The Mighty Captain Marvel, Vol. 2: Band of Sisters

The Mighty Captain Marvel (Collected Editions)

by Margaret Stohl, Michele Bandini (Illustrator), Elizabeth Torque (Cover Art)

Collects The Mighty Captain Marvel (2016) #5-9.

As SECRET EMPIRE begins, Captain Marvel faces the Chitauri! The savage alien fleet has nearly reached Earth space, and it's up to Carol Danvers to stop it. But taking on an entire armada is a tall order even for our mighty hero and the crew of the Alpha Flight Space Station. Can Carol find a way to inspire her ranks — including her battalion of young cadets — to rise to the challenge? As Alpha Flight puts its plan into action, an enemy from Carol's past rears its head, threatening to ruin everything! Stretched thin battling a horde of Chitauri, keeping Alpha Flight afloat and fighting off a raging monster inside her, will Captain Marvel ever get a little time to unwind? Not when Earth's fate rests in the hands of a few cadets.

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

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 27, 2017

About the author

Margaret Stohl is the #1 New York Times, PW, USA Today, LA Times and Internationally bestselling co-author or author of twelve books, including the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES NOVELS, the DANGEROUS CREATURES NOVELS, the ICONS NOVELS, MARVEL'S BLACK WIDOW NOVELS, ROYCE ROLLS & CATS VS ROBOTS THIS IS WAR (forthcoming!) She writes the MIGHTY CAPTAIN MARVEL comic for Marvel Comics (ongoing) and has contributed to countless videogames; currently, she is a Narrative Director at Bungie.

From the author:

Goodreads Peeps! Please note I no longer review the books on my shelf, "stars"-wise. I do list books I read, and they're all automatically marked as 5 stars. That's because a) I don't list books that I didn't like enough to finish and b) I didn't want to delete the ratings I had already given. If I particularly love a book and feel inclined to comment, you'll still see the comments here. Sadly, I have to ask: please don't reproduce these comments on book jackets, websites, or in any other medium for the marketing of books. They're only meant for fellow goodreaders. Thanks so much!

ABOUT ME:

Writing has gotten me in and out of trouble since I was 15 (back then, mostly just in trouble.) For 10 years, I designed &/or wrote for lots of video games, one of which was nominated for “Most Innovative Game Design,” but I lost to a rapping onion. If you know games you get why my two bad beagles are named Zelda and Kirby.

School: I spent more years in it than a person ever should, because let’s face it, reading books is so much better than having a job. I fell in love with American literature at Amherst and Yale, earned an MA in English from Stanford, and studied creative writing under the late great poet George MacBeth at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. I taught Intro to Film as a TA at Yale and Romantic Poetry as a TA at Stanford. Don’t tell the people at Yale but sometimes I taught the section before I’d seen the movie it was about...

I live in Santa Monica, CA, with my family, most of whom were enslaved into working with me in one form or another on my first YA book for Little, Brown. I’m not kidding; when my daughters wanted to go to school I said “Why are you so selfish? Get back in there and edit,” and by said I mean yelled and maybe threw things, it’s all a haze. Now the Beautiful series has wrapped, but you can see the movie on February 13, 2013 or read my new book ICONS on May 7th. Nothing gold can stay, Ponyboy.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent for Secret Empire tie in. Carol and the rest of Alpha Flight are trapped on the space side of the planetary shield fighting Chitauri. Even though it's mentioned several times that it's getting desperate, I never got the sense it actually was. The writing was really choppy, especially between issues. Things would be built up to in one issue and then completely forgot the next. Large moments would be glossed over in one panel with no explanation. You needed to use Secret Empire as a reference just to know what was going on. At this point I'd say Margaret Stohl just doesn't know how to write comics. I really liked Michele Bandini's art. Hopefully we'll see more of it.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Secret Empire nonsense, during which three new characters are introduced into a book that already isn't very good at sharing the spotlight around its already large cast.

I didn't understand the why of all the jokes about Jessica Jones not knowing what to do with a baby... Is she not one of only two Marvel characters to actually have one? Just... bizarre.

Other than this, it was reasonably entertaining with decent artwork.

[Wing Kee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is bad.

World: The art for the most part is fine, it's a bit inconsistent especially the characters but that's the least of this book's issues. The world building is solid, it builds upon Alpha Flight and the recent past of Carol (say what you will about her stories in the event books). It does a good job of using the pieces that are available in the MU. That's about it in terms of good things to say about this book.

Story: What did I just read? Does Stohl not write action at all because there is action in this book, but it's like 1 page and a battle is over, and then we have a long janky illogical dialog scene, and then more action tease and then one page of it and back to the space station for more illogical banter (really move to another dimension? WTF??!!) This book is so poorly written I don't even know what to say anymore. The story is of course a tie-in to Secret Empire which I'm not even going to get into but this was just sloppy choppy writing. As I said, where's the action in an action adventure book? And the Deus Ex times two ending? Literally we see Rocket pull out a machine taht is suppose to fix the entire problem of the arc, and then one character who get's sacrificed in one panel and is never mourned in the book again...really...what am I reading? I'm sorry but since DeConnick and Fazekas this book has been lost and floundering...something needs to happen to fix this book.

Characters: What the fuck am I reading? Why is Carol like this? What happened to the character I loved that DeConnick made amazing? I don't mind insecure and deeper characters, but I don't want whiney self loathing (yes I don't mind that, but not for Carol) for this character! She was such a strong and bring character even when she faced her friend dying of cancer, and now we get this? What the hell is happening? What is Stohl writing? The rest of the cast are cookie cutters and we are suppose to have these emotions as if they were earned. The romance was nonexistent, the relationships and teamwork was just there and we had to accept it, it's just really really bad and slopping writing without really caring for the characters. It's just really bad plotting which leaks into every part of the book, the characters get shafted because of that.

I can't read this book, I don't know what to do...I can't read this book with this writer on it. I don't even recognize Carol anymore.

Onward to the next book!

[Jester, King's Favorite Fool · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the previous volume, and neither this one. In fact, I enjoyed this one less.

There are new cadets aboard the ship. Alpha Flight Station is stuck in space. Captain Marvel and her crew also have to fight the Chitauri.

There's not much I enjoyed about this book. I didn't care for the new cadets. I don't know of the Secret Empire storyline, so it felt like I was missing bits of the story. The only good thing about this is that I'm done reading it.

Personal Rating: ⭐3/5

Note: Using new rating system starting 2025.

[Claire]

Refuse to rate any character's books that got dragged into CW2 or Secret Empire. They were terrible events and I'm only reading this because I want to try and support Carol again as she climbs out of the clusterfuck that was CW2.

Also, still zero character development and this is nine issues in. I'm super sick of "strong female characters" that are severely emotionally stunted and are only good at punching stuff. Yall can write women better than this.

[Dubzor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is it possible to just give a fart noise as a rating instead of dignifying this garbage with any kind of star?

This is just awful. Somehow we've gone from Carol Danvers: Stubborn, impulsive, badass who once nearly killed the XMEN in her zeal to fight the Brood to Carol Danvers: In desperate need of a WAAAAAAmbulance.

You think Harry Potter's self pity party in PHOENIX was tough to read, he ain't got shit on Carol in these six issues.

God I miss Kelly Sue...

[Oneirosophos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awful filler tie-in of awful Secret Empire...

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
Secret Empire hits Captain Marvel like a freight train; trapped in orbit thanks to Hydra-Cap's worldwide shield, she and Alpha Flight must defend the world from an onslaught of Chitauri, but as things get more and more desperate, it looks like the only ones that can save the day are Carol's brand new space cadets.

Typical. I rip into the first volume, and then the second is much more impressive. Always the way. Carol's characterization, her desperation as she tries to keep everyone around her safe, is really well executed in these issues. She has her work cut out for her, and there are times when it looks like she might actually give up, but Margaret Stohl captures the essence of Captain Marvel in a way she hadn't before. The new characters are good fun and play off of each other well without just being walking character tropes, and they stand well with the already established characters like Wendy and Abigail Brand.

The only real problem I have with this volume is that there are a few parts of each issue that literally replicate Secret Empire word for word. This is kind of necessary to tell the story, but it feels superfluous if you've been reading the main event as well; they're not even told from anyone else's perspective, so it's the same dialogue, everything.

After the artistic mishmash in the last volume, we're back on solid ground with Michelle Bandini who pencils all four of the main story issues with a very sleek style that perfectly fits. Her style reminds me of Emanuela Lupacchino, which is never a bad thing. Meanwhile Ro Stein and Ted Brandt return for issue 9. These two seem to be Marvel's current go-to fill-in artists, and they're...okay. Nothing special, but I guess if you're in a pinch, that's all you can get.

It took a while for the writer (and Marvel) to find their feet with this series, but this one's pretty darn good.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that Stohl was forced to contend with Spencer's ill-conceived Hydra!Cap mess, this book made lemonade out of really, really sour lemons.

Carol Danvers is pretty much the only character that can get me to read a galactic Marvel story. I just don't get all that excited about reading about space monsters and alien planets. (Which is strange considering I'm kind of a Star Wars fan). Anyway, this story takes place entirely in space and deals with space monsters. Even so, I appreciate the work that went into this book.

Stohl is juggling a lot of characters here. Carol, her Alpha Flight team, the Alpha cadets (introduced in this volume), the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Ultimates team. It's a lot. Even so, I never felt like the characters all sounded the same. Each of them had their own unique voices, Stohl maintained their past relationships with Carol and the emotional moments landed. I believed all of it. In fact, the left me rather annoyed that I'll never get to see what a female director could do with this sort of story on the big screen. This would make an excellent Avengers/Guardians of the Galaxy story, led by Captain Marvel. It's right there.

I know Stohl has written YA novels before, but I'm not sure if that was mostly what she wrote. I'm curious because the Alpha Cadets are all really young. They seem like the kind of characters that I often think were inserted into a book to draw teenagers to it. Not a complaint, just a question.

The last issue was wonderful. I loved seeing Carol's down time with Jessica Jones, Jessica Drew and Monica Rambeau. Although, once again, I have no idea why Marvel won't just let Carol be bisexual. Te idea of her using a dating app to choose from a bunch of mediocre men is baffling to me, honestly.

It's kind of a recommend from me. Perhaps because I give Stohl a lot of credit for managing all of these moving parts.

It's a lot of space/comic book science lingo, but I enjoyed it. I usually stay away from these types of stories though because my eyes gloss over during the expositional "we have a problem" scenes. I don't know what any of this space science is and I'm just waiting for the "let's try blah blah" part.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, Secret Empire was garbage so it's not all that surprising that this tie-in is similarly rough, but I was surprised by how bored I was.
There are some really funny lines, although sometimes delivered in really out-of-character ways.


The premise of the cadets was a bit much. "Yeah, a kid died up here so we're going to bring in three more to train them."
???
Then the kids were irritatingly competent, all of them figuring out what highly trained, battle-proven, intelligent, competent adults couldn't manage. As a trope, genius-child is fine and I usually don't mind it, but three of them in a go is a bit much.

Anyway, not a good book, not a good run.

[Theo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just never lived up to its potential, and was never the story Stohl wanted to tell.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, when I read volume 1 I remember liking it well enough but definitely feeling like it was doing a lot of heavy lifting to set up the new norms for the characters etc after Civil War II..and now this is all tangled up in Secret Empire nonsense?! WHY MARVEL WHYYYYYY

(tho I did like Carol referring to Hydra Steve as "Stevil")

(also I like the new Alpha Flight recruits)

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margie clearly knows Carol!

[Nea Poulain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ahora tengo morbo por Secret Empire. *sighs*

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Secret Empire offshoot, which it manages to mention at least once per issue (understandable, but it suffers a bit when read in collected form). Captain Marvel and Alpha Flight are stuck outside a planetary shield, serving as punching bags for a Chitauri invasion force. I was surprised both at the grim realities of the situation, and how well they were counter-balanced by the heroism on display. There's a trio of Alpha Flight recruits who more than prove their worth. There are sacrifices, rescues, some wild mental leaps and an ending that actually feels a little too easy (and one death that feels weirdly unimportant considering the preceeding actions). But there's a lot of heart, a lot of emotion, some impressive action, just about everything you could want in an outer-space based comic. The art works well for the story, detailed enough to make out the action without getting overwhelmed with detail. All told, a good book that stands on its own fairly well.

[Adan · Rating 3 out of 5]

During Secret Empire, the story would occasionally switch to what the heroes beyond the planetary shield were doing, but those scenes were always tantalizingly short. I wanted to know more about what the heroes were doing, so I was excited to read this Captain Marvel collection to get more of that. Unfortunately, this collection didn’t really show anything new (in fact, a few of the scenes were word-for-word the same ones in Secret Empire). There was some neat things with the cadets, and some Carol’s supporting cast, but I wanted more.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Marvel? Check! Guardians of the galaxy? Check! Evil hydra cap? Check!

[sarah 🛸 · Rating 1 out of 5]

carol is so ooc and the dialogue is painful 🧍🏻‍♀️

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really torn. This is a nice little collection, but it partially involves Secret Empire. And that was the dumbest thing Marvel has done in decades. So, tough call. I like the Danvers stuff, and hate any time Rogers is mentioned. But, love the art, and the last comic is actually really funny and well written. So 3 it is.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering how dependent on the Secret Empire event this volume is for complete understanding--which I assumed was dictated to some extent by corporate shenanigans--Stohl actually does a great job with this story. Given the event tie-in, the story is all action all the time, but Stohl manages to shove in enough character to make the story a western equivalent of a weak manga's volume long battle sequence.

I actually enjoyed his volume quite a bit. Carol's stand in the last story-line didn't ring true for me at all--and actually, just like the Tony/Steve Civil War I, I found the whole premise weak as a supposed catalyst for the level of conflict/combat it supposedly excited--but she felt real, consistent and believable throughout here, even where she was being unfair to herself.

I also really like the fact that this was a complete story-line as opposed to a fragmented mess whose story is dependent on the reader buying/reading a ton of other comics to even make sense. Pretty good actually. I was wavering before this volume, but now I know that I will be sticking with the book to see where it goes next.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Secret Empire tie-in at its worst, and that's saying something.

Carol and crew pointlessly fight Chitauri and/or the golf-ball around Earth for four issues, and then everything magically works out when the series time-limit is up. Meanwhile some annoying cadets Wesley Crusher their way all around the station. The last issue, with some bonding with Jessicas Jones and Drew is the only thing that might even bring the volume up to 2.5 stars. Otherwise, this is a waste of space with cartoony art.

[Blythe Penland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a philosophical inspiration. I love how Margaret Stohl's portrayal of Carol includes inner monologues of huge themes and that super hero life. I was a little lost on this earlier, but apparently A.F.S.S. stands for Alpha Flight Space Station. Which is now gone. I'm actually pretty upset that they destroyed the space station, even if they had to in order to break the shield around Earth. I guess it's not all bad if Carol gets to spend time with friends that she loves rather than being a workaholic all the time, Earth's last line of defense. I kind of find it funny that Carol's superhero Earth friends are Jessica Drew and Jessica Jones. I also love the Alpha cadets. I've grown quite attached to the Black-Widow-recommended Dante, fire-gun-legged Glory, and Wakandan A'Di. Glory's legs are amazingly awesome, by the way. I feel bad about Itz, but he served a good cause and did what he could to reach Wendy back on Earth, pulling Carol back into the fight. Also, the team-ups in this book were great. The Guardians of the Galaxy with America and even more that I don't yet know. I loved having Rocket say, 'Blam! Murdered you.' Drax is no where to be found, however, and Groot is a baby again, so I obviously need to catch up on that. I don't know exactly what happened with the Chitauri eggs and everything, but their armies just kept attacking over and over. And their armies looked a lot like Thanos' in the MCU. Not sure what that's about. I am also completely in disarray over Steve Rogers. I don't know exactly what his betrayal was, or why everyone kept saying he was Hydra because I don't know how those things correlate, but I am thoroughly miffed and I could punch a captain. Preferably America. I also don't know who Quasar was, but she dedicated her life to opening that shield and I commend her for it. Hopper was much more emotional over being disconnected from Wendy than I thought he would be. I mean, didn't they just become a thing? He really didn't want to stop defending Earth, even if that meant the sacrifice of everyone on the station. I was so proud to see Monica a.k.a. Spectrum all grown up and being a super hero. I honestly want to see more interaction between Carol and Jessica Drew's baby. I think Carol is a great babysitter. I can't believe the Jessicas put her on that super hero dating site. And Carol kept left-swiping everyone, so I'm wondering if it's because all the options were men? I'm not one to assume anything. I hate that they set her up with Hero Man. He seems too cheesy to be genuine. I'm not sure if seeing Bean was a hallucination and she said to 'Find Bean,' so maybe that means Bean is still out there? I loved this book, didn't like hearing that Natasha was dead, and recommend it to anyone that might be too trusting.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidentally read the volume after this first but reading them out of order was not too big a problem as the stories largely standalone. This volume deals more with how Alpha Flight as a group handled the events of Secret Empire and the continued assaults of the Chitauri while the Earth was isolated behind a largely impenetrable shield. They even threw in some pretty clever new Alpha Flight cadets who ended up going through a trial by fire as they try to contribute to the efforts to hold off the attacks with dwindling resources and no help on the way.

But like how most of Secret Empire had been handled, especially this space battle, the story can feel a little all over the place and even chaotic at times. Sure it was a crazy time and there really was a lot going on but it feels like every effort to depict the events in space end up in this weird violent mess.

The last issue after the 4-part Band of Sisters arc was the weakest part of the collection but I guess important to eventually setting up the next story arc. As much as the Captain had a lot to process, this did not feel like the best way to do so, especially with a shift in art style that made things feel more comedic and cartoony.

[WyrmbergSabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tying in with another story line involving Captain America being taken over by Hydra, I felt a little lost for a bit. There's lots of crew here, some I have no idea who they are, but the three new cadets are a good way into the series. The artwork is crisp, the likenesses are consistent and the plot rattles along, with character moments between big battle scenes. But it does jump from one idea to another. At one point I had no idea who was suggesting what and why.
There are sacrifices and moments of doubt, which makes these heroes more real than many of the marvel characters. I know in battle you don't get to mourn, but seriously, one of the characters dies and it's never mentioned again!
This collection finishes one arc and starts another. I have to admit, I did like the second storyline better, seeing Carol mingle with other female superheroes was really nice; just doing normal things together, something we don't see often in the film world. Jessica Jones has either been forgotten about, or she's the butt of a joke that I don't get. Why can't she baby sit? She's had a child!
Possibly worth reading but be aware there's lots of other storyline's tying into this one.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Hydra takes over the world, in orbit, locked out of any access to the Earth is Alpha Flight and members of the Guardians.

The world defence shield has been implement by Hydra Cap and has successfully cut off the cosmic big hitters from the Earth. With wave after wave of Chitauri fleets attacking them constantly - due to hidden queen eggs hidden by Hydra somewhere on Earth, the Chitauri wont stop. This leaves Captain Marvel and her team(s) to simultaneously fight the fleets and try to figure out how to get passed the shield.

I think this had a solid start, but kind of meandered towards the end, when a deus ex machina wakes up from a coma and takes the shield down. Margaret Stohl did her best to write some high drama around the Secret Empire event, but this part of the event had an ending that was unavoidable and unfortunately - predictable.

However, there was some cool moments of the team members interacting with each other and that kind of saved the volume. Overall, a decent entry into the Captain Marvel mythos and one I would recommend for fans of the character.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dante, Glory, A'Di and her droid Itz have just joined Alpha Flight as trainees and Carol doesn't back down from hitting them with really hard training right out of the gate. But when the planetary shield goes up (see Secret Empire), Carol, the trainees, the Guardians, and all of Alpha Flight have nothing left to do but fight off wave after wave of Chitauri invasion forces.
This book divides its time having Carol work through her feelings and issues at being shut out of Earth with no backup, as well as putting the trainees in situations where they can be crafty and figure it out on their own. Basically, it's the space side of the Secret Empire story, and thus feels mediocre to an extent. Could be a really good kick off for the new characters, but that has yet to be seen. Maybe next Volume...
Recommend, but only if you really love Captain Marvel, or want to complete your Secret Empire read-through.

[Sleepseeker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The volume was ok, you can skip it if not reading Secret Empire event. It wasn't a bad read but it was just tied into the mess that is Secret Empire.

I like seeing Carol try and find her way, but she has a tendency to take all the blame on herself when things go wrong. I liked the ending, we don't get to see Carol have a girls night often, but the only bizarre part to me is the Jessica Jones joke about how she's not a good babysitter, when she has a kid.

At the end Carol goes off to find her place again, which sounds like she's headed back into space. I can't wait to see how new direction, but at the same time, I can't of liked seeing her in charge at the space station. There were a few side characters that I liked seeing.

I just want Carol to find her place in the universe and learn to realize that not everything that goes wrong is her fault.

I am excited to go read the next series of books on Captain Marvel and leave this whole Secret Empire mess behind.

[Avril · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love shared, extended universes in books or comics, being able to follow characters from book to book, having the sense of a ‘real world’ that continues when the book or comic ends. It’s why I’m such a fan of school series fiction, and the Marvel Universe provides me with the same enjoyment. These comics are written by Margaret Stohl who has written a couple of Black Widow YA novels, and it was fun to find one of the characters from those books popping up in these comics. These comics are tie in with the Secret Empire event so there are no surprises, but it’s great to see Carol Danvers’ perspective and, of course, I was THRILLED that one of the heroes is Quasar, whose name is Avril. There’s a Marvel hero called Avril! At least there was - she died heroically saving the world.

[Amélie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5/5)

Here Captain Marvel deals with the event that made me lose a lot of interest in Marvel itself - thankfully for me, she does so from afar. The new recruits are pretty cool, but I think I would have liked more time to get to know them before things start to go sour, in order to raise the stakes a little. The guest stars were also nice, but we get very little time with them.

I get the feeling that this arc is nearly over, and maybe the "volume" with it... it's quite irritating, having to start back to issue 1 every 2 or 3 books. I wish Marvel spent less time on big game-changer events, and more developing what they already have...

[Rebeckahsypik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it, it crated good suspense with the chitauri invasion. I really like how they introduced the nova recruits. It was a little cliche that they brake protocol and save the station, but it was stasatisfy. It was nice to see captain Marvel had not gotten over the 'death' of the kree girl from the previous volume, I look forward to see how they develop that. Also the art was really good, I liked the intensity that was put into the eyes. I wish it was explained more what happen between issues 8 and 9 With the hydra captain America. I liked it enough that I've already ordered the 3rd volume.