What do you think?
Rate this book
Captain Marvel (2002) (Collected Editions) #1-4
Captain Marvel: Genis-Vell Omnibus
O-wha-tagoo-siam! Genis-Vell, son of the legendary Kree warrior Mar-Vell, takes on his father's former mantle of Captain Marvel - and everybody's favorite super-hero sidekick, Rick Jones, finds himself along for the wildest of rides! Genis possesses the gift of Cosmic Awareness - a oneness with the universe that allows him to know what will happen, what may happen and what should happen to every living thing. You might think such knowledge would make a person go mad - and you might be right! Can Rick keep him grounded, or will their unique merger drive Genis crazy even faster? Featuring the Hulk, Drax the Destroyer, Thanos, Spider-Man 2099 and the debut of Genis' sister, Phyla-Vell! Get ready to experience Peter David's complete, star-spanning saga - as cosmic as it is hilarious! Collecting CAPTAIN MARVEL (1999) #0-35 and CAPTAIN MARVEL (2002) #1-25.
1400 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2004
6 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Peter David
3,568 books1,363 followersaka David Peters
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 8, 2025
Peter David's Captain Marvel is a wild ride of a book, and I mean that literally, considering the main character goes absolutely bonkers in the latter half of this omnibus.
The story kicks off with Rick Jones returning to Earth post-Avengers Forever. Full disclosure, I haven't read that event and don't really give a shit to, so that bit didn't exactly grab me. However, we quickly see Rick and Genis-Vell essentially merging into one being. They've got these little bands on their wrists, and when they slap them together, they switch places, one staying on Earth while the other rockets off to the Microverse.
This unique setup is how the narrative truly begins, with Captain Marvel inheriting this cosmic awareness. He gains the ability to glimpse the future and perceive the various paths a person might take, which leads to some truly trippy and entertaining fights. The first 35 issues, comprising Peter David's initial series, are more tongue-in-cheek and genuinely fun. You get a mix of grand, epic space adventures alongside more intimate, heartfelt moments shared between Rick and Genis.
Now, the second half, spanning 25 issues, sees Genis-Vell go completely fucking insane, with his cosmic awareness driving him over the edge. This part of the series is considerably darker, featuring some truly disturbing moments, like him digging up his father's grave and murdering him again. I'm not entirely sure if that was real, but it's a bizarre sequence that's also incredibly intriguing to witness him lose his damn mind. I'd say the initial 5 to 12 issues of this darker stretch are pretty damn good, compelling, and appropriately grim. Unfortunately, the final 12 to 13 issues really start to peter out and become weaker and weaker.
I'd love to call this omnibus a grand slam because I think the first half is an absolute blast, easily a four out of five. But the second half is maybe a 2.5 or 3 out of five. That said, it lands around a 3.5 overall, because the latter half isn't terrible; it just loses steam as it progresses, whereas the first half only gets stronger.
So, overall, I'm giving it a four out of five on Goodreads, but just so you know, if you were to ask me point-blank, it's closer to a 3.5. Regardless, what a trippy, weird, and fun adventure this omnibus was, and I'm genuinely glad I read it.
The story kicks off with Rick Jones returning to Earth post-Avengers Forever. Full disclosure, I haven't read that event and don't really give a shit to, so that bit didn't exactly grab me. However, we quickly see Rick and Genis-Vell essentially merging into one being. They've got these little bands on their wrists, and when they slap them together, they switch places, one staying on Earth while the other rockets off to the Microverse.
This unique setup is how the narrative truly begins, with Captain Marvel inheriting this cosmic awareness. He gains the ability to glimpse the future and perceive the various paths a person might take, which leads to some truly trippy and entertaining fights. The first 35 issues, comprising Peter David's initial series, are more tongue-in-cheek and genuinely fun. You get a mix of grand, epic space adventures alongside more intimate, heartfelt moments shared between Rick and Genis.
Now, the second half, spanning 25 issues, sees Genis-Vell go completely fucking insane, with his cosmic awareness driving him over the edge. This part of the series is considerably darker, featuring some truly disturbing moments, like him digging up his father's grave and murdering him again. I'm not entirely sure if that was real, but it's a bizarre sequence that's also incredibly intriguing to witness him lose his damn mind. I'd say the initial 5 to 12 issues of this darker stretch are pretty damn good, compelling, and appropriately grim. Unfortunately, the final 12 to 13 issues really start to peter out and become weaker and weaker.
I'd love to call this omnibus a grand slam because I think the first half is an absolute blast, easily a four out of five. But the second half is maybe a 2.5 or 3 out of five. That said, it lands around a 3.5 overall, because the latter half isn't terrible; it just loses steam as it progresses, whereas the first half only gets stronger.
So, overall, I'm giving it a four out of five on Goodreads, but just so you know, if you were to ask me point-blank, it's closer to a 3.5. Regardless, what a trippy, weird, and fun adventure this omnibus was, and I'm genuinely glad I read it.
November 26, 2023
A fun time capsule of the late 90s-early 2000s, the stylized art of Chriscross compliments Peter David's comedic writing well. The book is at its best when leaning into Friends style sitcom tropes, and weakest when it leans heavy into complicated sci-fi with various types of energy blasting around.
January 8, 2024
Back in the 90’s, I use to love Peter David. Anything with his name I use to pick up. This was a book of his I mostly missed in the 2000’s, and it was really a bit of a struggle to get through. There were some good parts here and there, but too much reliance on puns and jokes as plots. Art from ChrisCross was nice, Jim Stalin shows up for a two parter with Thanos and Thor. And the Final issue by Peter David and Keith Giffen was a great wrap up. But lots of dragging in between the enjoyable moments.
Read
August 6, 2025Ya lo he mencionado en otras ocasiones pero no está demás recordarlo. Peter David es mi escritor favorito. Tiene cosas muy buenas (su run de Young Justice, sus primeros cincuenta números al frente de Supergirl, así como los últimos seis números de la misma serie, su segundo run al frente de X-Factor y obvio su trabajo al frente de Hulk en el cual es considerado por muchos como el escritor definitivo), pero también algunas que por lo menos para mi no lo han sido tanto. Estos sesenta números al frente de Genis-Vell entran en esa categoría.
Quizás no lo saben, pero PAD, como le gustaba que le dijeran, falleció hace algunos meses. Yo decidí homenajearlo leyendo algo de el. Estaba en la disyuntiva entre volver a leer su run de Hulk (y de hecho terminarlo) o tomar algo de su bibliografía que no hubiera tocado anteriormente y darle una oportunidad. Como podrán imaginar, opté por esta segunda opción.
Me dejó sentimientos encontrados. Lo primero que debo decir (y que es obvio para quien haga una pequeña investigación al respecto) es que como son dos series si se siente demasiado el cambio. La primera, que involucra los primeros treinta y cinco números es mucho mejor. En ella tenemos una historia que involucra mucho a Rick Jones y a Marlo Chandler, personajes de soporte que el desarrolló (o en su defecto creó) cuando estuvo al frente de Hulk (aquí dejo una opinión de los primeros siete números). Aunque no son lo mejor que he leído la verdad es que si están divertidos. Y si le podemos poner algún pero es que creo que me hubiera gustado que tuviera mas desarrollo lo de Marlo, pero obvio tenemos chistes y críticas a cosas como el arte de Rob Liefeld o incluso "pedradas" hacia el otro Captain Marvel, el de DC cómics. Y, aunque no soy fan de ChrisCross, me dio gusto que algunos números estuvieran dibujados por Jim Starlin. Pero después vino el cambio (supuestamente por las bajas ventas) con el relanzamiento y ahí me dejó de gustar hasta muy al final. Si, hay algunas cosas interesantes como el hecho de que Rick se volvió un rockstar en el Microverso, pero toda la historia de Genis volviéndose loco no me encantó (y curiosamente PAD decidió seguir esta ruta ya que según el ChrisCross dibujaba muy bien rostros de personajes con estas características y el dejó la serie a los pocos números) pero extrañé mucho a los personajes de soporte de los números anteriores.
Ahora, yo no soy fan de los personajes espaciales de Marvel (aunque en su momento amé Annihilation y es algo que me da coraje no haber leído en su momento ya que quizás lo tendría en físico), así que si tu eres de los que si disfruta historias conDarkseid Thanos, Magus o los Kree pues quizás si sea para ti. Si estás esperando cosas básicas de PAD en particular su ácido humor, quédate con solo el primer volumen (que según yo no está recopilado mas que en el compilado que menciono arriba).
Quizás no lo saben, pero PAD, como le gustaba que le dijeran, falleció hace algunos meses. Yo decidí homenajearlo leyendo algo de el. Estaba en la disyuntiva entre volver a leer su run de Hulk (y de hecho terminarlo) o tomar algo de su bibliografía que no hubiera tocado anteriormente y darle una oportunidad. Como podrán imaginar, opté por esta segunda opción.
Me dejó sentimientos encontrados. Lo primero que debo decir (y que es obvio para quien haga una pequeña investigación al respecto) es que como son dos series si se siente demasiado el cambio. La primera, que involucra los primeros treinta y cinco números es mucho mejor. En ella tenemos una historia que involucra mucho a Rick Jones y a Marlo Chandler, personajes de soporte que el desarrolló (o en su defecto creó) cuando estuvo al frente de Hulk (aquí dejo una opinión de los primeros siete números). Aunque no son lo mejor que he leído la verdad es que si están divertidos. Y si le podemos poner algún pero es que creo que me hubiera gustado que tuviera mas desarrollo lo de Marlo, pero obvio tenemos chistes y críticas a cosas como el arte de Rob Liefeld o incluso "pedradas" hacia el otro Captain Marvel, el de DC cómics. Y, aunque no soy fan de ChrisCross, me dio gusto que algunos números estuvieran dibujados por Jim Starlin. Pero después vino el cambio (supuestamente por las bajas ventas) con el relanzamiento y ahí me dejó de gustar hasta muy al final. Si, hay algunas cosas interesantes como el hecho de que Rick se volvió un rockstar en el Microverso, pero toda la historia de Genis volviéndose loco no me encantó (y curiosamente PAD decidió seguir esta ruta ya que según el ChrisCross dibujaba muy bien rostros de personajes con estas características y el dejó la serie a los pocos números) pero extrañé mucho a los personajes de soporte de los números anteriores.
Ahora, yo no soy fan de los personajes espaciales de Marvel (aunque en su momento amé Annihilation y es algo que me da coraje no haber leído en su momento ya que quizás lo tendría en físico), así que si tu eres de los que si disfruta historias con
November 21, 2023
Peter David is great comic and story telling writer. The 3rd Captain Marvel was a great character and deserves more time in the spotlight.
The first series in this Omnibus was great.... Great stories, that blend humor and drama twisting and turning through out the series.
ART EXCELLENT - Chris Cross blend of character
emotion and action just fits so well with Peters writing.
5 stars!!!
The second series didn't like it as much Peter change the direction waste what made the first series so great.
3 1/2 stars.
The first series in this Omnibus was great.... Great stories, that blend humor and drama twisting and turning through out the series.
ART EXCELLENT - Chris Cross blend of character
emotion and action just fits so well with Peters writing.
5 stars!!!
The second series didn't like it as much Peter change the direction waste what made the first series so great.
3 1/2 stars.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews