Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps #1-4

by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Writer), Kelly Thompson, David López (Illustrator)

Atten-Hut! These ladies are the best of the best and will take you down if you threaten their Captain. Welcome to Hala Field, where being a part of the elite Carol Corps, requires guts, guile and a whole lot of grit. So put on your uniform and get ready for a high-flying Captain Marvel tale years in the making.

Collecting: Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps 1-4, Captain Marvel 17

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2015

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

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Doom’s Warzones! Happiness is not allowed! So keep those smiles to yourself and suck it!!

Dr. Doom uses an army of Thors to keep his different worlds in line and in this volume a little more is revealed: He chooses one being from each of the Battleworlds to make up his Thor battalions.



Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers and the Carol Corps are stuck on a little sliver of an isle called Hala Field and questions about the nature of things start to pop up, including the mysterious source and nature of her origin.



The Thors are the impediment to the Corps to discovery until Captain Marvel and the ladies encounter and under orders, blow up a ship piloted by James Rhodes (War Machine in a different reality), who are also trying to push the boundaries in their own little segment of Doomscape.



This one starts off painfully slow but builds to a grand showdown with the Thor squad.



This volume includes an issue (#17) from Captain Marvel continuity that has an A story and C artwork.



Bottom Line: One of the better Secret Wars volumes, probably because DeConnick, the regular writer on Captain Marvel was given the creative chores. Recommended for her fans of the title.

Upward and onward, Carol Corps!!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was the end of a great three year run on Captain Marvel. Truly great.

Thank you so much to Kelly Sue DeConnick for bringing Carol to life in a way that captured so many hearts and minds.

It's a shame that the end had to get dragged into Secret Wars but at least it was one of the better tie-ins.

I am proud to count myself a member of the Carol Corps! Keep 'em flying, folks!

What did Carol and co. see at the end of this book? Only one way to find out: follow that first star to the right and straight on 'til morning...

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably one of the better Secret Wars miniseries so far, and almost really good on its own merits. It's not the characters (they're great, especially Carol herself) or the story itself, which I think basically worked for the setting and the characters. The problem is that there wasn't quite enough setup. The whole premise is that this entire squad is willing to risk so much, including their lives, to see what lies beyond the boundaries Doom has set for them, but not enough time is really spent establishing those boundaries, or why anyone but Carol would be so willing to risk their lives to break through them. Maybe there wasn't quite enough room in this miniseries for that, but I feel like there were bits that could have been trimmed here and there to develop the story more than it was. Still, this book actually works as a mostly self-contained story, and it's a genuinely interesting alternate reality on its own. Definitely in the top tier of Secret Wars connected miniseries, at least for me.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, first of all I just want to say that Secret Wars seems like an unholy mess. I shouldn't have to spend thirty minutes on Wikipedia reading up about a bunch of crazy shit just to enjoy my Carol Danvers, dammit. I mean, did ANYONE read all the Secret Wars stuff? If so, did you understand all of it? Because that page makes it sound terrible.

As for the comic itself, once I got the gist of the background, it was actually pretty great! Basically a bunch of different Marvel universes all collided with each other and destroyed almost the entire universe. All that's left is a sort of collage planet called Battleword where remnants of each universe exist together. There are multiple versions of characters (there is an entire squadron of Thors who act as a planetary police enforcement squad), apparently nobody remembers the way things used to be, and the whole place is ruled over by Dr. Doom, who styles himself God.

So on Carol Danvers' portion of Battleword, she heads up a team of fighter pilots called the Banshees. They believe her to have been chosen by Doom himself to lead and protect them. But the squad members and then Carol herself begin to question what's actually going on, the nature of their existence as told to them by Doom and his underlings. So they formulate an escape plan.

This comic was a lot funnier than I expected it to be, and a lot more moving as well. Especially since those last two panels is probably the last Captain Marvel/Kelly Sue DeConnick we're going to get, at least for a while, if ever. This comic is definitely worth reading even if you know literally nothing about Secret Wars, and couldn't care less about it. Just like me!

[CS · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

If you’re reading for Captain Marvel and never read an ounce of Secret Wars, this isn’t for you. Or I suppose it’s just me - I was mystified at the weirdness (Doom is god? A Legion of Thors????), didn’t care about the characters despite the QuirkyTM names, and didn’t care about the two characters I did recognize. I suppose it is a fully contained story (with the addition of another randomly inserted Captain Marvel that I have distinct de ja vu), which is a bonus, but other than some fun cover art, this was a meh for me.

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is… actually quite a disappointing volume. I mean, okay, the Banshees (or Carol Corps) are pretty badass, of course, but it’s a tie-in to Secret Wars? I think? And it’s really not clear what the background is. I don’t read most event comics, and when I do it’s just for the characters I love and follow. Sometimes a skilled writer manages to keep things comprehensible, and sometimes not — for a Captain Marvel fan, most of this makes no sense… and has no impact on the character. It’s not clear what the significance of any of it is.

To add to that feeling of it being a rip-off, there’s four issues here which are new… and the final issue is Captain Marvel #17, which I already own, in context, in the proper TPB. Here it’s completely random and doesn’t continue or add to the story of the Carol Corps arc at all. Worse, it’s the Felipe Andrade art — so it looks (to me anyway) absolutely terrible.

I do love Kelly Sue’s take on Captain Marvel in general, but… skip this one.

Originally posted here.

[Sail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the Secret Wars: Warzones volumes, and while I usually steer clear of those, I decided to pick this one up because who doesn’t want more Captain Marvel in their lives?

Basically the main thing going for this volume is the incredible writing from Kelly Sue DeConnick and the characters themselves. The story was about Dr. Doom ruling over the planet and a whole army of Thors enforcing everything. The Banshees aka Carol Corps feel like there’s something more going on and decide to investigate. It felt pretty basic but the characters were all really enjoyable, including the weird alternate reality Rhodey.

The artwork was mediocre at best but I’m super picky on that front. But it didn’t help that the artists switched between issues and just left everything feeling kind of messy.

If you’re a huge fan of Captain Marvel or DeConnick’s writing, then you might mildly enjoy this. But overall it’s a volume that doesn’t add anything to Carol’s character arc so it can definitely be skipped.

I read this during the Fantasy Adventureathon!

Blog

[The Sapphic Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts off a little slow but becomes an action-packed frantic race to freedom and truth. The last page of the story? Goosebumps. DeConnick uses her words to bookend her run of Captain Marvel in a way so effective I teared up a little. I'm mourning the end of her run again...

The standalone story at the end is also touching.

...I just need more Kelly Sue Captain Marvel...

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like nothing really happened, and wtf was up with the Banshee's( I mean Carol Corp. as they're called on the cover)? Almost gave this a 3 out of 5 because it's Capt. Marvel but if we upvote bad content then they will keep producing bad content.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps was part of the Secret Wars event, which served to merge the two universes of Marvel (both the normal and the Ultimate). Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps focuses on Carol Danvers as she leads a squadron of fighter pilots as they serve the God Doom.

I really liked the idea of Secret Wars….but the actual execution of the both the main storyline (what was even happening half the time?) and with a few of the side projects, it really fell flat. Carol Corps was not immune to this unfortunately. The writing is strong, the characters are awesome….but the actual story was middling at best. We see as Carol starts to question the world around her, and her squadron deal with the new revelations…but it really goes no where and ends really quickly.

It’s a decent story…but it’s not something that in hindsight was really necessary to buy. It’s certain a fun story, and I did like it better than the actual Secret Wars issues but it was very clear it was a means to an end…a way to bide time until the official reset.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flying armies of Thors, Carol Corps, and brainwashed alternative realities! I'm lost without Kree powers or a good fighter jet.
Other than being lost, however, I enjoyed the second half. What's not to love about a villainous tech mogul spouting Ayn Rand --in superhero land 'absolute objectivism'--and receiving this glorious smack down?
"Times are hard. Economically, socially--Hell, we hadn't recovered from the hurricane before some alien tried to set his city down on top of us. Post-traumatic stress disorder is the new normal. No one can pull themselves up by their boot-straps. Nobody HAS any bootstraps."

Aaron Sorkin who? Deconnick is the true heiress to snappy 30s film dialogue. Here's to Rosalind Russell in a cape.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a disappointment. DeConnick did a fairly good job with this character before Secret Wars and so I expected more from this arc. While I really liked all of the women in the Carol Corps, the story was lacking in detail. (Which now that I think of it, is a lot like what happened in her previous run.). There is enough to get the story going but then it runs out of steam after the 2nd issue and the ending is so anti-climactic that I felt like I just read 4 issues of filler. Captain Marvel is an awesome character; she deserves better.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting concept but I definitely thing it could've been shortened to one mega issue and not 5 issues and then the (random?) insert of Captain Marvel (2012) #17. I think it was too long, to be honest.

Anyway, this is a Battlezones AU where Carol runs a flight team called the Banshees (AKA the Carol Corps) in service to Doom. They've never known anything else. One day, one of the pilots mentions seeing a star and Carol freaks out about it because they don't have stars in Halaworld (I believe that's what it was called).

She begins questioning what they've been told in time to be sent on a mission to take down an "ultron" ship. It actually turns out to be a ship called Albatross, lead by Captain James Rhodes. Carol stops herself in time ot rescue him. I think this was partially meant to reverse the typical damsel thing where men rescue women. Although, there's a weird line at the end implying they might have dated in another life. It felt forced which was odd because I like the way DeConnick handled their relationship in her other run.

Anyway, it felt a little light. I'm not saying all of Carol's books have been hardcore feminist, female power, etc. But they felt a lot stronger and much more attuned with the message that women save themselves. This just felt a little bland and I think that was due to having to shove in so much filler. Like there's this repetitive comment about Carol doing "the thing" which is a trick she does int he sky to avoid attacks/capture/tagging, etc. When it's said so many times, it starts to feel like it was a placeholder and it felt overdone.

So, it's not quite a recommend from me. I just didn't feel like any one theme hit hard enough to make this super memorable me.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've followed DC more than Marvel over the years, so when I started this book I immediately thought of DC's Convergence. It's a similar concept, as discrete/different groups of heroes start to doubt their new worlds and try to break out. Here, we get Captain Marvel leading a group of pilots in a Battlezone policed by Thors and run by Doctor Doom? It's a weird concept, but DeConnick makes it work, as Carol leads her squad out of their Battlezone. It would have been nice if there had been some conclusion to the story, and the book also includes Captain Marvel 17 which has no relation to the Battlezone story and is instead a one-off about Carol trying to recover her memory? It's an okay story, but it feels out of place here, without any context provided. And the art style is disconcertingly different from the Carol Corps story (which felt a bit classical, capturing a WW2 feel). It makes for a very strange capstone for the collection.

[Brian Poole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps was both a good tie-in to the massive Secret Wars event and the swan song of writer Kellie Sue DeConnick as the shepherd of the solo adventures of Carol Danvers.

In Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps, Col. Carol Danvers, a/k/a Captain Marvel, is the key protector of the Hala Field part of Battleworld. Carol leads the Banshees, an ace team of all-female fighter pilots (many based on characters from Carol’s recent series). At a point where Captain Marvel and her team are beginning to doubt the orthodoxy established by Doctor Doom, they encounter Rhodey, the captain and only survivor of a mysterious ship with a mission not sanctioned by Doom. Carol and friends determine to learn the truth of what lies beyond their little world and expose the lies upon which Battleworld was built. A clash with the Thor Corps, enforcers of Battleworld, is almost inevitable.

Working with co-writer Kelly Thompson, DeConnick frames Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps as a rousing military adventure. The trappings and atmosphere carry the feel of classic war movies and the set-up of a crew going rogue against leadership they believe to be corrupt is a time-honored plot. The writers craft a compelling, fast-moving story that makes good use of the Secret Wars milieu and the colorful cast. There are lots of nice character moments and rousing action sequences. It’s a fun story and one of the better tie-ins to the recent Marvel event.

Some fans might be disappointed that DeConnick ends her three-year run with Captain Marvel on a series that’s outside regular continuity. They shouldn’t worry. DeConnick’s goal during her tenure has always been to dig into Carol Danvers and explore what makes her the hero she is. DeConnick has taken different approaches to that mission, but has always had a strong handle on why fans love Carol. Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps is a good distillation of that ethos and a fitting farewell for DeConnick.

David Lopez handles most of the art for the series, with Laura Braga and Paolo Pantalena stepping in for the final installment. Both art teams work in a similar style, giving Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps a clean, old school feel that echoes classic war comics and movies. The character work can, at times, feel a tad underdone, but overall is very expressive. Both teams shine on the action sequences, doing a strong job depicting aerial battles, especially the climactic showdown with the Thor Corps. Lee Loughridge wraps the images in a muted color scheme in keeping with the book’s inspiration, punctuated with bursts of bright color to highlight action beats. Overall, it’s decent work that supports the story quite ably.

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps will appeal most strongly to fans of DeConnick’s run with Carol Danvers. It’s not a crucial tie-in to Secret Wars but is worth reading if you encounter it.

A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com

[Tsana Dolichva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Kelly Thompson and illustrated by David Lopez and Laura Braga is the Captain Marvel-centred volume that came out of the Secret Wars (Warzones) event. It features Carol Danvers and the Banshee Squadron that we saw in the very first run of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, back in 2012. (The volume also contains issue #17 of that Captain Marvel run, which makes for rather odd chronology.)


I have to start off by saying I have no idea what on Earth is going on with this event. Somehow Doctor Doom is like god and everyone is living in an alternate reality lacking memories of what we'd think of as the real world. And Doctor Doom's police/enforcement squad is made up of Thors, which he created. It was all very confusing and I don't really blame the main characters for being suspicious of the circumstances they find themselves with.


I liked the characters and the plot, in the most narrow sense, was enjoyable enough. That said, we didn't get any real resolution at the end, which was a bit of a cliff hanger. (If any one knows where that story is directly picked up again, please let me know — unless it's in A-Force which I'm about to read next.) I did like the appearance of the, well, one male character that wasn't a Thor. And the interactions between the Banshees and Carol were great; although I'm not a fan of Helen Cobb, I don't object to her existence. But gah I wanted to know what happened next.


I only flipped through issue #17 of the 2012 run at the end, which I had read before. You can see my thoughts here.


Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps was a weirder volume than I expected. That is mostly the fault of the Secret Wars event making things confusing. So that was disappointing. But I always enjoy reading about Carol and the characters made up for the weird setting, for me anyway. I'm not sure how much to recommend this volume in isolation, however. Hopefully you can decide from what I've said above if this is something you'd enjoy.


4 / 5 stars


You can read more reviews on my blog.

[Artemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, as much as I loved Kelly Sue's Captain Marvel run, this story to me felt pretty mediocre and nothing special. Much of it is probably because of the Battleworld/Secret Wars tie-in format, through which, as It turns out, many authors struggle to tell a truly emotionally resonant story. The over-the-top potpourri nature of this new fictional universe just does not fit well with serious faces and emotional struggles (with the exception of Aaron's Thors and Bendis' Old Man Logan, but those dudes are masters of the genre).
And part of the problem with this mini-series is because I feel like DeConnick's final Captain Marvel issues were a perfect farewell, and this just felt like an unnecessarily prolonged stay, which tried to say goodbye again in a little bit different way.
I liked the art, but I did not like the colour palette. Everything looked beige, grey and yellow-y in this book. This just added some more blandness to the overall feel.
Despite all of the above, I still want to thank Kelly for what she did with the character over the past few years. She made Carol Danvers the awesome, deep and complex hero she always deserved to be but never truly was before, thus making her one of the best Marvel characters and even granting her her own movie. Captain Marvel was the super hero comic book that, for me, opened the door to this weird and beautiful universe that is Marvel U. And it still stays one of my favourites.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first read of the year had to go to DeConnick and Carol Danvers.

I was confused a lot at first. I still am. I'm all for some crossover and superhero mingling between comics, but at this point I don't even know what the hell is going on.

Obviously they're in some weird, brainwashed or reset alternative story in which they worship and revere "Doom" and don't even know that there is more than their planet out there? There's some sort of Thor Corp military... wtf? I've read Thor and Captain Marvel immediately pre Secret Wars and I don't even know.

It sounds interesting, they're just taking too long to get there. The story felt watered down, it wasn't nearly as captivating as it should have been, and I'm going to be super pissed if I have to read twenty different comics to get the whole story. Eff that.

[Shaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is it weird to say I liked this despite its premise? I am not down at all with this "battle world." Perhaps if I was waaaay more into comics, had been reading Ms./Captain Marvel for years and years, and kept up on all the recent events of Marvel I'd be more into it. I'd be like, wow, this is crazy, characters I've known for years in this weird universe where everything is crazy and there are a thousand Thors and Doom is in charge. But as a casual reader I'm just like, what in the name of crap is going on?

That said, I like Captain Marvel. I like the members of her Carol Corps. If I enjoyed the setting and backstory or whatever of what was going on, I think I would have really really liked what was going on.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a steaming, hot mess and I just cannot recommend it. It does have decent, writing storytelling and art, but the editorial choices behind the composition of the book have produced a confusing, incoherent and incomplete work compiled from two completely unrelated story arcs. Additionally, for all those Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel fans out there bent on following Carol's every adventure, just keep in mind that most of this book was written as part of the 2015 Secret Wars Battleworld event, and the story will simply not make sense without reading at least some of the books for that event.

[Renay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved all the characters, the team dynamic, and the character cameo, but I'm not convinced by the Secret Wars nonsense at all. I 100% don't understand the cliffhanger or how Carol is here but also in A-Force. Potentially this will make more sense when Secret Wars finally wraps up (please let it finally end in January, oh my gosh).

EVEN MORE THOUGHTS: http://ladybusiness.dreamwidth.org/20...

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh...what a waste of time and everyone's talent (except for that last issue, with art by Laura Braga--that's not talent, that's horrendous). The whole Warzones concept is just wrong. Until Marvel can get there stories back to some semblance of reality, I should probably just stop reading this crap.

[Jordan Lahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, not a whole lot of Captain Marvel-ing in this series. Kind of hits you over the head with "girl power," which I guess has been a common thread in most of DeConnick's Carol stories. That being said it's a fun story for the most part. The ending is a little underwhelming though.

[Kelly K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the new series of Captain Marvel before the Secret Wars. I don't read a ton from the Secret Wars and I felt pretty lost in the story line. The issue 17 should have been thrown in with the previous Captain Marvel trade instead of at the end of this one.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

(read as single issues)

I just....... would have rather had more regular Captain Marvel than this Secret Wars business????? like..... why.......did this happen

But also I still kinda teared up at the end, dammit Kelly Sue

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

not my favourite tie-in but pretty good, it was certainly interesting, i loved kit as a thor and it was good insight into battleworld

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the previous Capt Marvel series. A bit drab really. But good. Worth reading for sure. Will be back for more in the next book.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as single issues.

The ending was a bit anti-climactic but the ride to get there was so much fun!

[Laura]

I love Captain Marvel, she is such an inspiration. One of Marvel's best for sure.

[Monika Cacev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps is a stand-alone volume, part of the Secret Wars Battleworld parallel universes that Marvel was doing for a month (?) to promote the end of the Secret Wars Event. It was the only of the many volumes I actually bought, mostly because I was curious to read Kelly Sue DeConnick's take on Carol.

As a parallel universe, it's set in Hala Field; Doom has taken over the entire universe, and many parallel worlds have sprung up, all under his control. Carol is supposedly blessed by Doom, and she leads the all-female Banshee squadron of fighter-pilots, the first line of defense for Hala.

I liked the premise for this a lot, because I had the idea that this was hoping to be a sort of gender-bent Top Gun, but alas, it is not. It's still a fun read, but unfortunately there are many problems with it.

My number one issue is the length of the story. It's 4 issues long and that's just not enough time to introduce us to all the characters, develop them, introduce the world and the plot, and have a satisfying conclusion. In theory, you could do all that, but unfortunately, I feel like DeConnick's story takes a bit more time to really develop.

As a side effect, none of the characters are particularly interesting or developed. Carol is more or less the same as she is in her on-going, but none of the other members of the Banshee are interesting, except for Helen who is the only one who has any kind of personality; she's the hot-head, Maverick character who gets everyone in trouble. It would have been fun to see more of her relationship with Carol, but as is, there is just not enough time to explore it.

Rhodey is also in this, and he might as well be a prop. DeConnick has a very mild romance going on between him and Carol, but having seen Wonder Woman where this same type of romance was done much better, I can't say I was particularly invested.

The villains were equally underdeveloped and they tie into my other big gripe which is that there aren't any. Everyone seems to end up being good at the end, no one gets hurt or dies and nothing is accomplished. It's sad because the premise and the banter between the squadron is interesting, but nothing feels accomplished by the end.

The final issue is issue 17 of the regular run, which I completely skimmed because I've forgotten 90% of what happened in the ongoing Captain Marvel series, and also it's not part of this story. I honestly wish it was cut and replaced with another issue of the Battleworld story so that we could have had a little more time exploring the Hala World.

All in all entertaining, but nothing special. I say just skip it and read the ongoing.