomes you in at the same time.

Soy really is an inspired, daring artist. His page compositions make me slow down and drink this storytelling collaboration in. His facial expressions are incredibly evocative, and the digital paints are so flowing and organic that I want to hang them on my wall. The panels just bleed energy and poetry in motion - simple touches like not-accidental brushstrokes that evoke movement in the figure far better than "motion lines" ever did. This is the only kind of impressionistic style that beats realism hands down. Something that's really fascinating is how he poses Captain Marvel when she's fighting - none of the stupid rigid poses, she looks like physics and her own gyrations are actually fluid.

I am in love with Carol Danvers. She can go from "are you seriously going to fuck with *me*?" to compassionate to headstrong to confident from page to page, and yet she seems incredibly believable. The vulnerability and self-awareness are key here - it's much easier to tune into a character whose inner voice doesn't sound like Superman all the time, but actually knows she's about to take a stupid risk - and does it anyway. These are *my* heroes.

And the Banshee Squad? When I saw the redhead wielding a long-chain machine gun I almost pooped my pants. This is awesome, getting at the heart of where women have *really* been powerful and hidden, giving us a glimpse into the truly, invisibly heroic.

In the middle of all this balls-to-the-wall ass-kicking, DeConnick busts out a feminine reference so natural and yet out of place I burst out laughing. I also found myself tearing up a couple more times during this story - whether I was expecting to or not, it happened.

The ending to this story is sweet and funny, but I can't help but be affected by the change of artists. I even re-read this book to see if the effect wore off the second time through, and while it wasn't as noticeable, I still think DeConnick's story would've been better served by Soy's art than Rios'. Something about the "sketchiness" of Rios' style takes a lot of the weightiness out of the panels, flattens the facial expressions, and doesn't leave as much fullness in the telling. Even that said, I teared up a couple more times at this, which puts this over the top for me.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually pretty solid. I should have went back and read Kelly Sue Deconnick first run at the character before jumping in on her 2nd.

So this is when Carol takes the mantle and becomes Captain Marvel. I kind of love the first issue being about her not wanting to, and respecting Marvell, but Captain America is like "Listen here homeslice, you're a good person. You've protected a lot of people. You are HONORING his name. So do it. For us. For you." And that is one of the big deciding factors for her. The first issue is actually great.

Then we get into territory I usually hate. Time travel. Captain Marvel gets thrown into the past, and oh joy, it's so fun...Not. Honestly, it's not horrible. You do get to see her in action and her powers and skillset a pretty great. I actually enjoy the art here, very water brush style. But the storyline is same old same old helping the past with her great powers but nothing really changes.

Overall, a solid introduction but nothing mindblowing. I do like how Carol is written here though. Her internal monologue makes her interesting. Will keep reading. A 3 out of 5.

[Get X Serious · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please god, somebody tell Marvel to come up with a plot that doesn't involve time travel.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to Captain Marvel. However, I wasn't a big fan of the drawing style.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha súper, hiper, mega encantado. Me gusta mucho el argumento, me gusta mucho el dibujo y me gusta mucho todo de todo. Totalmente inspirador.
Voy a seguir a la guionista de cerca, por lo pronto esta saga la leeré enterita y ya tengo echado el ojo a algún cómic más guionizado por ella, Kelly Sue Deconnick es bien. El dibujo de Emma Ríos es de diez, también pienso hacerle un seguimiento a la ilustradora.

Este año auguro que voy a leer mucho cómic.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts off with Carol going through the day having gotten a new costume fighting absorbing man, teaming with Steve and Peter and discussing taking the name of Captain Marvel and his legacy and then we have her flying the T-6 a gift from her mentor Helen Cobb and then we see her travel through time like in the 1943 Peru where she teams up with the Banshee Squadron in Peru and we learn their history and have some awesome scenes there where they take out the Kree Prowlers, then in 1962 where she meets this reality version of Helen Cobb and then that shrapnel pushes them further in time to her origin area and some tough choices and then facing an enemy she might not have wanted to and then coming back to the present after learning a massive thing and getting a big lease on life and in time for Tracy Burke's operation. Its such a great and character defining book and changes the entire perspective of the character and offers unique insights into the past and by the end she learns to accept herself and accepts her mentors teaching. The art here was okay for the most part but sudden changes were kinda mudding.

[christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Carol Danvers comic and she fucking SLAYS. This is her introduction to the Captain Marvel mantel. She has been in A TON of comics over the year and has appeared as Ms. Marvel, Binary and War Bird in multiple story arcs. During the aftermath from the war with the X-Men (Avengers vs. X-Men, 2012) she decides to pick up the mantel of Captain Marvel.
The comic book picks up with her and Captain America taking care of shit in New York and her coming to terms with taking up the Captain Marvel mantel. After taking care of shit in New York she finds out that one of her idols from her Air Force days Helen Cobb has died and left her a plane.
However, this plane ends up being a fucking time machine that takes us back to various points of Carol and Helen's lives and gives us a glimpse of how Carol got her powers from Mar Vell - the original Captain Marvel. For a jumping off point it was kind of confusing at first, but also a nice was to give new readers a background on Carol. I am interested to see how this storyline moves forward and how it will tie in with Avengers Assemble which I am also currently reading.

Captain Marvel Volume VII
Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight - #1-6
Captain Marvel, Vol. 2: Down - #7-12
Avengers: The Enemy Within - includes #13-14, 17
Infinity Companion - includes #15-16
Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps - includes #17
and The Carol Corps #1-4
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Avengers Assemble
Avengers Assemble - #1-8
Avengers Assemble: Science Bros - #9-13
Age of Ultron - includes #14AU -15AU
Avengers: The Enemy Within - includes #16-17
Infinity Companion - includes #18-20
Avengers Assemble: The Forgeries of Jealousy - #21-25

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMGWTF THEY CHANGED MS MARVEL'S COSTUME AND SHE'S NOT EVEN MS MARVEL ANYMORE WHYYYYYYYYY???????

Here's why: Because Kelly Sue DeConnick kicks everyone's ass.

Change isn't always bad. Come on Marvel readers, think about it. There really is no better contender for the Captain Marvel mantle than Carol Danvers. And in this title, she is every bit as awesome and complex as she's ever been. She continues to be the strong and sarcastic leader and protector, yet still struggling to find her footing as both an Avenger and Mar-Vell's successor.

Plus she has a great new uniform that blends the classic Mar-Vell design with the long-outdated Ms. Marvel leotard/bathing suit thingy. (Really, I feel silly even commenting on this, but it seems like the majority of the criticism thrown at this title is simply due to the costume redesign. Good lord.)

Carol Danvers is one Marvel's best characters and with KSD writing her stories it's match made in heaven. I can't recommend this one enough, it's probably the best superhero title Marvel has out right now. Pick it up and stick with it for volume 2 -- believe it or not, it just gets better.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain Marvel (aka Carol Danvers) takes a time traveling ride back to WWII and then the 1960's to meet her pilot mentor in her younger days.

I definitely like Carol as Captain Marvel, one of the most interesting female heroes I've read. This was a nice look at the character and boosted my interest for the upcoming movie a bit. I liked her character and dialogue here, but it didn't feel like a great place to jump into her story. Probably because it wasn't really about her so much as her mentor. I can't say I totally understood the conclusion and the purpose of the whole trip, either, and I'm usually pretty savvy with these timey-wimey things.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this and may read on to see if it creates a story I can engage in but. . . not yet. It's colorful and my kids liked it okay. It skips back story to jus get into it, which I guess makes sense as an artistic choice. . . that's the problem with rebooting. Back story slows things down. However, I don't know much about Carol Danvers, the Captain, or this world, and this just felt like a shoot-em-up comic with girls as shooters. I liked the art work, colorful, solid, by Soy, but I think I liked the work of Rios even better for the tone of it.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'm completely new to Captain Marvel -- I've heard bits about her, and about the original Mar-Vell, but I haven't read a comic featuring Carol Danvers yet as far as I can remember. If I have, and I've forgotten, shame on me, but this makes for a great introduction: I fell right in love with the character. She's unabashedly completely kickass, she's gorgeous (the art is gorgeous, though I preferred Dexter Soy's work to Emma Rios'), she cares, and I don't think she knows how to give up.

I loved how jam-packed with amazing women this issue is. Some of this was obviously more difficult to get than others, since I didn't really know Carol's origin story or abilities, but I enjoyed her relationship with Tracy -- the last couple of pages are awesome for that, funny and sweet at the same time -- and with Helen Cobb, and there's nothing difficult about the concept of the Banshee Squad (who practically deserve their own comic).

My main complaint?

Make it longer! I want more of Carol's badassery.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someday I'll read a comic book that can manage a linear story and no time travel. I'M NOT BITTER.
The art and characters were grand, though. So yeah.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me uncomfortable but in the best possible way!

I'm a lifelong comic book reader and a DC reader so I had no prior knowledge to the Ms. Marvel Carol Danvers character other than what I see at Con and the cosplay, clearly she's popular for many reasons but I can see the initial hook (who wears that fighting crime?). Yes I'm a dude and I did and do appreciate what Marvel was doing with this character in terms of appeal to their then mainly male readership. But over the years and as the industry and I myself matures I find that what once was the appealing factor of many female characters was now somewhat antiquated, embarrassing and just simply sexist. Sure I'm not going to open the can of worms about sexual appeal and selling books, but yes I was ready for something and the readership, which now had become varied, for new takes on these classic characters.

So yes I was over the moon when I found out that Kelly Sue Deconnick (KSD) was writing a reboot of a then super sexist character I was very much game. So what do I think about this new take?

World: I will start off by saying this and I know I'm gonna piss some people off, I don't like Soy's art. It's static, the line work is blurry, the colouring is a bit too stylised, and the facial expressions are just wrong. I'm a huge Green Lantern fan so I know what makes a great space book and that is a sense of motion and movement, you want to feel Carol soaring and diving and flying around cause it's awesome, but the art is not like that at all. I appreciate the chance they took cause it does look different but no, I don't like it. Rios is way better, her sense of speed, her facial expressions, her framing. I loved her when she did Pretty Deadly and she's awesome here. Ok with that aside how was the world building? Good but not great. I like how KSD is clearly sending a message to readers on what this book is but I kind of think that doing a time travel tale kinda made for some choppy world building that sometimes left me disoriented. Maybe I'm not a lifelong Ms. Marvel reader so it's my fault but yes I found the world building choppy and unfocused simply because of the story structure.

Story: That first initial fight was deceptively wonderful. Not only is it an action sequence to open the book, but the dialog really was a microcosm of what this book is trying to address and change about the comic book industry and its portrayal of female characters in the past. It's a bold statement in setting up this books status quo and it's intention to be a positive strong book no matter the gender of the hero or the reader. That being said this is a relaunch and I would have imagined that getting readers comfortable into the new status quo would be priority number one, but this is my opinion, doing a time travel tale where KSD tries to deal with lore of Ms. Marvel was a bit difficult for new readers. I can clearly see the checklist of things KSD wanted to address but having to juggle all these in the end made the tale less than what it should have been. The middle was a bit lost but once the final issue came around it did right itself into a wonderfully emotional and satisfying ending, although Cobb is so out of character but we can't fault it for the scene in the end.

Characters: I'm gonna be a DC fanboy and just say it, Carol Danvers is Marvel's Hal Jordan. Ok, with that aside how were the characters? Overall very good. I really liked the positive portrayal of women in this book, this is what I wanted and this is exactly what I got. I did, being a guy and use to the norm of the industry for so long found the strong feminine message to be a too much but I feel this was warranted because of the sexist baggage that KSD had to address with Ms. Marvel. Also talking to a friend about this she kind of opened my eyes on how much we accept male centric stereotypes to fiction in general. I did feel that being a time travel tale the characters did not have enough time to be fleshed out (the Banshees comes to mind) except for Carol. Cobb was a wonderful character to build Carol and a wonderful plot device I think the turn in the end was a bit out of character but overall the ending was very satisfying in a character standpoint for Carol. Still, as I said before, I think this tale would have benefited being a second arc so that it would have more emotional development and resonance with readers.

If this book makes you feel a bit uncomfortable and in your face with it's feminism good because if you don't feel uncomfortable then there is something wrong with you, this is a new horizon and this is a new age in comic books, when wonderful strong and well written female characters like Batgirl, Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel are the status quo.

Oh and if my train of thought is all over the place with this review it's because I pretty much word vomitted it without going back to edit.

Oh and READ Pretty Deadly and the amazing Bitch Planet from KSD the single issues for BP have amazing essays that everyone should read!!!

Onward to the next book!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read only half of the sequence this collection is part of, due to my random library habits and picking up some Avengers titles, so I decided to pick up the 3 collections I was missing via used book dealers.
DeConnick is really good at writing dialogue. The storylines in this are interesting, if at times slightly confusing.
This edition had a summary of Carol's entire history, which has been pretty amazing and wild.
I wasn't fond of about half the art.

[Paz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars.
''Time travel, Helen. Yes I know. No one likes it, but we're here now.''
Sometimes you read something and you go all fangirl/fanboy on it. Sometimes you read something and you liked it but there's that one detail that bothers you and you have to fully explain it so people can understand why you didn't love it. Sometimes you read something and you hate it with all your guts and you have to rant because it was an useless and pointless experience and such a waste of time (I've been there too many times.) And sometimes you read something and it leaves you bored out of your mind. It is not a horrible read, it is not a bad read per se, it is just not for you, it is boring and uninteresting and it doesn't leave any big impression because is so ''Meh.'' That's Captain Marvel, Vol 1: In Pursuit of Flight. A big and fat Meh.

Was the story good? Meh. I hate time travel, but it was not the worst I've seen.

Was Captain Marvel a good character? Meh. Yes, to what she represents, but I don't like this woman at all to be honest. I don't care for her.

Was the writing good? Meh. Some good lines here and there, but mostly I hated how the ''YES, Girl Power!'' thing was hitting you over the head the entire time. Guess DeConnick got better with the subtlety later, I mean Bitch Planet handles that theme so much better.

Was the Artwork good? Meh. It was different... I'll give you that.

Will I read the next volume? No. Well, I'd say no, but the thing is, I've had the second volume for almost two years on my shelf and I really want to lower the number of my unread comics. So, meh. Meh-ybe (See what I did there?) If I can't sleep one day and I need something to make me yawn, yes, maybe I'll read it.

But, what is this about? Carol Denvers, a.k.a Ms. Marvel, finally decides to take the mantle of Captain Marvel and, through time travel, we get to see how she gets her powers and... how she fights alongside a girl squad against japanese soldiers in WWII...did I mention there's Kree technology involved? yeah... that's mostly the plot. The thing is, this being a first volume, kind of explaining Carol's origin story, it was a hard read to get into. I didn't have an extensive knowledge of this character so DeConnick giving zero introduction to some important people in Carol's life made it hard to care.

It was overall a very boring, underwhelming read, that left me with a few questions. Do I dislike Captain Marvel, or do I dislike DeConnick's version of Denvers? Or, does my problem comes solely from DeConnick's writing? I think I just don't like her writing, which it is a bit of a stretch given the fact I've only ever read two volumes by her, this and Bitch Planet Volume 1, but boredom seems to be a common thing between us and I can't seem to get into her stories.

Also, did I mention that I tried to read this almost year and half ago? I only got to issue #3 and put it aside. Now I know I wasn't in a weird mood back then, I just don't enjoy this title.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, more than I expected to. I'm working backward now, it seems. I started with the new Ms. Marvel about Kamala Khan. It finally seemed like a place where I could dip my toe into superhero comics without being so confused or overwhelmed with the history and changing timelines and universes and everything else that's been a barrier all of the times that I've tried to figure out where to start reading them. I've been reading graphic novels and comics for a few years, but just haven't been able to get into Marvel or DC yet. But I really liked Kamala's story and it made me curious about the previous (or other? I don't know yet) Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel stories. And I watch the Marvel movies, of course, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, so I've looked up the Kree to try to figure that whole thing out, which helped make this more familiar. Anyway, the writing on this would have been great no matter what, I really enjoyed all of the strong, smart women in this book. The story was somehow meatier than a lot of volumes this size, it felt like it lasted longer, it was more substantive. You know how you flip through some books and finish them in just a few minutes and other take much longer? This one had a lot of story in it. The art was good overall, but I do really wonder about some of it. There were some frames of her rear end that looked like her suit was painted on, it was so far up her... crack it was just lewd. I wondered if she was manifesting the suit with her mind somehow so that was why, it was like a second skin, but then it said that Tony Stark made the suit for her. I'm really sure that Colonel Danvers wouldn't let Tony make her a suit that uncomfortable or inappropriate, so it was just the artist doing the typical sexist disgusting crap. Other than that it looked good. I do wish I'd known about the huge Carol Danvers bio at the back of the book before I read the whole thing, it would have been interesting to read before I'd read the story, but it didn't really matter, it was just a lot more complete that the one I skimmed on the internet. This was a really enjoyable volume overall and I'd recommend it to anyone who was looking for place to dip their toe into the Marvel universe.

[Janine Spendlove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have so many feelings about this graphic novel, I cannot even adequately put them into words. For starters it's like Kelly Sue knew exactly what my buttons were, and then mashed them all down repeatedly.

Where to start? How about with the fact that Carol Danvers left the Air Force as a full bird colonel making her solidly at least 40 years old. Yep, that's right, this badass super hero, with powers galore, is a fully matured, adult woman, basically starting her second career in life (as a superhero, no less).

If that isn't awesome enough, she's a military pilot (have I mentioned I'm a pilot for the Marine Corps?) - so yeah, I have lots of feels about aviatrixes.

Her costume is awesome. Aside from the sash around her waist (which I LOVE, and I realize is a nod back to her Ms. Marvel days), Captain Marvel's costume is something that you'd see any of the male superheroes wearing. She looks strong, powerful, sexy, feminine, and all while being fully covered (which I, for one, really appreciate - I love Wonder Woman's costume, but it's not one I would ever feel comfortable wearing in public (except on a race) - for the ladies that do dress as Wonder Woman, though - you rock it!). Also SHE HAS A MOHAWK!!!

Let's talk about Helen Cobb a little bit. A woman with 15 speed records for flying (YAY ANOTHER PILOT!). A woman who actively mentors other women/wants them to succeed, and doesn't feel threatened by someone else doing better than her (just uses it as a challenge to improve herself!). Not afraid to push the envelope in a "man's world" either, and actively campaigned to be an astronaut.

So what I'm saying is the writing is excellent. It's clearly well thought out, dynamic, witty, and loads of fun. Oh, and the ART! I love it!

I'm not even going to lie - I totally cried reading Helen's letter to Carol. Thank you, Kelly Sue, for writing such a wonderful story/character/everything.

So now let's all go punch holes in the sky and be the stars we were always meant to be.

p.s.
Special thanks to Betsy for hounding me for month and months to get my butt in gear & finally read this. I'm sorry I waited so long - I won't make that mistake again!